Apologetics and Reel Theology 2

"Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses. Beware, therefore, lest what is said in the Prophets should come about:
‘Look, you scoffers,
be astounded and perish;
for I am doing a work in your days,
a work that you will not believe, even if one tells it to you.’” (Acts 13:38-41 ESV)

My two-week break began yesterday morning with a molar extraction at 9am, leaving me oozy and woozy for most of the day. I flipped on the tv in the bedroom and noticed that The Robe was on one of the retro movie channels-- what a great movie (I'd seen it at least twice) about faith and, though not directly, apologetics. If you haven't seen it, you really should! The 1953 film is based on the book by the same name written by Lloyd Douglas (a Lutheran pastor and popular author in the 1930s) and published in 1942. According to Wikipedia: At the height of his popularity, Douglas was receiving on average 100 letters a week from fans. One of these letters provided the inspiration for The Robe. Hazel McCann, a department store clerk from Ohio, wrote to Douglas asking what he thought had happened to Christ's garments after the crucifixion. Douglas immediately began working on a novel based on this concept, sending each chapter to McCann as he finished it. Douglas and McCann finally met in 1941, and it is to her that Douglas has dedicated the book. (I find it interesting, as well, that it came out at the height of the McCarthy Era...)

The actors' Eurocentric facial features and accents (in particular Richard Burton's accent, more suited for Shakespearean theater), and the length (2:15), play against a story centered around the Crucifixion. This is the kind of movie that might cause a non-churchgoer to ask questions or even seek answers in a...well, a church (like The Exorcist did back in the 70s, though without the levitating 12-year old girl and a demon that speaks Latin backward and swears like a sailor). The central question in this film is "Why?"-- as in "Why did this [Crucifixion] have to happen?" (Without Jesus' death on the Cross, there could be no story; an off-road theological question arises in The Exorcist, as well-- "Why is the possession depicted in Hollywood fashion so frightening to many viewers?")

Such a movie is a good conversation-starter for the multitudes wandering aimlessly in this life...

Speaking of films, Last Friday I posted about God's Not Dead 2 (see Apologetics and Reel Theology), considering it more of an us-them depiction of Christians, rather than a conversation-starter movie that would likely be seen by non-Christians. In the film, the central character, a high school teacher, encourages her young, energetic lawyer to read the book "Man, Myth, Messiah," written by the author of "God's Not Dead: Evidence for God in an Age of Uncertainty," on which the original film God's Not Dead is based. Sunday afternoon my wife and I visited an outdoor mall (the weather was spectacular) and split up after a restaurant lunch-- I wandered about and ended up in a Barnes & Noble (a real-life brick-and-mortar bookstore-- I thought they were becoming extinct), with a cup of Starbuck's and a copy of the book from the movie. I thought that, perhaps, the book might offer a curious reader more in the way of apologetics-- and it does; however, the author apparently assumes that the reader will have at least some fundamental understanding of Christianity and the Bible (specifically the Old Testament, making it a difficult place to start a quest for answers) and the theology takes liberties in some places. I raised a Lutheran eyebrow at such statements made as this one on p. 72: The plan of salvation started with the first sacrifice-- the death of an animal in the garden to create a covering for Adam and Eve's sin. This is an inference that takes liberties in interpreting this verse from Genesis that comes after woman's confession to having been deceived by the serpent in the Garden: "And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them." (Genesis 3:21 ESV), about which Luther comments: Here Adam and Eve are dressed in garments by the Lord God Himself. Whenever they looked at their garments, these were to serve as a reminder to them to give thought to their wretched fall from supreme happiness into the utmost misfortune and trouble. Thus they were to be constantly afraid of sinning, to repent continually, and to sigh for the forgiveness of sins through the promised Seed. This is also why He clothed them, not in foliage or in cotton but in the skins of slain animals, for a sign that they are mortal and that they are living in certain death. (Luther’s Works, AE 1:221)

I initially was thinking when I bought this book that if it turned out to be a better conversation-starter (than GND2), it might make a nice gift for someone who wants to find out more, but doesn't know what/whom/where to ask. I had a flashback to a conversation between my brother, his son, and me on whatever that highway is that runs between Albuquerque and Santa Fe some years back. I don't know exactly what prompted the conversation about church and faith, but I distinctly recall my brother telling me, very diplomatically (and very honestly?), that "I need more time to process" such topics. Having read this book, I think the author may have meant his assertions, comparisons, and refutations for someone like my brother, but the content is a little too much (IMHO), though I would say there are many Christians whose horizons could be expanded from many of the names, places, and events mentioned.

After watching the movie yesterday, I napped on and off for a bit. As I was lying there half-dazed, I wondered to myself what it must have been like to actually meet Jesus during his ministry-- or even to meet him now (not in the died-and-gone-to-heaven sense)... The more I thought on it, the more difficult it became for me to even imagine any kind of conversation (would he speak English-- he's God after all-- with an Aramaic accent?). And would I even recognize him if I saw him? (Think of the Road to Emmaus episode in Luke 24...) Eventually I settled on five questions I would like to ask Jesus if the opportunity ever presented itself here in this world, since such questions won't matter much in heaven.

Tomorrow I'll share them with you.

С Богом!