Rescued

This weekend we watched the Liam Neeson movie Taken.  In the movie, Neeson’s estranged daughter (played by Maggie Grace) is kidnapped while vacationing in Paris.  Neeson then spends the remainder of the movie tracking her down before she’s lost forever.

Although the movie isn’t necessarily meant to have a Christian message, I couldn’t help but to think about how it is a perfect analogy for our relationship with God.  We often talk about the need to seek forgiveness for our sins and come back to God, and that’s true.  But we forget that God isn’t just sitting idly by while we wander off.  He’s actively pursuing us, just as Neeson’s character pursued his daughter.

In the parable of the lost sheep (Matthew 18:12-14), Jesus said:

If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do?  Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost?  And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he will rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that didn’t wander away!  In the same way, it is not my heavenly Father’s will that even one of these little ones should perish.

This isn’t a picture of a callous supernatural being who sits around waiting for his worshippers to return to him.  No, this is a heavenly Father who loves His children and will stop at nothing to get us back.  This is a Father who loved us enough to give Himself up on the cross to pay the penalty for our stupid mistakes, a Father who has declared war on our kidnappers, just as Neeson’s character declared war on his daughter’s.  Titus 3:5 says that God “saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy.”

The question, then, isn’t whether we’re too lost to be rescued.  The only question is whether we want to be rescued at all.

The earth moves and you find me
Alive but unworthy
Broken and empty, but you don’t care
‘Cause you are my rapture, you are my savior
When all my hope is gone, I reach for you
You are my rescue

– Seabird, “Rescue”

Lessons learned from ‘Jon & Kate’

It seems like everywhere you turn lately, there’s some new sordid story about the marital breakdown of Jon and Kate Gosselin, the stars of TLC’s reality show Jon & Kate Plus 8.

Like others who watched the show, I always respected them for their faith and their commitment to their family.  How much of that has changed over the years I don’t really know since that’s really only a question that they themselves can answer.

But if there’s any good that can come out of the couple’s situation, it’s that the train wreck being played out on television and in the tabloids can provide us as Christians with some extremely important lessons.

First, Christianity Today reminds us that we’re as vulnerable as anyone to falling victim to the seductions of the world:

It was not until the recent allegations of sexual impropriety arose that a significant number of Christians began to question whether Jon and Kate were indeed the examples of faithful living that we had imagined. Somehow most of us missed the long trajectory that was, day by day, moving them farther from a life of Christian virtue. Sexual immorality—whether actual or merely suspected—caught our attention, but the materialism, narcissism, and exploitation of children that preceded it was largely overlooked.

As such, the breakdown of Jon and Kate’s marriage is but a symptom of the larger weaknesses of ethics in the evangelical community. We are easily seduced by wealth and fame. We are easily contented by the shallow rhetoric of hot-button issues. In short, we are easily deceived by cultural values painted in Christian veneers (or clothed in Isaiah 40:31 T-shirts).

Second, blogger Jon Acuff points out the ever-present need for grace:

Did Jon and Kate get what they deserve? I don’t know. I’ve seen other Christians express this opinion but I don’t know Jon and Kate. I know me. And I didn’t get what I deserved. I got grace. I got forgiveness. I got Christ. I got rescued from the ruins of a life that seemed beyond redemption. I got a second chance and a 10th chance and a 300th chance. I didn’t get what I deserved. And when we say that someone, “Got what they deserved,” whether we’re talking about a reality TV couple, our relatives or our neighbors, we lose sight of grace, which is the undercurrent of our entire faith and a gift we do not deserve.

We’re all flawed.  Every single one of us.  To think otherwise is a flat-out lie.  Why should the Gosselins be any different than the rest of us?  Or to put it another way, why should I think than I’m any different from them?

Dead is not dead

I promise I haven’t forgotten about the blog. I just haven’t had time in the last few weeks to post anything of any significance. I’m hoping to get a little more caught up later this week, though.

In the meantime I did want to make a quick comment about the LOST season finale from last week:

LOST dabbles in a lot of different religions, and the finale was no different with its heavy dose of Egyptian imagery.  But the biggest revelation was of course Jacob and his unnamed nemesis.  To me, the Christian symbolism between the two characters was really amazing, with Jacob taking on the role of Jesus and the man in black as Lucifer/Satan.

A theology student could write an entire thesis based off of that one episode, but I’ll simply say this: The man in black spent hundreds of years (at least) looking for a loophole that would allow him to kill Jacob, and he thought he found it by taking the form of John Locke and deceiving Ben Linus (a longtime disciple of Jacob’s) into killing his master.  In the same way, Satan thought he had found a loophole when Jesus, the very Son of God, was betrayed and murdered.  It didn’t quite turn out the way he hoped, however.

Therefore, I predict LOST will conclude its final season with the defeat of the enemy (“Not-Locke”) upon the return of the resurrected Jacob.

BONG!

Concern over movie version of ‘Blue Like Jazz’

Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality by Donald Miller is a wonderful book.  Beautifully poetic, humorous, and deeply insightful, it is composed of a series of seemingly random essays about various topics such as love, grace, and community.  Miller’s book challenged me, as it should.  I don’t agree with him on everything, but I followed along his journey anyway, willing to listen to what God had to say to me through it.

So when I heard that they were making a movie version of the book, my curiosity was piqued.  First off, it’s not like this is a novel, but it’s not purely an autobiography either.  Secondly, it’s not structured in such a way that it would easily translate to a screenplay.  So I was excited to see the end result.

But after reading a review of the screenplay on Miller’s blog, my excitement has turned to concern:

Blue Like Jazz portrays a vivid tension between Christianity and the world. I thought it was fantastic. It was hard to swallow some the direct obligations towards Christianity – they are so true though. The times of hope and resolve allowed me to emotionally connect to the character of Don. I laughed out loud and swallowed hard at times when reading through the script. The story touched on every single issue that outsiders have with Christianity (Judgmental, Hypocritical, Antihomosexual, Sheltered, Too Political, and Proselytizing based on the research of unChristian). It’s an emotional ride that brought me to an ending that gave me much hope and confidence in (1) Being Christian (2) The story I am developing with God on a personal level and (3) Jesus.

The Evangelical viewer is going to come face to face with some tough criticisms. However, the honest Christian is going to come away feeling refreshed. The cultural elite are going to laugh at the cynicism and debate that takes place during the Reed College scenes and they will appreciate the genuine tension that Don has with God. Your Juno fans are going to love the the witty dialogue, emotional connection to each character and who they represent. They will also love the scenes dealing with rabbits, the Pope, condoms, college parties, and the journey Don is on. The dialogue comes off as very genuine, even when reading it as opposed to seeing it on screen. Homosexuals who believe in God will love the relationship between Don and Laura. Conservative Christians are going to have the hardest time with it – but it is a necessary affliction they need to feel. The postmodern crowd of Christianity is going to rave about it. Since the story is about a guy who is in college your college students will love it on so many different levels, especially, the character development of Don. I think majority of criticisms will come from your extreme conservative and your extreme liberal – However, majority of the world rides the fence.

I suppose that because I disagree with homosexuality, that puts be into the category of “conservative” Christian rather than “postmodern” Christian.  So it’s probably no surprise that the way homosexuality is apparently portrayed in the movie concerns me a great deal.  Further, the arrogance of the statement that such concern is a “necessary affliction they need to feel” leads me to believe that this is not simply about including a homosexual character in a Christian movie, but that there is an obvious agenda behind it.  That is to say that if I’m a conservative Christian, then I must be wrong, and this movie is supposed to put me in my place.  (It should be noted that in the book, Laura isn’t a homosexual.)

What message is this movie sending not only to the Christian community, but to non-Christians?  From the review it seems to be that true Christianity (the “honest” kind that is not judgmental or “antihomosexual”) is made for the majority of people who “ride the fence” between conservative and liberal.  It’s the kind that doesn’t pick sides or stand for absolutes, but loves the sinner while refusing to hate the sin.

That is not the Christianity of the Gospel, and I don’t believe that was Miller’s intent in the book.

Please understand this is not an indictment of Donald Miller or his book, only a reaction to a review of the screenplay.  I’m still curious about how the movie will turn out.  I just hope the review is way off the mark.

Update, 4/16/09:
Here’s a good interview with Donald Miller and producer Steve Taylor (who was kind enough to respond to my original blog post), discussing how they deal with the controversy surrounding their work:

A few observations about the interview:

1. The interview was conducted at Mars Hill Graduate School in Portland, Oregon.  According to their website, MHGS is an “evangelical and progressive institution. The faculty consciously submits to the authority of Scripture and the model of a hermeneutical framework that interprets the Bible in light of its grammatical, historical, literary, and theological contexts. Relational hermeneutics is a full-bodied, soul-engaged, heart-transforming encounter that involves the subjective worldview of the interpreter as much as the process of interpretation.”  I’m certainly no theologian, but my assumption is that their views on issues like homosexuality are probably more liberal than those of conservative seminaries in the South.
2. Miller contrasts Christians in the Pacific Northwest, who he deems more “balanced” because they didn’t grow up in a religious environment, with Christians in the Southeast, who he characterizes as being more apt to get drunk and sleep with their girlfriends.  I thought this was an interesting statement, if only to demonstrate how he views conservative “red state” Christians.
3. Miller mentions supporting Barack Obama for president.  He doesn’t elaborate why, but he wouldn’t have supported him without having his reasons.  Again, this demonstrates a difference between Miller and conservative “red state” Christians.  For example, as a Christian I disagree with abortion and homosexuality, and therefore will not vote for a pro-choice, pro-gay marriage candidate, regardless of political party.  Miller obviously feels differently if he actively supported someone like Obama.

These observations are important to keep in mind because they show where Miller and Taylor are coming from as they produce this movie, which is to say that their point of view is probably much more liberal than that of conservative Christians like myself.  It will be interesting to see how that point of view affects the message of the movie.

Previously:
¡Viva La Revolución!
What number are you?
When we worship God
‘How Apple Plays Upon Our Insecurities’

Would you watch a TV show with Billy Mays? Don’t answer yet!

When a commercial featuring the obnoxiously loud Billy Mays or just plain obnoxious Anthony Sullivan comes on, I instinctively pounce on the remote control, desperate to hit the Mute button before my eardrums rupture.  Chances are, so do you.  So why in the world would the Discovery Channel assume people would actually watch an entire hour-long show featuring the dueling TV pitchmen?

The cable channel — personally adored for its Deadliest Catch, Mythbusters, and Dirty Jobs shows — has ordered 13 episodes of But Wait… There’s More, a documentary series following Mays and Sullivan as they “check out quirky new products and craft pitches and take to the airwaves to sell their wares.”

Say what?

My guess is, Discovery execs were won over by Mays’ offer of a free tub of Oxi-Clean if they picked up the series now.

(OK, full confession: I’ll probably watch the show.  Darn you, Billy Mays!)

A frustrating glimpse inside Homeland Security

My wife and I stumbled on to ABC’s new documentary series Homeland Security USA last night, and it turned out to be more interesting than I expected but also pretty frustrating.

The series follows agents from border control, customs, and the TSA as they hunt down illegal immigrants, inspect imported products, and attempt to secure the border against drugs and terrorists.  And it’s that “attempt” part that’s so maddening.

The show plays out like an infomercial for the DHS: no illegal aliens evade capture, no drugs or weapons get through the border, every agent gets their man.

But it’s not that simple in real life, is it?  For every illegal alien that gets arrested and deported, there are dozens of others who aren’t caught.  For every kilo of cocaine found inside a spare tire (bundled in diapers to throw off the dogs!), there’s more that isn’t.  For every emotional TSA agent vowing to protect the little children who fly our airlines, there are others who frankly don’t care.  For every Swiss belly-dancer trying to enter the country illegally… um… well, OK, that might be a unique case.

Anyway, the point is that while we absolutely need ICE and the TSA and the DHS, it seems like a never-ending cat-and-mouse game.  You catch someone trying to cross the border illegally and deport them, but they’ll almost certainly be back again and again until they succeed.  How can that not be demoralizing to the agents that have to deal with it day in and day out?

Like most other people, I don’t really have any definitive answers.  I don’t know how you can effectively secure the borders by building a huge fence or passing some new legislation.  The drugs, the illegal immigration, it’s all fueled by supply and demand.  As long as there is a demand for cheap, unskilled, undocumented labor in the U.S., there will be a ready supply.  As long as there is a demand for drugs, there will be someone willing to risk their lives to provide them.  As long as there is a demand for inexpensive products from other countries, there will be companies willing to cut corners at any cost in order to put them into consumers’ hands.

If anything, I suppose, the point of the show is to remind viewers that there are thousands of men and women out there fighting these battles daily.  Believe me, I’m thankful for the all the ones they win.  It’s the ones they don’t that we should be concerned about.

Shark Week

It’s time once again for the Discovery Channel’s annual Shark Week.

Really?  Again?

I love the Discovery Channel, but seriously, how much more do we need to learn about sharks?  I vote for rotating out different animals.  Elephant Week?  Cool.  Bat Week?  Sure.  Dung Beetle Week?  Maybe not, but they could time it to run during election years.

The other Dark Knight

While everyone else was seeing The Dark Knight in theaters this weekend, we opted to stay home and watch a DVD instead: Michael Collins, the 1996 biopic of the Irish revolutionary leader starring Liam Neeson.

As I was thinking about the movie later, it occurred to me that you can draw some parallels between Collins and the caped crusader.

1. Both Michael Collins and Bruce Wayne seemed to live double lives.  While Bruce Wayne was a millionaire playboy by day and a brooding superhero by night, Collins was both an elected statesman and an ideological revolutionary.  From 1919 to his death in 1922, he was both a minister in the new Irish government and military leader, leading a war for independence from Britain and then fighting a civil war in 1922.
2. Both Collins and Bruce Wayne lost parents at an early age.  Collins’ father died when he was six years old.
3. Like Batman, Collins used vigilante tactics to impose his idea of justice, training the Irish Republican Army to use guerrilla warfare tactics against the British during the Anglo-Irish War and forming a special assassination squad known as the Twelve Apostles.  From Military History Online:
   

   The 12 Apostles were very effective with their jobs and they eradicated almost all of the British Intelligence system known as the ‘G’ division in Ireland. Collins was very careful when it came to killing these ‘G’ men and he virtually paralyzed the service. He followed the movements, examined their garbage for information and had duplicate keys made to their houses. Collins thought of every move and even thought of the public’s reaction to their deaths so he would time when their murders would take place. No detail escaped this man.

4. Also like Batman, Collins’ identity remained a mystery to his enemies.  Although the British crown well knew his name, they had no idea what he looked like until he arrived in London in 1921 to help negotiate a treaty with the British.  Wikipedia states:
   

   In 1920, the British offered a bounty of £10,000 for information leading to the capture or death of Michael Collins. His fame had so transcended the IRA movement that he was nicknamed “The Big Fellow”. Irish author Frank O’Connor, who participated in the Irish Civil War, gave a different account of the nickname. He said that it began as an ironic, even scornful, reference to Collins’ efforts to be taken seriously by others, seen as bordering on self-importance.

5. Though imperfect, both Bruce Wayne and Michael Collins were patriots who ultimately strived to do what they thought was best.  Always the Irish nationalist, Collins “envisioned Ireland as a country which would be united, and have some international power, and most of all [be] a free state. He said there would be no distinction in the Irish nation [such that] ‘it will be our aim to weld our people nationally together who have, hitherto been divided into political and social and economic outlook.’ In turn, the people will have held the key to their independence, economic well being and greatness.” (Military History Online)

While it might be a stretch to compare Michael Collins too closely to a comic book superhero, there’s no question he remains a real hero to many Irish people today.

The Top 10 Rejected Gladiators

Obviously desperate for new programming, NBC has rehashed the old American Gladiators musclefest with new gladiators such as “Justice”, “Mayhem”, and “Fury”. But there other gladiators that didn’t make the cut.

With apologies to David Letterman, here are the Top 10 Rejected American Gladiators:

10. Ethanol
9. Viagra
8. Cameltoe
7. Dramatic Chipmunk
6. The Hoff
5. O.J.
4. FEMA
3. Gallagher
2. The Gladiator Formerly Known as Prince

And the number 1 rejected American Gladiator:

1. Hillary

(Alright, whatever.)

The story behind ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’

mental_floss has the story behind the class A Charlie Brown Christmas… and why it almost didn’t air.

I’ve always been a huge fan of Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and the gang, so naturally I make it a point to watch the Charlie Brown specials whenever they’re on, especially the Christmas special, and it’s become a holiday tradition for us and the kids. It just wouldn’t be Christmas without Charlie Brown’s sad little Christmas tree.

I’ve always wondered how they could get away with quoting Scripture in prime time, and I wonder every year if this will be the year ABC will edit it out and replace it with some sort of product placement spiel for Disneyworld. In recent years, they’ve followed the original version with a newer Peanuts Christmas cartoon which is more Santa-oriented. While still good, it definitely lacks the heart and soul that Charles Schulz put into his characters which made the original Christmas special so endearing.

And don’t even get me started on Shrek the Halls.

Wired’s review of ‘The Golden Compass’

Wired has a rather scathing review of The Golden Compass, the movie based on atheist Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy of books about “killing God.”

Wired‘s problems with the movie have nothing to do with the toned-down anti-Christian message of the movie but rather with the poor special effects, lack of character development, and the “Hollywood-saccharine” ending.

I have to confess that I’m rooting for this film to fail, and it’s definitely not looking good for the film financially so far. It’s one thing to create a fantasy story for kids (Harry Potter notwithstanding), but it’s quite another to be specifically “trying to undermine the basis of Christian belief” (as quoted by Snopes).

Strike! OK, are we done now?

Oh, I guess not.

C’mon, group hug, everybody! Don’t make me send you to Dr. Phil.