The Not So Wonderful Wizard of Oz

The “Wizard of Oz” is a movie based on the book by Frank Baum. The Land of Oz is not governed by the same rules and principles at those express in a Biblical world view. In Oz, the Wizard rules, but he is not like the God of our world. Unlike the Biblical view about the nature of man, which says that man is sinful and has choice, the Wizard of Oz shows man without any choice. Similarly, evil in the story does not reflect a biblical world view.

Contrary to the God of the Bible, the Wizard of Oz is neither infinite nor personal. Although in the beginning of the story the Wizard is inaccurately portrayed as great and wonderful, we find out later that he is not great or powerful, and he is just a man who acts great and helps no one. Hiding from the people of Oz, the Wizard does nothing without payment, and he does not keep his promises. The Wizard also cannot give Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, or the Lion what they need and tells them that they already have what they need.

In the Land of Oz, the nature of man is very different than what is the Biblical world view. For example, the Bible says that man is created in the image of God, and is special because of it. While in the Land of Oz, we find out the Scarecrow’s take on life by some of his song lyrics. “I would not be just a nothin,’ my head all full of stuffin’.” As you can see, the scarecrow measures his worth by his knowledge. Also, the biblical view says that man has choice about his actions. The Lion says that it’s his fate to be a sissy, which means he doesn’t get to decide whether he’s brave or not.

Suffering and evil are caused by the witch who lives in Oz. This is different from the biblical world view because she’s the only source of evil. But in the Bible it says that man’s choices also lead to suffering and evil. Therefore, in the movie, once the witch is dead, that means that all is good. There’s no requirement for a savior. In fact, the Wizard God is not the savior. Man is. In the end of the story, the witch is killed by Dorothy, who does it on her own strength.

In conclusion, the Wizard of Oz is the not the hero. The heroes are Dorothy and her friends. Overall, the movie portrays a world view that is not biblical. It has a very different view of God, of man, and of evil.

The Seemingly Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Somewhere over the rainbow lies a land with a wonderful wizard, where there are no troubles, and where all your dreams come true. Or so you thought. The movie “The Wizard of Oz,” based on the books, which were written by Frank Baum, was released in the late 1930s. If we carefully examine “The Wizard of Oz,” we will see that the wizard represents the god of Oz, although there are some differences between the wizard and our God. Presumably, Dorothy, the scarecrow, the tin man, and the lion represent man. Throughout the movie, the despicable witch represents evil.

The god of Oz is the wizard, who is seemingly great and wonderful. Although the wizard is known as great, and Dorothy and her friends sing of “all the wonderful things he does” the wizard is later revealed to be a disappointing man--only a man. Absolutely different from our God, the wizard is not loving or infinite. Yelling at Dorothy and her friends in a deep commanding voice, the wizard has no compassion for the distance they’ve traveled, calls them degrading names, and forcefully tells them to “go away and come back tomorrow.” Because of his deep commanding voice, the wizard might be pictured to be an infinite, omniscient God, but his words betray him. Asking them what they want, he demonstrates that he isn’t all-knowing. He doesn’t know them either. When we look closely we can easily see that the wizard isn’t as great and wonderful as everyone thought.

In the land of Oz, man is represented by Dorothy, the scarecrow, the tin man, and the lion. The Bible tells us that man is made in the image of God, which gives us worth and significance to him, but that isn’t clearly found in “The Wizard of Oz.” “I would not be just a nothin’ my head all full of stuffin’ my heart all full of pain.” Singing these words, the scarecrow tells us that he believes he is worth nothing because he believes he has no brains. Intelligence gives him value. When the tin man sings that he’s an empty kettle he shows that he believes he’s a piece of junk because he thinks he has no heart. Remarkably difficult to uncover, the view of choice in Oz is not always free will as in the Biblical world view. Fate affects the circumstance more than the individual actions of the character and when action is taken it is usually an accident. Blaming his cowardice on fate, the lion sings, “When you're born to be a sissy” and “a fate I don’t deserve.” When Dorothy kills the witches both times she whimpers, “Oh, I didn’t mean to.” Repeatedly she insists that Toto didn’t know what he was doing when he bit Ms. Gulch. Unlike the Biblical world view, “the Wizard of Oz” doesn’t consistently show a view of free will.

Representing evil in Oz, the witch correctly portrays evil, but the view of evil is tainted because of the imperfect misgivings of the wizard. Evil comes from another source, which is the witch, as well as the wizard. Because the wizard isn’t holy, this view doesn’t follow the Biblical world view which is that evil comes from another source outside of God. In the Bible, sin leads to pain suffering, and death, but only occasionally in Oz. Predictably, the witch dies in the end and “evil” is overthrown, but the wizard, when accused of being “ a very bad man” never repents as he isn’t “that bad.” He was “acceptable.” The view of evil is skewed because of the imperfection of the wizard.

Representing God in Oz, the wizard portrays a different kind of god than our God. Within the story, Dorothy, the scarecrow, the tin man, and the lion represent man. The witch represents evil. The most significant thing about “The Wizard of Oz,” which is still an entertaining movie, is that it doesn’t follow the Biblical world view. Although, if you don’t study it closely you might not discover this.

Aslan's World

Extraordinarily magical, Narnia is filled with talking beasts and other creatures. While Aslan is king of Narnia, he also has some characteristics of God. Created by a god, Narnia's nature is very like our world. Narnia is affected by evil just as our world is because of man’s choice.

Being the perfect example of God, Aslan, who created Narnia, is also the God of that world. Fully loving, Aslan feels grief for Diggory in The Magician’s Nephew and gives his life for Edmund in The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, just like Jesus gave his life for us. While having loving characteristics, Aslan is also omnipresent. He knew what happened in the world of Charn and what Charn had become. Aslan also says in the book the Dawn Treader that he is also the God of our world.

Similarly, Narnia and our world are created by a God and have seen and unseen portions. Being created, Narnia was not an accident, which means Aslan, the creator, is in control. During the White Witch’s rule, the animals still believe in Aslan even though Aslan isn’t visible, which shows great faith in the unseen. The deeper magic from the dawn of time also shows how the invisible things have great power.

In Narnia, the causes of evil and suffering are human choice and Queen Jadis. Waking Jadis up, Diggory had a choice, but he chose to do the wrong thing which eventually led to evil in Narnia. As in our world, humans have choice and so does Diggory.

Madly evil and violently cruel, Queen Jadis hates Narnia because she feels a greater power there (Aslan) than she possesses, which makes her even more insane and she runs off to the mountains. Queen Jadis becomes Queen of Narnia many years later and her rule ends with her death; she is killed by Aslan, who saves Narnia.

Narnia is a world existing alongside ours and also having meaningful sequences of events. Existing beside our world Narnia, is much different from our world. In one way Narnia has its own time. In Narnia some of the meaningful things are Diggory bringing Jadis to Narnia, which is how evil enters Narnia. Briefly, here are some meaningful things that happened in Narnia: Narnia was created, evil entered Narnia, Aslan died and was resurrected, the Golden Age, new Narnia. While Narnia has many similar events it is also a very different world than ours.

Obviously Narnia is very like our world with a god like ours, man having a nature like ours, and finally that free choice is the reason for evil. The most significant thing about Narnia is Aslan and how holy and mighty he is.

Jack's Imagination and the World of Narnia

Who was the first to enter Narnia? Some might say Lucy or some might say Polly and Diggory, but the first to enter Narnia was C.S. Leiws. Born in 1898, C.S. grew up in Ireland. As a child, Lewis already had an exceedingly extraordinary imagination. Probably the books that he’s most famous for writing, The Chronicles of Narnia, soared to the top book sales in the 1950’s. When C.S. Lewis was an older man, he fell in love with Joy Gresham, who was also a writer.

In 1898 on November 29 the writer, Clives Staples Lewis was born on outskirts of Belfast, Ireland. His family consisted of his father, Alfred Lewis, his mother, Flora Hamilton Lewis, and his older brother, Warren Lewis. Assuredly deciding, when he was four that his name didn’t suit him, Clives changed his name to Jack. Growing up, Jack was always incredibly close to his older brother, although his brother was three years older than him. They were best friends. When Jack was young he didn’t go to school but was taught at home by a tutor until he was nine years old. Unlike most young boys, they enjoyed using their exceedingly grand imaginations to write stories and draw pictures to accompany them. They created their own medieval world called animal land. Using these characters, Jack also wrote a three act play. As a young Irish boy, Jack was a unique and passionate writer already.

Imagining a snowy wood, Jack pictured a faun carrying an umbrella and parcels. Suddenly appearing to Jack, this image would form into the brilliant story known as The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. When Jack wrote The Chronicles of Narnia he said that if no one else would write the sort of books he wanted to read, then he would write them himself. In 1950 The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was published. Immediately, the book soared to the top sales along side The Lord of the Rings, which was written by his friend J.R.R. Tolkien. After writing The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Jack went on to write the other books which are The Horse and his Boy, Prince Caspian, The Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair, The Last Battle, and The Magician’s Nephew, which completed the series. It took him years to write all seven books. Children especially loved Jack’s books, and he received many letters from children about them. He always replied. Welcoming thousands to Narnia, the faun is the first character readers meet in Narnia when they open the book and escape there.

Jack met Joy Gresham, who was an intelligent and witty woman and also a writer, when she asked him to lunch after corresponding about Jack’s books in 1950. Finding her to be engaging, Jack invited Joy and her two sons, David and Douglas, to come stay at the Kilns for Christmas. Unfortunately, Joy’s marriage was wavering, and her husband was demanding a divorce, so Joy took her boys to live in London shortly after Christmas. When Joy, David, and Douglas moved to London, Joy struggled financially. Jack helped fill this need. Throughout this time Jack and Joy maintained a strong friendship until 1956 when the government refused to renew Joy’s permit to live in England unless she married a British citizen. Jack married her so she could stay but they regarded the marriage as a practical arrangement. Falling ill to cancer, Joy was extremely weak and had to fight hard for her life. When Jack heard this, he revealed his feelings for her and insisted on a real Christian wedding. This took place in 1957. Steadily Joy began to recover and the next years were “filled with Joy” and Jack was completely in love. Before long, her cancer returned and Joy’s health quickly deteriorated. On July 13, 1960 Joy passed away with Jack at her side. Joy’s son, Douglas Gresham, wrote later, “There were never two people alive in the history of the world who were more in love than Jack and Joy.” Belonging together, these two writers, Jack and Joy, Connected spiritually and shared many loves.

Creating Narnia as a middle aged man, C.S. Lewis was still a child at heart. If there was ever a child with an excessively wild imagination, it was Jack, who used it to write stories of other worlds. Jack loved to create magical worlds. After years of friendship with Joy Gresham , he married her 1957. The most significant thing about Jack was that knew how to use his imagination and he shared it with people through his stories.

A Story of Rescue

The talking animals, the green forests, and the roaring Lion are bits and pieces of the beautiful land of Narnia where everything is more colorful, more lovely, and more exciting. Ruled by the Lion, Aslan, Narnia is a world were animals talk, Kings and Queens rule, and magical things happen. But Narnia also isn’t too different from our world in some ways. Narnia was created by a God, sin entered by another source, and history has purpose.

In Narnia, Aslan, the great magnificent Lion, is God. Singing Narnia into life, Aslan is the creator of Narnia, as God is the creator of our world. When the Lion sings, lights appear, the earth is covered in growing things, and animals appear from humps in the ground. “Narnia. Narnia. Awake. Love. Think. Speak. Be walking trees. Be talking beasts. Be divine waters,” Aslan says. Aslan is omnipotent. Aslan always forgives wrongs, even the worst wrongs. Although Aslan always forgives, he is a holy perfect God and firmly wants justice, and believes that all wrongs must be righted. Sacrificing himself in the place of the traitor, Edmund, Aslan dies as the perfect offering, but rises again because he had done no wrong. Aslan, who is perfect and holy, laughs, cries, and talks with his creation. He is all-powerful and personal.

Like the Biblical view of our world, the nature of Narnia is that it was created by God and it has a seen and unseen portion. Created by Aslan, Narnia is intricately designed and didn’t pop into being by chance. God made it. “Thus, with an unspeakable thrill, she [Polly] felt certain that all the things were coming (as she said) ‘out of the Lion’s head.’” There is and unseen portion too. Sadly, some in Narnia can’t see Aslan or hear his voice because they are too focused on unimportant things or because they choose not to. “The trouble about trying to make yourself stupider than you really are is that you very often succeed. Uncle Andrew did. He soon did hear nothing but roaring in the Lion’s song. Soon he couldn’t have heard anything else even if he had wanted to.” The nature of the Narnian world, which follows the Biblical word view, is that it is created by God and that there is a seen and unseen portion.

The cause of evil and suffering in Narnia is the free choice of individuals and is from an outside source. Evil doesn’t come from Aslan. In Narnia, all are given free will and aren’t the slaves of Aslan, but are his friends. Absolutely different from Narnia, the ancient city of Charn is where Diggory wrongly rang the bell, which caused evil queen Jadis, to awake and escape to Narnia. Although evil found its way into Narnia it was because of a wrong choice from another source, and not because of Aslan, who is holy and perfect.

Throughout the lives of the people of Narnia, Aslan is involved, weaving in and out of the circumstances and developing his plan through them. Proudly parading through the streets of Tashbaan, the so called “great” royalties notice only their own riches, wealth, and power, which is all they value. Although not immediately apparent to many, there are things of importance that don’t fit into the category of the flashiest fashion or the newest gossip in Tashbaan. Aslan, King of All, is right before them, nudging his plan along, but they pay as much attention to him as if he were in another dimension. “For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11). There is a meaningful sequence of events in Narnia. Pushing Shasta to shore when he was baby, Aslan saved his life so that years later he could save Anvard. Aslan has a plan. In Narnia the sequence of events is significant even outside Aslan’s plan. Because Diggory rang the bell in Charn, the witch woke and escaped to Narnia, which eventually led to Aslan sacrificing his life. Similar to the Bible, in Narnia there is another world adjacent to ours, which is Aslan, and the sequence of events is relevant.

When Aslan, who is the God of Narnia, created Narnia, it was completely perfect because Aslan is perfect. Tragically, sin contaminates Narnia because of another’s choice in another place. Because history has meaning, this choice leads to Narnia becoming a desolate place for years to come. The reason this story is most beautiful is that it’s our story, the story of our loving God rescuing us because we couldn’t rescue ourselves.

A Determined Nurse

Extremely intelligent, extraordinarily brave, and exceedingly committed, Clara Barton, who was called the angel of the battle field, became the sign of hope for the soldiers of the Civil War. Living in Oxford Massachusetts, Clara was born into a large family in the middle of the eighteen- hundreds. While growing up in a typical farm family, she did not do typical things for a young girl of that time. Despite the dangers, Clara Barton founded the first Red Cross in America to help people in need of supplies and medical assistance, when they needed it most.

Clara Barton was born the youngest child of seven on December 25, 1821. Relatively small for her age, Clara was exceedingly shy, while still possessing great courage. Until she was fifteen years old, when she started teaching, she was educated at home. Clara was a tomboy. When Clara was young, she disobeyed her father by going ice skating, which was a very unladylike activity at the time, and fell and hurt her knee badly. Staying in bed for many weeks, Clara learned what a wounded person felt like. After Clara’s brother David was in a serious accident, she took care of him night and day, although she was only eleven. Clara Barton’s father had once been a soldier, and he told her stories of the battles he’d fought, which instilled an interest in Clara about military affairs. Although Clara Barton was shy, small, and the youngest of seven, she had a great passion for nursing even as a child.

When Clara Barton was in her teens, she had a great interest in becoming a nurse, although this was an uncommon profession for women. After teaching for many years, she resigned, but was appointed to be a clerk in the Patent Office in 1854. Single-handedly, when the Civil War broke out, she distributed supplies and organized supply depots, facilities to recover soldiers’ baggage which had been lost. Clara also set up a bureau to search for missing men in 1865 at the request of President Lincoln. Helping in dangerous areas, Clara Barton often courageously served near the line of fire. She was a fearless leader. Clara traveled with the army the rest of the Civil War. Nursing in harsh conditions for years, Clara Barton is now known for her courage, endurance, and resourcefulness. Thankfully, Clara Barton followed her dream of being a nurse because many would have suffered without her.

Truly, the Red Cross was an important part of Clara Barton’s life. When the German-Franco War broke out, Clara helped by distributing relief supplies. In Europe she was associated with the Red Cross. Handing out brochures and giving speeches. Clara started the Red Cross in America in 1881. Clara Barton wrote an amendment to the Red Cross, which is not only for relief in time of war, but also for famines, floods, earthquakes, cyclones, and pestilence. She was extremely dedicated. Clara Barton resigned from her position in the Red Cross in 1904 when she was eighty-two years old.

Tolkien's Magic

Since he was born, J.R.R. Tolkien had a hard childhood where many terrible things happened. Living at Oxford University years later ultimately led to his friendship with C.S. Lewis. Unexpectedly bright, J.R.R. Tolkien started his life’s work, The Lord of the Rings. When Tolkien died, his books sold quicker than he could have imagined.

On January 3, 1892, a sickly baby named John Ronald Ruel Tolkien was born to Arthur and Mabel Tolkien. Growing up to be a small, pale child, Tolkien loved stories about dragons. Arthur Tolkien died of acute peritonitis in February of 1896 and young Tolkien’s mother followed in 1904, dying from diabetes. Before his mother died, Tolkien was enrolled at King Edwards School. Quickly finding a love for poetry there, he began to write at once. Also, while he was there he studied languages.

In 1926 J.R.R. Tolkien met C.S Lewis at Oxford University. Becoming friends, they both were mesmerized by Norse mythology, and they would spend many nights staying up terribly late. While they were close friends, they were both great writers. However, J.R.R. Tolkien could not stand his friend Lewis’s books simply because of the non-subtlety of the allegory and symbols.

“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.” Starting with these words, Tolkien brilliantly wrote The Hobbit. Happily, Tolkien wrote in a letter that in many ways he was much like a hobbit: “I am in fact a hobbit in all but size. I like gardens, trees, and unnmechanized farmlands; I smoke a pipe, and I like good plain food, but detest French cooking; I like and even dare to wear in these dull days, ornamental waistcoats. I am fond of mushrooms (out of a field), I have a very simple sense of humor (which even my appreciative critics find tiresome), I go to bed late and get up late (whenever possible). I do not travel much.” The Hobbit, which was published on September 21 of 1937, was such a big hit that it sold out by Christmas! While the book The Hobbit was still new, Tolkien decided to write a sequel. J.R.R. Tolkien’s trilogy, The Lord of the Rings followed many years later on October 20, 1955. J.R.R. Tolkien was later nominated Author of the Century

Although he had a rough childhood, J.R.R. Tolkien loved fairytales, which became his reason for writing myths and legends. C.S. Lewis also shared the love for stories with magic, and they were close friends because of it. Writing the brilliant trilogy The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien became famous. Author of the Century, Tolkien’s legends still survive today.

Clara Barton: American Patriot

Remarkably intelligent, resolutely brave, and readily committed, Clara Barton, the angel of the battlefield, became a heroine for girls. Born on Christmas in Oxford, Massachusetts, she grew up in a large family. While growing up in a typical farm family, she was bright and hard working. In the Civil War, Clara Barton helped fallen soldiers in some very interesting places on the battlefield. She also started the Red Cross in America after the war, which became her life’s work.

While being youngest of seven children, Clara Barton was also shy and small. Living on a farm, Clara was home schooled. Happily, she delighted in animals like her pet turkey. Suddenly her brother David got smallpox when she was eleven, which was very serious, and made her aware of suffering. Clara once told her father she was going skating, and he told her that where she was going was not appropriate for young women, but she deliberately disobeyed him and skated anyway. While she was skating, she fell and hurt her knee. She didn’t tell her father, but her knee became infected, and she had to admit what she had done. But she resolved from that point on that she would help the hurt. For being smallest and youngest of seven children, Clara had a big future waiting for her.

During the Civil War, food and supplies were scarce, which meant the American troops were starving on the battlefield. Determinedly, Clara Barton bravely distributed supplied to those in need. While the war was raging, the president requested that Clara find many missing men. Clara became superintendent of nurses as she worked continuously near the front lines of the battlefield. During the war she also suffered from nervous exhaustion from strenuous work.

After the war, Clara departed for Europe to study the Red Cross action. When Clara finally came back to America, she treated many sick and started the famous American Red Cross. Working as president of the Red Cross for twenty-three years, Clara, who decided it was long enough, resigned her position. Actually, the Red Cross still exists today because of Clara Barton.

Growing up in a large family, Clara Barton helped with sick siblings which ultimately led to her love for being a nurse. Determinedly working on the battle field during war, Clara Barton was resolute in her job. While helping sick during the Civil War, she also started the Red Cross in America, which she gave her life to. Americans remember Clara Barton for her patriotism and founding the Red Cross.

A Relationship, Not a Religion

Throughout our lives we start to shape the way we view the world, whether or not we are aware of it, and this can significantly affect how we live our lives. Undeniably, our beliefs will determine the way we act and the way we think. As a follower of Jesus Christ, I have chosen to base my world view on God’s word, the Bible. There are seven questions that make up my world view: What is God like? What is the nature of the universe? What is the essential nature of man? What is the basis of morality and ethics? What is the cause of evil and suffering? What happens to man after death? And what is the meaning of history?

Although it can be difficult to analyze and explain God with words, I believe there are two characteristics that God has evidently revealed to his people, and those are that he is both infinite and personal. Frequently, through creation and through his word the Bible, God is magnificently displayed as an infinite and transcendent God. In Romans 1:20 it reads, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities, his eternal power, and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” God literally spoke the world into existence. He made the world out of nothing! God is amazing! Surely, God is infinite, but what if God was only a mysterious all-powerful God far off in the distance, creating fear in everyone that He might strike us dead at any moment? Unlike a controlling dictator, God has written in his word and also on the hearts of his children that he loves us and is here with us through his spirit. “For this is what the high and exalted one says—he who lives forever, whose name is holy: ‘I live in a high and holy place, but also with those who are contrite and lowly and to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite’” (Isaiah 57:15). Caring about us deeply although we are sinners, Christ pursues us to be in a relationship with him, communicating with us through his Holy Spirit. Praise the Lord! From the Old Testament to the New Testament, God expresses his love, a divine, perfect, holy love, even sending his son Jesus to die for us. Jesus demonstrated love in his ministry on earth. Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me.” He wept for Lazarus. Unlike the other people who were ready to stone a woman for committing adultery, perfect as he was, he forgave her. What love is this? Omnipotent, creating the heavens and the earth, and yet, “let the little children come”! God is infinite and personal, unfathomable, and very real.

Because our God is all-powerful and omniscient he could make the world, and because he is loving and personal he did. Our world is so intricately designed that we can never fathom all that happens here; from the heavens, the sun, and the Milky Way, to the smallest red blood cell in our body, the world screams that there is a creator. Creating everything in six days, both the seen and unseen, God rested on the seventh day. My youth pastor once described it as an iceberg—we can only see 10% of it from the ship but the other 90% is under the water. Typically for the western civilization of today their world view is based upon a set of ideas that reject this view of the world by saying, “What you see is all there is!” or “What you see is what you get!” “In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made, without him nothing was made that had been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all the people. The light shines in the darkness and nothing can overcome it” (John 1:1-5). Jesus and the Spirit were in the beginning when God made the world. God, who is the light of the world, is proclaimed through the beauty of his creation.

Creating humans in the image of God, God made Adam holy and perfect, with a desire to obey and be in a perfect friendship with him. God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals. And over all the creatures that move along the ground. So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; man and female he created them” (Genesis 1:26-29). God created us to be like him, to love light and to hate darkness. He also created us with a purpose: to rule over the earth and the animals and to take care of it. Although God created us in his image and made us personal creatures unlike animals, he did not make us omniscient as he is. Genesis 2:7 puts it nicely: “Then the Lord formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” Exclusively, God also gave us a human spirit which is our spiritual self. Every human has a spirit. Our human spirit is what allows us to exist after death. Even if we aren’t believers in Christ we will still exist after death, but we will be eternally separated from God. We also have two other parts that make up our being—our physical self and our heart, which includes our emotions, will, and personality. “The human spirit is the lamp of God that sheds light on one’s inmost being” (Proverbs 20:27). Lying slyly to Adam and Eve, the serpent told them that God didn’t want them to be like him, although God had already created them to be like him. He also gave them free choice and they chose to sin. Adam was humanity’s representative. He sinned, so we sin. Adam and Eve didn’t have the compulsion to sin as we have, but they chose it, and now we have a sinful nature. Unfortunately the cause of our sin is total depravity, which means that evil has invaded every part of the human nature, forever lost and apart from God. Without Jesus, who represents God’s perfect standard, our story would be a dismal one.

The basis of morality and ethics is simply God’s word, the Bible. Because the Bible is the perfect expression of God himself, God is the perfect standard. Deuteronomy 32:4 says, “He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.” In his word, and through the living Word, Jesus, God shows us what his standards are. Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” If there is a difference between good and evil and our basis of morality and ethics is the Holy God who is perfect, how can we be even slightly good? Thankfully Christianity is not just a set of impossible rules that we will continue to fail, but a beautiful surrender of our lives so that Jesus can continue to perfect us. The basis of morality and ethics is Jesus, the perfect lamb, who conquered evil.

Throughout history, man has struggled with the problem of evil and suffering. Wrongly, some think that because God created everything and everything comes from God, then evil must come from God, too. This is not the case. Creating all things perfect, God hates evil and is unable to do anything wrong. “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. (Genesis 1:31a). When God made us, he gave us free choice, and we were the first to bring sin into the world. In Mathew 22:3 it says, “He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused.” Giving us free will, God then invites us to follow him, but we avidly refuse and, instead, rebel against God. If the deed is done, then why doesn’t the all-powerful Lord, who is loving and forgiving, just take the pain and suffering away? Surely, it is for these very reasons: because he is loving and he is forgiving. Giving people more time to repent and come to him, God is generous and merciful. Evil and suffering did not come from God, but from our choice to sin, but fortunately, we have hope of God coming back to destroy sin and the devil once and for all. Undoubtedly, sin effects what will happen to us at death.

According to the Bible, the view on what happens to man after death is that although man’s body dies, his soul lives on. “Very truly I tell you; whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life” (John 5:24). When people believe in Christ, they will live forever with him in glorious paradise. Absolutely perfect, the new earth will be free of pain and suffering. Revelation 21:4 says, “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Refusing God’s gift, some will spend eternity in a much more miserable way. The Bible says that in hell, which is reserved for Satan, his angels, and all those who didn’t believe, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Hell is eternal suffering. Regardless of where we spend eternity, we will live forever. When we are in our eternal dwelling, we can’t travel from heaven to hell or vise versa. “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things while Lazarus received his bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you, a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from thee to us’” (Luke 16:25-26). In context, this life seems short in light of endless eternity. Repeating itself many times, the Bible is very clear on what essentially happens to man after death. If physical death were the end of the story, history would have no meaning.

The Biblical world view is that there are seen and unseen portions of history. For those who do not believe, history is meaningless, but for those who have faith in Jesus there is hope that history will have a happy ending when Christ Jesus returns. Despite what people think, there are two parts: the seen and the unseen. Angels, Satan and demons are all part of the unseen world. Serving the Lord always, angels aren’t the giver of the gift or message, but are simply the messengers of God. As angels are created by God, just like everything else, they are not to become the focus of undeserved praise. Completely, Satan is God’s enemy. Satan isn’t all-powerful or all-knowing. Conquering Satan, God will punish him and his demons eternally. Many people don’t believe in the unseen world, but only believe in what they can see and what they can read in their history books. “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the son, but only the Father” (Mathew 25:36). We know that Jesus will return, although no one except God, himself, knows when. 2 Thessalonians 1:7 says, “And to give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels.” When the Lord comes, it will be a great and amazing day for those who are suffering and heavily burdened and for believers who will be taken into heaven with Jesus to be made like him. We have unimaginable things to look forward to! “The world is not going to get better and better. The Christian’s hope is not the gradual betterment of the world, but that Christ is coming back again” (Dr. Francis Schaeffer). Christ has given us hope! Because of this hope, we must live our lives as if Jesus could arrive at any moment. Jesus is coming!

Because Jesus Christ died for our sins and since our God is loving and all-powerful, the Biblical world view is filled with hope. Now that I know what my world view is I will be able to determine what the world views of books, movies, music, and people around me are and how they compare to mine. If someone asks me what I believe, I can answer with certainty. I am glad that my world view is based on the Bible because Christianity is the only “religion” that isn’t really a religion, but a relationship.

Hope in Jesus

In the world everyone has a world view. I believe that the biblical world view is true, and whoever wholly believes that Jesus Christ died on the cross will spend eternity in heaven. A thorough world view will answer these questions: what is God like, what is the nature of the universe, what is the essential nature of man, what is the basis of morality and ethics, what is the cause of evil and suffering, what happens to man after death, and what is the meaning of history?

While people describe God in different ways, I think of him as infinite and personal. Of all the examples in the Bible of God being infinite, one of my favorites is John 1:1: “In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God.” Infinite means that God is “always there” and that he is totally independent. Amazingly, God is also personal. Personal means that God talks to us and is not someone who controls us; he interacts with us. Talking to Moses and telling him to free his people from Pharaoh, God showed his personal character. This God also reveals himself through the creation.

The universe declares there is a God. Creating the world, God planned it to work together perfectly. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,” and Romans 1:20 says, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made,” which means that God created the universe extraordinarily. The world is so complex that without a creator we wouldn’t exist. God has made man in a special and unique way.

Unlike other creatures, we are created in the image of God. Genesis 1:26 reads, “God said, ‘Let us make humans in our own image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish in the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’” This says we are created in the image of God. Being created in the image of the God who created us means that we are personal and more like God than any other animal. Wholly, man has a choice, and we are able to choose completely what we do, think, and say. Since we have a choice, we are able to listen to God and follow him. Adam, the first being, sinned, and now we all sin. Romans 3:23 says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. There is no one righteous, not even one.” Although the good news is that there is hope through Jesus Christ, our representative. Jesus is the light, the truth, and the only way. God has given us a choice to obey his standard.

God is the standard for morality and ethics. Since scripture is His word, we can find the standard in it, including Jesus’ living example. We also know what is true. John 8:29 says, “The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone.” God is with Jesus always, and Jesus is God, making him also the complete standard. Man doesn’t meet God’s standard.

Sadly, we are sinful because our first ancestors Adam and Eve sinned. Because of them, we are sinful, but through Jesus we are saved. Jesus, who came to earth to show that he the and way, died on the cross for our sins. When this happened, we were no longer separated from God. God has no longer separated us from him, and now we can spend eternity with him.

Christians believe that there is a life after death. Completely perfect is the best way to describe heaven. Heaven, which is where people go when they believe in Jesus dying on the cross for our sins, is paradise. In the world, if people reject God and die, they will be eternally separated from God in hell. If death was the end of the story, history would have no meaning.

In this world, I believe that there are two portions: visible and invisible. “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen but what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18). Buying clothes, books, and all other worldly things is temporary, while God is unseen, as are heaven and angels, which means they are eternal. Unquestionably, God will never leave us nor forsake us, which is the most comforting thing in the whole world. Although many things happened in the Bible, I think these are some of the most important: the world was created, Jesus was born, Jesus died, and Jesus rose again. I also think that Jesus coming back is completely important.

Because of this world view it is easier for me to recognize right from wrong. When defending my world view, I will be able to refer to biblical truths and feel confident in my beliefs. Thankfully the biblical world view also offers hope to sinners who are separated from God.

Professional Crime Fighting

Sweeping the floor of his store, Franklin glanced up to see a massive man with a mask like Zorro’s stuffing his pockets with merchandise. “Hey you didn’t pay for that!” Franklin shouted angrily. Calmly, the man kept shoving trinkets in his pockets and down the front of his shirt. Franklin, who was very confused about why the thief didn’t run, thought up a plan. Since the thief ignored him, Franklin dropped his broom as he stomped furiously across the aisle.

Past the toys Franklin sprinted. He hurtled quite madly. He panted loudly. Casually, the thief took out a gun and pointed it at Franklin. Since he didn’t know what to do, Franklin stopped abruptly. The thief, who grinned slyly, chuckled to himself. Although usually he was a sensible man, Franklin charged at the monstrous intruder. Pulling the trigger, the thief fired. Franklin couldn’t understand what was happening. He wasn’t in any pain, but he was lying on his back, soaked to the skin. It was a water gun.

Jumping to his feet, Franklin chased the thief through the store, hollering at the top of his lungs. As they came to the exercise department, the thief glanced back to see if he was still being chased. Frantically swiveling his head to see where he was running, the thief realized too late that he was half an inch away from a pull-up bar. The thief collapsed pathetically on the ground. After the police, who showed up late, identified the man as an escaped convict named Al Steellall, they tied and woke him up. Franklin asked him, “Did you really think you’d get away with that?” “You are the only reason I didn’t,” Al replied. Receiving the reward money for capturing Al, Franklin went into professional crime fighting service and became a millionaire, while Al became a professional prisoner, locked up in jail.

Linus's Miserable Failure

Linus sat down to work on a school project. “What in the world should I write about, Snoopy?” Linus asked the dog. Suddenly he jotted down a few words. Crossing them out, he laid his head on the table, thinking furiously, which is quite hard for a boy. Linus had to write a story by taking three pictures and writing a paragraph about each one. Although it was not hard, he still did not want to do it.

Writing as quickly as he could, he came up with something. Happily, he inspected what he’d written a few minutes later. Because he was so excited, he exclaimed, “Snoopy look at this!” Snoopy, who looked the essay up and down, approved. On the paper was a story of a boy who did not know what to write about.

“Linus, time for school,” his mother called loudly up the stairs. Linus had forgotten about school! Hurriedly, Linus ran frantically down the stairs and put on his brown sandals. Hopping onto the bus, he rode down the street, when suddenly Linus realized he had forgotten his paper. At school, he failed his project miserably.

Deathly Fish Fear

Where is that cake? Debra was leaning into the refrigerator, looking frantically for the cake. Because of her husband’s fortieth birthday party that evening she was very stressed out. Thinking about all the things she had to do made her nervous. She still had to clean the house, shop for funky party napkins, sweep the floor, and put up party decorations. Briskly she searched through the fridge, which was stuffed with party food, wondering where the cake was.

Jumping back like a scared cat from the refrigerator suddenly, she put her hand over her mouth and looked as if she was going to be sick. A terrified expression came to her face, and she backed away from the fridge. Inside the fridge was a huge bowl of moving fish. Debra screamed!

Sharply, she ran across the room and fell like a rock to the floor. Flopping out of the fridge onto the floor, the fish laid there and died from lack of water. Alfred, Debra’s little boy, walked in and started to cry because all the fish he had found at the pond were dead. After a couple of minutes, Harold, who had been doing college homework in the basement, came up to see what all the fuss was about. In the end, Harold called off the party and put Debra, who was very distraught because of her deathly fear of fish, to bed, gave the frightfully sad boy a spanking for bringing fish inside the house, and cleaned up all the dead fish.

Billy's First Day

On Billy’s first day of work at the supermarket, he was absolutely ecstatic and wore a smile like a circus clown all afternoon until a tough pudgy man with a black mask sauntered in. Suspiciously, Billy eyed the man as he swept the floor. Billy soon stopped watching the man and began thinking about what a good employee he was while he grinned stupidly. Hearing the sound of a stomach growling, Billy was alerted to the man again, who was sneakily snatching a box of Cocoa Puffs from a shelf and hiding it behind his back. Billy pointed at the man. The man’s stomach growled loudly. When Billy tried to yell, his voice was squeaky as a rubber ducky, and only a gurgle came out. Billy’s happiness and smile were replaced with fear.

Slyly, the robber lied to Billy about how hungry his poor family was and how he had no money to feed them. He spun his story. He embellished it. He deceived. Dabbing at his eyes with his apron, Billy felt sorry for the man and kindly told him that he could take the box of cereal for his family. While Billy wiped his tears away, the robber grabbed two more boxes of cocoa puffs, which he concealed under his shirt. The robber believed he was utterly clever because he had lied so convincingly and had tricked Billy completely. Hurrying out of the supermarket, the robber couldn’t wait to enjoy his delectable Cocoa Puffs since he was famished.

Billy, who was thoroughly confused, wondered why the man had left without a small thank-you. How could he be so ungrateful? Before long, this question was answered when his boss told him that that the man was a well known serial killer and petty thief. Unfortunately, Billy’s first afternoon was his last as he was fired for his stupidity, and his ecstasy vanished when he realized he’d been tricked by the robber.

A Note to Not Forget

Once there was a girl named Ruthie Anne, who was a kind and honest person, but exceptionally forgetful. Talking to her friend Ramona one day, Ruthie Anne was asked to care for her plant for the weekend while Ramona was visiting her grandmother. Ruthie Anne assured Ramona that Fuzzy (the plant) would be safe with her. Like a mother, Ramona brought the plant over to Ruthie Anne’s house and told her to make sure that the plant got plenty of water and was put in a cool shady area. She also mentioned that Fuzzy needed an hour of play time every day or he would get lonely. After Ramona left, Ruthie Anne decided that a nice cool place would be the refrigerator, so she set the plant on the top shelf among the ketchup bottle, strawberry jam, and leftover casserole and proceeded to enjoy her fun- filled weekend without giving another thought to Ramona’s poor plant, which sat in the refrigerator the rest of the weekend freezing and without a single drink of water or tenderness.

On Monday afternoon Ramona arrived to pick up Fuzzy. “Oh No!” Ruthie Anne thought when she remembered that she hadn’t even glanced at Fuzzy for the whole weekend. Grimacing slightly, Ruthie Anne led Ramona to the refrigerator and slowly opened it up. Cautiously she looked into the refrigerator and saw that Fuzzy, who was amazingly still alive, had turned bright magenta and had grown long vines with leaves that were moving creepily as if dancing. Ruthie Anne hollered, “Jumping Jaguars!” and threw her hand over her mouth in shock. She couldn’t believe it. “If only I had remembered, this never would have happened” she thought frantically. “What will I tell Ramona?”

Holding the door wide open for Ramona to see, Ruthie Anne flinched as Ramona gazed into the refrigerator, eyes as big as tennis balls, and her jaw dropped. “I’m so sorry,” Ruthie Anne moaned. “I never meant for this to happen.”


Suddenly Ramona’s face cleared and she exclaimed, “Don’t be sorry. This is fantastic! And Fuzzy’s sure never been so happy in his life!” With that, she ecstatically snatched up the peculiar looking plant, who immediately wrapped his long vines around her in a hug, and raced out the front door. Ruthie Anne sighed in relief. The next month Ramona entered Fuzzy into the “Most Exotic Plant” contest where he won the first place gold medal! Ramona loved Fuzzy even more than before! Although everything had turned out for the best, Ruthie Anne decided that she was going to work on improving her forgetfulness problem by using sticky notes.

Rumors of Indians

At school on Tuesday Linus heard some terrible news that Sally had been kidnapped by ferocious Indians and taken to Canada! Linus, who was horrified by this information, immediately zoomed home when school ended to think of a rescue plan. Deciding that sending a letter to the Indian camp was the best idea he had, Linus and Snoopy sat down with a pencil and paper and wrote,

“Dear Sally,

If you need help from the evil Indians, send this letter back telling me!

Love,
Linus”

As his signature Snoopy put his paw print on the paper. Triumphantly Linus and Snoopy finished their Indian rescue letter to Sally.

Holding the paper at eye-level and carefully scanning it once more, Linus and Snoopy. who were proud of their handiwork, checked to make sure that the letter was perfect. Helpfully, Snoopy pointed out where adjustments could be made. After writing the rescue letter, Linus felt confident the Sally would be retrieved from the clutches of the wicked Indians. “If anything can save her, this letter will!” Linus exclaimed proudly.

Suddenly Linus and Snoopy both realized that they had no idea what to do to save Sally if she did need help. Hearing a knock at the door, Linus and Snoopy, who thought it was the Canadian Indians, stared nervously at the handle which slowly turned, the door opening. Their eyes bulged when they saw Sally standing in the doorway, asking them to come outside and play! When Sally told them she wasn’t at school because she hadn’t felt well that morning, Linus and Snoopy were outraged that they had believed the silly rumors that Sally had been kidnapped by wild Indians.