Between Q's & Films

Before the next few questions, I'’d like to touch back on Igby. His question of the priest "If heaven is such a wonderful place then how come being crucified is such a big f***ing sacrifice?" struck a raw nerve with me. It is an insolent question, but the priest blew it when he ignored it. (Easy to blame a Catholic, right?) Igby doesn't have enough theological understanding to see that his question is misdirected. Crucifixion was a sacrifice not because it earned Christ heaven, but because He already possessed everything and left it for the cross. The crucifixion was a sacrifice because He was suffering for someone else. And the suffering was no’t purely physical, He also bore the emotional pain of a severed relationship with His Father.

1. I don'’t have three friends. Well, I do, but I won'’t talk to them till at least tomorrow, and probably not until later this week. But I have a related story. There is a girl at our church, Eniko, who is Hungarian, and studied in Europe under a famous doctor, and was brought to the US to teach handicapped children. (I may be a little fuzzy on some of the details) In any case, she was coming to our College & Career group, and we were trying (generally unsuccessfully) to help her understand American culture. What was our brilliant idea? Watch Star Wars. Not go to a baseball game, not visit Greenfield Village, not even a party at Dave and Busters. Star Wars. Films form the common experiences for us in a transient culture. Every student of postmodernism has seen Pulp Fiction, every good Christian kid has seen Princess Bride, and EVERYONE has seen Star Wars.

2. This is a trick question, because I deal in two divergent areas in my ministry. The youth group can probably handle film as a doorway to theological reflection and insight. They may struggle with overcoming their view of it as entertainment, but young people are generally more accepting and insightful with new methodologies than the more rooted. In addition, I know that many of them have done this type of thing with music, which leads itself nicely into film. Theological reflection is not something you ask for from Sparks.
2.1 James Wall is absolutely right in his brief essay Theology and Film. The problem with his recommendation is that it is so difficult to engage in theological reflection through film. I'm thinking about a film we saw over the weekend with some friends. I'd have to take a lot of time to nail some of the stuff down. Maybe a discussion on class barriers? Maybe something on family relationships or the conflict between dreams and responsibilities? In any case, it doesn't come easily. And it won't, until we engage it regularly enough to become familiar with the landscape of film.

3. The place of praxis in the communication of truth is right in the middle. Unless we communicate truth with our lives, we cannot hope to communicate it with our words. When God wanted to communicate truth to us, what did He do? After communicating different ways and at different times, He incarnated.

A review of the right Harry Potter movie is forthcoming, but reviews and reflections always take me longer than they’re supposed to.