I have been spending a good amount of time dealing with/ thinking of what “The Gospel in Culture” looks like – I have done the “Run for the hills, the heathen horde is coming!/ God loves us based on our actions/ Legalism thing,” as well as the “Hey I read Blue Like Jazz and Velvet Elvis, I have a tattoo about freedom, and I smoke cigarettes so my eyes are sooooo open…in fact, much more than yours are.” It seems that until people are so often very elaborate pendulums. I have found that there is a lot of value in the idea of protection and wisdom, as well as value in the life outside the “safe” bubble, and there is enough grace and strength to live life in both of those arenas.
Jesus actually prays that we would stay in the world. If God talks to God about something, it’s usually really important. And the only way to slow/stop that pendulum swing is to grasp at the feet of Jesus and pray that He gives you the daily grace and mercy to understand how the Gospel works itself out in our lives. Don’t run to the hills; don’t abandon all rules and authority – stay close to Jesus.
Having said that, these are my thoughts on I Am Legend -
I love that movie.
I am generally startled very easily, but very rarely scared.
Since it was second time I went to go see I Am Legend, I did not have to worry so much about the “BOO I AM A DEAD PERSON...well kind of…but anyways BOO!” parts, and I got to really look at the message the movie had to offer.
For those of you that have not seen the movie, I will ruin it, and I understand if you don’t read on. Ryan, since the last movie you saw in theaters was the 2nd Pirates of the Caribbean, read on my friend.
This is easiest if I just write an account of the movie and let it be what it is.
1.The world has a problem – cancer.
2.That problem is “solved” by a miracle cure (a mutated virus).
3.That cure actually becomes a horrible killer; I believe the stats in the movie are a 95% instant kill rate, 1% immunity, which leaves 4% of humans to eat the rest.
4.Robert Neville (Smith) has the responsibility of solving this issue, which sets him up to be the true savior of the movie. At one point he closes his refrigerator and on the front there is a Time Magazine front cover with the headline “Savior?” which he has clearly drawn a question mark after.
5.Robert makes some poor choices, which leave him needing to be saved, and when he is the first thing he sees is a cross.
6.Robert says “God hasn’t done this, we have”
7.Robert enthusiastically says that there is no God.
8.Robert must hide in the basement with his newfound lady friend and her son.
9.Robert literally takes the blood of a victim that he has cured, gives it to two people who go in a dark whole only to come out at dawn and give the cure to people to save the world. Before he does this he says he is finally listening to God.
Its funny, I left that theater thinking, “Huh, Christ is the true and better Robert Neville.”
1.There is a problem much worse that cancer.
2.That problem has been examined by every single (able) person ever to live.
3.There have been endless proposals of solutions.
4.Christ went to the garden and prayed that God would do it another way, but that he was ready to sacrifice himself.
5.Christ never needed to be saved.
6.Christ not only gives us a “second chance” to a medical problem, He doesn’t just wipe our slate clean, but removes it altogether on a cross and offers us his life, death, and resurrection to stand before God.
"Can you imagine if there was a question mark after Jesus said - 'It is finished.'"
-Ray
Anyways, great movie, those were some of my thoughts.
d
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3 comments:
Great thoughts Drew! I loved the movie as well, and am now the happy owner of the DVD Here are some of my thoughts for your consideration:
1) The movie stresses the imagery of light and darkness. Neville is reminded that there’s an opportunity to be a light in the darkness, similar to the phrasing of John 1:5. There, the word of God, the gospel, or Jesus all serve to be more truth, more power, and more good than evil can overcome. There’s an understanding that the good Neville tries to do will matter.
2) The movie puts an emphasis on hope. Neville doesn’t give up, against all odds, and in the face of insurmountable corporate and personal losses. He’s battling on for a cure, up until that one moment when he finally seems about to quit.
3) The movie provides a belief in God, and hinges on one man finding his faith. Neville obviously has faith (the prayer in the helicopter,) and gets to a point where he doesn’t (his claim to Anna that there is no God). It’s as if because of the billions of deaths that there couldn’t be a god, because a god wouldn’t let that happen (I believe that’s called “the problem of evil”). Thankfully, Anna stands up for God, providing evidence of God’s existence, through the still small voice who urges her to go to the pier, the fact that the day she arrives is the day that Neville is at the point of breaking, and that at the moment of impending doom, the solution is made clear.
4) The movie finds a cure that results in the shedding of blood by one man. Either the movie was going to be a complete and absolute downer or there was going to be a moment of victory at the end. Because of Neville’s work on his own immune blood, he finally discovers a cure. There’s not much more of an apropos Christian sci-fi response: the power is in the blood. So, not only does Neville’s sacrifice of time (and a little blood) provide the cure, but also, his sacrifice of his life (blood) to defeat the zombies attacking them provides the means for protection of Anna, and the healing serum. Neville becomes a Christ figure in a multi-faceted way that defies any other explanation, wrapped up in his own acceptance of faith.
Once again, because of a silly movie, I find myself realizing that the gospel shines through in the darkest, most unlikely places. Like you say in your blog, Jesus is more than legend, though; he’s the real deal, defying myth, providing hope and shining light that the darkness cannot overcome.
Great movie! Great thoughts! Keep it up!
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