Nancy Ferree-Clark - "Images of God" (February 19, 1989)
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| (background noise) | 0:00 | |
| (calm organ music) | 0:18 | |
| (background chatter) | 1:13 | |
| (organ music) | 1:19 | |
| (dramatic organ music) | 1:46 | |
| - | Welcome. | 5:24 |
| Welcome all of you. | 5:26 | |
| We are here today to worship in an unusual fashion. | 5:28 | |
| For which as you can see, | 5:32 | |
| the chapel has been transformed, | 5:34 | |
| and new music has been written. | 5:36 | |
| What shall transpire today has been called a service. | 5:38 | |
| But perhaps it might better be described as a quest. | 5:43 | |
| Over the ages, | 5:48 | |
| peoples in all parts of the Earth | 5:49 | |
| have sought and found an image of God, | 5:51 | |
| appropriate to their time and their circumstances. | 5:54 | |
| Our quest today | 5:58 | |
| will be to seek an image of God for us, | 6:00 | |
| in our time, | 6:04 | |
| and for our circumstances. | 6:06 | |
| But to start, | 6:09 | |
| let us consider the vision of God, | 6:11 | |
| held by some of our ancestors. | 6:13 | |
| (organ music) | 6:18 | |
| (congregation singing) | 7:04 | |
| - | Thus might Moses' people the Hebrews, | 11:03 |
| have sung as they marched out of Egypt | 11:06 | |
| and the Red Sea closed behind them. | 11:08 | |
| Genesis tells us, | 11:11 | |
| that earlier when the children of Israel, | 11:12 | |
| groaning in their slavery, | 11:14 | |
| cried out for help, | 11:16 | |
| God appeared to Moses, | 11:18 | |
| veiled in a burning bush, | 11:19 | |
| or as a cloud, | 11:21 | |
| or as a pillar of fire. | 11:23 | |
| And God said, | 11:25 | |
| "I am Jehovah. I will free you from slavery. | 11:26 | |
| I will adopt you as my own people. | 11:30 | |
| And I will be your only God." | 11:33 | |
| And the wandering children of Israel bowed down, | 11:36 | |
| trembling before their image of a God, | 11:39 | |
| who was the stern father they needed. | 11:42 | |
| Like a father, | 11:45 | |
| he gave them laws. | 11:45 | |
| Like children they honored the laws, | 11:47 | |
| and they were rewarded. | 11:49 | |
| Or they broke them, | 11:51 | |
| and they were punished. | 11:52 | |
| But children grow in strength and understanding, | 11:54 | |
| and Jehovah's children were no different. | 11:57 | |
| They forgot their days of fear and confusion. | 12:00 | |
| They became conquerors, | 12:03 | |
| and established a rich kingdom. | 12:04 | |
| And their King David, | 12:07 | |
| the sweet singer, | 12:08 | |
| rejoiced in a new loving relationship | 12:09 | |
| with a God who was always close by. | 12:13 | |
| "I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings!" | 12:16 | |
| he cried. | 12:19 | |
| And he told his people, | 12:20 | |
| "Love the Lord." | 12:22 | |
| Oh sing unto the Lord a new song. | 12:25 | |
| Praise God and His sanctuary. | 12:28 | |
| Congregation | Praise Him for His mighty acts. | 12:30 |
| - | Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet. | 12:34 |
| Congregation | Praise Him with the psaltery and harp. | 12:37 |
| - | Praise Him with the timbrel and dance. | 12:39 |
| Congregation | Praise Him with loud cymbals. | 12:42 |
| - | Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. | 12:45 |
| Love the Lord. | 12:49 | |
| Please be seated. | 12:52 | |
| (background noise) | 12:56 | |
| Even in moments of despair, | 13:01 | |
| counting over his sins, | 13:04 | |
| David was confident that God listened to him | 13:06 | |
| and pardoned him. | 13:09 | |
| To his nation he portrayed God | 13:11 | |
| as his counselor and friend. | 13:13 | |
| (footsteps) | 13:18 | |
| (organ music) | 13:20 | |
| (solo singer) | 13:24 | |
| (choir singing) | 15:24 | |
| (solo singer) | 15:52 | |
| (choir singing) | 16:22 | |
| (solo singer) | 16:39 | |
| (choir singing) | 17:16 | |
| (solo singer) | 17:19 | |
| (choir singing) | 17:22 | |
| - | Thus King David, | 19:14 |
| David the sweet singer, | 19:15 | |
| envisioned God for His people. | 19:17 | |
| Now the generations from Abraham to David | 19:21 | |
| are 14 generations. | 19:24 | |
| And from David until the carrying away | 19:26 | |
| into Babylon are 14 generations. | 19:28 | |
| And from the carrying away into Babylon | 19:31 | |
| unto Christ are 14 generations. | 19:34 | |
| At that time cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan, | 19:39 | |
| unto John to be baptized of him. | 19:42 | |
| But John forbade him saying, | 19:46 | |
| "I have need to be baptized of thee, | 19:48 | |
| and comest thou to me?" | 19:51 | |
| And Jesus answering said unto him, | 19:54 | |
| "Suffer it to be so now. | 19:56 | |
| For thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness." | 19:59 | |
| Then he suffered him. | 20:03 | |
| And Jesus, | 20:05 | |
| when he was baptized, | 20:07 | |
| went up straightway out of the water. | 20:08 | |
| And lo the heavens were opened unto him, | 20:11 | |
| and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, | 20:14 | |
| and lighting upon him. | 20:17 | |
| And lo a voice from heaven saying, | 20:20 | |
| "This is my beloved Son, | 20:22 | |
| in whom I am well pleased." | 20:24 | |
| And when Jesus came into the coast of Caesarea Philippi, | 20:29 | |
| He asked his disciples saying, | 20:32 | |
| "Whom do men say that I, the son of man, am?" | 20:35 | |
| And they said, | 20:40 | |
| "Some say that thou art John the Baptist. | 20:41 | |
| Some, Elias. | 20:44 | |
| And others, Jeremias or one of the prophets." | 20:45 | |
| He sayeth unto them, | 20:49 | |
| "But whom say ye that I am?" | 20:51 | |
| And Simon Peter answered and said, | 20:54 | |
| "Thou art the Christ. | 20:57 | |
| The Son of the living God." | 20:59 | |
| And Jesus answered and said unto him, | 21:02 | |
| "Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona. | 21:05 | |
| For flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, | 21:08 | |
| but my Father which is in heaven." | 21:11 | |
| Baptized now and dedicated to his mission, | 21:15 | |
| Jesus traveled far and wide in Galilee, | 21:18 | |
| gathering disciples and teaching the multitudes | 21:21 | |
| who came to hear him. | 21:24 | |
| Then was Jesus fame great, | 21:26 | |
| and his acts were recorded in song. | 21:28 | |
| (background noise) | 21:33 | |
| (organ music) | 21:55 | |
| (choir singing) | 22:09 | |
| (background noise) | 26:26 | |
| - | Through the ages, | 26:34 |
| humankind has striven to perfect | 26:36 | |
| it's relationship with God. | 26:38 | |
| Now relationship implies knowledge. | 26:41 | |
| So we have been looking at the ways | 26:45 | |
| humankind has regarded God through history. | 26:46 | |
| Following the crucifixion, | 26:52 | |
| some people believe that Jesus arose | 26:54 | |
| and was seen by men, | 26:57 | |
| others did not. | 26:58 | |
| Still the image of Christ as the Son of God | 27:00 | |
| was the one which prevailed and spread. | 27:04 | |
| And it was a startling new image. | 27:07 | |
| Far different from that of Moses and of David. | 27:10 | |
| For Moses saw God through a veil of fire or clouds. | 27:14 | |
| And taught the wandering children of Israel to worship | 27:19 | |
| God as the stern father they needed. | 27:22 | |
| And David, | 27:28 | |
| though he knew God as Lord, | 27:30 | |
| master, | 27:32 | |
| and judge, | 27:33 | |
| still sang of an intimate and loving | 27:35 | |
| friendship with God. | 27:37 | |
| In the time after David, | 27:42 | |
| Israel grew independent. | 27:44 | |
| There was complacency and corruption, | 27:48 | |
| and God's laws were forgotten. | 27:50 | |
| Israel's kings no longer sang | 27:54 | |
| of God's friendship or God's laws. | 27:57 | |
| Only the prophets still spoke out, | 28:00 | |
| demanding a return to God's service. | 28:03 | |
| Nor did Israel remain kingly | 28:08 | |
| among the nations at this time. | 28:10 | |
| There were conquests and captivities | 28:12 | |
| until Israel finally fell under | 28:15 | |
| the domination of Rome. | 28:17 | |
| And the great prophet Jesus, | 28:19 | |
| began to preach about an even more special image of God. | 28:21 | |
| I have come here from God. | 28:27 | |
| The Father and I are one | 28:29 | |
| - | Reverend Carmichael! | |
| Reverend | The father loves the son-- | 28:32 |
| - | [Congregation Member] Reverend Carmichael! | 28:33 |
| Reverend | So this messianic image of God-- | 28:36 |
| - | [Congregation Member] Reverend Carmichael! | 28:38 |
| Reverend | Christ image of God-- | 28:40 |
| - | [Congregation Member] I'm sorry but I've got | 28:40 |
| to speak to the Reverend. | 28:42 | |
| Reverend Carmichael! | 28:43 | |
| - | It seems that each age -- | 28:43 |
| Church Member | This is sermon service-- | 28:45 |
| - | Reverend Carmichael! | 28:46 |
| I don't mean any trouble, | 28:48 | |
| but I've got to speak to the reverend! | 28:49 | |
| - | You can speak to the minister later. | 28:52 |
| - | Now! | 28:54 |
| Reverend | Well good evening my friend. | 28:55 |
| Can I do something for you? | 28:57 | |
| - | I told you there won't be any trouble. | 28:58 |
| Let me loose! | 29:00 | |
| That's better! | 29:05 | |
| Thanks! | 29:07 | |
| 'Scuse me! | 29:08 | |
| Noah! | 29:10 | |
| Noah Gabriel. | 29:12 | |
| - | Peter Carmichael. | 29:14 |
| - | Yes I know. | 29:15 |
| I'm sorry to break in like this. | 29:16 | |
| - | Was there something in my sermon | 29:17 |
| to which you objected? | 29:19 | |
| - | Reverend Carmichael I got here as soon as I could. | 29:21 |
| I have been sent here. | 29:25 | |
| - | Sent here? | 29:27 |
| I see. | 29:28 | |
| - | No. | 29:30 |
| No you don't see. | 29:31 | |
| Not yet. | 29:33 | |
| But I will tell you. | 29:35 | |
| There wasn't anything special, | 29:38 | |
| no loud winds, | 29:40 | |
| burning bush, | 29:43 | |
| beast on wheels. | 29:45 | |
| But I heard that voice, | 29:48 | |
| just as plainly as you're hearing mine now. | 29:50 | |
| "Noah! | 29:54 | |
| Get out of bed! | 29:55 | |
| Get started! | 29:57 | |
| Truth is forgotten! | 29:58 | |
| Law is ignored! | 30:00 | |
| It's gotten out of hand! | 30:02 | |
| There is only one thing to do!" | 30:04 | |
| Reverend | Mr. Gabriel | 30:06 |
| - | "Build a shelter! | 30:06 |
| A hiding place! | 30:08 | |
| A refuge from the terror | 30:09 | |
| that could strike down at any moment." | 30:11 | |
| And I saw how it was going to be. | 30:13 | |
| Mankind destroying the Earth all around us. | 30:16 | |
| Scarring the green life with chemicals. | 30:20 | |
| Clogging the waters until they choke us. | 30:23 | |
| Burning off all the sweet air. | 30:27 | |
| Putting quick death in the sky, | 30:30 | |
| and sending it down like lightening | 30:32 | |
| upon each other's heads. | 30:34 | |
| And the voice told me: | 30:36 | |
| "Build a shelter under rock. | 30:38 | |
| Take your family into it with you, | 30:41 | |
| because these are the last days." | 30:44 | |
| Reverend | Uh huh. The last days. | 30:47 |
| Well Mister-- | 30:51 | |
| - | Call me Noah! | 30:52 |
| - | Well Sir. | 30:54 |
| I know there are people who think these are the last days. | 30:57 | |
| - | Like the book says! | 31:00 |
| When the sun is getting cold | 31:02 | |
| and the moon turning to blood! | 31:03 | |
| - | And it's true we're told to be always ready for them. | 31:05 |
| The best way, | 31:08 | |
| I like to think, | 31:09 | |
| is to go about our duties, | 31:10 | |
| in an orderly fashion as well as we can. | 31:11 | |
| - | That's right! | 31:14 |
| - | And my duty right now is to preach this sermon. | 31:14 |
| - | And mine is to tell you-- | 31:17 |
| - | Look! | 31:19 |
| I want to hear what you have to say. | 31:20 | |
| But not right now. | 31:22 | |
| - | But it has to be now! | 31:23 |
| We're late already! | 31:25 | |
| - | In the middle of this service. | 31:27 |
| - | Oh. | 31:31 |
| (laughs) | ||
| I see what you mean. | 31:33 | |
| I planned to get here sooner. | 31:36 | |
| You know how it is with families. | 31:39 | |
| No matter how early you get started, | 31:41 | |
| and the battery went dead-- | 31:44 | |
| it's a new battery too. | 31:46 | |
| And then we had to -- | 31:48 | |
| wait a minute-- | 31:50 | |
| don't you see? | 31:52 | |
| God meant for us to get here when we did, | 31:53 | |
| so that we could have all these witnesses. | 31:56 | |
| (crowd murmering) | 31:59 | |
| (loud bang) | 32:00 | |
| - | Dad! | 32:01 |
| - | Shem! | 32:02 |
| - | Are you ready? | 32:03 |
| - | Yes! | 32:04 |
| Bring it right in here! | 32:04 | |
| Shem | Okay Dad! | 32:05 |
| (offscreen yelling) | 32:06 | |
| (loud footsteps) | 32:10 | |
| (banging) | ||
| - | What is all of this? | 32:20 |
| - | Everything we need to build the shelter! | 32:22 |
| - | Shelter? | 32:26 |
| - | Yes the bomb shelter. | 32:28 |
| - | Build the-- | 32:31 |
| here? | 32:33 | |
| - | Yes sir! | 32:34 |
| The voice told me to build it under the rock. | 32:35 | |
| - | In this chapel? | 32:37 |
| - | Yes sir. | 32:39 |
| I thought about it, | 32:39 | |
| and I remembered that this chapel | 32:41 | |
| is famous for it's stone floor! | 32:43 | |
| Reverend | My friend, | 32:46 |
| I think the voice might have been speaking figuratively. | 32:47 | |
| - | Don't think I don't know all about that. | 32:51 |
| I remember that the Lord said | 32:54 | |
| the whole church would be built on the rock. | 32:57 | |
| But the Lord wasn't speaking poetry to me the other night. | 33:00 | |
| No sir! | 33:04 | |
| He was speaking plain common sense! | 33:06 | |
| (loud footstep) | 33:09 | |
| Lot of good stone underneath here! | 33:10 | |
| Leah! | 33:13 | |
| - | Quarry stone and mortar. | 33:14 |
| Both the walls and the floor! | 33:16 | |
| - | My daughter-in-law Leah. | 33:18 |
| Knows all about this sort of thing. | 33:20 | |
| - | Plus we'll add eight inches of concrete, | 33:22 |
| for a total protection factor of, | 33:24 | |
| over 100. | 33:26 | |
| - | Right! | 33:28 |
| This is the place! | 33:29 | |
| All we need is your okay! | 33:31 | |
| Reverend | I see. | 33:36 |
| - | Good! | 33:37 |
| Shem let's go! | 33:38 | |
| Let's get started! | 33:39 | |
| - | Pour that concrete | 33:40 |
| - | No! | 33:41 |
| Look, | 33:42 | |
| I'll speak to you in my study right after the service. | 33:44 | |
| Until then-- | 33:47 | |
| well, | 33:50 | |
| you're all more than welcome to join us. | 33:52 | |
| - | Shem you were right. | 33:57 |
| - | Sorry dad. | 34:00 |
| - | They don't believe me. | 34:00 |
| What do I do now? | 34:03 | |
| I heard the voice as clear as a bell. | 34:07 | |
| I thought they would hear it too. | 34:12 | |
| But now what do I do? | 34:15 | |
| Voice | Persist Noah! Persist! | 34:18 |
| And all of you take heed. | 34:22 | |
| Listen to the voice of your conscience. | 34:25 | |
| Noah speaks the truth. | 34:29 | |
| When his ark survived the great flood at an earlier time, | 34:32 | |
| and the rainbow appeared after the rain stopped, | 34:37 | |
| I said I would never again destroy the world by water. | 34:41 | |
| And when I expelled Adam from Eden, | 34:47 | |
| I gave him and all of you, | 34:50 | |
| his sons and daughters, | 34:52 | |
| the power to understand good and evil. | 34:54 | |
| But now, | 35:00 | |
| heedless of that understanding, | 35:00 | |
| you have allowed rivalries of nations, | 35:03 | |
| races, | 35:05 | |
| and political and religious factions, | 35:07 | |
| to threaten the Earth with the final holocaust. | 35:10 | |
| You march headlong to the wanton and irreversible | 35:14 | |
| disfoliation of your green planet. | 35:17 | |
| Again only Noah hears my warning. | 35:21 | |
| So persist Noah. | 35:25 | |
| Persist! | 35:27 | |
| Again you may-- | 35:29 | |
| - | Just a moment! | |
| Have you finished? | 35:33 | |
| I thought so. | 35:38 | |
| Reverend Carmichael, | 35:39 | |
| what kind of circus are you running here? | 35:40 | |
| - | I'm afraid you know as much as I do. | 35:43 |
| This voice-- | 35:44 | |
| - | Hmph God I suppose? | 35:46 |
| Noah | Yes sir! | 35:48 |
| - | No sir. | 35:49 |
| Gimmicks. | 35:51 | |
| Any fool who could hook up a car stereo | 35:54 | |
| could produce this voice of God for us. | 35:58 | |
| Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain. | 36:01 | |
| - | That's not funny! | 36:04 |
| You think dad's the kind of guy-- | 36:05 | |
| - | Reverend Carmichael, | 36:06 |
| I didn't come here for a show. | 36:08 | |
| Let's get back to the service. | 36:10 | |
| - | Now wait a minute Preston. | 36:11 |
| Aren't you at all intrigued? | 36:12 | |
| I have to admit I am. | 36:14 | |
| This voice! | 36:15 | |
| - | A trick! | 36:16 |
| - | But what's it's saying. | 36:16 |
| Shem | You tell 'em Reverend! | 36:17 |
| Right! See? | 36:18 | |
| - | Who cares whose voice it is anyways, | 36:20 |
| God's or just one man's conscience, | 36:23 | |
| if it's telling the truth? | 36:25 | |
| - | Truth? | 36:27 |
| That mankind's on a collision course? | 36:29 | |
| Headed for oblivion? | 36:31 | |
| - | That's the way I see it! | 36:33 |
| - | Naturally! | 36:34 |
| All progress is threatening to people like you. | 36:35 | |
| All growth, | 36:39 | |
| all expansion, | 36:40 | |
| research and development, | 36:41 | |
| nuclear power, | 36:43 | |
| space exploration-- | 36:44 | |
| companies like mine don't just forge ahead blindly. | 36:46 | |
| We've got hundreds of scientists on our payroll, | 36:50 | |
| just to keep these things under control. | 36:54 | |
| Jessica | Excuse me! Reverend! | 36:57 |
| Reverend. | 37:01 | |
| Reverend. | 37:02 | |
| - | Professor Bayer! | 37:03 |
| - | What is it Jessica? | 37:04 |
| - | Reverend I have something to say about that. | 37:05 |
| I belong to Scientists to Save the Planet. | 37:07 | |
| We've published repeated warnings. | 37:10 | |
| Things are moving too fast. | 37:12 | |
| We're not asking enough questions. | 37:15 | |
| And some of the things we're doing in the name | 37:17 | |
| of progress and economic expansion | 37:19 | |
| can have devastating effects on humankind's future. | 37:21 | |
| On our very existence. | 37:25 | |
| Sooner, | 37:28 | |
| not later Mr. Armstrong. | 37:29 | |
| - | Now professor-- | 37:31 |
| - | Armstrong? | 37:32 |
| Preston Armstrong? | 37:33 | |
| Consolidated Resources? | 37:35 | |
| I spent all last Wednesday picketing | 37:37 | |
| your corporate headquarters because of the senseless-- | 37:39 | |
| right, | 37:43 | |
| right. | 37:44 | |
| He didn't listen then, | 37:45 | |
| he's not gonna listen now. | 37:47 | |
| I say we get going. | 37:49 | |
| Buzzard! | 37:51 | |
| - | Your daughter doesn't think much of me Mister-- | 37:54 |
| - | Call me Noah! | 37:56 |
| I'm sorry I should have made introductions sooner. | 37:58 | |
| My daughter-in-law Leah. | 38:01 | |
| Shem's wife. | 38:03 | |
| He's my oldest. | 38:04 | |
| I have two children. | 38:05 | |
| Fine family. | 38:06 | |
| My other son Ham. | 38:08 | |
| Wife Donna. | 38:11 | |
| Why they're students right here. | 38:12 | |
| - | Political science? | 38:13 |
| Divinity. | 38:15 | |
| (laughter) | 38:17 | |
| - | Shem. | 38:18 |
| Ham. | 38:20 | |
| You must have another son somewhere. | 38:21 | |
| - | Right. Japheth. | 38:24 |
| He's helping that group-- | 38:24 | |
| - | Peace and Planet. | 38:27 |
| - | Peace and Planet that's it. | 38:28 |
| They're helping farmers down in Camp Arico. | 38:29 | |
| - | Camp Arico? | 38:33 |
| - | Yes you know the place. | 38:34 |
| Your corporation has taken over down there. | 38:37 | |
| - | Not taken over, | 38:40 |
| merely contracted for the mineral rights | 38:42 | |
| with the provisional government. | 38:45 | |
| - | Government? | 38:46 |
| (scoffs) | 38:47 | |
| Corrupt puppets of foreign interest. | 38:48 | |
| That's what Japheth writes. | 38:50 | |
| - | Leah let's just say it's not answering to the people. | 38:52 |
| - | So your brother's been down there | 38:55 |
| starting revolutions in Camp Arico? | 38:57 | |
| - | No he leaves that kind of thing to me. | 39:00 |
| - | He's just farming Mr. Armstrong. | 39:02 |
| - | Just farming? | 39:04 |
| Why in two years they've increased their yields-- | 39:05 | |
| - | Reverend Carmichael! | 39:07 |
| Why are we sitting here listening to this? | 39:09 | |
| - | I'm sorry Mrs. Sims. | 39:12 |
| I'm beginning to find this discussion interesting. | 39:13 | |
| - | Discussion? | 39:15 |
| Argument. | 39:17 | |
| And with a bunch of radicals. | 39:18 | |
| - | A bunch of radicals? | 39:20 |
| - | Radicals! | 39:24 |
| Yes! | 39:26 | |
| And feminists! | 39:28 | |
| (laughter) | 39:30 | |
| I don't come to church to listen to you. | 39:32 | |
| - | Now everybody there's no harm in exchanging ideas. | 39:36 |
| - | Well I've got a few of my own. | 39:39 |
| - | And we want to hear them Mrs. Sims. | 39:41 |
| Why don't you start by telling us what | 39:43 | |
| you think of this young man, | 39:45 | |
| Japheth Gabriel, | 39:46 | |
| who seems to be taking a positive | 39:47 | |
| step to help starving people. | 39:49 | |
| - | Well at least he's not going around waving signs, | 39:51 |
| or disturbing surfaces. | 39:54 | |
| - | Or trying to dig up historic landmarks. | 39:57 |
| Noah | But I have been told-- | 40:00 |
| - | And you're just plain crazy! | 40:01 |
| Listening to voices. | 40:03 | |
| - | But Reverend, | 40:05 |
| isn't it what we're supposed to do? | 40:07 | |
| Obey His voice and He will do thee good. | 40:09 | |
| Deuteronomy. | 40:13 | |
| - | Very good. | 40:14 |
| - | Maybe. | 40:15 |
| But I guess so far I've been more | 40:17 | |
| of a scholar than a minister Reverend. | 40:18 | |
| Like you I think. | 40:21 | |
| Well the word is good, | 40:22 | |
| but now's the time for action. | 40:25 | |
| Won't you help us out here. | 40:28 | |
| - | Come on Reverend. | 40:29 |
| Pitch right in! | 40:30 | |
| - | Oh listen to that! | 40:32 |
| - | Please don't be upset, | 40:36 |
| it's just the way Leah talks. | 40:37 | |
| Don't you see? | 40:41 | |
| She's scared to death. | 40:42 | |
| - | What? | 40:44 |
| - | Well aren't you? | 40:45 |
| I am of just about everything. | 40:47 | |
| I mean-- | 40:50 | |
| - | Go ahead. | 40:51 |
| - | Well you can't travel without worrying | 40:53 |
| about terrorists and hostages. | 40:56 | |
| And don't you wonder when the next big war is gonna be? | 40:58 | |
| And whether your son will be fighting in it? | 41:03 | |
| - | Every mother wonders about that. | 41:05 |
| - | You bet. | 41:07 |
| Preston | And it's our technology building | 41:09 |
| the defense programs that will keep your sons safe at home. | 41:11 | |
| Mrs. Sims | Safe at home? | 41:15 |
| - | But are we safe at home either? | 41:17 |
| What about chemical spills and nuclear accidents? | 41:20 | |
| Last week Ham and I were talking about starting our family. | 41:25 | |
| But how can we think of bringing children into a world | 41:29 | |
| where you can't even trust the water you drink? | 41:32 | |
| Or the food you eat? | 41:35 | |
| - | Where beaches spit back poisons | 41:36 |
| we've strewn into our seas. | 41:38 | |
| - | And where nobody thinks he's his brother's keeper. | 41:40 |
| - | And worse than that, | 41:43 |
| where people claim to believe in God, | 41:44 | |
| under whatever name, | 41:47 | |
| and then slaughter each other in God's name. | 41:48 | |
| - | Where nations totally disregard the law. | 41:52 |
| Where we can spend billions on research, | 41:54 | |
| and can't even figure out how | 41:57 | |
| to keep peace among ourselves. | 41:58 | |
| - | Where we've piled up enough weapons | 42:00 |
| to annihilate ourselves in seconds. | 42:01 | |
| - | And it's my fault? | 42:04 |
| Because I took the God-given riches of the world, | 42:06 | |
| and put them to maximum use. | 42:10 | |
| Reverend Carmichael. | 42:14 | |
| Didn't God give us humans the power, | 42:16 | |
| dominion-- | 42:19 | |
| - | Dominion over all the Earth? | 42:20 |
| - | That's it. | 42:22 |
| Ham | But Reverend, | 42:23 |
| didn't He also say "Replenish the Earth"? | 42:24 | |
| - | Well of course that's true. | 42:28 |
| - | But we've been given the power | 42:30 |
| and we have to use it! | 42:32 | |
| - | But He said "Love your neighbor" too. | 42:34 |
| Ham | We are our brother's keepers. | 42:36 |
| - | Freedom must be limited somehow. | 42:38 |
| - | Now children, | 42:40 |
| let him have his say. | 42:42 | |
| (quiet murmuring) | 42:44 | |
| (anguished cry) | 42:45 | |
| Naamah! | 42:48 | |
| What is it? | 42:49 | |
| Donna what's the matter? | 42:54 | |
| - | Dear Mr. and Mrs. Gabriel, | 43:05 |
| This is not an easy letter to write. | 43:08 | |
| We don't even know one another, | 43:12 | |
| although I feel I know you, | 43:14 | |
| having heard so much of you from your son Japheth. | 43:16 | |
| It is about him I must write you now. | 43:21 | |
| You must already have received the news | 43:26 | |
| from our organization, | 43:28 | |
| or from the State Department. | 43:30 | |
| The confusion in Camp Arico is overwhelming. | 43:34 | |
| The skirmishes between the rebels and the government | 43:39 | |
| have gone on for two days. | 43:41 | |
| We are not certain what happened. | 43:45 | |
| When we found Japheth in the field, | 43:50 | |
| we couldn't tell which side was responsible. | 43:54 | |
| Even our own farm friends are silent. | 44:00 | |
| I see them watching me with suspicion too. | 44:05 | |
| They suppose if we are not active in their rebellion, | 44:10 | |
| we must be against them. | 44:13 | |
| I have been taken to | 44:19 | |
| the Consolidated Resources headquarters. | 44:20 | |
| But even here with the Americans, | 44:24 | |
| I'm not sure of my safety. | 44:26 | |
| Preston | My God! | 44:28 |
| - | I'm not saying all this properly I know. | 44:34 |
| But you will have heard their effects by now. | 44:39 | |
| And I wanted only to write as a friend | 44:43 | |
| and say that I did what I could for your son. | 44:45 | |
| I tucked a page from his Bible into his shirt pocket, | 44:51 | |
| with his favorite verse from Isaiah: | 44:55 | |
| they shall beat their swords into plowshares. | 44:59 | |
| Shem | I think you must know something | 45:05 |
| about this Mr. Armstrong. | 45:07 | |
| - | Nobody knows much. | 45:15 |
| Five of our men were taken hostage before we-- | 45:20 | |
| well nobody knows who's fighting who. | 45:26 | |
| I sent corporate jets to bring out as many Americans as-- | 45:31 | |
| I thought we managed. | 45:40 | |
| Could we have prevented? | 45:46 | |
| - | Nobody blames you Mr. Armstrong. | 45:49 |
| It seems like it's gotten beyond all of us. | 45:53 | |
| - | How did we lose control? | 45:57 |
| - | No one knows. | 46:01 |
| That's the horror of it. | 46:04 | |
| Look at this. | 46:07 | |
| Look at us. | 46:09 | |
| My boy-- | 46:11 | |
| my youngest. | 46:13 | |
| Doing nothing but good, | 46:15 | |
| lending a helping hand to anyone who needed it. | 46:16 | |
| We've destroyed him. | 46:22 | |
| Not you Mr. Armstrong. | 46:25 | |
| Not them, | 46:28 | |
| us. | 46:30 | |
| All of us. | 46:34 | |
| By allowing the world to be like this. | 46:37 | |
| My voice was right. | 46:50 | |
| With your permission Reverend, | 46:53 | |
| I'll start now. | 46:55 | |
| - | Wait. | 46:57 |
| Wait. | 46:59 | |
| Don't you see? | 47:04 | |
| Despair, | 47:07 | |
| cynicism, | 47:09 | |
| inaction, | 47:10 | |
| withdrawal, | 47:11 | |
| these too will only lead to destruction. | 47:13 | |
| Couldn't there be another way? | 47:17 | |
| A way forward into a future where, | 47:18 | |
| where humankind could fulfill the promise of our past. | 47:21 | |
| Preston | Are you waiting for God to answer that question? | 47:25 |
| - | Not in a burning bush no. | 47:29 |
| And not over the P.A system. | 47:32 | |
| But in everyone of us, | 47:36 | |
| that's where the answer will come. | 47:36 | |
| In our own hearts! | 47:39 | |
| For what do we find there? | 47:41 | |
| Love and concern for ourselves and our families, | 47:44 | |
| and we can allow that to teach us love | 47:48 | |
| and concern for all the members of our | 47:50 | |
| human family. | 47:53 | |
| Don't you see? | 47:56 | |
| We are the treasury of Godliness and love. | 47:57 | |
| Where else can it come from? | 48:00 | |
| - | But the terrors that face us? | 48:02 |
| How much can this little group do? | 48:04 | |
| - | Why friends, | 48:10 |
| think of the powers we have within us. | 48:13 | |
| Strength. | 48:17 | |
| And gentleness. | 48:20 | |
| Devotion to the truth. | 48:23 | |
| Concern for tradition. | 48:27 | |
| And the power and the will to grow and change. | 48:31 | |
| Guided always by the memory of what has worked, | 48:35 | |
| or failed in the past. | 48:38 | |
| Ham | Reverend, | 48:39 |
| it sure helps having someone sort it all out for us. | 48:41 | |
| - | And ready to lead us. | 48:44 |
| - | No. | 48:47 |
| I'm not the visionary. | 48:49 | |
| I want to be one of the workmen who, | 48:52 | |
| pitch right in. | 48:55 | |
| But maybe not quite like this. | 48:59 | |
| Noah seek shelter if that's what your inner voice demands. | 49:03 | |
| But do you suppose that if we were to find another path, | 49:07 | |
| determined to save ourselves, | 49:12 | |
| God would allow you to delay | 49:15 | |
| carrying out His commands? | 49:17 | |
| - | Help us out Reverend. | 49:19 |
| You ask him. | 49:21 | |
| You can do it better than I could. | 49:22 | |
| - | Suppose-- | 49:25 |
| suppose each of us were to listen to our own inner voice. | 49:27 | |
| The voice of reason, | 49:31 | |
| the voice of life. | 49:32 | |
| Suppose we were to pledge ourselves, | 49:34 | |
| all of us here, | 49:37 | |
| to obey that voice, | 49:38 | |
| to encourage others to do the same. | 49:40 | |
| To demand it of our friends and our leaders. | 49:42 | |
| Noah | We could try. | 49:46 |
| Shem | Yes. | 49:48 |
| We could try. | 49:50 | |
| Leah | I say Amen to that. | 49:51 |
| Group | Amen! | 49:53 |
| - | Then let our creed, | 49:56 |
| our banner, | 49:58 | |
| be to put into action those things | 50:00 | |
| we've only sung and spoken of. | 50:02 | |
| My friends, | 50:06 | |
| we set out today to look for God. | 50:07 | |
| Where did we find God? | 50:11 | |
| In every one of us. | 50:14 | |
| - | Grandpa! | 50:16 |
| Grandpa! | 50:17 | |
| - | What? | 50:18 |
| Oh no! Not yet! | 50:19 | |
| I'm not sure the part about the rainbow | 50:24 | |
| will remain in the play. | 50:27 | |
| But don't go away. | 50:30 | |
| I still hope that we can keep it in. | 50:33 | |
| - | Then let us heed our voice within. | 50:42 |
| Exhorting us to give our whole lives | 50:46 | |
| to Godly thought and deed. | 50:49 | |
| As here we bow and take this vow: | 50:52 | |
| to cherish nature's bounty | 50:56 | |
| and preserve it's awesome beauty. | 50:58 | |
| (background noise) | 51:01 | |
| (organ music) | 51:21 | |
| (choral music) | 51:46 | |
| (organ music) | 58:01 | |
| Reverend | Please stand for the dedication. | 59:01 |
| Let us look inside ourselves. | 59:07 | |
| There is knowledge in us, | 59:10 | |
| and power. | 59:12 | |
| We can preserve, | 59:14 | |
| or destroy. | 59:15 | |
| We can plow and fertilize, | 59:17 | |
| or we can exploit and plunder. | 59:19 | |
| We can unify, | 59:22 | |
| or we can fragment. | 59:24 | |
| Let us dedicate our whole selves now, | 59:26 | |
| to preservation, | 59:29 | |
| to growth, | 59:32 | |
| to unity. | 59:33 | |
| Amen. | 59:36 | |
| Congregation | Amen. | 59:37 |
| (organ music) | 59:38 | |
| (choir singing) | 1:00:25 | |
| (choir singing) | 1:01:35 | |
| (organ music) | 1:01:40 |