Pastoral Aesthetic Quotes- 18

"So let's shut up and bite this Lilliputian-sized tax bullet. Help keep some great old paintings and some deranged new ones in plain view of the average citizen, and at the same time, help defend individual expression against the first wave of the brain gendarmes."

--Dennis Miller in The Rants

Pastoral Aesthetic Quotes- 17

"The Christian artist will often be an irritant, disturbing the anthropocentric view of the world that fallen nature naturally gravitates toward."

--Steve Turner in Imagine: A Vision for Christians in the Arts

Introspective Interlude 1

Lately, I've gotten back into the practice of listening to books on tape or CD in my car instead of music or the radio. This certainly helps out with my goal of reading 75 books by the end of the year. It also gives me a quite a variety of reading/listening material.

The book I most recently finished was A Match Made in Heaven by Robert L. Mitchell. It tells the story of a Harvard professor named Elliott Goodman. The good professor has a heart attack, and while the hospital staff is trying to save his life, a dialogue with God. God asks why he should spare Elliott. God gives him a chance to save his life by playing golf. God sends down 18 icons of human history to play against Elliott, 1 per hole. he plays for his life against people like Leonardo DaVinci, John Lennon, Babe Ruth, Edgar Allan Poe, Moses, Gandhi, Socrates, and others.

This is not a Christian book, and will not match Christian theology in any manner. However, that's not really the aim of this post. While I enjoyed the book's depictions of the historical figures, and the parallels it made between golf and life, it did get me thinking about another thing.

Suppose I were in the same situation. Who would I want to play golf against, given the chance? Here's my list. The numbers correspond only to people. They are not indicative of hole numbering. It should also be noted that no one on the list is still living. I will amend the list as the situation demands.

1. St. Paul
2. Johnny Cash
3. Humphrey Bogart
4. Albert Einstein
5. Richard Wright
6. Cole Porter
7. Benjamin Franklin
8. Langston Hughes
9. Martin Luther
10. Katherine Hepburn
11. Kate Chopin
12. Curly Howard
13. Henri Nouwen
14. Rod Serling
15. Martin Luther King, Jr.
16. Fred Rogers
17. Basil Rathbone
18. Charles M. Schulz

Movie Review- The Last Airbender

I have never seen the cartoon on which this film is based. I saw this film because I'm a big fan of its director, M. Night Shyamalan. I've been a fan since The Sixth Sense. I hated The Happening. So, I was eager to see him bounce back. I was not disappointed! I know many professional critics dislike this film. That's fine, they're entitled to their educated opinion.

The plot itself seemed convoluted to me, but this is largely due to my own lack of familiarity with the source material. Fortunately, other people summarize the plot much better than I do. Yahoo! gives the following: "Air, Water, Earth, Fire. Four nations tied by destiny when the Fire Nation launches a brutal war against the others. A century has passed with no hope in sight to change the path of this destruction. Caught between combat and courage, Aang discovers he is the lone Avatar with the power to manipulate all four elements. Aang teams with Katara, a Waterbender, and her brother Sokka to restore balance to their war-torn world."

Fortunately, this blog is more dedicated to spiritual issues than plot. And this film is loaded with spiritual issues. Examples include the power of belief, communing with a 'spirit world", reincarnation, dedication to religious vocations, as well as others which I know I am overlooking.

Many critics, profession and otherwise, and many filmgoers in general have given up on Shyamalan. But, the above paragraph explains why I have not. Regardless of the aesthetic merits of most his work post-Signs, his films speak to me. I thought about why this is. Then it hit me, the films of his which I love (all except The Happening) deal with persons trying to find their purpose. I've struggled with that issue personally.

Regarding theological issues, the films seems to be a conglomeration of various Eastern theologies. The discerning viewer will want to familiar with the basics of such religions as Buddhism and Hinduism, as well as pantheism. That sounds like a LOT of effort, just to see a movie, but it IS worth it.

Spiritual issues the film discusses include purpose, reincarnation, supernatural powers, monasticism, as well as others, such as corruption of power.

GOSPEL HANDLES

Aang (though a reincarnation of the Avatar), is the chosen one who will save the people. He is the only one who can master all the elements. He has special tattoos (markings) which identify him as the Avatar.

Also, there is a scene where the princess of the water tribe sacrifices herself so the people can be saved.

CLERGY HANDLES

Monks and priests abound in this film. They live in temples. They are not Christian monks or priests, though it is unclear what religion they actually are.

Many of our parishioners have children who are quite familiar with the cartoon series. That alone makes it worth seeing. I enjoyed the film, and still believe in M. Night Shyamalan, even if everyone else doesn't.

Pastoral Aesthetic Quotes- 16

"The promise of art and revolution is that people might discard their preconceptions and truly understand what is in the mind of another."

--John Hockenberry in Moving Violations

Pastoral Aesthetic Quotes- 15

"Like an artist who transfers mental images and colors to canvas, so the visioncaster paints a picture in the imagination of his audience."

--Andy Stanley in Visioneering, p. 90)

Pastoral Aesthetic Quotes- 14

"Epic poetry and Tragedy, Comedy also and Dithyrambic poetry, and the music of the flute and of the lyre in most of their forms, are all in their general conception modes of imitation. They differ, however, from one another in three respects, -the medium, the objects, the manner or mode of imitation, being in each case distinct."

--Aristotle (in Poetics)

The End of LOST & 24

Recently, 2 popular television series ended. I was a neither a fan or regular watcher of either LOST (ABC) or 24 (FOX). Millions of people are. I was told, however, that the series' finales both offered up a decent dose of sermon illustrations. Maybe that is true.

But it sort of brings up a larger question. Do I need to see everything to be truly culturally attuned? I don't think so.

The drawback, of course, is being accused of not liking something, taking offense, and reacting when you have not seen it. This, unfortunately, is rampant in Christian circles. What I am trying to say, is that you run the risk of operating solely on the principle of "someone told me to be offended, so I am". But then again, you also run the risk of praising something you have no clue about (as in Mark Twain's definition of a classic).

What about you? were you a fan of either of these shows? If so, how did/does it affect your preaching? Do you feel the need to check out every reference you preach on or criticize?

Movie Review- Iron Man 2

So, I finally saw this film. I say it that way because I had been wanting to see it since it was released a few weeks ago. Before I begin the actual review, I should state two important things:

1. I love superheroes, and the movies made about them.
2. I don't read comic books. I used tot read and collect them. And of the ones I did read, Iron Man was NOT one of them. It wasn't from a lack of interest. I just discovered I was reading too many titles that could not be supported by the budget of an unemployed teenager.

Now, onto my analysis.

Iron Man 2 is exactly what you want in a sequel: familiar characters and stars, enough of a recap of the original work, a sort-of picking up where the story left off, and it should not be as good as the original. The Godfather, Part II is the only known exception to this last criteria.

The film carries on the story of titan of industry, wealthy playboy, and technological genius Tony Stark. Stark, in the Iron man armor, has brought about a type of world peace. This has not escaped the notice of the United States government, who wishes to acquire the technology and use it for themselves. Stark refuses to sell to them. Meanwhile, in Russia, a heavily-tattooed physicist is making plans to get revenge on Tony Stark for perceived injustices committed against his father by Tony Stark's father during the Cold War. He tries to accomplish this by constructing a a rip-off (based on original designs) of Iron Man's (and Tony Stark's) ARC reactor. He then constructs a sort of exoskeleton which brandishes electrically-charged whips in each hand.

The film is essentially, even if unintentionally (I suspect intentional, though) about contrasts. Let me provide a few examples. Malibu, where Tony Stark resides, is always sunny and has perfect weather. (I have never been there, but I am told this is pretty accurate.) Russia is depicted as being gray, always overcast, and almost always snowing. Further, the film contrasts the sleek, sparkling, and sexy Iron Man armor with the crude exoskeleton of Whiplash. Then we are faced with the contrast of motives. The film contrast the (supposedly) pure motives of Tony Stark/Iron Man with not only the motives of revenge displayed by Whiplash, but also the motive of the United States government (is it to wage war or preserve peace?).

GOSPEL HANDLES

There's a fascinating line by Whiplash in the film when he describes his motive for wanting revenge on Tony Stark. He says, "If you could make God bleed, people would cease to believe in him." What do we, as Christians (and pastors) do with that? After all, we believe that, on the cross, God DID bleed. How would you preach this?

Also, the story that unfolds in the film, is partially a Gospel handle itself. It starts with a "very good" design (the Iron Man armor) which is then co-opted by something/someone evil, made to create chaos and bring about death, and finally is redeemed. What other Gospel Handles did you see? I can think of at least two.

CLERGY HANDLES

There are no depictions of clergy in this film.

All in all, I found this movie to be solid for a sequel. There were some parts that dragged, but on the whole it was pretty good. The lulls are salvaged by good performances by Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson, and especially, Gwyneth Paltrow and Mickey Rourke. Also noteworthy was the brief part played by Garry Shandling.

Pastoral Aesthetic Quotes- 13

"The act of singing together is deeply and indelibly human. When we sing, words are given greater range and power than when we speak. Something is shared in singing that goes beyond the words alone. Among Christians, this something has taken shape over many centuries in a practice that expresses our deepest yearning and dearest joy: the practice of singing our lives."

--Don E. Saliers (in "Singing Our lives" in Practicing Our Faith: A Way of Life. p. 180)