United Church of Two Harbors

I just finished watching season one of Heroes on DVD. It's not your typical show about people with superhuman power. These aren't people dressing up in capes and tights, these are people trying to pay rent and make sense out of the hand life has dealt them and, oh yeah, some of them can walk through walls or travel through time or heal from almost any injury.

Central to the first season is the knowledge of coming disaster in the form of a nuclear explosion that will destroy half of New York. The questions that drive the action are basically spiritual questions: Can the future be changed? What is my responsibility to the world around me? Who is my family? Who can I trust? How do I become the hero I'm meant to be? What is true power?

Early on, a messenger from the future brings a cryptic mission to one of the main characters - "Save the Cheerleader, Save the World." This cause and effect statement seems so incongruous it's almost laughable. The hero is sent on a mission to rescue a young girl 1500 miles away, seemingly unconnected to the impending disaster, but, in fact, turns out to be the lynchpin to history.

This reflects a profound truth about our faith. How do we save the world? One cheerleader, one tax accountant, one plumber, one assembly line worker at a time. We are tempted to believe that we have to have a powerful job or a lot of money to effect change, but the truth at the heart of Heroes is that it is the small things that count.

Jesus lived this spiritual truth. Though he was tempted in the desert to wield power to dominate or enthrall the masses, he instead took the path of service meeting people individually at their point of need. He was an unconventional hero. He didn't raise an army, he didn't run for office, he didn't have a fortune, but he did have compassion.

Be a hero. Save the world. Your opportunity is closer than you think.

[Heroes contains some graphic material that may not be suitable for young or sensitive viewers.]

Posted by Lawrence Lee at 4:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I love a good summer blockbuster. I go to the movies to escape and enjoy a rollicking good time. I had just such plans when my kids and I went to see Spiderman 3 this past week, but I got a bit more than that.

The formula for your basic comic book flick is what is often called the Myth of Redemptive Violence. It works like this:

1) The world is at peace.
2) An evil arises that upsets the balance of this peaceful world.
3) A hero arises to confront the evil and vanquishes it and the world returns to its normal peaceful state.

This should sound familiar. It's the plot of many of our cultural stories, from Popeye to Superman, and it's widely espoused by politicians. It's also markedly UnChristian. In the Christian worldview:

1) The world is not at peace, but needs to be redeemed.
2) Evil is not external, but is part of us all.
3) Violence will not vanquish the evil for violence is the problem, not the solution.

I was amazed that all of the above themes are present in Spiderman 3. I don't want to spoil the film for any who haven't seen it, but Peter Parker's struggle is with himself as much as any external foe and the key to bringing peace is not violence, but forgiveness.

Posted by Lawrence Lee at 12:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

[Pan's Labyrinth is rated R for graphic violence and some language.]

Pan's Labyrinth (El Laberinto del Fauno) is a new fairy tale, but it's also from the pre-Disney world of fairy tales. As such it is magical, brutal, gruesome, mysterious, and full of wonder. This movie is honest about its R rating and is definitely not for the faint of heart. It is also one of the best cinematic studies of dealing with violence I have seen in quite some time.

The film is set in 1944 Fascist Spain right after the Spanish Civil War. Ofelia, a young girl, and her pregnant mother go to stay at a military outpost to be with Ofelia's new stepfather and the father of her unborn sibling. Her new stepfather is a Captain charged with hunting down the remaining rebels hiding out in the woods and he does so brutally and without remorse.

Ofelia is entranced by fairy tales which she reads constantly. She finds an ancient labyrinth in the woods near the compound which she visits one night. At the center of the labyrinth she encounters a faun who tells her she is the long-lost daughter of the King of the Underworld and gives her three tasks to prove her royal lineage. These are also a test to make sure that her soul hasn't gone native to this realm and that she is still worthy of her royal title.

[Warning: Major spoilers follow. I completely give away the ending. Read on only if you've seen the film or never intend to do so. You've been warned.]

Continue reading "Into the Moral Labyrinth
A Theological Review of Pan's Labyrinth" »

Posted by Lawrence Lee at 6:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

[Night at the Museum is rated PG for mild action, language and brief rude humor.]

Larry Daley has a mess on his hand. It's called history.

Larry is the hapless new security guard for the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. What he doesn't know when he takes the job is that history comes alive at night in the museum... literally. And the problem is, history is full of conflict and he's right in the middle of it.

The Ancient Romans don't get along with the folks from the American Wild West. The North and the South are still fighting the Civil War every night. And the Huns don't seem to get along with anyone.

[Warning: Mild spoilers follow.]

Continue reading "The Peaceable Kingdom
A Theological Review of Night at the Museum" »

Posted by Lawrence Lee at 12:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

[Superman Returns is rated PG-13 for some intense action violence.]

I watched the new Superman movie and thoroughly enjoyed it as a film, but less so as theology. Before I go there though let me say, see this film. It's brilliantly conceived and directed by Bryan Singer with a good story and fantastic performances, especially by Kevin Spacey and Parker Posey.

The movie goes boldly into theological turf, and that's where it runs into trouble.

[Warning: Mild spoilers follow.]

Continue reading "Messianic Superman: Why the World Doesn't Need a Comicbook Savior" »

Posted by Lawrence Lee at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

[Stranger Than Fiction is rated PG-13 for some disturbing images, sexuality, brief language and nudity.]

Harold Crick has a problem. He is aware of his fate.

Well, not entirely, but one morning as he is going through his paces he suddenly hears a disembodied voice narrating his every move and commenting on the mundaneness of his routine. He soon realizes that this voice is narrating a story that will culminate with his ultimate demise... and soon.

He sets out on a desparate odyssey to find this disembodied voice and convince the owner not to finish the story. Along the way he contends with his number obsessed colleagues at the IRS, an anarchist baker who becomes the object of his affection, and a professor of literature who tries to guide him through the narrative of his life.

[Spoiler Alert - Plot spoilers ahead. You've been warned.]

Continue reading "Fate, Life, and Art -
A Theological Review of "Stranger than Fiction"" »

Posted by Lawrence Lee at 12:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)