Finding the Right Narrative
by Jim Kenaston
With the recent release of 13,000 National Archive files on the topic, the JFK assassination has been in the news once again.
For all I know, this narrative may all be true. Even so, I have to ask a few questions before joining the next revolution. After all, the point of such a production is to gain recruits for one's cause.
My first question centers on whether the film is subjecting me to an emotional appeal.
We all want to believe that we have some special insight into what's happening behind the scenes, or what is really driving events that impact our lives. Nobody wants to be thought of as being naïve. We want to believe that we're fully awake to the political realities surrounding us, dark as such forces may be.
In the film, facts surrounding the JFK assassination were arranged and presented in an orderly and convincing way, though the heart of the argument was indeed an appeal to one's ego. If I accept this rather cynical conspiratorial view, I can feel good about myself for being "woke" to the true realities behind the curtain.
The truth is that we do indeed live amid an evil and crooked generation, and that powerful people, in their conniving, do their best to maintain control over others. For the sake of our political freedoms, we do well to expose their deeds to the light of day and seek to hold them accountable, yet while mindful of our own sinful choices and need for repentance.
But regarding the overall narrative, this JFK documentary offers one of several grand explanations for our societal woes. Beyond emotional appeals to one's ego, what do they all have in common?
They all identify a class of people victimized at the hands of a group of oppressors. In the case of this particular film, common citizens are portrayed as victims of a wealthy class that uses people as fodder for their wars, all for the purpose of increasing their fortunes. Modern Capitalist Robber Barons are the target of our revolt.
Another current narrative views the world through the lens of ethnicity, pitting ethnic groups against each other as oppressor and victim. A third narrative sees the world through the lens of gender ideology, casting people with traditional values as oppressors of libertine sexual revolutionaries.
Each of these narratives claims special insight or knowledge by its adherents, and a righteous cause against a class of oppressors. They all seek political control. Each one succumbs to the temptation Jesus experienced in the desert: worship something other than the true God of the universe and I will grant you control over the kingdoms of this world.
From a biblical perspective, any such narrative, casting ultimate blame upon a group outside of the Garden of Eden, fails to accurately diagnose the root of our problems, which is our rebellion against God and His prerogative to define for us that which is good or evil. We are all guilty of this same sin.
The solution is not to dismantle society, replacing one social construct with another. It is not to kill the rich, or disfavor a particular ethnic group, or ostracize people who hold to traditional sexual mores, but rather to include oppressor and victim from the full range of human narratives, with ourselves, among those who are in need of redemption.
That redemption is offered through faith in Christ and His completed work on the Cross, not in political power, revolution or human notions of justice. Only God's justice will do, which has been meted out in full, and for each person who will accept Christ's atoning grace by faith, making Him their Lord.
Christ as our Lord leads us away from focusing on other people's sins and our sense of self-righteousness. He leads us to self-examination, repentance and forgiveness, but most importantly, to reconciliation, both with God and with our fellow man. All other narratives fall short.
But regarding the overall narrative, this JFK documentary offers one of several grand explanations for our societal woes. Beyond emotional appeals to one's ego, what do they all have in common?
They all identify a class of people victimized at the hands of a group of oppressors. In the case of this particular film, common citizens are portrayed as victims of a wealthy class that uses people as fodder for their wars, all for the purpose of increasing their fortunes. Modern Capitalist Robber Barons are the target of our revolt.
Another current narrative views the world through the lens of ethnicity, pitting ethnic groups against each other as oppressor and victim. A third narrative sees the world through the lens of gender ideology, casting people with traditional values as oppressors of libertine sexual revolutionaries.
Each of these narratives claims special insight or knowledge by its adherents, and a righteous cause against a class of oppressors. They all seek political control. Each one succumbs to the temptation Jesus experienced in the desert: worship something other than the true God of the universe and I will grant you control over the kingdoms of this world.
From a biblical perspective, any such narrative, casting ultimate blame upon a group outside of the Garden of Eden, fails to accurately diagnose the root of our problems, which is our rebellion against God and His prerogative to define for us that which is good or evil. We are all guilty of this same sin.
The solution is not to dismantle society, replacing one social construct with another. It is not to kill the rich, or disfavor a particular ethnic group, or ostracize people who hold to traditional sexual mores, but rather to include oppressor and victim from the full range of human narratives, with ourselves, among those who are in need of redemption.
That redemption is offered through faith in Christ and His completed work on the Cross, not in political power, revolution or human notions of justice. Only God's justice will do, which has been meted out in full, and for each person who will accept Christ's atoning grace by faith, making Him their Lord.
Christ as our Lord leads us away from focusing on other people's sins and our sense of self-righteousness. He leads us to self-examination, repentance and forgiveness, but most importantly, to reconciliation, both with God and with our fellow man. All other narratives fall short.
