A cool October night proved to be the perfect setting for our screening of "The Village." Both scary and solemn, M. Night Shyamalan's spooky thriller provoked great discussion from our group.
We praised God for the artists and their fine work, especially the strong performance of Bryce Dallas Howard. We enjoyed the moving soundtrack accompanied by the phenomenal violinist Hilary Hahn, and the gorgeously muted look of the film, by master cinematographer Roger Deakins. And finally for the precise and deliberate direction by storyteller M. Night Shyamalan.
This was a unique DECODER RING, as for the first time we did not critique the film, but instead turned the spotlight on ourselves. There is little in "The Village" that could be discerned as an agenda, so the film served as a backdrop for one of the least comfortable aspects of our faith, the concept of Christian Isolationism.
We are constantly told of the evils in the world, and how we should abstain from it. But all too often the lists and rules we make completely remove ourselves and our witness from those around us. We segregate ourselves from non-believers. We are so caught up in being "morally pure" that we neglect the good fight of the faith. We teach our children to avoid evil, but not how to overcome it.
Of course, the opposite stance is hardly desirable either. To be so immersed in the world that we are consumed by it leaves us powerless. We can be easily influenced by the corruptness of the culture so that our witness isn't just hidden, it's non-existent. We are in the world but have no distinction from it.
So what are we to do? Jesus' prayer for us is "not that you take them out of the world, but that you protect them from the evil one" (JOHN 17:15). And that we would "be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves" (MATTHEW 10:16). We are to be IN the world, not OF the world.
These extremely uncomfortable truths are part of a biblical concept I call The Divine Balance. We are to be in the Word and in the world. To hold onto both truths at the same time. But how can we do this? Certainly not on our own! 2 TIMOTHY 1:7 says "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline." We have the Holy Spirit in us. A spirit of POWER!
Following Jesus' example we can walk out our faith, with a foundation in the Word, the support of the church, and being empowered by the Holy Spirit to engage the culture, reach out to the world, and "by all possible means... save some" (1 CORINTHIANS 9:22b). Praise God that we're not in this fight alone!
Next time at THE DECODER RING, we'll plunge into... oh, I'm not gonna tell you yet. You'll just have to show up and find out :-)
See you soon! God bless.
Don't Let Them In!
THE VILLAGE (2004)rated PG13
(scary situations, violence)
Written and Directed by
M. Night Shyamalan
Starring
Bryce Dallas Howard
Joaquin Phoenix
Adrien Brody
William Hurt
Sigourney Weaver
Watch it with us
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 27 at 7:00pm
bible verse
JOHN 17:15
My prayer is not that you take them out of the world,
but that you protect them from the evil one.
What "Truth" ?
The world as you know it is not what it seems. "You've been living in a dream world," Morpheus tells Neo. "This is the world as it exists today."
"The Matrix" blew the doors off the theater back in 1999, overshadowing even the new Star Wars film as the best sci-fi movie of the year. A great script, stylish action sequences, cool costumes, and heavy philosophy made it the film to see. And crowds went to see it over and over again.
Larry and Andy Wachowski tapped into themes of religion, philosophy, systems and controls, choices, fate, and the concept of reality. So much is packed into "The Matrix" that it's easy to see reflections of your own faith or worldview in it. The Wachowskis have taken the stance to never explain their motivations behind the film, and purposely stay mute on how to interpret it.
At THE DECODER RING, we usually go right to the heart of the creator's intentions, and most of the time, they are more than happy to explain why they made their film. With "The Matrix," we are left with only our own interpretations, as the creative forces behind it stay silent.
But that silence speaks louder than anything.
Our discussion centered on the concept of truth, and how the modern world responds to it. We discovered that the Traditional method of discovering truth through scripture has been discarded not once, but twice. It used to be "The Truth." Then the Enlightenment came, and the Scientific Method dominated the world's thinking. Soon "The Truth" became "a Truth." One of many. That is the Modernist view.
But we're not done there. We now live in the Postmodern world, where we've gone from "The Truth" to "a Truth" to "my truth." It's all about you. Your perception, your interpretation. It only matters what you believe and what is important to you. And that's what the real message is about "The Matrix." That you are just as much an author of the truth as anybody else. Even the creators themselves.
With all this nonsense swirling around our heads, we dove into the only place to find clear answers, The Bible. In it, Pilate asks Jesus the ultimate question, "What is Truth?" (John 18:38a). And Jesus makes it very clear. In John 14:6 "Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Then in John 17:17 He prays to God saying, "Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth." And in 1 John 5:6b, the Bible says "the Spirit is the truth."
So there you have it. What is Truth? Jesus, God's Word (The Bible), and The Holy Spirit. And the author of our faith has no problem telling that to us! Praise Him. We also gleaned from the scriptures how to discern the truth and understand our commission to explain it to others. This was a pretty in-depth discussion, and I thank everyone for all their focus and input into this critical exercise.
At the end of our time, as is our tradition, we prayed for the filmmakers and actors, crew members and artists, thanking God for their talents, and praying that He would redeem them so their marvelous craft could be used to give Him glory.
Join us for the next DECODER RING, hopefully in October. God bless!
"The Matrix" blew the doors off the theater back in 1999, overshadowing even the new Star Wars film as the best sci-fi movie of the year. A great script, stylish action sequences, cool costumes, and heavy philosophy made it the film to see. And crowds went to see it over and over again.
Larry and Andy Wachowski tapped into themes of religion, philosophy, systems and controls, choices, fate, and the concept of reality. So much is packed into "The Matrix" that it's easy to see reflections of your own faith or worldview in it. The Wachowskis have taken the stance to never explain their motivations behind the film, and purposely stay mute on how to interpret it.
At THE DECODER RING, we usually go right to the heart of the creator's intentions, and most of the time, they are more than happy to explain why they made their film. With "The Matrix," we are left with only our own interpretations, as the creative forces behind it stay silent.
But that silence speaks louder than anything.
Our discussion centered on the concept of truth, and how the modern world responds to it. We discovered that the Traditional method of discovering truth through scripture has been discarded not once, but twice. It used to be "The Truth." Then the Enlightenment came, and the Scientific Method dominated the world's thinking. Soon "The Truth" became "a Truth." One of many. That is the Modernist view.
But we're not done there. We now live in the Postmodern world, where we've gone from "The Truth" to "a Truth" to "my truth." It's all about you. Your perception, your interpretation. It only matters what you believe and what is important to you. And that's what the real message is about "The Matrix." That you are just as much an author of the truth as anybody else. Even the creators themselves.
With all this nonsense swirling around our heads, we dove into the only place to find clear answers, The Bible. In it, Pilate asks Jesus the ultimate question, "What is Truth?" (John 18:38a). And Jesus makes it very clear. In John 14:6 "Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Then in John 17:17 He prays to God saying, "Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth." And in 1 John 5:6b, the Bible says "the Spirit is the truth."
So there you have it. What is Truth? Jesus, God's Word (The Bible), and The Holy Spirit. And the author of our faith has no problem telling that to us! Praise Him. We also gleaned from the scriptures how to discern the truth and understand our commission to explain it to others. This was a pretty in-depth discussion, and I thank everyone for all their focus and input into this critical exercise.
At the end of our time, as is our tradition, we prayed for the filmmakers and actors, crew members and artists, thanking God for their talents, and praying that He would redeem them so their marvelous craft could be used to give Him glory.
Join us for the next DECODER RING, hopefully in October. God bless!
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