The whole idea of occupy is to take away and make yours, to serve you, or in this case, HaShem.
Not sure what we should be doing about the one thing that is stealing salvations more than anything ever has in the past? Not sure if we are supposed to use a technology that can bring the message of Truth morality and salvation to more people and more quickly than any tool in the past meaning fewer could be going to an eternal h*ll while waiting for one on one missionaries to arrive with the Gospel?
How could we be not sure? That is like saying we should not use pain killers, various surgical techniques and knowledge about how the nervous system works to save lives because the foundation for all that knowledge came from the inhumane experiments of Dr. Mengle
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No one said anything about not using technology to glorify the Lord despite how the culture uses it. Otherwise, none of us would be posting here or using any kind of media (i.e. T.V, Movies, Christian music stations/IPOD, Internet, etc)
The issue that was noted was when others assume the culture is failing because of believers not rising up/doing their part..for that is something which often seems based more so on a false scenario.....
I can understand the strong inclination toward thinking that the mission of Christ's Church, and our own personal mission, should be that of transforming the world/society into one that is more just and more loving, more akin to a utopian world. But I also feel we mustn't allow ourselves to be deceived into feeling that bad things happen in the world due to a failure of Christianity. That is like saying that Jesus Christ was crucified because He failed to publicly communicate His truth effectively.
To give more information/clarity, it has been rather interesting to see the ways that others have chosen to get involved in the struggles they see around them since they are the Hands/Feet of the Lord in this world..and knowing where the boundaries are for not getting too caught up in this world make a difference.
If a church is within an area, should it necessarily be responsible for whether or not a society improves? And in the instances when improvement does occur, does that necessarily mean that all places where the Church is should follow suit?
Something one of my brothers in Christ noted to me once:
Ultimately, it's the individual true believers that have permanence, while societies are under constant change. The world resists us and will always resist us to the end. Nevertheless, I don't think a single good work has been wasted and our rewards are where no damage can be done to them. We drill a well, providing water for a village. They are blessed for a time. A few believe, while more pretend but most tolerate. Then they forget us or find us tiring and we are expelled. Such is life with us in this world - it hates us because it first hated Christ. But it was not a waste to drill the well. Doing good is never a waste. So, we keep on doing good. Some good lasts longer than others. It doesn't matter tho - our source is God.
Within those societies are people who continue on. It's like we sweep thru, grab the true believers and move on. Another generation will sweep thru again and mop up any stragglers. But there's never been the hint of a permanent encampment for Christ here on Earth of this world..... We coalesce for a bit, then we spread out carrying the blessing with us. Then others coalesce for a bit, then they spread out. Sometimes they are scattered by events and governments - but it doesn't matter - we're meant to continue spreading out carrying the blessing with us to all who would receive. Our home isn't here. It's not in some Christian commune. Our residence is where we have the greatest contact with the lost. Our home is in the Kingdom.
According to
1 Peter 1:16-18,
1 Peter 2:10-12 / and
Hebrews 11:12-14 , we're meant to be as Sojourners/Soldiers traveling through rather than setting up camp in a world they weren't meant to belong to...and anything that occurs along the way to benefit society at large is a blessing--but it can never be fully replicated by the world.
Perhaps a good way of seeing it is like previews. When a society does well because of the Gospel of Christ infiltrating it (i.e. schools are built, wells dug, reforms, etc), it is not something to be taken to mean that Utopia is allowed to come fully to Earth. Rather, it is a mere demonstration of what was meant to be---and what will be FULLY once Christ comes back. What we do in the ways we change our world is akin to "Previews" like they do in the movies with upcoming films. You see glimpses of what's to come, before actually sitting through the entire setting later.
And with believers, I'm thankful others are allowed to see what is or isn't right based on the work of Christ---and how it is meant to change. How others outside of Christ respond to that is on them...but many times, it does seem the Lord allows His people to change things to a point while still giving the world the freedom to either be benefited by that---or turn against it. And as often happens because of the nature of man, righteousness can be hated at certain points and cause upheavel/destruction.
That is what seems to be the case in Revelation when seeing the ways the the believers/church were mistreated, as the text doesn't seem to discuss anything of previous times the world wasn't benefited by those who were believers changing things. What occurred is that at some point, unbelievers chose en masse to resist the work of the Lord in His people/the benefits coming from it----and chose to rise up. At that point, when it's so severe that there's the threat of all believers being wiped out globally, Christ will return to shut it down---and the Film dubbed "Eternity" will begin.
As you follow the Gospel through the Middle East, Europe, Russia, the US into S. America, Asia and China and many other places - you can watch throughout history how nations were transformed... and then de-evolved if they gave up His gospel. The Middle East was a beacon of invention and sound gov't prior to the rise of Islam/suppressing Christianity...and it was only when Christianity was outlawed that many of them reverted advancement wise.
Russia experinced something similar under communism when many (in the name of communism) were trying to shut down all things related to the Gospel/Church while saying they wished to look out for their fellow man.
The Scientific Revolution is another, as most of the great minds behind it (i.e. Newton, for example) were Christians/believers in God who looked for Divine Laws in nature since they believed in a Divine Law Maker/a Messiah who held it all together. But once the Enlightenment begun, man began to try recognizing the works of God without God (i.e. Methodological Naturalism )and trusted in themselves...with ALOT of advancements being used wrongly.
When Christianity gets a foot hold and begins to build schools, dig wells, finance orphanges, love the individual enough that individuals change their values. They begin to desire His ways...then nations change...and there is kingdom now....not by our standards. Christ has never forced Himself on an individual or a nation.... it must be by the Holy Spirit's leading and conviction that nations lay down their carnal weapons.
It has historically been believers who've often transformed the course of history--and many of them doing so because of their belief in their actions/the quality thereof being of importance when responding to the work of Christ.
Because of the love Christ has shown us, we who've been transformed by it are to go out/get to work. It is much easier to let the world go to hell in a hand basket then engaging it with Calvary type love. It is much easier to look at homosexuals with AIDS and say this is Gods judgment than to put our arms around them and love them. It is much easier to ignore the rapid decline of our environment than it is to march hand in hand with tree lovers/show what Bibilical Creation care is about. It is much easier to say we will be raptured away from it all, so prepare yourself for the next kingdom while ignoring the world around us. Why care about child slavery? Why care about Darfur? Why care about world hunger? It is funny that Jesus came to reverse the curse of the fall while we not only avoid assisting Him, we actually applaud such destruction and pain in the name of Gods judgment...or saying we don't wish to devalue His grace by placing the focus upon our actions.
As Greg Boyd said in
"The Myth of a Christian Nation":
"... the reason God now calls kingdom people to remain separate from the ways of the kingdom-of-the-world is not to isolate them from their culture but to empower them to authentically, serve their culture and ultimately win it over to allegiance to Jesus Christ. The reason we are not to be of the world is so we may be for the world
This point is especially important today, for a significant portion of evangelical Christianity has come under the influence of an escapist apocalyptic theology. Believing Jesus will soon rapture Christians out of the world before destroying it, they have little concern with the church being a witness on issues of social justice, global peace, the environment, and so on. To the contrary, in the name of fulfilling biblical prophecy, many are actively supporting stances that directly or indirectly encourage violence, possibly on a global scale (of instance, extremist Christian Zionism). Since the world is doomed for soon destruction, the thinking goes, the only thing that matters is getting individuals ready for the rapture.
Whatever else one thinks about the New Testaments eschatology, it certainly does not encourage this sort of irresponsible escapism. The hope offered to believers is not that we will be a peculiar elite group of people who will escape out of the world, leaving others behind to experience the wrath of God. The hope is rather that by our sacrificial participation in the ever-expanding kingdom, the whole creation will be redeemed (Rom. 8:20-23; Col 1:18-20)"
Spot on, IMHO---and I think it really speaks to how one's worldview does make a significant difference in how they approach life. For there are many social justice activist/leaders who do as they do because they believe Jesus is soon to return--and they wish to be found faithful in what they're doing (Luke 12:36-38 , Matthew 24:45-47, etc).
... Just as the believers impacted their culture for the Lord in the times they lived here, even though they knew their ultimate destination was the world to come, so it is to be with us when it comes to the Gospel. I'm thankful for others fighting against the issue of abortion in getting involved with adoption/services helping single mothers.
I'm thankful for others moving into urban communities that are destitute and transforming them into thriving areas in the name of Jesus. I'm astounded by others who were fighting against the abuse of children (like George Muller or John Wesley) because of the Gospel--with us still feeling the effects of their actions today by what they did in the reforms/movements they began. And I'm very grateful for other believers fighting against depression/hopelessness by getting involved working with young adults in the prision systems.....
There are many other examples besides this---with comics/media being another example to consider when it comes to believers going into those avenues and trying to transform them for the glory of the Lord----but all of that is to say, like Martin Luther King said best in one of his speeches, that "the minister of God cannot preach about the glories of Heaven and ignore the realities that cause men an Earthly Hell."
And as Dr.King also said in-depth on how we should make a difference (
more discussed here ) when it came to the call to be like Good Samaritans (Luke 10:25-39) in our love for others/in service to God...as seen in his speech, entitled Beyond Vietnam A Time to Break Silence:
A true revolution of values will soon cause us to question the fairness and justice of many of our past and present policies. On the one hand, we are called to play the Good Samaritan on lifes roadside, but that will be only an initial act. One day we must come to see that the whole Jericho Road must be transformed so that men and women will not be constantly beaten and robbed as they make their journey on lifes highway. True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.
Traveling through doesn't mean, IMHO, that one can't leave a trail behind to follow that leaves life.
Psalm 84:5 always comes to mind:
5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
6 As they pass through the Valley of Baka,
they make it a place of springs;
the autumn rains also cover it with pools.
7 They go from strength to strength,
till each appears before God in Zion.
There are others alongside the many other scriptures on being salt/light and being ready for every kind of good deed so that believers may win the respect of outsiders and live out what it means to be a Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-39).
Within the world of comics, redeeming the culture of that world would also be connected to the "salt and light" dynamic...but it isn't something we should be attached to as if it's upon us to make certain it won't go downhill---as that may not be our calling as it is with other things.
and you couldn't help but think "For real, folks??!" 
..but seeing it firsthand, I was dumbfounded folks literally have been so inspired by the comic book heros they've seen that they've decided to become villigantes
, as some may be playing around...but alot of them are dead serious with what they do. At least they're inspired to do something about what they see....
