My brother wrote on his blog about an encounter he had with someone which prompted a lot of questions, the most basic being, "Why does God let bad things happen to good people and kittens?" The post got me thinking about the nature of God and our perception of Him, and while I don’t come even close to claiming I have all the answers, this is how I answer these questions to myself.
I think some of our dissatisfaction with God comes from an incomplete view of who He is. God is the most powerful entity in the universe, and He is not answerable to us. His only constraints are the ones He imposes on Himself. This is not a concept that sits well with Americans. The most powerful man in the world is the president of the United States, and he does what we tell him to. President Bush was so unpopular because he kept doing thing the American people didn’t like. Then along comes Barak Obama saying, "I will do all the things you wanted Bush to do but that he refused to do," and America voted him into office. And if, in four years, America is as dissatisfied with President Obama as it was with President Bush, there will be someone new in the Oval Office. But we don’t get a vote as to what God is like or what He will do, and we cannot vote Him out of the office of creator and ruler of the universe.
Today the message seems to be, "Jesus wants to be your best friend. Become a Christian and Jesus will fix all your problems." While there is a lot of underlying truth in that trite saying, it ignores the awesomeness of God and says nothing about sin and the fallen nature of the world. A God that kills kittens or lets kittens be killed has no place in this world view. But God invented kittens, and every kitten that exists does so because He lets it. And if God were to decree tomorrow: "Thou shalt kill all the kittens in the world for they are an abomination to Me, excepting the gray tabbies, for they alone are beautiful in My sight," that would be all right and good because God is boss and all kittens are His to do with as He pleases.
God created a perfect world, with a plan for how the whole thing would work. And He put man in charge of the world to take care of it. And man decided he had a better plan than God’s, and so brought sin and death into the world. Humans became mortal because of Adam’s sin. It is possible that death did not exist at all until Adam’s sin, and if that is the case, it is not God’s fault at all that kittens die. And we continue Adam’s legacy today. Every time I sin, I do my part to make this world a worse place to live in.
And yet, even though God has no responsibilities to us, His creations, even though we continually try to come up with a better plan than His, even though we continually blame Him for making us dirty after we have been wilfully rolling in the mud, even though He would be completely within His rights to completely wipe humanity off the face of the earth and start all over again with Adam 2.0, He came up with a new plan so that we can once again be right with Him. He sent His only son, Jesus, to die for us so that we don’t have to spend eternity separated from Him. He didn’t have to do that, but apparently He thinks that we are worth the trouble. The plan does not always make sense, but since God is not answerable to anyone and can do whatever He wants, it doesn’t have to.
And so I think it is an encouraging thought on this Nietzsche Saturday that the God who can do whatever He wants, went out of His way to provide for a bunch of losers like us.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Friday, April 3, 2009
My 2009 Movie Odyssey - Part III
Get Smart (2008)
Steve Carell does a fair job standing in for Don Adams in a film that did a surprisingly good job of preserving the feel of the classic 60s television show.
Man on Wire (2008)
This is a documentary that feels almost like a heist movie as a man conspires to walk on a tightrope stretched between the Twin Towers.
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007)
There were a couple of memorable characters and the minimalist camera work was somewhat interesting, but the subject matter and the plot failed to keep my interest and I didn’t care about any of the characters.
The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
The film is fairly entertaining as a pretty Anne Hathaway flirts with losing her soul in an attempt to gain the world.
Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
I think I’ve officially become a fan of Danny Boyle with this film that is edgy and stylish yet sweet and hopeful and may feature the most easy to read subtitles I have ever seen.
Coming up next: Some song and dance and a couple 3D movies.
Steve Carell does a fair job standing in for Don Adams in a film that did a surprisingly good job of preserving the feel of the classic 60s television show.
Man on Wire (2008)
This is a documentary that feels almost like a heist movie as a man conspires to walk on a tightrope stretched between the Twin Towers.
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007)
There were a couple of memorable characters and the minimalist camera work was somewhat interesting, but the subject matter and the plot failed to keep my interest and I didn’t care about any of the characters.
The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
The film is fairly entertaining as a pretty Anne Hathaway flirts with losing her soul in an attempt to gain the world.
Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
I think I’ve officially become a fan of Danny Boyle with this film that is edgy and stylish yet sweet and hopeful and may feature the most easy to read subtitles I have ever seen.
Coming up next: Some song and dance and a couple 3D movies.
Monday, March 16, 2009
My 2009 Movie Odyssey - Part II
Unfaithfully Yours (1948)
This Preston Sturges gem is a gleefully dark comedy as an orchestra conductor fantasizes about murdering his wife who he suspects of being unfaithful.
The Naked Spur (1953)
The film takes a more serious look at many of the western conventions without going all Unforgiven revisionist on us.
Open Your Eyes (1997)
This trippy, mildly entertaining film was remade as the slightly better Vanilla Sky.
George of the Jungle (1997)
This goofy film has much more intelligence than the trailer led me to believe with the humor coming from more than just getting hit in the crotch, falling in poo, and other such "slapstick" ilk.
Species (1995)
The effects are gross, half the characters have no real reason for existence, the dialog is stilted and unnatural at best, and the climax is predictable and far from thrilling.
Coming up next: three films that won major awards, and two featuring Anne Hathaway.
This Preston Sturges gem is a gleefully dark comedy as an orchestra conductor fantasizes about murdering his wife who he suspects of being unfaithful.
The Naked Spur (1953)
The film takes a more serious look at many of the western conventions without going all Unforgiven revisionist on us.
Open Your Eyes (1997)
This trippy, mildly entertaining film was remade as the slightly better Vanilla Sky.
George of the Jungle (1997)
This goofy film has much more intelligence than the trailer led me to believe with the humor coming from more than just getting hit in the crotch, falling in poo, and other such "slapstick" ilk.
Species (1995)
The effects are gross, half the characters have no real reason for existence, the dialog is stilted and unnatural at best, and the climax is predictable and far from thrilling.
Coming up next: three films that won major awards, and two featuring Anne Hathaway.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
My 2009 Movie Odyssey - Part I
Well, here we go with the start of another movie odyssey. Hopefully I won't get too backed up and behind like I did last year. For this year I have decided to distill my thoughts on each film into one sentence (and hopefully it will be a pretty good sentence). If I have more to say I will write more, but only after I have composed the lone sentence. I have no idea how much this will happen (I haven't felt the need to add any more material yet) but the additional thoughts will probably be few and far between. I'm also hoping to cross 2000 total movies some time this year (I currently have 109 to go), so I might do something special once I hit 2000. We'll see. Now, on with the show.
The Duchess (2008)
The whole thing is pretty to look at, but the story is uninteresting.
Vicky Christina Barcelona (2008)
There were too many unhappy, dissatisfied characters for me to get into it.
Bridge to Terabithia (2007)
A beautiful yet heart wrenching tale of imagination and friendship in unlooked for places.
Straw Dogs (1971)
This exercise in 70s unpleasantness is boring through the first two-thirds, and the violence in the final third was so over the top that I couldn’t take anything seriously.
The Bounty (1984)
This is a surprisingly entertaining tale on a grand scale that tries to tell the story of mutiny aboard the Bounty as realistically as possible.
Coming up next: a movie that was better than I expected and one that was worse than I feared.
The Duchess (2008)
The whole thing is pretty to look at, but the story is uninteresting.
Vicky Christina Barcelona (2008)
There were too many unhappy, dissatisfied characters for me to get into it.
Bridge to Terabithia (2007)
A beautiful yet heart wrenching tale of imagination and friendship in unlooked for places.
Straw Dogs (1971)
This exercise in 70s unpleasantness is boring through the first two-thirds, and the violence in the final third was so over the top that I couldn’t take anything seriously.
The Bounty (1984)
This is a surprisingly entertaining tale on a grand scale that tries to tell the story of mutiny aboard the Bounty as realistically as possible.
Coming up next: a movie that was better than I expected and one that was worse than I feared.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Top and Bottom of 2008 - #1
Well, we have reached the very best and the very worst. But before I let everyone in on the secret, here is an honorable mention of a favorite film I saw for the first time on the big screen.
Honorable Mention
The Great Escape (1963)
I had the great fortune to see The Great Escape on the big screen last year. One of my favorite films of all time, my enjoyment of the film was greatly enhanced by being able to see it in the theater. The prison camp appeared much larger and I found myself watching the multitude of activities going on in the background which are harder to see on a television screen. The whole movie had an even more epic feel than it did on DVD. This is truly a must-see for everyone and I highly recommend the big screen experience.
Best
Love Crazy (1941)
This is easily the funniest movie I saw all year. William Powell and Myrna Loy are a happily married couple until a series of innocent yet unfortunate events causes Myrna Loy's character to question her husband's love for her. What follows is one madcap situation after another, each eliciting more laughter than the previous one. The witty banter here between Powell and Loy is highly reminiscent of Nick and Nora from the Thin Man series, but without those pesky murders getting in the way of the comedy.
Worst
D-War (2007)
Where do I start with a movie like this? The story is silly, the screenplay is laughable, the acting is almost entirely wooden, none of the characters act believably, half the scenes end abruptly without any sort of reasonable conclusion, and to top it all off, it’s a story that is about Korean mythology with reincarnated Koreans, that takes place solely in modern day Los Angeles, with only one (minor) Asian character (who may or may not even be Korean). But wait, there’s more! Not only is Los Angeles being attacked by two dueling dragons, there is also an ancient Korean overlord (who looks as un-Korean as anyone can look) whose sole purpose is to look menacing as a Sauron wannabe while he makes the blade of his sword appear magically from its hilt. He also commands hoards of undead soldiers that appear inexplicably out of nowhere and headquarters in a castle (wha?) that is another complete ripoff of Lord of the Rings. Of all the films I’ve seen from 2007, this one would make the best Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode, and I fully expect to see a Rifftrax available for it very soon.
Since nobody guessed what the top and bottom films would be, I get to keep all the fabulous prizes I had prepared for the winners.
Coming up next: the beginning of my 2009 Movie Odyssey.
Honorable Mention
The Great Escape (1963)
I had the great fortune to see The Great Escape on the big screen last year. One of my favorite films of all time, my enjoyment of the film was greatly enhanced by being able to see it in the theater. The prison camp appeared much larger and I found myself watching the multitude of activities going on in the background which are harder to see on a television screen. The whole movie had an even more epic feel than it did on DVD. This is truly a must-see for everyone and I highly recommend the big screen experience.
Best
Love Crazy (1941)
This is easily the funniest movie I saw all year. William Powell and Myrna Loy are a happily married couple until a series of innocent yet unfortunate events causes Myrna Loy's character to question her husband's love for her. What follows is one madcap situation after another, each eliciting more laughter than the previous one. The witty banter here between Powell and Loy is highly reminiscent of Nick and Nora from the Thin Man series, but without those pesky murders getting in the way of the comedy.
Worst
D-War (2007)
Where do I start with a movie like this? The story is silly, the screenplay is laughable, the acting is almost entirely wooden, none of the characters act believably, half the scenes end abruptly without any sort of reasonable conclusion, and to top it all off, it’s a story that is about Korean mythology with reincarnated Koreans, that takes place solely in modern day Los Angeles, with only one (minor) Asian character (who may or may not even be Korean). But wait, there’s more! Not only is Los Angeles being attacked by two dueling dragons, there is also an ancient Korean overlord (who looks as un-Korean as anyone can look) whose sole purpose is to look menacing as a Sauron wannabe while he makes the blade of his sword appear magically from its hilt. He also commands hoards of undead soldiers that appear inexplicably out of nowhere and headquarters in a castle (wha?) that is another complete ripoff of Lord of the Rings. Of all the films I’ve seen from 2007, this one would make the best Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode, and I fully expect to see a Rifftrax available for it very soon.
Since nobody guessed what the top and bottom films would be, I get to keep all the fabulous prizes I had prepared for the winners.
Coming up next: the beginning of my 2009 Movie Odyssey.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Top and Bottom of 2008 - #2
Best
Wall-E (2008)
One of the things I love about the Pixar shorts is that they each tell a complete story without the use of dialog. Now we have Wall-E, a feature length film which has no dialog (except for a few commercial voiceovers) for the first half of the film. What results is a masterpiece of character animation. Not since Buster Keaton has a character shown so many emotions with so little facial movement. Also of note is the fantastic work of Ben Burtt who created such a lush soundscape for the film and gave Wall-E his voice, all against the backdrop of Thomas Newman’s beautiful score. I almost put this one at number one.
Worst
Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter (2001)
I’m not quite sure what I was expecting, but I was definitely not expecting an amateur production with unexciting slapstick fights, vampires preying on lesbians, Jesus joining forces with a Mexican wrestler, and the occasional musical number from out of the blue (one of which I am sure was inspired by "Every Sperm is Sacred" from The Meaning of Life). The production values are shoddy, the script is on par with your average student film, and overall the film is more dumb than sacrilegious (which says more about its intelligence than its theology).
Coming up next: the best of the best and the worst of the worst. Any predictions?
Wall-E (2008)
One of the things I love about the Pixar shorts is that they each tell a complete story without the use of dialog. Now we have Wall-E, a feature length film which has no dialog (except for a few commercial voiceovers) for the first half of the film. What results is a masterpiece of character animation. Not since Buster Keaton has a character shown so many emotions with so little facial movement. Also of note is the fantastic work of Ben Burtt who created such a lush soundscape for the film and gave Wall-E his voice, all against the backdrop of Thomas Newman’s beautiful score. I almost put this one at number one.
Worst
Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter (2001)
I’m not quite sure what I was expecting, but I was definitely not expecting an amateur production with unexciting slapstick fights, vampires preying on lesbians, Jesus joining forces with a Mexican wrestler, and the occasional musical number from out of the blue (one of which I am sure was inspired by "Every Sperm is Sacred" from The Meaning of Life). The production values are shoddy, the script is on par with your average student film, and overall the film is more dumb than sacrilegious (which says more about its intelligence than its theology).
Coming up next: the best of the best and the worst of the worst. Any predictions?
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Top and Bottom of 2008 - #3
Best
Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
This film tells essentially two stories. First is the story of the trial. Charles Laughton stars as a defense lawyer who is presented with a nearly impossible murder case to defend: lots of circumstantial evidence against the accused and a shaky alibi. And then his only witness, the accused’s wife, testifies for the prosecution, and things really get interesting. Laughton is riveting in the courtroom scenes and I could not take my eyes off his every tic and unorthodox delivery. The second story is Charles Laughton versus his nurse (a very funny Elsa Lanchester). Since he is just coming home from the hospital after a heart attack, her mission in life is to keep him from his favorite vices of whiskey and cigars. It is immensely entertaining to watch the cat-and-mouse game the two of them play as Laughton tries to escape from his nurse for a quick cigar while she is relentless in her attempts to pin him down to take his pills. Both stories are highly entertaining and compliment each other superbly.
Worst
Love Story (1970)
"Love means never having to say you're sorry."
"That's the dumbest thing I ever heard."
Those immortal words from What's Up, Doc? pretty much sum up my reaction to both the signature line and the film in general. Ryan O’Neal hates his father, so he ignores his father’s sensible advice and marries his college crush. She tells him "Love means never having to say you’re sorry," then gets sick and dies. His father tries to reach out to him, and he tells his dad, "Love means never having to say you’re sorry," and the credits roll. The line makes no sense and every way I try to figure it out it comes out saying something very incorrect about love. When Ryan O’Neal’s beloved says it, it’s dumb but excusable because she is a free spirit and can get away with saying things like that, but when he utters the silly phrase to conclude the film it makes absolutely no sense and puts a perfectly idiotic ending on an already silly film.
Coming up next: two saviors who save humanity from life-sucking entities.
Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
This film tells essentially two stories. First is the story of the trial. Charles Laughton stars as a defense lawyer who is presented with a nearly impossible murder case to defend: lots of circumstantial evidence against the accused and a shaky alibi. And then his only witness, the accused’s wife, testifies for the prosecution, and things really get interesting. Laughton is riveting in the courtroom scenes and I could not take my eyes off his every tic and unorthodox delivery. The second story is Charles Laughton versus his nurse (a very funny Elsa Lanchester). Since he is just coming home from the hospital after a heart attack, her mission in life is to keep him from his favorite vices of whiskey and cigars. It is immensely entertaining to watch the cat-and-mouse game the two of them play as Laughton tries to escape from his nurse for a quick cigar while she is relentless in her attempts to pin him down to take his pills. Both stories are highly entertaining and compliment each other superbly.
Worst
Love Story (1970)
"Love means never having to say you're sorry."
"That's the dumbest thing I ever heard."
Those immortal words from What's Up, Doc? pretty much sum up my reaction to both the signature line and the film in general. Ryan O’Neal hates his father, so he ignores his father’s sensible advice and marries his college crush. She tells him "Love means never having to say you’re sorry," then gets sick and dies. His father tries to reach out to him, and he tells his dad, "Love means never having to say you’re sorry," and the credits roll. The line makes no sense and every way I try to figure it out it comes out saying something very incorrect about love. When Ryan O’Neal’s beloved says it, it’s dumb but excusable because she is a free spirit and can get away with saying things like that, but when he utters the silly phrase to conclude the film it makes absolutely no sense and puts a perfectly idiotic ending on an already silly film.
Coming up next: two saviors who save humanity from life-sucking entities.
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