The Dark Knight (TDK), director Christopher Nolan's second movie from Frank Miller's graphic novels, is not your typical summer movie. If that's what you're looking for, go see Hancock. TDK, which tells the story of Harvey Dent and James Gordon's heroic prosecution of organized crime, the Joker's manic and demented self-hatred, and Batman's determined solitude and misunderstood efforts, breaks company with other super-hero movies, leaving the viewer with less resolution than when they entered.
With fear growing more and more intense in Gotham, villains and heroes alike begin to shine. Heroes like District Attorney Harvey Dent, Lieutenant James Gordon, Lucius Fox, and Batman emerge as true souls, brave enough to face the growing darkness. The darkness, a better class of criminal, goes beyond the petty greed of mobsters and crime lords to the psychotic and demented Joker. Rather than simply trying to bully and beat his way to riches, the Joker is more concerned with making others feel the emotional pain he lives with. What better way to do this than by constantly forcing anyone with whom he comes in contact to become like him? The Joker pits petty thugs against one another, convicted criminals against average citizens and vice versa, turns trusted police officers into kidnappers, sets Harvey Dent up for demented revenge, and, ultimately, challenges Batman to become the breaker of rules any right minded individual would become to fight evil. TDK weaves its plot, which is basically the capture of the Joker, through these themes.
TDK excells in almost every category. It never bores. It looks fantastic. Its actors play their roles effortlessly. (I especially enjoyed Gary Oldman and Morgan Freeman.) The story is compelling and not overly complex. Where it most excels is in its character development. This, however, is what makes the movie difficult to watch, at points, and keeps it from being an 'enjoyable' movie experience. The Joker is terrible. Literally, a terrible person. The more his mania grows, his insanity deepens, and his chops get licked, the edgier the viewer becomes. This edge never softens until the end, and then only slightly. The edginess of the movie stays with the viewer. As a result, this is not a kids movie. I could not recommend this movie to anyone below 15 and then I would still caution it.
TDK is a threshold movie for all superhero films. No longer will serious super-hero movies have goofy, gratuitous violence and flashy costumes. TDK shows a distinct difference between whipped cream superhero movies and compelling stories told around superheroes.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
Being reminded of the gospel
It is easy to throw around terms and phrases in Christian circles. One such phrase is "the gospel" or "the good news." But what exactly is the good news? In Roman culture, the birth of a male heir to the throne was announced as "gospel"--and with good reason! Without a designated male heir, the kingdom could fall into anarchy. For Paul, however, the gospel was not about a future king over the Roman empire. The gospel is nothing short that God has reconciled us to himself, bringing us into God's own presence, and being considered holy (1:21-23). This news is so good for Paul that he considers it his life's work. He has become a slave to this news, proclaiming it wherever he goes (1:23).
Friday, July 11, 2008
Qualities vs. Qualifications
Paul gives a list of things belonging to the "earthly nature" that Christians should "put to death" (Colossians 3:5): sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed. He goes on to say we should clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience (v. 12). The trend as Christians is to confuse qualities of a Christian with qualifications for becoming one.
In Colossians 1, we read that it is God who has qualified us by rescuing us. We do not need to line up a list of qualifications to enter the Kingdom of the Son. We need not and cannot qualify ourselves.
However, Christians have the opportunity and responsibility to grow in their Christlike qualities. Christians ought to be people who exhibit compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Without such qualities, one can wonder at why they are missing out in part of the joys of being in friendship with God! What is keeping them from it? But should we get too focused on the questions of why, we should note that the qualities themselves come because we are simply dearly loved by God. Such love is transformative and its growth in us is grounded in the hope that we have (1:5).
What qualification have you typically thought you needed to become a Christian?
What qualities do you need to grow in as your friendship with God deepens?
In Colossians 1, we read that it is God who has qualified us by rescuing us. We do not need to line up a list of qualifications to enter the Kingdom of the Son. We need not and cannot qualify ourselves.
However, Christians have the opportunity and responsibility to grow in their Christlike qualities. Christians ought to be people who exhibit compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Without such qualities, one can wonder at why they are missing out in part of the joys of being in friendship with God! What is keeping them from it? But should we get too focused on the questions of why, we should note that the qualities themselves come because we are simply dearly loved by God. Such love is transformative and its growth in us is grounded in the hope that we have (1:5).
What qualification have you typically thought you needed to become a Christian?
What qualities do you need to grow in as your friendship with God deepens?
Monday, July 07, 2008
God the Father
I sometimes take God as Father for granted. Just this morning I saw exactly why God is my Father. I read in Colossians that God has qualified me, a person reading Colossians and entrusted with it by previous Christians; that God has qualified me, a person who has sinned openly, arrogantly, hiddenly; that God has qualified me to share in the inheritance that belongs to his Son and those in his Son's kingdom. I call God Father because I am in his Son's kingdom and this is by his invitation, by his rescue.
Thursday, July 03, 2008
Colossians and Politics
Hi friends,
This post will be a little longer than normal, and for that, I apologize. However, the subject is one that is very important and must always be handled with respect.
Being the week of July 1 (Canada Day) and July 4 (U.S. Independence Day), let's reflect on politics and the book of Colossians. I know what some are thinking: Politics and religion are supposed to be separate! Separate, of course, means that political authority will not set up and promote any one religion. It does not mean that religion and politics will never be in competition or conflict. In fact, they often are. Colossians, though we often miss it, gives us a good picture of this sort of conflict.
First, let me draw your attention to recent speeches on patriotism by the two (presumptive) candidates for the 44th President of the U.S.A., Senator Barack Obama and Senator John McCain. Give them a read. (You'll notice how similar they are, even though the politics of both men is fairly different!)
Take special note of these two quotations and what they imply. First, Senator McCain says, "Patriotism is deeper than its symbolic expressions, than sentiments about place and kinship that move us to hold our hands over our hearts during the national anthem. It is putting the country first, before party or personal ambition, before anything." Second, Senator Obama says, "In the end, it may be this quality that best describes patriotism in my mind — not just a love of America in the abstract, but a very particular love for, and faith in, one another as Americans."
In Paul's day, the Roman Empire had established what is called the Pax Romana, the Peace of Rome. Rome boasted a gospel that it had brought peace and prosperity because of the divinity and glory of their rulers. Paul, however, says something different. Paul wishes peace from God the Father (1:3), not Rome, because the gospel is that God brought reconciliation through Jesus Christ (1:21-23). And rather than Caesar being the head, it is Jesus--he is the image of God, the ruler of all powers, rulers, and authorities (1:15-17).
Paul has taken the political language of his culture and has made sure that his readers know that Jesus is the one to whom they owe primary allegiance. We must also listen to the language of political leaders and critique our own allegiances. As Christians, we could never agree with Senator McCain that we should put our countries before anything and we should push Senator Obama's boundaries of loving Americans, and be defined as a community of people who love all, and who have primary allegiance to brothers and sisters of the true Lord, Jesus.
This is not to say that Christians cannot be proud of their country and have a sense of loyalty to it. Paul was very proud of his Jewish heritage and tradition! However, his loyalty was first and always to Jesus and that put him at odds with his fellow Jews from time to time. Christians of the 21st century should expect nothing different.
This post will be a little longer than normal, and for that, I apologize. However, the subject is one that is very important and must always be handled with respect.
Being the week of July 1 (Canada Day) and July 4 (U.S. Independence Day), let's reflect on politics and the book of Colossians. I know what some are thinking: Politics and religion are supposed to be separate! Separate, of course, means that political authority will not set up and promote any one religion. It does not mean that religion and politics will never be in competition or conflict. In fact, they often are. Colossians, though we often miss it, gives us a good picture of this sort of conflict.
First, let me draw your attention to recent speeches on patriotism by the two (presumptive) candidates for the 44th President of the U.S.A., Senator Barack Obama and Senator John McCain. Give them a read. (You'll notice how similar they are, even though the politics of both men is fairly different!)
Take special note of these two quotations and what they imply. First, Senator McCain says, "Patriotism is deeper than its symbolic expressions, than sentiments about place and kinship that move us to hold our hands over our hearts during the national anthem. It is putting the country first, before party or personal ambition, before anything." Second, Senator Obama says, "In the end, it may be this quality that best describes patriotism in my mind — not just a love of America in the abstract, but a very particular love for, and faith in, one another as Americans."
In Paul's day, the Roman Empire had established what is called the Pax Romana, the Peace of Rome. Rome boasted a gospel that it had brought peace and prosperity because of the divinity and glory of their rulers. Paul, however, says something different. Paul wishes peace from God the Father (1:3), not Rome, because the gospel is that God brought reconciliation through Jesus Christ (1:21-23). And rather than Caesar being the head, it is Jesus--he is the image of God, the ruler of all powers, rulers, and authorities (1:15-17).
Paul has taken the political language of his culture and has made sure that his readers know that Jesus is the one to whom they owe primary allegiance. We must also listen to the language of political leaders and critique our own allegiances. As Christians, we could never agree with Senator McCain that we should put our countries before anything and we should push Senator Obama's boundaries of loving Americans, and be defined as a community of people who love all, and who have primary allegiance to brothers and sisters of the true Lord, Jesus.
This is not to say that Christians cannot be proud of their country and have a sense of loyalty to it. Paul was very proud of his Jewish heritage and tradition! However, his loyalty was first and always to Jesus and that put him at odds with his fellow Jews from time to time. Christians of the 21st century should expect nothing different.
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Faith, Hope, and Love
I find it interesting how Paul lumps faith, hope, and love together. In 1:4-5, he says that faith in Christ Jesus and love for the saints spring from hope that is stored in heaven. Many times we think that hope flows from believing in Christ, but here Paul says that our hope that we have heard about--being reconciled to God through Jesus Christ (verses 21-23)--leads to faith in/loyalty to King Jesus.
This is a necessary reminder for someone like me because I can become too introspective--Do I really have faith? Do I really believe? Is my heart really loyal? (And you thought you were the only one who asked these questions!) Instead of always examining my faith, Paul's note encourages me to look to Jesus, to look to the hope of reconciliation, and let faith develop from there.
What stories of reconciliation do you know that simply must have God in them?
What aspect of the faith do you find most "hopeful" in developing your faith?
This is a necessary reminder for someone like me because I can become too introspective--Do I really have faith? Do I really believe? Is my heart really loyal? (And you thought you were the only one who asked these questions!) Instead of always examining my faith, Paul's note encourages me to look to Jesus, to look to the hope of reconciliation, and let faith develop from there.
What stories of reconciliation do you know that simply must have God in them?
What aspect of the faith do you find most "hopeful" in developing your faith?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
