Diversion Round-up

Here's a round-up of diversions within the past six months that really stuck with me.

Lake of Fire
A really thorough look at the pro-life / pro-choice issue in this country and who the players are/were. My first hand look at the horrors and consequence of abortion.

Expelled
Opened my eyes to what “academic freedom” really is and what it should be.

John Adams
I have not read the McCullough book but the mini-series is so very fine. It reinvigorated my interest in American History. It's crafted very well and the acting is superb. I love that a lot of the script and character traits were lifted from first-hand accounts and actual correspondence that the founding fathers and Abigail Adams wrote.

Atonement
Paints a bleak picture of moral relevantism. Wonderfully, beautifully acted and directed.

The Dark Knight
Excellent film on every level. Everyone is not going to like you (period) for doing the right thing and standing firm. The end is really powerful, Batman's sacrifice...I loved Gary Oldman delivery of "because he's the hero Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now. So we'll hunt him. Because he can take it. Because he's not a hero. He's a silent guardian. A watchful protector. A dark knight".

There Will Be Blood
An awesomely directed character study of a prideful man. For example – notice each time Plainview interacts with his son he always leaves him to tend to the oil. It foreshadows their meeting near the end. As a Christian, Preacher Sunday was a bit uncomfortable to watch – especially with his declaration at the end but it is true that people have denied the Lord for pride, money, and a host of reasons.

Watchmen (Novel)
An honest deconstruction of the superhero genre (as I perceive it – only having watched superhero films, not comics) I had mixed feelings are the end of it though. It shows the extremes of both sides through Rorschach and Veidt; Dr. Manhattan as the ultimate “Deus Ex Machina” and a god that doesn't care. Everyone else is the Everyman. I make sure to read about the writer before I read their work – to be aware and prayed up, I don't really do it with film because there are many forces at work in that medium. Unfortunately I did not do that with Watchmen. I know now that Alan Moore is a hippie pagan – literally, he worships a Roman snake god. Still, I am glad that I read the novel. It is the only graphic novel I have ever read. I read Mere Christianity before this book. In one of the chapters, C.S. Lewis describes how he believes God experiences time (he is not bound by it). Not to compare Dr. Manhanttan with The One who was, is, and is to come, but the whole chapter in Watchmen with Dr. Manhattan on Mars actually helped me understand that concept better. I could also see the influence Watchmen had on works like “The Incredibles” and “Heroes”.

Currently reading: The Picture of Dorian Gray
I saw the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen recently, although a really lackluster movie, I was most intrigued by the relationship between Dorian Gray and his portrait. I'm reading the preface of the novel now and it talks about the French aesthetic or decadence movement (do whatever you feel like doing) in the early nineteenth century and how it influenced Oscar Wilde. Wilde was lying to himself that “art and morality cannot be separated”. I believe that the basic premise of the work contradicts his statement.

Finishing Well

There are two forces diametrically opposed to God: sin and free will. It is why we must die to self and work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. We can "be accountable" to each other but we can deceive each other just as easily but there is one who can discern our hearts and minds.

There will be no stowaways. One day, each person will have to give an account of their life on this Earth. There are numerous real life and biblical examples of those that did not finish well. Take Gideon...most know him as "the mighty man of valor", the leader of the army of 300 that gained victory over the Midianites by the hand of God. After a time, pride and his golden ephod would cause Israel to turn away from the Lord.

Pride is at the root of every sin. Be watchful my brothers and sisters. Stand firm in the faith.

References: Romans 6:2-11, Judges 6-8