Oh My God! the movie….

This morning on Facebook, someone posted a quote from "Oh My God," the feature length documentary by Peter Rodgers, The premise of the movie intrigued me. 

In every corner of the world, there’s one question that can never be definitively answered, yet stirs up equal parts passion, curiosity, self-reflection and often wild imagination: “What is God?”

Filmmaker Peter Rodger explores this profound, age-old query in the provocative non-fiction feature Oh My God. This visual odyssey travels the globe with a revealing lens examining the idea of God through the minds and eyes of various religions and cultures, everyday people, spiritual leaders and celebrities.

Keith checked to see if it was available on Netflix and indeed it was.  It should arrive sometime the end of the week, in time to watch on Christmas afternoon. Our Christmas Days are usually quiet....the kids head off to their dad's about noon and we eat leftover Chinese food and hang out.  Everybody has to have their traditions, afterall.

I will post a review of sorts after we watch the movie. It did not get very good reviews for content.  (although the photography is described as stunning) so we'll see.....

There is also a book called the "Oh My God Chronicles" written by Rodger.  There is an excerpt from the book to read PDF style on line.

He talks about his father, famed photojournalist George Rodger, known for his photographs of WWII that were published in Life Magazine.  He was with the British army when they liberated the Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp on April 15, 1945.  His photographs were among the first "proof" of the atrocities committed by the Germans. Of the scene he witnessed, he says this....

Under the pine trees the scattered dead were lying, not in their twos or threes or dozens, but in their thousands.  The living tore ragged clothing from the corpses to build fires, over which they boiled pine needles and roots for soup.  Little children rested heads against the stinking corpses of their mothers, too nearly dead themselves to cry.  An emaciated man approached me.  "Look, Englishmen," he said.  "This is German culture." And he fell down dead in front of me.  Bodies with gaping wounds in the region of the kidneys, liver and heart testified to the cannibalism that had been resorted to, degradation begetting degradation.  

Which brings us back to the oft asked questions of theodicy....a question way beyond the scope of this post. 

Desmond Doss - "I couldn't picture Christ with a rifle killing people."

During New Year's break, Keith watched a movie about Desmond Doss...The Conscientious Objector. It is the true story of Desmond Doss, a World War II veteran who joined the army to serve his country, yet refused to carry a gun or harm the enemy. He did not believe in killing...simply stated...

"I couldn't picture Christ with a rifle killing people."

Wikipedia says:

Desmond Doss refused to kill, or carry a weapon into combat, because of his personal beliefs as a Seventh-day Adventist. He thus became a medic, and by serving in the Pacific theatre of World War II helped his country by saving the lives of his comrades, while also adhering to his religious convictions.

He was tormented by his fellow soldiers, mocked and ridiculed for refusing to carry a gun. Yet he stuck to his beliefs and showed a selfless, christlike attitude toward those who tormented him.

In an article in the Advent News Network the producer of the documentary, Terry Benedict, talks about the profound effect Desmond Doss had on reconnecting him with his faith:

"You think you're living the good Christian life, walking in faith, but when I started the project, I learned what it really meant to walk in faith," Benedict said. Doss, the filmmaker added, "is always at peace and I've learned how to be at peace when everything is breaking out around you. There was no way I couldn't be affected [by Doss' story] and not be a better person."

And when President Roosevelt presented Doss with the medal of honor he said:

“I am proud of you. You really deserve this. I consider this a greater honor than being President.”

Doss was the first conscientious objectors to be awarded the Medal of Honor. (There has been one other conscientious objector awarded the medal of honor.....Thomas Bennet, from the Vietnam War) Doss single handedly...amidst whizzing bullets from the Japanese, lowered seventy five wounded soldiers to safety using a rope he rigged with two loops. He put the legs of the wounded in the loops, wrapped them up in the rope and lowered them down. Most of the men had to be dragged to the escarpment's edge. Doss weighed about 150 lbs. He prayed the entire time...

"Lord, help me get one more. Just ONE more."

After the last man was evacuated, Doss himself made his way to safety. His commanding officer determined that Doss had lowered one hundred men down the cliff....but Doss thought it was probably closer to fifty...so they compromised on seventy five.

One of the articles I read mentioned that once Doss tried to tend to a wounded Japanese soldier. One of the American soldiers with Doss told him that if helped the enemy he would have to kill him. I imagine that Doss' heart was so filled with the love and compassion of Jesus, it didn't matter to him whether the wounded soldier was Japanese or American. He saw a brother in need of help.

What a great story...a true story...of faith and courage. To read more about Doss check out the article HERE and HERE.

Blind Side...

Keith and I went to the movies this afternoon.  Something we do maybe 4 or 5 times a year.  He is a big movie fan...me, not so much.  I'd seen trailers for this movie and it struck me as a movie I would like to see.  I can't remember the last movie I saw...although it was probably sometime in late August.  Like I said...Keith is a big movie fan...me, not so much. 

For one thing, when I watch a movie it seems to get stuck in my head and I keep mulling it over and over and over.  I've been mulling this movie for the past few hours. 

The movie is based on the real life story of Ravens tackle Michael Oher and the Tuohy family.  He was a homeless teenager, son of a crack addicted mother, from the inner city Memphis projects. Through a series of unlikely events, he ended up at an affluent Christian school where, through another series of unlikely events, he was befriended by and taken in by the Tuohy's.  It changed his life forever.

Michael is one of thousands and thousands of young black men born into similar circumstances.  Young men whose lives seem doomed before they even begin. So many of them...too many of them to help.

It reminded me of the Starfish Story that I posted a while back on this blog

A Zen monk was seen by his disciple by the sea, where the tide had washed ashore hundreds of starfish. It was clear that they would soon die from exposure. The monk was tossing the starfish, one at a time, back into the sea, in a slow and meditative manner.

"Why are you bothering?" The disciple asked the monk. The young disciple looked at the large number of starfish that were succumbing. "It won't make any difference"

The monk stopped for a moment, and looked down at the starfish in his hand. "It will to this one," he replied, as he tossed it into the sea.

 

Flywheel

Keith and I watched a movie together last night called Flywheel. It is produced by Sherwood Pictures, a production company created by Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia.... of Facing Your Giants fame. Flywheel was the first movie produced by the church and it was more in line with what you might expect from a Christian movie. Here I go again...discussing old news. It was somewhat touching and heartwarming ....and I did find myself tearing up a time or two. ...but overall, I don't think it presented a true to life picture of what the Christian life usually entails.

The story was about the owner of a used car lot and his pregnant wife and young son. He was not an honest salesman...and he ripped many people off....even his pastor!! His wife was not happy with his business practices or his relationship with her or with their son. His son didn't care much for him and knew he was a "cheat." He was on the brink of losing his business. He was estranged from his father. Then one night, while watching a late night TV evangelist he "got right with God" and made "Jesus the Lord of his life." And by the end of the movie....all...ALL...his problems were straightened out. I know it was just a movie.....but I couldn't help but want to shout....hey...what about, "in this world you will have trouble," or "pick up your cross and follow me." It was just a bit hokey...and a bit pie in the sky....but overall, a pretty good "B" rate movie.

What Would Love Do Now?

Keith and I watched the movie Conversations With God this weekend. I rarely watch movies but this one piqued my interest because of the similarity between the experiences of Neale Walsch and my worst case scenario imaginings. The gist of the movie (based on a true story) is this:
Man involved in an accident and suffers a debilitating injury, man loses job, man loses home. Man is penniless, living in a homeless campsite until he manages to get a few breaks and begins to get back on his feet - albeit a long, slow process during which he is reduced to eating food out of dumpsters and making enough money from collecting cans to pay the “rent” ($25 a week) at the homeless campsite. Even then he is still plagued with bad luck. Finally one night, he drifted off to sleep on the couch after scrawling questions on a yellow legal pad…. questions similar to the ones Job asked. He is awakened by a voice asking him if he really wants to know the answers to his questions or “are you just venting?” It is God.

At least he attributes the message to God. Some of the opinions (warnings) at fundie sites on the web declare that the messages he received are not from God….but rather from a demon – perhaps THE demon. In the first book (of many) the author states that he is simply “taking dictation” from God. I haven’t read any of his books, although I may. There were concepts presented in the movie and what I’ve read since then on the internet that ring true with my spirit. They follow below. I may write more about this interesting guy in future posts, but for now, I have to get ready for work.

Guiding all of our interactions and foremost in our mind should be the question
What would love do?

God is speaking to everyone all the time. The question is not to whom does God talk, but who listens. This is clarified by the statement that God can communicate with you in the next song you hear, the next breeze that caresses your ear, the next conversation you overhear. "All these devices are mine. All these avenues are open to me. I will speak to you if you invite me."

And when asked to sum up in one paragraph what God wants to say to us Neale declares he can do it in five words…..”You’ve got me all wrong”

Indeed we do……

Man's Inhumanity to Man - Appocolypto

Bummed….I am SO bummed!!!! Today was the last day of my ten day vacation. I SO do not want to go back to work!! I was talking to my mom earlier, bemoaning the fact that it was over. “You wouldn't really want to stay home all the time would you? You’d get bored” Bored? Bored? BORED???!!! Surely you jest!!! Ah….like no….with the world wide web at my fingertips? With so much stuff I want to read and explore and THINK about? With three teenagers and a husband to care for? (granted the teenagers are with their dad half the time, but still……) No…I could happily be a stay at home mom…..even though the kids are big enough to not really need one.

But anyway, we got a lot accomplished this vacation (yes, the flowers are planted, thank you very much) but there were a few last minute things still to be done this afternoon/evening. I promised Keith I would watch one of the four movies he rented on Friday and that I would share a bottle of wine from a nearby central Pennsylvania winery. We watched the movie this afternoon. I am sipping the wine right now.

He rented four movies (ever the movie buff) and I picked the one I wanted to watch with him (I am never the movie buff). It was between The Fountain and Appocolypto. With this preoccupation I’ve had lately with sacrifice, Girardian theory, the scapegoat….I thought it might give me some additional insights…..and it surely did!!!

Actually at times it almost brought me to tears. I’ve heard Keith talk about man’s inhumanity to man. Boy, oh boy….was there inhumanity in this movie. It began with scenes of everyday life in the villi age of the people who were destined to be the scapegoats. They were not violent people at all….and there were scenes of humorous interaction between them, a scene of the whole villi age sitting around the fire listening to one of their old men tell stories, scenes of family life and devotion. By the time the Mayans came to plunder their villi age, I had grown to really like them.

The Mayans were chilling. The leader adorned himself with bones…human bones (a big jaw around his neck….and a row of smaller human jaws up and down his arms) He was big and bad….and mean. They attacked early in the morning, while the villagers slept. They plundered and pillaged and tortured…throats were slit…..people were hogtied, subdued by a collar like noose slipped around their necks. It was truly horrifying. What went through my mind as I watched the scenes of conquest is that scenes similar to that probably took place as the children of Israel were killing off the Amalekites and the Canaanites. Chilling. It gave a face to the faceless atrocities in the OT. Atrocities people attribute to the divine decree of our God…in whom there is NO DARKNESS AT ALL. The journey to the Mayan city was filled with other cruelties…more inhumanity

The scenes in the city were almost overwhelming. They marched them in, collared to a piece of wood….all in a row…..one behind the other…..hands bound. Actually that is the way they made the trip….all bound to the beam. There were graphic scenes of the sacrifices….a top a huge tower like structure with many steps. (Think staircase Rocky bounded up times ten) The royalty sat up there….close up….watching the sacrifices….including a boy of about 7. The looks on their faces were so ho-hum. Almost bored. Same old, same old. There were priests in all kinds of witch doctor like outfits, huge masks and headdresses….and they proceeded to cut the hearts out of the captives one by one, followed by lopping off their heads. Gross. Totally gross. Then they rolled the heads down the stairs…..for the crowd to catch. There were baskets of heads sitting here and there. Shorty after they rolled the headless corpse down the stairs….and their body was stacked atop a big pile of bodies. The crowd was in a frenzy. Dancing and chanting….and the “priest” whipped them into a greater frenzy. Some Girardian theory was there. The high priest talked about the issues that plagued them….the failure of their crops, the disfiguring skin disease (not sure what it was) that plagued them. The crisis part of Girard’s theory was there….”people say we are weak,” he shouted. “People say we are rotting”

You know, they say timing is everything, and how true in the story line of this movie. There was a total eclipse right when the hero was about to be sacrificed. The conclusion of the priest was that the god they were placating had (his name escapes me) had his fill of blood that day. The rest of the movie was about the hero trying to get back to his very pregnant wife and young son (who he had lowered into a deep, deep rocky hole in the ground to protect them from capture by the Mayans) while being pursued by 8 or 10 Mayan men.

As I said earlier, it provided a graphic picture of sacrifice….one we might not envision without Gibson’s imagination and cinematography. So many things went through my head as I watched the movie. The sacrifices to Baal….when the Israelites sacrificed their own children…..and countless generations of the nameless, faceless scapegoats. Man’s inhumanity to man, indeed.