Teapot Theology

“And the winner for the grayest, grimmest, most violent post-apocalyptic thriller of 2010 involving the Bible goes to…..The Book of Eli starring Denzel Washington.” This dark movie is not for the light-hearted or weak-stomached. It paints a very dark picture of humanity in all it’s unfettered barbarism, celebrating the survival of the fittest in all it’s glory and gory.

In a post-apocalyptic world, Eli walks west, carrying with him a book that can save the world. The evil Carnegie also wants to get his hands on Eli’s book, though not at all for the same purposes. Both men know the power of the words contained in the book, but one intends it to heal the nations, while the other wants to twist them to serve is own desires. While this movie is certainly not for everybody, it is a must for those who like examining the themes of the human depravity, sin and evil, the power of faith and particularly the influence the Bible over human history and civilizations.

In this we find poignantly played out truths such as:-

The Bible is truly a “two-edged sword”!

We owe infinite gratitude to God and his human agents who, like Eli laboured to preserve, protect and pass down Scriptures faithfully, fearlessly and accurately throughout the centuries. The main storyline reminded me of Thomas Cahill’s bestselling book How The Irish Saved Civilization.

This movie paints a painful and ugly picture of the potential of human beings for ill.

Eli is a shining example of bold, faithful obedience to God’s unique calling and assignment for his life. He trusts God’s promises to protect and carry him through all forms of opposition that comes his way. I love the admission;- “In all these years I’ve been carrying it and reading it every day, I got so caught up in keeping it safe that I forgot to live by what I learned from it.”

Eli remains faithful to the end as does the One who called Him to this task. Here’s Washingtons’ inspiring closing prayer:- ” Dear Lord, Thank you for giving me the strength and the conviction to complete the task you entrusted to me. Thank you for guiding me straight and true through the many obstacles in my path. And for keeping me resolute when all around seemed lost. Thank you for your protection and your many signs along the way. Thank you for any good that I may have done, I’m so sorry about the bad. Thank you for the friend I made. Please watch over her as you watched over me. Thank you for finally allowing me to rest. I’m so very tired, but I go now to my rest at peace. I fought the good fight, I finished the race, I kept the faith.” Stunning and challenging viewing.

* Guest blog from Julie!

Barbara Streisand said ‘The Mirror Has Two Faces’ is a film about transformation; transformation from the ugly duckling to the beautiful princess, transformation from the mindset that values the superficial without looking below the surface; transformation when an adult woman realises that her father thinks she’s beautiful; transformation of true friendship into deep, abiding and passionate love.

Watching the film with my beloved caused more than a few smiles and laughs but also some tears.  Tears as I know something of the wonder of recently discovering I am beautiful. Johnny tells me that I am beautiful on the inside and out; the first time anyone has ever said anything like that to me.  My Father in heaven also tells me that I am beautiful, loved unconditionally and forgiven. Forgiveness is transforming. Jesus death on the cross is transforming.  God’s unconditional love is transforming. God’s grace extended to such as me is transforming, it enables me to look up, confident that regardless of what circumstances or people may seek to message, God remains Sovereign and He (like my beloved), is planning for me in love.

How many faces do I have? There is the public face that presents confidence and competence but in reality just covers what is really going on underneath, the private face, the real me, is seen by few – the doubts, the fears, the struggles, the sadnesses, the uncertainties, the longings to be different – more holy, more kind, more gracious, more loving. I am so very glad that God invites us to come; to come to Him just as we are, burdened and heavy laden, anxious, worried, uncertain, empty, thirsty, hurt, rejected, abandoned, betrayed … far off.  He says ‘come and find rest … come home, where you belong’. This rest is a rest of letting go, relaxing in the everlasting arms, allowing myself to believe what my Heavenly Father believes about me.

So, …. if you want to laugh, cry, enjoy and dream watch the film with someone you love and be grateful …. grateful like me for the love of a man that consistently affirms and messages unconditional, unswerving love and grateful that my heavenly Father has always seen and known what I was/am and continues to love me just the same!

Imaginatively exploring questions of faith, responsibility, odd behavior, dental phenomena, academia, mortality, Judaism,… and how they all might combine: ‘A Serious Man’ is the new film from Academy Award-winning writer/directors Joel and Ethan Coen, that explores these intersections.

It’s the story of an ordinary man’s search for clarity in a universe dated 1967, orbiting the world of Larry Gopnik as a physics professor, having been informed by his wife Judith that she is leaving him. She has fallen in love with one of his more pompous acquaintances, Sy Ableman who seems to her a more substantial person than the feckless Larry. Larry’s unemployable brother Arthur  is sleeping on the sofa, his son Danny is a discipline problem and a shirker at Hebrew school, and his daughter Sarah is withdrawing-regular money from his wallet in order to save up for a nose job. While these lives tumble forward the struggle, for sense, meaning and direction is Larry’s chief pursuit. Larry seeks advice from three different rabbis. Can anyone help him cope with his afflictions and become a righteous person – a mensch – a serious man?

“How does God speak to us? It’s a good question.”

This “serious” question lies at the heart of the Coen’s black comedy, and on the lips of its feeble, yet sympathetic lead Stuhlbarg. Larry is averaging along with aspirations and yet within the space of days, his life accelerates into a train wreck. Shadowing the biblical figure of Job, the order of Larry’s world is flipped upside down. Searching intently for answers, Larry turns to his three rabbis, whose advice is anything but clear. Sadly, the knowledge these rabbis have of God is mystical and experiential, and lacks scriptural rooting. But the Bible gives us so much more clarity and insight into the nature of God’s relationship with the world than this film would have us believe. Though we only know God and his ways “in part” – seeing “in a mirror dimly” this side of heaven, God has revealed to us the big picture of God’s purposes in the world, and in the detail of our lives. It might not be a complete revelation, and we might not comprehend his plans in every little detail, but his revelation is indeed true and sufficient for our lives.

On one hand, the Coen’s brilliant creation of Jewish suburban dystopia and mid-life despair in the 60s is a very serious film indeed. In this darkly comedic film there are pepperings of  truly absurd scenes (e.g. Danny’s stoned Bar Mitzvah), the opening subtitled parralel parable, and the hilarious dialogue (“Hush-hush”, “Look at the parking lot, Larry”!). As with most of the Coens’ films, the sublime and ridiculous seamlessly go hand in hand; showcasing their brilliance and capturing the absurdity of life without God.

With the impersonal and distant God of Gopnik and his three rabbis, it is ridiculous to,….

“…receive with simplicity everything that happens to you”. There is haunting apologetics in the questions and comment throughout this piece:-

‘When all the truth you believe lies, and all hope within you dies then what…?’

“Why does God make us feel the questions if we cannot know the answers?”

Christians know with certainty that God has spoken for us in Jesus, and therefore (whatever we maybe feeling) we are always loved. Life is imbued with meaning, even amidst moments of pain, suffering and frustration because we know that through Jesus, God graciously and personally (is always) working in all for the good of his people. Coen’s movie is genius, my first and best new movie of the decade!! With an intelligent script, a sharp, yet unknown cast, spare cinematography and immaculate design, it is reflective, thought-provoking and stimulatingly brilliant. You guessed it: I loved it!!

One of the nominated (many) things on Noah & Esthers list for our time together was, a movie and popcorn! Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are is an all-time favourite child’s books. As a child, I resonated with the character of Max, the boy sent to bed without his supper, imagining his own world of wild creatures, over which he rules as a king. Like him, I used to let my imagination run wild, drawing maps of other worlds and inventing mythical tales, but at the same time knowing when to return home for my proverbial supper.

So I was pretty intrigued to see how Spike Jonze would translate this slim masterpiece into a full-length blockbuster…..as it was simply nothing like the trailer! I wasn’t disappointed. I mean it would be easy to bemoan the fact that Max’s bedroom doesn’t morph into a jungle, or that at 101 minutes it feels a touch bloated with some challenging and edgy one too many episodes of skylarking. Max’s exodus from the coldness of the real world to the bright imaginary land of the Wild Things and back again beautifully captures the bittersweet transition from childhood to adulthood. Jonze nails it with spare, natural acting from Max Records and Catherine Keener, quirky voicework by an inspired cast, an energetic score, exquisite cinematography, set design, seamless use of costuming, CGI. and the beautiful landscape of Australia for much of this. The resulting movie is delightful, wistful and fun, without being overly nostalgic, sentimental or manufactured. Though through the eyes and lens of an adult, this is a genuine, charming celebration and commiseration of childhood.

At the heart of the movie is Judith’s line to Max, “It’s hard being a family”. As we see illustrated in the film’s opening, families promise so much – love, care, unconditional acceptance – yet so rarely deliver. Without over psychologising it, Max’s imaginary island away from the pain of his broken, dysfunctional family life, is a place for him to safely work through what it means to belong to a family unit and care for others. It’s a chance for him to see life without himself at its centre as king, with each of the Wild Things functioning like emotional elements of his self and his existence to be negotiated. Though the underlying philosophy of Sendak and Jonze’s work may be light years from a Christian worldview, Where the Wild Things Are still rings true on a number of levels. Though we all imagine ourselves as kings in charge and control of our lives, it’s patently clear that this is not the case. Almost seven billion kings on one small planet does not make for a functional existence.

Like Max – “a boy pretending to be a wolf pretending to be a king” - we’re all faking it as rulers! None of us has the power and ability to truly “make the sadness stay away”. And the sooner we each realize the truth that the crown is not ours to wear, but our creator God’s, the sooner we will be able to make sense of the dysfunctional nature of our lives. The truth is our families will always disappoint us, being part of them will always be hard, but being a member of God’s family through Jesus is the greatest blessing we can ever experience.

Watch out for the ’seven chubby Douglas’s request!??’ and ‘Bob & Terry the non-judgemental owls’!! Also this is a stunning linked website, that I also liked very much too! This movie is surprising, beautiful and profound…

,…is not romance as you may know it (!!) but is a bold, challenging and emotionally-distant historical drama.

Ralph Fiennes is Michael Berg, the present-day narrator of this film and Bernard Schlink’s novel, a middle-aged German lawyer whom we first encounter making breakfast for a younger bedfellow but refusing to exchange intimacy for commitment. We reconvene in 1958 and 15-year-old Michael (David Kross), a clever child from an academic family, loses his virginity to taciturn Hanna (Kate Winslet), a mysterious, 36-year-old trolleybus worker whom he encounters in the street. He falls in love; she enjoys hearing him read from Tolstoy until she disappears one day without warning. Several years later, Michael, a law student, encounters Hanna in a new context – one that reveals devastating facts about his former lover. A new, unusual relationship emerges, at a distance, and one that stretches over many years. To reveal more would damage the debate at the film’s heart: an argument that pitches feelings against facts and, necessarily, asks more questions than it answers.

The detail is moving, the communication so subtle & expressive, the content uncomfortable and Winslet very deserving of her Oscar performance. ‘The Reader’ is a chewy post-Holocaust work as it pitches itself between the known facts of that cataclysm and the unanswerable questions of responsibility, guilt, law, justice and forgiveness. Overall a troubling and highly provocative movie.

What’s the most inspiring movie you’ve seen?

Not the best or whatever… the one that moves you the most?…