Watching the debate the other night sparked a great many thoughts in my every running brain (quiet up there). One thing I was struck by was the conversation about humanitarian crises. I felt like both candidates were similar to each other in their positions, and that position seemed contrary to the Gospel. Essentially, I understood the conversation to be one of moral responsibility and sacrifice. They were asked about the responsibility of the United States to get involved with genocide, such as that happening in Darfur, that which has happened in Rwanda, with undertones reaching back to the Jewish Holocaust. Both candidates agreed that we have a responsibility, presumably not just as a country but as a a world and as individuals, to pursue peace and to protect others from violence. That is all well and good, but there was a fascinating and subsequent divergence from that philosophy when it came to nationalism and protection of our own. For instance, (and I can’t remember this exactly), but one of the candidates implied that the killing of our own troops for the sake of rescuing/stopping genocide would be too much. That is too much sacrifice to be made.

Now, I’m completely dubious of the notion that violence can stop violence, but the point that I would like to make is that of nationalism. Why is it that our own lives, our own country, is more important than all others? Why are the lives of those that live here not worth sacrificing for others?

This springs from a heartfelt frustration that I have had ever since I became a Christian. I have always thought that it would be worth it (if possible) to sacrifice myself for others, particularly in death. To be specific, I used to ask God if I could suffer hell instead of others. Could I go to hell instead of my friends and family? At first this seems like such fantasy and naivete, but I think there is some real truth in these matters. For one, somehow God is in charge of the modes of salvation and redemption - though there may be some constrains by his own character and the necessity of propitiation/expiation. Second, this seems to be exactly the heart of Jesus (thus, of God), that he would sacrifice himself for the sake of others, and so our emulation of that desire is good.

It is in such a manner that nationalism can be a very dangerous thing for Christians to engage in. We become more concerned with those in our own tribe than with all of humanity, with other folks who need love and help. This is particularly clear when we see the demonizing of whole countries like Iran, Libya, North Korea, Russia, China, when the vast majority of people living in those countries are not involved in the wrongs that our country identifies. Thus, military engagement (and often times the media) engage in this hubris of nationalism whereby we, the United States, are the great country who is wronged and never admit the times when we wrong others, particularly the innocent (or the killing of the innocent is considered an unfortunate by product of fighting evil).

Tags: Politics, Nationalism, Church, Christianity

My birthday and the opening of Dark Knight were the same day. Ergo, it was inevitable that I hsould see the newest Batman movie on my birthday. The day before I saw Batman Begins as a prep and refresher with some friends. As good as Batman Begins was, Dark Knight not only did not disappoint, but even exceeded the high expectations I put on it. There are three main reasons why to movie was phenomenal.
The first reason is Heath Ledger. Ledger’s acting was almost literally otherworldly. He was unrecognizable for most of the movie. The cute Australian accent was gone, the boyish good looks wrapped up in disturbing makeup, and any friendly gestures swallowed in diabolical Nietzchean will-to-power. In short, there was nothing about the Joker that resembled Heath Ledger. I was not able to connect the person of Ledger with the personage of the Joker until a scene an hour and half into the movie where, riding in a cop car, he is leaning out the window and runs his fingers through his hair. In the midst of the tragedy of death surrounding Ledger, this was a brilliant last performance. And, though I do not like to draw such connections, I would not be surprised to find out that his death was connected to the twisted role that he not only played, but took on in this movie. There was power in his acting because he believed he was the Joker.
(This article is just a minor sketch of my thoughts on the movie: a very good thematic sketch which I also resonate with can be found here.)
The second reason is the writing and directing of the story. I do not mean the actual lines, but the real emotions that were drawn out. One of the base themes of this movie is the maturing of Bruce Wayne as he comes to realize the price of being Batman: the price of fighting such twisted evil; namely, the inability to save all lives. The torment was real, and it was devastating - the point clear: we are unable to do everything, we are unable to heal the world completely. In essence, this movie can be used to connect to the idea of why bad things happen to good people: within the confines of life, those who work for evil are able to cause more chaos than those who work for good can solve. And though the temptation in the midst of the massive destruction, pain and meaningless violence is capitulation, the only real solution is having the courage to take the pain.
In this, we come to the most powerful part of the movie, which is the Christological nature of Batman. This comes to the fore in two primary modes: first is the rejection of Batman. Though his work is as much for good as he can do, he is still shunned. The second, more powerful mode, is a line at the very end of the movie by Gordon and his son. Batman has saved them, and is taking the blame for wrongs he did not commit (sound familiar?). As he flees the approaching police, Gordon’s son asks why. Why is it this way? He has done nothing wrong. Gordon answers: He is taking the blame, because he is the only one who can. It was at this point that I lost it: the reality was too crushing. Jesus is the one who can take it. The only one who can take it.

Tags: Dark Knight, Batman, Theology, Christianity, Atonement