© 2014 The Wired Word
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In late November, hackers identifying themselves as #GOP ("Guardians of
Peace") released a trove of sensitive, private information they'd stolen
from Sony Pictures' computer systems, including personal information about Sony
employees and their dependents, executives' comments about certain celebrities,
emails between employees, data about executive salaries, copies of unreleased
Sony films and more, all of which contributed to a paralysis of company
operations. The cyber criminals claimed the attack was in response to the Sony
movie The Interview, originally set to be released Christmas Day,
which is a satire depicting an assassination attempt on North Korean leader Kim
Jong-un. The hackers also threatened acts of terrorism if the film were to be
released.The hackers have not been identified, but early suspicions were aimed at the North Korean government. Since then, however, many security experts have expressed doubts about North Korea's involvement, and some believe that a disgruntled employee or ex-employee, working with a small group of computer experts, is a much more likely scenario. As of this writing, the identity of #GOP remains a matter of speculation.
Sony initially canceled The Interview's theatrical release, but eventually authorized more than 300 arthouses and independent cinemas to show the film on Christmas Day. Sony also released the film to Google Play, Xbox Video and YouTube on December 24.
On Christmas Day, Sony, along with Microsoft, became targets of another attack. The Internet platforms for operating Sony's Playstation and Microsoft's XBox were overwhelmed by a distributed denial-of-service (DDOS) attack, inundating the servers with fake user requests, making it difficult for legitimate users to log on to the game consoles. The disruption affected millions of subscribers to the two services. A hacker group calling itself Lizard Squad claimed responsibility.
Sony and Microsoft join a growing list of corporations, including Target, Home Depot and JPMorgan, that have come under ever more clever, damaging attacks in recent months from cyber criminals.
More and more, such attacks also cause problems for ordinary people who do business with the companies hackers single out.
Peace of mind, we suspect, has been an elusive quality at Sony in recent weeks. In this particular case, however, there might be a "silver" lining: On Monday, Money reported that The Interview has earned more than $15 million through online sales in its first four days of release. That kind of outcome is the exception, however. Most of the time, cyber crime costs companies -- and eventually their customers -- money.
More on this story can be found at these links:
Everything That's Happened in the Sony Leak Scandal. Vulture
FBI Faces Skepticism Over Claim That N. Korea Hacked Sony. Fox News
Xbox and PlayStation Resuming Service After Attack. BBC
Sony Pictures Entertainment Hack. Wikipedia
'The Interview': $15 Million, 2 Million Streams. Money
The Big Questions
1. What is the peace of God and how peaceful is it? What brings you the most peace? What do you find that is capable of disturbing that peace?
2. Consider these words, sometimes seen on church signs: "Know God, know peace. No God, no peace." To what degree are they true? Why? Are they ever an oversimplification? Are they ever wishful thinking? Are they ever testimony?
3. If a Christian is experiencing inner turmoil rather than inner peace, does that mean there is something amiss about his or her relationship with Christ? Explain your answer. Do you find it easy, difficult or even possible to reach out to another in order to achieve peace? Do you try to achieve peace on your own without help?
4. How is it possible to have "peace like a river" when one is drowning in the flow of circumstances? Can singing songs of faith, praying or engaging in spiritual disciplines help to provide peace in your life? Are these things themselves sometimes distraction from peace? Explain your answer.
5. What resources of the church can help you experience the peace of God? What resources beyond the church -- such as in the fields of counseling, social work, medicine, etc., or from friends and other Christians -- can help?
Confronting the News With Scripture and Hope
Here are some Bible verses to guide your discussion:
Psalm 46:10
Be still, and know that I am God! (For context, read 46:1-11.)
This line comes in the midst of a psalm that is all about facing tumult and trouble but with confidence, because "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble" (v. 1). The whole psalm is an affirmation of faith.
Most of the psalm is written in a human voice, speaking about God. But in verse 10, God himself suddenly breaks through and speaks in first person: "Be still, and know that I am God!" This divine statement effectively summarizes the whole psalm.
But what is this "stillness" the psalm calls for? Although many Bible versions retain the word "still" because of its familiarity, "Be still" is not the best translation of the underlying Hebrew. Contemporary readers almost inevitably hear it as a call to meditation or relaxation, when it should be heard in the light of v. 9 -- "[God] makes wars cease to the end of the earth." In that context, "Be still" means something like "Stop!" or "Throw down your weapons!" In other words, "Depend on God instead of yourselves."
Depending on God, says this psalm, is the source of the inner peace we might call "stillness."
Questions: When has God called you to depend on him instead of yourself? How did you respond? What changed after you responded? Name some things about you and your life, as individuals and as a church, that cannot be harmed by a cyberattack?
Mark 4:37-40
A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But [Jesus] was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and [the disciples] woke him up and said to him, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?" He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, "Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?" (For context, read 4:35-41.)
When Jesus speaks the word "Peace" in this story, he is addressing the wind and sea, but in effect, he is also calling the disciples to an inner peace based on their faith. In the words of a contemporary Christian song, "Sometimes he calms the storm, and sometimes he calms his child."
Questions: When Jesus asked the disciples, in the midst of a violent storm, why they were afraid, was he being unrealistic? Isn't it normal and healthy to fear dangerous circumstances? What might the peace of God mean in this situation? What do you think you would have said to Jesus in these circumstances? Do you speak to Jesus during your own times of turmoil?
John 14:27
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. (For context, read 14:18-31.)
Philippians 4:7
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (For context, read 4:4-7.)
Jesus spoke the words of John 14:27 to his disciples during his final instructions to them the night before he was crucified. In the Old Testament, "peace" was a conventional leave-taking term (e.g., 1 Samuel 1:17), but here, Jesus is not simply saying farewell to his disciples. In the context of his coming death, "peace" here takes on the meaning of a bequest.
In verse 18 of this same address, Jesus promises not to leave the disciples as "orphans" -- that is, they will not be alone -- and his promise of peace supports that earlier promise. They will not be alone because they will have his peace.
The peace Jesus offers is not what the world means by peace; he is offering neither the promise of bodily security nor the end of conflict. The peace that Jesus gives derives from the heart of Jesus' life.
In Philippians, Paul refers to this same kind of peace -- the peace of God -- in a benediction-like phrase after telling his readers, "Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God" (v. 6, italics added).
Questions: Is "not worrying" the same thing as having the peace of God? Why or why not?
Matthew 10:34, 38-39
Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. ... whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. (For context, read 10:34-39.)
Jesus said this to his disciples when sending them out to proclaim the good news, to tell them how radical a commitment he was asking of them. In applying his words to ourselves, whatever else that passage may mean, it clearly says that daily life for a follower of Jesus may be anything but peaceful in the "no conflict" sense of the word. In fact, following Jesus can even bring division among a family when its members are not of one mind about commitment to Jesus (see vv. 35-37).
But the potential conflict for Jesus' followers extends wider than just family relations. The first-century followers of Jesus didn't live very peaceful lives, at least not as we would describe it. Several of the apostles actually were hounded for their preaching and then martyred. Paul was beaten, arrested, stoned and finally executed. If that's peace, no thank you!
But actually, the peace of God means something other than the absence of struggle and discord. Consider the late William Barclay, a Scottish theologian and author, well known and respected throughout the United Kingdom. A few days before his only daughter was to be married, she drowned. Sometime later, while commenting on the story of Jesus stilling the storm, Barclay referred to his daughter's death, and said, "I am not so concerned as to whether Jesus stilled the tempest on the sea. What I know is that he stilled the tempest in my heart."
Questions: When have you known peace in the midst of struggle and discord? What enabled that to happen? Can a "sword" bring peace to your life when it severs the connections between you and certain possessions or obsessions? How else might a figurative sword bring peace into your life
1 Peter 1:6-7
In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith -- being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire -- may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. (For context, read 1:3-9.)
When Peter refers to suffering "various trials" and being "tested by fire," he is probably alluding to, among other things, persecution that some Christians were experiencing. But rather than advising fearfulness, he speaks of rejoicing in the troubles because they reveal the genuineness of one's faith. Peter understands that by accepting Christ, Christians are secure in their salvation for the future; therefore, the present sufferings can be endured with hope, and those suffering can show how brightly faith shines.
Peter is not saying that God sends troubles to test Christians but that faith shows how real it is when trials nonetheless come.
Questions: Think of a time your faith has been tested by trial. What did you learn? Might you have learned the same things any other way? How much of your spiritual growth and/or maturity do you attribute directly to trials and tribulations? Is true peace possible without true examination of your faith and your priorities?
For Further Discussion
1. There's a lesser-known hymn about the apostles that distinguishes between peace as it's generally defined and the peace of God. The hymn is called "They Cast Their Nets," and the first two verses talk about peacefulness in the usual sense of the word.
They cast their nets in Galilee
Just off the hills of brown;
Such happy, simple fisherfolk,
Before the Lord came down.
Contented peaceful fishermen
Before they ever knew
The peace of God that filled their hearts
Brimful, and broke them too.
The next two verses describe how things changed after they started following Christ.
Young John who trimmed the flapping sail,
Homeless in Patmos died,
Peter, who hauled the teeming net,
Head down was crucified.
The peace of God, it is no peace,
But strife closed in the sod.
Yet, brothers, pray for but one thing:
The marvelous peace of God.
Discuss especially this last verse, and tell what meaning you take from it.
2. Comment on this definition of peace by preacher-writer Frederick Buechner: For Jesus, peace seems to have meant "not the absence of struggle, but the presence of love."
3. Respond to this, from TWW team member Stan Purdum: "Jesus' way is not one of neutrality or divided loyalties. One way to look at that is to say that what every Christian needs are two conversions -- one out of the world and the other back into it. That's a way of saying that Jesus calls us to become new people in him, but then, when we've made that commitment, we go back to life in this world to be God's people in it. The peace of God goes with us, but not necessarily peacefulness."
4. What is your opinion of how Sony responded to the cyber attack?
5. To know peace -- the peace that "surpasses all understanding" -- what state of mind must we be in or willing to enter?
Responding to the News
Our ability to keep calm during the storms of life is somewhat of a reflection of our personality. However, our faith has been strengthened by witnessing other believers' peace in times of turmoil. It's also strengthened as we work and pray to gain the fruits of the Spirit -- one of which is peace.
Like many gifts of the Spirit, acquiring peace involves spiritual discipline, and ideally, we need to develop this gift before life challenges us with difficulties. It will be not only a comfort to us in times of trouble, but also a witness of our faith to others around us.
Discuss as a class how you might create a true Sabbath for your group, free from distractions and possessions that can be attacked or stolen, or otherwise become the cause of disturbance? How practical is this? How might you work together for a state of peace?
Closing Prayer
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