GOD
Intro
Question Ideas
1. “If
you had to
pick somebody other than God to be God, who would you pick?”
2. If
you were God
how would you do things differently?
3. What
things do
you think God could do to prove He was true?
• I-Robot
One robot asks
Spooner if
“the maker” put us all on earth for a reason, and what happens to us
once
that reason is fulfilled. A woman, in saying that humans are limited in
some ways, asks a man if he can walk on water.
He says no,
“but there was
this one guy a long time ago ...”
• King
Arthur
Lancelot
angrily asks, “Is
this the work of your God?” But when Lancelot boasts that he kneels to
no god, Arthur says, “No man fears kneeling before a God he trusts.”
•
Artificial Intelligence
A scientist
remarks that
his ambition to create a robot that can feel is similar to God's. "In
the
beginning, didn't God create Adam to love him?" he asks
IMAGE
OF GOD
• I-Robot
“Can a robot
write a symphony?
Can it take a blank canvas and turn it into a masterpiece?” asks
Spooner.
• Toy
Story
Buzz'
revelation that he
is just a toy -and his decision to be the best toy possible
• Toy
Story 2
The story
operates under
the premise that toys are meant to be played with and enjoyed by
children,
subtly vilifying collectors who prize the item, but miss the
point.
We find our purpose is serving God.
JESUS
• Spiderman
Only once does
Peter use
his newly acquired hyper-strength for less-than-honourable purposes. He
punches out a bully, but later expresses remorse and concern for the
boy's
condition.
Uncle Ben
underscores the
importance of restraint when he tells Peter, “Flash Thompson probably
deserved
it. But just because you can beat him up, doesn't give you the right
to.”
Ben's last prophetic words to Peter become Spider-Man’s call to action:
“Remember, with great power comes great responsibility” (echoing Luke
12:48).
•
Bicentennial Man
A character
claiming to
be more than just human 1:46:00 – 1:49:00
• Evita
A manipulative
leader tells
the people what they want to hear
1:06:20 –
1:13:23
•
Forrest Gump
Goes running,
gains a following
1:53:20
•
Forrest Gump
With Lt Dan
finding out
about Jesus 1:18:00
JESUS
– HUMANITY
• Spiderman
2
Even when his
Spidey powers
fail him, he puts his life on the line to save others, leaving us with
a potent reminder that we don't have to have superpowers to do good and
help those around us.
• Toy
Story 2
Buzz explains,
"Woody once
risked his life to save me. I couldn't call myself his friend if I
wasn't
willing to do the same."
THE
CROSS
• X-Men 2
Friendship and
self-sacrifice
are commended. Jean Grey sacrifices herself to save her X-Men team
• Lord
of the Rings 3
To draw the
eye of Sauron
and buy Frodo and Sam time to destroy the ring, Aragorn, Gimli,
Gandalf,
Legolas, Merry and many others march to certain death at the Black
Gate.
Good triumphs, though just as in real life, there are costs involved
and
casualties endured.
• Star
Trek
“The needs of
the many outweigh
the needs of the few—or the one.” Spock
• Master
and Commander
They recite
the Lord's Prayer
before burying dead comrades at sea
•
Spiderman 2
Aunt May that
a moment of
wrong thinking (he wanted revenge instead of justice) caused the chain
of events leading up to Uncle Ben's death, he expresses genuine sorrow
for what he did, and it's easy to see a resolve building inside of him
never to do it again. "Uncle Ben was killed that night for being the
only
one who did the right thing," he laments
DEATH
OF JESUS
•
Brokendown Palace
Girl admits
crime to see
her friend pardoned 1:24:00 – 1:27:00
•
Vertical Limit
Father
sacrifices himself
to save his child 2:00 – 6:00
• The
Princess Bride
Someone makes
a daring rescue
42:20 – 43:20
• Mask
of Zorro
Zorro makes a
daring rescue
• The
Mission
A slave trader
repents and
seeks to be forgiven. For penitence he has to carry a huge weight up a
cliff to where the natives live at the top of the falls. At the top of
the climb the weight is cut off
0:41:18
RESURRECTION
• Matrix
Trilogy
Both Trinity
and Neo have
a death and resurrection to new life. The idea of life through death is
a clear biblical insight.
RETURN
OF CHRIST
• Lord of
the Rings 3
"We've come to
it at last,
the great battle of our time." Gandalf
BIBLE
A number of
movies have
mistakes in them. It can be fun to show a movie that has mistakes and
see
if the students can point them out.
A quick visit
via a search
engine will turn up dozens of sites. Try movie bloppers and see what is
out there.
GOSPEL
• Amistad
(R)
Possibly one
the best presentations
of the gospel in a film. The story of Jesus' life, death and
resurrection
is shown in detail via a picture Bible acquired by Cinque, the leader
of
the captured Africans and he explains who Jesus is to another slave.
PROPHECY
• Matrix
There are
numerous references
to Neo being ‘the One’. A great quote you will need to see the
movie
to get it correctly, as I am doing this one by memory)
Trinity says
“If Neo is
‘the one’ then there is nothing we can do to stop him from being ‘the
one’
but if he is not ‘the one’ there is nothing we can do to make him ‘the
one’.
JUDGMENT
• Lord of
the Rings 3
Gimli lobbies
for killing
Saruman, but Gandalf shows mercy
• Lord
of the Rings 3
“Bilbo should
have killed
Gollum when he had the chance.” And Gandalf says, “Be careful how you
deal
out judgment. Many that live deserve death and some that die deserve
life.
Be careful how you deal out judgment—Gollum has a part to play in this
journey.”
HEAVEN
• Matrix
trilogy
Zion - The
holy city of
God. The kingdom on earth. "On earth as it is in heaven" (Mat 6:10).
"And
the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Mat 16:18). Also,
Isaiah
14:32 (Message Bible): What does one say to outsiders who ask
questions?
Tell them, "God has established Zion. Those in need and in trouble find
refuge in her."
• Lord
of the Rings 3
Gandalf and
Pippin talk
about death and the afterlife in a way that invites comparison to the
Christian
understanding of heaven. When their battle seems lost, Pippin says, "I
never thought it would end like this," to which Gandalf replies, "End?
No, the journey doesn't end here. There's another path we all must
take.
The grey rain curtain of this world rolls back, and it will change to
the
silver clouds, and then you see it. ... White shores and beyond, a far
green country under a swift sunrise." It comforts Pippin to know that
there
is more beyond this life. The elves depart for the Gray Havens, a
heavenly
resting place that will also be shared by Bilbo and Frodo.
•
Finding Nemo
"All drains
lead to the
sea," Nemo’s tank mates
SIN
• Spiderman
Only once does
Peter use
his newly acquired hyper-strength for less-than-honourable purposes. He
punches out a bully, but later expresses remorse and concern for the
boy's
condition. Uncle Ben underscores the importance of restraint when he
tells
Peter, “Flash Thompson probably deserved it. But just because you can
beat
him up, doesn't give you the right to.” Ben's last prophetic words to
Peter
become Spider-Man’s call to action: “Remember, with great power comes
great
responsibility” (echoing Luke 12:48).
Hebrews 5:15
“For we do
not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses,
but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet
without
sin.”
• King
Arthur
A man protests
that he doesn't
kill for fun. He companion urges him to try. “You might get a taste for
it,” he says.
DISCIPLESHIP
• Matrix
Neo must
choose between
the red pill and the blue pill - the ability to see the world as it
really
is, and the illusion of the world as he knows it.
• Lord
of the Rings 3
Sam as he
urges Frodo on
toward Mordor (in their darkest moment, he picks up an exhausted Frodo
and tells his burdened master, "I can't carry it for you, but I can
carry
you").
• Lord
of the Rings 3
Elrond then
delivers the
sword in person and tells a reluctant Aragorn to fulfil his calling and
inherit the throne ("Put aside the ranger. Become who you were born to
be. ... Give hope to men").
• Lord
of the Rings 3
Sensitive to
the grief over
his son Boromir's death, Pippin offers his life in service to the
steward—a
life for a life since Boromir died rescuing him from Orcs.
FREE
WILL – PREDESTINATION
• I-Robot
Can a machine
do that? And
if a man “kills” a robot, is it murder? What if a robot kills a man?
Can
it be “murder” if it was programmed to do it? And if so, who's to
blame,
the robot or the programmer? Does a robot have enough free will to defy
its programming?
SERVANTHOOD
• Lord of
the Rings 3
Stung by
Gondor's no-show
at the battle, Theoden asks, "Why should we ride to the aid of those
who
did not come to ours?" yet he acquiesces and boldly lends support when
the moment arrives.
PRODIGAL
SON
• Lord of
the Rings 3
Denethor is a
tragic leader
who refuses to relinquish his throne to the reigning king and pays a
terrible
price for his pride. His surviving son, Faramir, provides a sad study
of
a man's desperate need for his father's approval—and a father's need to
love all of his children equally and unconditionally.
•
Finding Nemo
Nemo doesn’t
run away, but
his rebellion certainly leads to him losing his relationship with his
father,
his security and his freedom, just as the son did in Jesus’ Luke 15
tale.
Marlin repeatedly warns Nemo of the danger he’s putting himself in, but
Nemo doesn’t listen.
SPIRITUAL
GIFTS
• Lord of
the Rings 3
Even "weaker
vessels" Eowyn
and Merry lobby for a chance to fight. While they're not taken
seriously
by the warrior males of the group, both play critical roles in turning
the battle
JOHN
THE BAPTIST
• Matrix
Trilogy
The Oracle is
like a John
the Baptist who comes before Neo to lets people know who Neo is.
• Lord
of the Rings 3
Gandalf is
accountable to
a higher power, as evidenced in his statements: "My work here is
finished,"
"Now come the days of the king. May they be blessed," and "Authority is
not given to you to deny the return of the king!"
SEX
AND LOVE
• 50 First
dates
Sex and love
are not the
same thing, and only a sacrificial, long-term investment can satisfy
the
relational longings of the heart. Henry’s tireless attempts to "meet"
and
show his love for Lucy models 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. He’s sensitive to
her
emotional fragility. He labours to produce a video of their time
together
so that, each morning, she can pop it into the VCR and start the day
with
some context of their relationship.
In the
final scene, we learn
that the couple eventually marry and have a child, suggesting years of
longsuffering on Henry’s part. And because Lucy’s condition is
incurable,
there’s no reason to believe his situation will get any easier for
years
to come. Still, he keeps giving.
PRAYER
• Spiderman
Aunt May’s
bedtime recital
of the Lord’s Prayer turns into a plea for deliverance from a villain.
• X-men
2
Nightcrawler
is spiritually
minded, knowledgeable about scripture (reciting several verses from
memory)
and prayerful. Besides praying the Rosary, when facing adversity he
prays
the Lord’s Prayer and recalls Psalm 23. His devotion is portrayed as
genuine,
never an excuse for some deviancy or character flaw
• Master
and Commander
After a ship
mate dies the
crew recites the Lord’s Prayer.
ANGELS
• I-Robot
The chief
inventor of the
robots made by U.S. Robotics is Dr. Alfred Lanning, and he built into
them
three laws: Law I) Robots may not harm a human being and must prevent
humans
from being harmed. Law II) Robots must do whatever they’re told unless
it conflicts with Law I. Law III) Robots must protect themselves unless
doing so conflicts with the first two laws.
But do the
laws really work?
CONSCIENCE
• Spiderman
2
Aunt May
reinforces the
idea when she says, "I believe there's a hero in all of us, that keeps
us honest, gives us strength, makes us noble and finally allows us to
die
with pride."
• King
Arthur
One knight,
Bors, has fathered
so many children that he gives them numbers instead of names. Still, he
is not married to their mother. [Spoiler Warning] When Arthur and
Guinevere
marry at the end, Bors sulks to one of the kids, “Now I’ll have to
marry
your mother.”
• Amistad
John Quincy
Adams presents
his case to the Supreme Court; he calls on them to recognize "right"
and
"wrong." They do so.
GOING
THROUGH HARD TIMES
• The
Apostle
"I love you,
Lord," he rants,
"but I'm mad at you!"
• X-men 2
When Storm and
Jean Grey
locate Nightcrawler in a Boston cathedral, he motions toward a statue
of
Jesus on the cross, and reverently wonders if the Lord is not teaching
him something through his present trials (he’s being falsely blamed for
the attack on the President).
MEANING
OF LIFE
• Zoolander
"I’m sure
there must be
something more to life than being really, really good looking," muses
Derek.
"I’ve got to find out what that is."
ANGER
• Movie
that have anger
as a theme
Anger
Management, X2, 8
Mile's, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
• Hulk
You'd better
watch that
temper of yours," David Banner to his genetically altered son in “The
Hulk.”
• Falling
Down
Michael
Douglas shot up
a fast-food joint because he wanted it "his way,"
• The
Matrix
"Guns
lots of guns!"
• Gangs
of New York
Poverty
•
American Beauty
Parental abuse
or neglect:
Conclude that "love is the answer," but not until they have served up
the
vicarious satisfactions of violent confrontation, sarcastic vitriol,
and
the humiliation of the hero's enemies.
•
American Beauty
The roses that
appear throughout
the movie are symbols of hypocrisy, for example the roses in the house
denote that the house itself is a hypocrisy; the outside of the house
is
beautiful and what goes on inside is complete opposite of the external
appearance. another example is the rose itself meaning that a rose is
beautiful
when you look at it far away but up close its in a way painful looking
because of its thorns, everything in the world is could look beautiful
but it can also hurt
DRUGS
AND ADDICTION
• Lord of
the Rings 3
The Beginning
of Lord of
the Ring 3 gives the background to Gollum, Have this section and the
last
section of Gollum falling into the pit.
Possible
questions.
Is Gollum
driven more by
addiction or evil?
How does the
pull of the
ring change Gollum?
How has the
ring added to
Gollum’s life?
How has the
ring destroyed
Gollum’s life?
What are some
things that
people can be addicted to today?
How is
Gollum’s addiction
different to a drug addict?
Whether
someone choses to
become addicted or falls into it, it can change their life – How could
you help a person deal with their addiction?
Some groups
believe the
first step is to admit that you have a problem? Do you think this helps?
Christians
believe the first
step back to God is to admit to Him that you are a sinner and need his
help? What is your response?
See Mark 5:1-21
Interview
with the actor
who played Gollum in Lord of the Rings
They have
said, “There but
for the grace of God go me. I wonder how I would have dealt with the
responsibility
if I had had this powerful drug thrust upon me or given to me. Would I
have the moral stature to deal with it? I don’t think most people would
have had the stature to deal with it. I think most people would have
been
consumed by it. It’s a very potent, powerful thing.
HOW
CAN I BE CERTAIN?
• Indiana
Jones &
Last Crusade
At the end of
the movie
Indiana has to go through 3 ‘tests’ to get to the grail so he can
save his father - the last is the leap of faith 1:42:30-1:44:24
• Nemesis
Near the
beginning while
looking for B4 the 3 crew are attacked, sothey drive the 4WD
craft
off a cliff to where data has placed the space ship ready to catch them
•
Vertical Limit
Leap across
the chasm 1:38:00
- 1:40:00
• X-Men
A person is
saved through
a unique power 1:17:23 - 1:24:38
GUIDANCE
• The Matrix
Neo is guided
by the phone
11:55 -15:36
• Chariots
of fire
Eric tells his
sister God
makes me fast
55:10 - 56:50
• Tomb
Raider
After a long
search the
hero finally finds the treasure
1:13:00 -
1:16:00
CREATION
• Contact
Shows the
grandeur of creation
0:00 - 06:00
HOLY
SPIRIT
• Legally
Blonde
We are all
different but
the Holy Spirit lives in all of us 20:00 - 22:00
• X-Men
Each of the
mutants has
a different gift and need the whole to achieve the different goals that
they do Thus, Everyone has a particular gift to offer
25:30 - 28:15
Romans 12
RESISTING
EVIL
• Return of
the Jedi
Fight Emperor
of Darkness
1:32:35
• Empire
Strikes Back
Fights Darth
Vader 1:42:13
EVANGELISM
• A
Knight's Tale
A great
preacher presenting
his message 33:00-36:00
CHURCH
• A
Knight's Tale
Will rides
into a church
following a girl 19:00 - 23:00
•
Remember the Titans
Team working
together as
one body 46:00 - 49:00
• Mr
Bean (TV)
Goes to Church
MEANING
OF LIFE
• I-Robot
The robot
Sonny tells Detective
Spooner that we all have a purpose. What is purpose? Where does it come
from? Is it something with which we are "programmed," as it were? If
so,
who programs it? Is it possible to create purpose for ourselves? If so,
how? What happens when different people's understandings of purpose
conflict
with one another?
INTERVIEWS:
John Rhys-Davies
(GIMLI)
Lord of the
Rings
I think that
Tolkien says
that some generations will be challenged. And if they do not rise to
meet
that challenge, they will lose their civilization.
I have had the
ideal background
for being an actor. I have always been an outsider. I grew up in
colonial
Africa. And I remember in 1955, it would have to be somewhere between
July
the 25th when the school holiday started and September the 18th when
the
holidays ended. My father took me down to the quayside in Dar-Es-Salaam
harbour. And he pointed out a dhow in the harbour and he said, “You see
that dhow there? Twice a year it comes down from Aden. It stops here
and
goes down [South]. On the way down it's got boxes of machinery and
goods.
On the way back up it’s got two or three little black boys on it. Now,
those boys are slaves. And the United Nations will not let me do
anything
about it.”
I mean… the
abolition of
slavery comes from Western democracy. True Democracy comes form our
Greco-Judeo-Christian-Western
experience. If we lose these things, then this is a catastrophe for the
world.
But if
Tolkien’s got a message,
it’s that “Sometimes you’ve got to stand up and fight for what you
believe
in.” He knew what he was fighting for in WW1.
Elijah
Woods (Frodo)
You play a
hero in this
film who sacrifices all that he has in him but ultimately fails. He
succumbs
to the addiction of the Ring. And he is saved from the fate of Gollum
and
Isildur by chance or fate or providence or whatever you want to call it…
Wood:
It’s mercy.
It’s in the book: It’s Frodo’s mercy for Gollum that destroys the ring.
Had Frodo killed Gollum, he would have possibly gotten to Mount Doom
and
he would have kept the ring for himself and the world would have been
doomed.
[It was because] he saw a kinship in Gollum and had an understanding
and
an empathy with Gollum that Gollum stayed alive and ultimately impeded
upon Frodo’s own destruction, which destroys the ring.
MORAL
DECISION MAKING
• Lord of
the Rings
Interview
Viggo Mortensen
(Aragorn)
It’s
wrong to say,
“Because you’re a plumber, a taxi driver, a journalist, an actor,
unemployed,
a single mother… you don’t have a right to say anything.” The history
of
the United States and other nations [shows that the practice of]
leaving
to those who govern the moral decision-making and the course of the
country
has not been a very successful one.
FREEDOM
• I-Robot
Detective
Spooner tells
Sonny, "You'll have to find your way like the rest of us ... that's
what
it means to be free."
Do you
agree?
What does it
mean to be
free?
What sorts of
freedom do
we have as "slaves" to God's law?
Are those who
do not follow
God "free," and if so, in what sense? (See Romans 7:25)
Other places for Movie
Themes
Movie
Ministry
The
Damaris Trust (see their CultureWatch section)
Movie
Parables
Movie
Theme Index
Movie
Theology: Movie Reviews and Resources
Film
Education (Film Library section has free downloadable
discussion
guides for use in secular, public classrooms.)
Plugged
In (Focus on the Family)
Screenit.com
(Detailed discussion of the moral content of most movies.)
The
Internet Movie Database |
