Obedience

It's only because he was the first researcher to make a movie He wanted to be actually a documentary filmmaker.

So he made a movie called Obedience, and you could see the anguish in the people saying, you know, come on, please get it right, please get it right.

And then they get it wrong, and they're yelling and screaming.

And you could see the anguish, and they turn you to the experiment and say, I really don't want to go on, you must go.

to bring victory.

Six days of obedience.

and the final day was here.

This day, they were to march around seven times, still not saying a word, still just marching in silence.

He wants to be in control.

And then if we don't obey, hey, what's the little song? O-B-E-D-I-E-N-C-E, obedience is the very best way to show that you believe.

Not doing the things that you wanna do.

I don't know the whole song.

Second session was on identity.

And the third one was on obedience.

and calling.

This next one is really close to our heart, so purposeful and so meaningful, and it is on brotherhood.

In this video we are going to examine the psychology of obedience, paying particular attention to why people obey those in power even if it means committing actions that in any other situation they would view as immoral.

We will also examine disobedience and how it acts as a crucial counter-force to the rise of an oppressive government.

Obedience can be defined as performing an action not because of a personal desire or motive, but because one is commanded to do so by someone in a position of authority.

Obedience can be extremely beneficial in certain circumstances, such as in the relationship between a child and parent, or in the adherence to laws which prevent aggressive actions such as assault, theft, or murder.

However, in other cases obedience can result in the most brutal of outcomes.

What this sad fact of history suggests is that humans have a strong tendency to obey those in positions of power.

For example, looking back at the brutal reign of Stalin in Russia or the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, why did those who lived during these times remain obedient to the point of committing the most brutal of actions, including the murder and torture of completely innocent people en masse? It may be tempting to suggest that most people are complicit in tyranny due to fear.

However, while this is true to a degree, fear alone cannot account for the fact that many people do not recognize or acknowledge the injustice of their own government even when they are living under tyranny.

And tafadal, uh, English.

The author, may Allah have mercy on him, said, "You should know that there is no obedience to a creature in disobedience to Allah Azza Wa Jal.

None should be testified for or against among the followers of Islam based on good or bad deed.

For you do not know what he will be made to end up with at the time of death.

[coughs] Now, so essentially, this is a link between the previous points regarding the Wali Al-Amr, the, the ruler, and the mu'amala to the hukam, and the dealings with the ruler, and continuing on to, yani, the next point, which is bearing witness in relation to a person and their abode, their final abode.

And so he begins by mentioning, wa'lam annahu la ta'at lil bashar fi ma'siyat Allah.

So there's no obedience to mankind when it comes to disobedience of Allah.

And this is something which we have mentioned previously.

Anyone else relate to that? You know, when we take our focus off of our Lord, we go right, we go left.

Obedience has such a negative connotation for me, uh, because, you know, I didn't really wanna be a dog in training, right? Sit, stand, run, you know? I didn't- I didn't want to be obedient, right? But the more I've experienced Jesus's love for me, uh, for everyone, right, my idea of what obedience is has morphed into being more so like coached, uh, or being mentored, right? That's, that's, that's a better way of thinking about what obedience is because the God of all creation is walking with us.

He's coaching us in the way to live a life that is full.

He's not sitting there pointing out, "Oh, you did this.

You know, he's there to help us to be better, to be more full, to be more holy.

And I hope, I hope you see the difference in that because God is calling us on a path of holiness and obedience.

Obedience is the doorway to that.

And it's important that we walk through that door because as we continue to be molded more and more like Christ, we'll love to be obedient.

Plenty other examples, but those are what's on the top of my mind right now, 'cause again, just recently preached it.

Obedience to God is not optional if you're a Christian.

It's just not.

But that is a separate re- like, that is a separate thought from obedience equals God's move, right? God won't move, essentially is what he's saying, unless there is a, an obedient Christian in a particular situation doing what you need to be doing in that particular situation.

I just...

Hopefully, you're seeing the connection here.

Obedience isn't optional, but also obedience doesn't mean revival [laughs], okay? And so yes, God uses obedient people, but a lack of revival doesn't mean a lack of obedience.

The reason these people are even in the place they're in isn't because of obedience, in fact.

Only it is precisely this that is more easily said than thought, for where is the object of this objective necessity, the consequence of which, for the most part, perhaps indeed always, fails to be realized in objective reality.

With every wish to be unbiased, I cannot but think that the expression "necessity of an action" is nothing but an artificially concealed, very forced paraphrase of the word "ought." This will become clearer if we notice that in the same definition the word Achtung, or respect, is employed, where Gehorsam, obedience, is meant.

Similarly, in the note on page sixteen, we read, quote, "Achtung signifies simply the subordination of my will to a law.

The direct determination of the will by a law and the consciousness that it is so determined, this is what is denoted by Achtung." End quote.

In what language? In German, the proper term is Gehorsam.

But the word Achtung, so unsuitable as it is, cannot without a reason have been put in place of the word Gehorsam.

It must serve some purpose, and this is obviously none other than to veil the derivation of the imperative form and of the conception of duty from theological morals, just as we saw above that the expression, quote, necessity of an action, end quote, which is such a forced and awkward substitute for the word shall, was only chosen because shall is the exact language of the decalogue.

The above definition, quote, duty is the necessity of an action out of respect for the law, end quote, would therefore read in natural, undisguised, plain language, quote, duty signifies an action which ought to be done out of obedience to a law, end quote.