DEFENDING THE FAITH #326
The Story of "I Did It My Way," the Defiant Theme Song of the
Postmodern Age by Bill Nugent
The famous song "I Did It My Way" (Usually titled just "My Way") was written in 1968 at the height of the tumultuous 1960s. The lyrics were written by Paul Anka, a performer who gained fame in the 1950s and sung by Frank Sinatra, who first gained fame in the 1940s.
Paul Anka heard the French pop song "Comme d'habitude" (as usual) while vacationing in France. He was so struck by the catchy tune that he immediately negotiated to buy the rights to it. Back in the US, he had a burst of lyrical creativity and wrote completely new lyrics specifically to be sung by Frank Sinatra. Anka insisted that the song was to be sung by Sinatra. Other artists, including Anka himself, Elvis, and Sid Vicious later recorded it, but it was written for Sinatra.
Sinatra recorded "My Way" in late December 1968 and it was released to great acclaim. It rose up the charts in the US but interestingly was far more popular in Britain. "My Way" made the top 40 for an unprecedented 75 weeks in the UK. No other song has made the British top 40 for that long, before or since.
Paul Anka has said that he wrote it to capture the "me generation" attitude of the 1960s. I would say he succeeded. The lyrics describe an older man looking back on his years and wistfully and stridently singing about the ups and downs of his life. The iconic refrains "I did it my way" or "my way" appear no less than six times in the nine brief stanzas. All commentators on the song, whether Christian or nonchristian, agree that it's boastful and self exalting.
The song's defiance of God is overtly stated in the eighth stanza "For what is a man, what has he got, If not himself, then he has naught, To say the things he truly feels And not the words of one who kneels."
It's commonly played at funerals in Britain and in the United States. In fact, it's said to be the most frequently played song at funerals in Great Britain. "My Way" is a popular karaoke song in the Philippines and strange things have occurred when it's sung there. Many singers have been murdered by drunken patrons in karaoke bars in the Philippines as they sung "My Way." The phenomenon is called "My Way killings." In those cases, they're singing the song before their funerals. (Wikipedia)
Jesus said: "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?"( Luke 9:25). A funeral is no occasion to be arrogant against God. When they say "Rest in peace" where will your soul be?
Unfortunately for Frank Sinatra, the song became his signature. Of all the love songs and melodies that Sinatra recorded, the defiant, "My Way" is regarded as his signature. In his later years it's reported that Sinatra grew to hate the song for its self-assertiveness and pride. He didn't want his name to be connected to that song forever. Andy Williams's signature song is "Moon River." James Taylor's signature is "Fire and Rain." Bette Midler's is "Wind Beneath My Wings." Sinatra would have liked to have had an uplifting legacy.
"My Way" is the song of self exaltation which is the exact opposite of the Christian concept of self-denial and reliance on God for salvation. "My Way" is the theme song of the postmodern era. In western civilization, there are really just three basic philosophical worldviews: the Judeo-Christian, the modern and the postmodern.
The Judeo-Christian worldview maintains that there are moral absolutes and these absolute truths are given to us by God by revelation and are written in the Bible. Biblical morals include the Ten Commandments, the teachings of Jesus, the sacredness of human life and the dignity of man. God's commandments apply to all people at all times in all cultures. Moral absolutes are universal, objective truths. America was founded in 1776 as a Christian country. The Judeo-Christian worldview was dominant.
The modernist worldview claims that moral absolutes can be discovered by human reason alone without the aid of divine revelation. Modernism, since it arose in post-renaissance Christian Europe, was nevertheless influenced by the Christian concepts of justice and morality. Modernism is also dependent on Natural Law as a starting point for its reasoning. Modernists looked to nature rather than the Bible but they still believed in moral absolutes. The absolutes were manmade principles derived from rationalism, empiricism and pragmatism. America became predominantly modernist during the period roughly from 1870 to 1960. Famous modernist philosophers were Descartes, Hume, Locke, Voltaire, Rousseau, Hegel and the American pragmatist, William James.
The postmodernist worldview claims that no moral absolutes exist. Morals are simply made up by the will of each person. This is radical existentialism and moral relativism. American culture and education, especially the universities, made the shift from modern to postmodern during the 1960s. "Do your own thing" became a definitive slogan of the sixties. "Perform random acts of kindness" was popular by the 1990s.
Postmodernism is irrational, emotional, sophistic, barbaric, pessimistic, existentialistic and radically individualistic. Postmodernism is so scattered and atomized that most commentators define it only in terms of linguistic analysis and deconstructionism but those are only the putrid eruptions of the postmodern sore.
Once a person embraces moral relativism, there's no real search for truth. Linguistic analysis and deconstructionism are merely ways of tinkering with language and literature which are just the tools of knowledge, not knowledge itself. Postmodernist philosophers include Nietzsche, Heidegger (Hitler's favorite), Camus, De Man, Derrida and the famous French existentialist, Jean-Paul Sartre. The ancient Greek Sophist philosophers taught many things we would call postmodern. The Bible says "there is no new thing under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 1:9).
Many postmodernists despair of finding real truth in their introspective musings. As a result, some have taken a fresh look at Christianity. The Christian faith is not a blind faith but is based on real evidence that God has provided. Such evidence includes the fact that Jesus Christ came in fulfillment of over 300 prophecies recorded in the Old Testament hundreds of years before His birth. Additionally there are many miracles that have been performed by Christ and by His followers down through the centuries and even in our present day.
The ancient biblical prophets foretold that Christ would suffer and die, taking the penalty of our sins upon Himself. They foretold that Christ would rise from the dead to offer forgiveness of sins to all who turn to Him in repentance. I invite you to turn to Christ today to receive forgiveness of sins.
Steps to salvation:
1) Believe that God created you and loves you and sent the Messiah (Messiah is Hebrew for Christ) to redeem you.
2) Believe that Jesus Christ came to die for you, to take upon Himself the penalty of your sins (Isaiah 53:5-6, John 6:29, Romans 4:5, First Peter 3:18).
3) Repent of your sins and call on the name of Jesus to receive forgiveness of sins (Romans 10:13).
4) Receive Jesus as Savior and experience the new birth (John 1:12, Acts 2:38).
5) Follow Jesus Christ as Lord (John 14:15).
Prayer to receive salvation: To receive the salvation which Jesus purchased for us at the terrible cost of His suffering and death on our behalf I invite you to pray this simple prayer: "Dear heavenly Father, I thank you for sending Jesus, the promised Messiah, to die for my sins. I admit that I am a sinner. I repent of my sins and I ask you to forgive me on the basis of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I ask you to fill me with your Holy Spirit to empower me to serve you under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, Amen." If you prayed this prayer in the humble sincerity of your heart, then you have received everlasting life, which includes power to live right in this life and entrance into heaven in the afterlife!
Bill Nugent, Overcomer Ministries of Fort Mill, South Carolina, USA
Christian book, Lawful or Legalistic by Bill Nugent available in paperback!
Info and ordering link available at his website: www.bnugent.org
Back issues of Defending the Faith archived on the website. <>{
(C) 2018 William P. Nugent, permission granted to email or republish for Christian outreach.
You received this email because you opted in to the DTF email list.
To subscribe: Reply to this email with "subscribe" in subject. To unsubcribe: Reply to this email with "unsubscribe" in subject.
|
DEFENDING THE FAITH #325
AN AMAZING MIRACLE OF HUNDREDS OF GALLONS OF OIL FLOWING FROM A BIBLE!
by Bill Nugent
On January 27, 2017, Jerry Pearce noticed oil spreading within his Bible at Psalm 39. Little did he know that this was the beginning of hundreds of gallons of oil flowing from his Bible in a truly wondrous miracle. The oil is still flowing all these months later! It's a precious token of the fact that God is forever with His people.
Jerry asked his wife, Joyce, if their great-granddaughter had spilled something on the Bible. Joyce said she did not. The oil spread in the Bible from Psalm 39 to the book of Revelation (at the end of the Bible) and even soaked the concordance. Then it flowed from The first chapter of Genesis up to Psalm 39.
Then the oil began to drip from the Bible, so Jerry put it in a plastic bag which was soon filled with oil. He then put it in a shallow plastic container which filled with oil, then a tall clear plastic container. Soon Jerry was filling gallon jugs with oil. Jerry and members of his church (West Metro Church of God, Douglasville Georgia) began filling small vials with oil and giving the oil away free to all who ask. To date, they've given away well over one hundred thousand vials of oil. I've personally received three vials of oil and I use the oil to anoint the sick.
A chemical engineer with over thirty years of experience paid several thousand dollars to have the oil analyzed. The analysis came back saying that the oil has some of the characteristics of mineral oil. It did not state that it was mineral oil. It stated that it was not an oil produced by humans which is to say it's not a synthetic. The report did not offer a conclusion as to what the oil actually is and in fact used the word "unexplainable" in its conclusion. Two other paid studies were performed with similar results. For me, the bottom line is that this is an oil like no other oil that has ever been examined. I believe this is an extraordinary creative miracle!
I should also mention that Jerry Pearce's Bible has not been damaged by the oil despite soaking in it for more than a year and a half. A youtube video shows Jerry opening his Bible and showing that the binding has not broken down or dissolved. The print on the pages has not run. Even the colored highlighting and pen written notes are not fading or running. This too is extraordinary given the fact that oil typically dissolves ink and binders glue. This is a very special oil.
The miracle Bible has been on display at West Metro Church of God, Douglasville, Georgia and also at a Christian book store in Dalton, Georgia. The church has taken the Bible on the road to other churches around the area and to other states. They anoint people with oil and there are many testimonies of healings. This is in response to the biblical command in James 5:14-15 "Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, ANOINTING HIM WITH OIL in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him" (NASB, emphasis added).
The oil has it's own website at www.hisnameisflowingoil.org which gives useful background information and many testimonies of healings listed on a testimony page. There are numerous videos of the oil on youtube.com. This is truly an astounding creative miracle and release of miraculous healing! This is not just a one-time creative miracle but is a continuing miracle that we can see with our own eyes!
Why did God do this type of miracle at this time? I believe there are three basic reasons: 1) Since the oil is flowing from a Bible, the miracle is an endorsement of the Bible as God's written revelation to humanity. 2) This miracle, like all genuine miracles, is an encouragement to our faith and for us to continue to believe God for answers to prayer. 3) The oil is used as anointing oil in prayers for healing. Healing miracles have occurred, including healings of stage four cancer, kidney failure and even a broken arm. (See testimony page on the oil's website for these healings and others.)
As great as this miracle is and as great as the healings that proceed from it; there is an even greater miracle. This greater miracle is the miracle of the forgiveness of sins through Christ who died for our sins. Jesus fulfilled over three hundred Old Testament prophecies when He came to Israel as Messiah. In the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah and elsewhere in the Old Testament, the prophets foretold details of the life of Christ and the fact that, in His suffering and death, He would take upon Himself the punishment we deserved for our sins.
God sent the Messiah to die for our sins because He loves us. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). I invite you to turn to Christ today to receive forgiveness of sins.
Steps to salvation:
1) Believe that God created you and loves you and sent the Messiah (Messiah is Hebrew for Christ) to redeem you.
2) Believe that Jesus Christ came to die for you, to take upon Himself the penalty of your sins (Isaiah 53:5-6, John 6:29, Romans 4:5, First Peter 3:18).
3) Repent of your sins and call on the name of Jesus to receive forgiveness of sins (Romans 10:13).
4) Receive Jesus as Savior and experience the new birth (John 1:12, Acts 2:38).
5) Follow Jesus Christ as Lord (John 14:15).
Prayer to receive salvation: To receive the salvation which Jesus purchased for us at the terrible cost of His suffering and death on our behalf I invite you to pray this simple prayer: "Dear heavenly Father, I thank you for sending Jesus, the promised Messiah, to die for my sins. I admit that I am a sinner. I repent of my sins and I ask you to forgive me on the basis of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I ask you to fill me with your Holy Spirit to empower me to serve you under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, Amen." If you prayed this prayer in the humble sincerity of your heart, then you have received everlasting life, which includes power to live right in this life and entrance into heaven in the afterlife!
Bill Nugent, Overcomer Ministries of Fort Mill, South Carolina, USA
Christian book, Lawful or Legalistic by Bill Nugent available in paperback!
Info and ordering link available at his website: www.bnugent.org
Back issues of Defending the Faith archived on the website. <>{
(C) 2018 William P. Nugent, permission granted to email or republish for Christian outreach.
You received this email because you opted in to the DTF email list.
To subscribe: Reply to this email with "subscribe" in subject. To unsubcribe: Reply to this email with "unsubscribe" in subject.
|
If you like science and faith Click Here for the Does God Exist website.
|
|
|
