Are you investing in fake or fortune?

Visiting family and friends over the past fortnight naturally exposed me to conversations – and television programmes – with which I am generally unfamiliar.

Among these was the intriguing BBC programme Fake or Fortune which, for this particular episode, focused on a rather beautiful portrait passed down through an aristocratic family line.

As it was unsigned, no-one was sure who had painted it. It was generally accepted as the work of a high-calibre artist of the mid-19th Century which, if proved to be the case, would fetch around £8,000 at auction.

However, another expert was convinced it was the work of the famous Thomas Lawrence, which would increase its value exponentially to some half a million pounds! And, indeed, it proved to be one of his!

The Stakes are High

There’s a lot at stake over the question of who’s behind a particular work of art. I got to thinking how this inevitably also applies to the Creator of the world: is God behind the beauty of our Creation, or are we to put our trust in Charles Darwin’s ideas?

Come to that – who wrote the Bible? Was it God, or man? These are big questions, and the stakes are high in terms of the answers.

According to the Apostle Paul, the acknowledgement of God as Creator is of vital importance. In fact, he points out, the denial of such leads to a progressive unravelling of civilisation itself.

According to the Apostle Paul, denying God as Creator leads to a progressive unravelling of civilisation.

Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul writes that men suppress the truth by their wickedness (Rom 1:18) – and the first casualty is the truth that God is Creator (vv19-20). As a result, their thinking becomes futile and they worship created things rather than the Creator (v23). This in turn leads to sexual degradation and the shameful lusts of lesbianism and homosexuality (vv26-27).

At the same time, it leads to “a depraved mind” (v28) filled with “every kind of wickedness” – even inventing ways of doing evil (vv29-30).

In this letter to the 1^st-Century Christians in Rome, Paul was writing in the context of a civilisation that was well on its way to being unravelled – and remarkably comparable to 21^st-Century Britain! Strange, and yet we are constantly being told that things have ‘moved on’…

Whose Hand?

The psalmist wrote: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands” (Ps 19:1).

Sir David Attenborough enthuses over the wonderful creatures God has made without ever mentioning their Maker, but sure to always emphasise how many millions of years it has taken each species to evolve. Yet Scripture says that God created the world in six days!

Yes, the stakes are high. Our values depend on recognition of whose hand is behind the canvas before us. A life lived in the knowledge of him through whom all things were made (John 1:3) – the greatest ‘artist’ of all time – will be truly priceless.

As Jesus asked, “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?” (Mark 8:36). Knowing Jesus is the key to life. “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life” (1 John 5:12).

A life lived in the knowledge of him through whom all things were made (John 1:3) – the greatest ‘artist’ of all time – is truly priceless.

Rebuilding the Walls

I don’t believe the residents of Derbyshire’s Whaley Bridge, threatened by a breach in the reservoir above them, merely crossed their fingers as the BBC correspondent reported they were doing. When a further thunderstorm was forecast but subsequently passed over the village, I am apt to conclude that residents had taken to genuine prayer. There are no atheists in a trench, they say.

The church built on the Mount of Beatitudes – the reputed site of Jesus’ famous sermon. Picture: Charles Gardner

As exemplified by the Whaley Bridge crisis, the walls have broken down in British society. And as in Nehemiah’s day, when the walls of ancient Jerusalem were in ruins, we too must return to the God of Israel if we wish to rebuild our country on solid foundations.

Concluding his famous Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said: “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.

“But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash” (Matt 7:24-27).

2016 saw an unusually large number of 'celebrity' deaths. Does God want us to take something from this?

For some reason, 2016 was characterised by an unusually large number of deaths of well-known people, whose lives were brought close to ours through the media. This is thought-provoking for a celebrity-conscious, media-driven generation, but in what way?

Suddenly many household names who seem so familiar and even dear to us, have gone – and many at relatively young ages. This in a world where terrorism and war are also constantly focussing our attention on lives cut short through death. Do we look on life and death as we ought, or is there something unreal in our perceptions of the world?

Distant Worlds Brought Near

On 30 December 2016, a summary was published by the BBC featuring 34 pictures of some of the most widely-known celebrities who died during the year, as well as a list of two to three hundred others. The list includes figures from the worlds of music, film, TV and theatre, comedy, writing and publishing, broadcasting, politics, society, science, sport and public service - all seemingly distant worlds brought close to us through modern electronic facilities.

In some ways this instantaneous digital world can be artificial, whether we immerse ourselves in music, sport, comedy or even politics. Its artificial nature suddenly becomes more palpable when so many people, whose lives impacted a generation, have been taken away.

In our somewhat artificial, media-driven culture, do we look on life and death as we ought?

The End of an Era?

Many of these deaths seemed to herald the end of an era, often bringing shock to ordinary members of the public. The deaths of popular musicians and singers including David Bowie and Prince, also Jimmy Young, brought a sense of deep loss for some and nostalgia for others. A few years ago, sportsmen like Muhammed Ali seemed invincible as he caught the attention of a generation in the boxing ring.

Familiar faces have suddenly disappeared forever from our TV and film screens, including Ronnie Corbett, Alan Rickman and Gene Wilder, also Terry Wogan – whose warmth of character made him a national treasure. World leaders and generation changers including Fidel Castro and Shimon Peres have gone. Some religious leaders whose thinking influenced their generation (sometimes controversially), such as Rabbi Lionel Blue and Bishop David Jenkins, are no longer with us.

Some of those who have passed away did so with particular poignancy. Among these was film star Debbie Reynolds, who died on 28 December - one day after her actress daughter Carrie Fisher (known for her role in Star Wars). Carrie had told "her Mom" of her love for her shortly before she died on 27 December.¹ Debbie told her son shortly before her stroke a day later, "I miss her so much. I want to be with Carrie". So mother and daughter died on consecutive days, expressing their desire to be close in this world or a world to come. So near to the end of a difficult year with many other losses, this news story seemed to have special resonance.

Many of these deaths seemed to herald the end of an era.

It is not my purpose here to comment on the contribution to our lives made by any of these people - although it must be said there were many of true faith on the list. The title 'celebrity' does not necessarily imply a life that is of itself a bad or a good influence on the rest of us.

Why not look over the entire BBC list and see what thoughts and emotions are inspired in you? It will be different for all of us, prompting memories of times of laughter or of serious thought, or stimulating respect, maybe nostalgia, or thankfulness.

Is God Speaking?

But why so many in one year? One answer lies in the fact that the 'baby boomer' generation has put more people in the public eye – as has more prolific and immediate media technology. So in human terms, we can rationalise the fact that so many well-known people have died in one year. Even though that is so, is God also saying something to us?

One danger in our media age is an element of unreality. The various presentations of celebrity, from huge music festivals and concerts to social media gossip, to the imaginary stories of TV or film, create a different sort of reality from that experienced by previous generations.

Even though these people have passed away they will continue to 'come back to life', in a way, when we see them again on the screen. Might this lead to an unrealistic view of death – even a denial of it - in our celebrity-conscious generation (have they really died? Are they actually immortal?)? Many people could not accept the sudden death of Elvis Presley in 1977, for example, and some people continue to think he is still alive now.

Does our celebrity-conscious culture lead to an unrealistic view of death – even a denial of it?

The large number of deaths this year prompts us to consider whether or not there is a growing attitude of unreality in our culture towards issues of life and death. This might especially be the case amongst young people, who increasingly live their lives immersed in different kinds of virtual reality through their phones and tablets.

Facing Up to Mortality

God's time came for so many well-known people this year, whatever their eternal destination. They were mortal just as we are, yet our artificial culture can blur this truth.

In all this, particularly at the turn of the year in a shaking and confused world, are we being reminded that all are mortal and that there is a serious side to life (and death) that media presentations do not always convey? Is God intending us to think on this mortality and the real priorities of life and death, which can often be masked by the more artificial aspects of our lives?

What do you think?

References

1 Wheat, A. Singin' in the Rain Star Debbie Reynolds Dies One Day After Daughter Carrie Fisher. People.com, 29 December 2016.