After the Hype—Avatar Unvarnished

In my family, we’ve had a tradition of going to see a big movie together each Christmas day. We aren’t into crowds, and that has always worked to our advantage. The tradition is not shared by even a sizeable minority of other Americans. We like it so.

This year was more difficult than most. There were no sequel films to speak of, no Matrix, Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, or Harry Potter installments to take in. After much debate we decided to go see the much-hyped blockbuster, Avatar.

There were good reasons to stay away and good reasons to go. The technology used in the 3D effects was supposed to be enough reason alone. On the other hand, we had on good authority that the story line was as shallow and meaningless as James Cameron’s other blockbuster, Titanic. Furthermore, the whole thing was going to be a liberal screed of far-left, anti-American, anti-western culture, anti-technology, new-age, green-tinted gobbledygook.

Essentially it was like the choice that confronted moviegoers when Al Jolson appeared in The Jazz Singer. The story line blew chunks, but who could resist the urge to see something so groundbreaking?

Now that I have this quandary behind me, (we went ahead and saw the film) I can weigh-in on the relative merits or lack thereof in the film.

In many ways, I did find the film very much like The Titanic. My impression of that movie boiled down to “great special effects…lousy story.” Cameron is all about cinematography and not much about writing a great plot. It would be interesting to see him do something where a decent writer was involved, and he just put the thing to film.

The movie kept me minimally connected. I was engrossed enough to want to see it to the end and yet never awed nor enchanted. This is one of those movies that doesn’t make you think for very long afterward. That is how I rate a great movie. It has an impact longer lasting that a Chinese dinner. Avatar will be one of those where in five years I have to remind myself what it was about.

If you take the movie’s message seriously as some kind of morality play about environmentalism or the subjugation of indigenous peoples, it is full of holes. Western culture did not greet a completely innocent, pristine peace-loving culture in the Americas. The native tribes did not live in harmony with one another. Their women were not liberated equal members who stood shoulder to shoulder with their male warrior counterparts. The simplistic black and white, good and evil categories the movie sets up is simply not like any reality it seeks to portray.

And isn’t it odd too that Cameron is pushing the boundaries of technology while making a Luddite film that demonizes Western man’s accomplishments? Is the paradox rank hypocrisy or a delusional blind spot? Only Mr. Cameron knows.

The gratuitous slaps at the Bush administration, though predicable, seemed off as well. The evil white American men in the film spoke of “shock and awe” and “preemptive strikes” as if the film was drawing an analogy. But unlike the natives in the film, Muslim terrorists actually attacked innocent civilians on 9/11. They were the aggressors, and the US was simply going after Islamic terror where it was manifested.

If you can suspend disbelief and the urge to vomit over the hackneyed, liberal clichés, the movie is worth seeing in the theater. Some have gone utterly hyperbolic by calling it “stunning” and “monumental.” That part to me was overblown. I saw it as the logical marriage between CGI and 3D effects. To the extent that you cannot recreate that on DVD, it is worth the price of admission. If your expectations are not too high, it will be worth what Hollywood is more or less good for, pure, unrealistic escapism and not a scintilla of truth.

My Shack Attack

The book, The Shack has caught the fascination of a growing number of Evangelical Christians. It is being passed reader to would-be reader with endorsements like the one on the book’s dust jacket. Michael W. Smith says, “The Shack will leave you craving for the presence of God.”

I admit that I don’t read a lot of fiction, so-called Christian fiction or otherwise. My approach to such is more analytical and skeptical. When I read something like this I am unwilling to simply go along for the ride. I’m reading it with my eyes trained between the lines as much as on the lines. What is the world view of the author? What is he trying to say? How is he trying to reshape my view of God? Is this a book I should ban (I realize I have no power to do that), lend, lend with caution or heartily endorse?

Before I get to my final conviction, let me give you a quick synopsis of the plot. The main character, Mack, is the adult child of an alcoholic. He has some “issues”, but he is a good man, a struggling Christian, a decent husband, and a loving father. His world is shattered by the unthinkable. His youngest daughter is abducted and murdered by a serial killer.

After a long period of what he dubs “The Great Sadness”, he gets an invitation to meet “Papa” at the shack. The shack is where the police had located the blood-stained dress of his daughter. Mack goes to the shack and finds it miraculously changed, the season itself goes from winter to summer, and in the shack are three people who are a physical representation of the Triune God-- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The second commandment forbids making an image of God. It does so for good reason. In worship, we dare not allow our finite brains to reduce God down to an image that invariably limits the full nature of God’s being. In other words, images are inherently reductionistic, and to reduce God is a dangerous thing.

I would also add that I have never liked the billboards with cute little sayings that read, “Signed God.” Though the thoughts are often reasonably meaningful, they are not scripture and it seems to border on taking the name of God in vain. One ought never attribute man’s words to Him.

Thus, from the very beginning I approach such a book with a jaundiced eye. Even a great theologian or literary genius like C.S. Lewis would fail in an attempt to write an entire book of dialogue between the three members of the Trinity. I will give author, William Young, kudos for having the moxie to try, but I fear that such courage is more presumption than inspiration.

Trying to fully grasp Young’s underlying premise regarding God’s sovereignty over evil is not easy. He seems to give as much as he takes. There are comments that make God appear sovereign and other comments that border on open theism. I think it fair to say that Young leans hard toward a free-will side of the theological spectrum. Many Christians do, and though, I fall hard the opposite way, I respect the difference of opinion.

But that is not the end of where I would critique Young’s view of God. Young seems to have no place whatsoever for God’s wrath against evil. He seems to grasp substitutionary atonement, yet it is as if God the father never had wrath against sin in the first place. One statement indicative of this approach is on page 223 where God says, “I don’t do humiliation, guilt or condemnation.”

It is one thing to say as Romans 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” It is something else for God to say in a blanket fashion that he has never been about condemning sin or sinners. Note the word “now” in Romans 8:1.

Young diminishes the reading of scripture as putting God not in a “box, (but) just in a book…” (p. 66) He diminishes the need for obedience and law keeping in a strong antinomian flurry on pp.201-204. The Holy Spirit explains that he is all about verbs and not nouns. In a long list of verbs he conspicuously leaves out the word “obeying.” The three members of the trinity completely reject even the notion of submission, in an extended treatment in chapter 8. Authority is strictly bad and viewed as a fallen human concept.

One very troubling passage relates to not just the extent of the atonement, but the extent of its application. At the end of chapter 12 Young has Jesus acting repulsed by the word “Christian.” Jesus disavows being a Christian and states, “I have no desire to make them Christian.” The “them” is a list of various cults and world religions. The phrasing is ambiguous enough that one could take the passage and run different directions with it, but it is troubling at best and at worst universalistic.

If Young simply wrote a work of non-fiction and stated his theology, I suspect that many Evangelicals would disagree with him. But when you stick these words in the mouth of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit you sidestep the need to defend your quirky theology. Christians would do well to remember that these are not at all the words of God. They are the machinations of a man concerning God, and I believe a very confused man at that.

I am not troubled that Young pictures God the Father as a large black woman. I am troubled that Young pictures God at all and then proceeds to use that picture like a marionette. God comes across as glib. The members of the Trinity seem to spend most of their time cracking wise, giggling, kissing one another or dispensing retreaded, sixties-style, psycho-babble.

At one point in the text Young chooses to use the word “matrix” to describe the world system. “You are yielding to the matrix, not to us,” finished Jesus. Suddenly it dawned on me. God as a black woman who speaks in riddles? Hmm. Where have I seen that before? Oh, that’s right. It was in the movie The Matrix. So, Young isn’t even very original.

This doesn’t exhaust my critique of Young’s ideas, only my time and space to do so. Would I recommend the book? No. I am letting my fourteen-year-old daughter read the book, but only because she needs to develop a consistently biblical worldview. We will discuss it in depth. As a way of dealing with grief and loss, I give it a thumbs down. There are better materials out there that are not so doctrinally muddled. Don’t seek God in The Shack. Seek Him in prayer and yes, in The Book.

Prayers of the Christian Insomniac

Prayer of the Christian Insomniac

Sometimes I find it hard to sleep. My body is wired from too many thoughts or too much caffeine. It’s two in the morning and all my worries and fears loom large. This is the time it seems when I am weakest and most vulnerable.

One night I prayed in the following manner and got relief. Perhaps it will help you in some wee hour of the morning. You need not memorize it, and turning on the light to read it wouldn’t exactly make you fall asleep. I think you will get the idea.

Lord, here I am. There is nothing I can do about the things that weigh on my mind, so I turn them over to you. Deal with the things I cannot change.

My body lies here unable to sleep. So, I offer this body to you as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to you.

May these toes not kick too hard against the goads, but may I always be ready to follow you where you lead. May I not strike them against a stone and stumble to my harm or the harm of another.

May these feet of mine be shod with the gospel of peace. Don’t let them stray on a wrong path. Lead them not to temptation. Do not let them run to evil or the shedding of blood.

May these legs be strong under the weight of whatever cross you’ve given me to bear. Let the knees of my resolve be strengthened. Let my legs stand for Christ, and not be moved from the precious faith through which your grace has saved me.

Let the private parts of my body be used only for honorable purposes. Do not let them be inflamed with passions I cannot control. May they be under the authority of a sanctified mind and heart. Forbid Lord that they should cause injury to my soul or to the conscience of one of your people. Remind me that my body belongs to you and to my spouse and to no other. Make me holy.

Do not let my seat sit in the seat of scoffers. Do not let me sit too long when you call me to service. Keep me from idleness and sloth.

Let this stomach of mine be subservient to my soul and not the other way around. Feed me not only with my daily bread, but with every word that proceeds from your mouth. May my stomach never become my god. Help me to restrain appetites but also rejoice in the good gifts that you have given me under the sun. Thank you for the grain, the vintage, and oil that sustain life.

May my heart be wholly yours. Keep my heart from every idol. Do not let my heart be addled by fear or hide sin and ill motive from you. Create in me a clean heart, oh Lord. Renew a right spirit in me. Let my heart fill with the joy of the Lord. May it be full of love for you and your children. Do not let it be divided in its loyalties, but make it fully yours to serve you without admixture. I confess my heart is desperately wicked and deceitful. Forgive, and give me a heart of flesh to feel every impulse of your Spirit.

Let my arms bear the burdens of the weak. Remind me that my arm is short and my strength little, but the arm of the Lord is not shortened. Let my arms comfort those who grieve and lift up those who are laid low. Open them to the poor.

May my hands serve willingly to any kingdom purpose. May they hold fast to the hand of the Lord at all times and bless those who need a tender touch. May they be swift to open the pages of your word. May they serve the Lord but never the evil one. Sanctify them to your use alone, oh Lord.

May my shoulders bear your well-fitting yoke. Let them know the joy of soreness from a full-day’s work not the brokenness of serving a harsh taskmaster. May they bear the cross you’ve given and carry the full load you intend for them. May they be there for the tears of a suffering brother or sister.

May my neck never become stiff to your will or your word. Keep me from arrogance and pride. May I offer my neck to the block if that be my end with courage and certainty of faith. Let it be held high when others bow to golden idols.

May my head be crowned with the victor’s laurels when my race is finished. Remind me that every one of my hairs is numbered.

Keep my mind fixed upon you. Let me think like a Christian and not be conformed to the pattern of this world. Let my mind be as the mind of Christ who humbled himself and took on the form of a servant. Shield my mind from the traps of the evil one. Keep it from self-pity and self-loathing. Teach me be single-minded for your kingdom.

May my ears give heed only to your call. May I never listen to gossip or slander. Incline my ear to you and your precepts. Let them be quick to hear. Make them ready to listen to him who needs a friend.

May my eyes not look upon that which is forbidden or see such as pleasing. May my eyes see the work to be done, the opportunities to serve, the good that I have and the blessings before them.

Let my mouth and tongue be subject to a sanctified mind and heart. May your spirit keep a seal upon it from hasty and idle words, especially from any word that wounds one for whom Christ died. Keep it from filth, lies, coarse jesting, or from cursing man who was created in God’s image.

Now Lord, this body that is already yours, I yield to you for rest. Grant it sleep so that it may serve you with all its energies, as you give it strength.