[Beliefnet, May 13, 2004]
What's the difference between “Troy” and a sword-and-sandal epic of forty-plus years ago? Stumped me, too. Superficially, there's a lot in common: swords, sandals, sand, buxom ladies, pompous declamation (“Your glory walks hand in hand with your doom”), and faux-hearty earthiness (“May the gods keep the wolves in the hills and the women in our beds!,” an invocation you hope you don't accidentally get backwards.) In terms of the grand feeling “Troy” hopes to evoke, it could be “Ben Hur” or “Spartacus.”
[Beliefnet, May 7, 2004]
Hidden under the piles of obvious things to say about ‘Van Helsing’ ‘that it’ s loud, busy, and overstuffed with CGI’is one more very surprising thing: it presents the Roman Catholic Church as a heroic force for good. You wouldn’t think that possible these days, when suspicion of ‘institutional Christianity’ is at an all-time high, when best-sellers like ‘The DaVinci Code’ inflame bizarre suspicion, and headlines about sexual misbehavior erode what trust remains.
[Today's Christian, May-June, 2004]
The Postmodern Puzzle
'Our world today is driven by post-modernism. We seem to tailor everything to best meets our needs—including our perception of God. What can we do to battle this tendency? Please help me.' —Pastor Nicholas Lolik Lemi, Church of God in Southern Sudan
[The Cresset, April 2004]
The Psalmist writes, “Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness,” words that fall on deaf ears in a culture that knows as little of beauty as of holiness. Look at new church construction. So many contemporary churches do not aim to be beautiful; they aim to be functional. This might still work out all right, if the designers truly thought the function of a church is worship, but too often the assumed function is communication with the people in attendance, either to teach, uplift, or entertain them. Contemporary worship spaces look more like education spaces or entertainment spaces than like sanctuaries. By contrast, picture a church constructed with an eye to beauty, designed to draw us into the presence of God. It is fitting that it be beautiful, because beauty opens our hearts.
[Beliefnet, April 20, 2004]
It’s a noble, inspiring thing when patriots fight for liberty. It’s noble if they win, that is. Bostonians tossing tea in 1774 is one thing; Charlestonians defying Lincoln in 1861 is another. Turns out that rebellion, by itself, is not enough to gain history’s nod. You also have to win. History is written by the victors.
And curiously, one of the things winners love most is remembering the time they lost.
[Our Sunday Visitor, March 21, 2004]
The term “high concept” refers to a movie with a striking plotline that can be described in one sentence (eg, Danny DeVito and Arnold Schwartznegger are long-lost “Twins”). In high-concept movies things explode. Screenwriter Charlie Kaufman specializes in another kind of high-concept movie, one in which a strange premise unfolds in surreal ways. Things don't explode; they melt, like Dali's watch.
His first film, “Being John Malkovich” (1999) sought to answer the perennial question, “What would it be like if a secret door in my office led to a ride inside John Malkovich's brain?” as well as the obvious followup, “Could I make money selling these rides?” (And you thought you were the only one wondering about that.)
[Unpublished, posted to mailing list March 8, 2004]
I haven't written a public review of “The Passion” because my feelings are so mixed. I am so glad for all the people who are having their faith strengthened and renewed, or even finding faith for the first time. I don't want to puncture that. A friend at my church saw it once, wanted to see it a second time, then read a negative review (“the characters were flat”, etc). She decided not to see it again. That's sad.
When people get disappointed with the film I think it has to do with what Coleridge called the “willing suspension of disbelief.”
[Newsday, March 7, 2004]
“Were you there when they crucified my Lord?” asks the old Gospel hymn.
Mel Gibson's powerful film, “The Passion of the Christ,” has brought many viewers “there,” and I rejoice with those who say it deepened their faith. I can understand why this film moves them so much.
But I don't think they understand why a fellow-believer might prefer a different approach. It seems to them that any less-than-graphic portrayal is weak - “sanitized.”
But is that the only way to see it? Here, for example, are two paintings made early in the 17th century. The one with the golden background represents the Eastern Christian tradition, and is by the iconographer Emmanuel Lambardos of Crete. The other, emblematic of Mel Gibson's Western tradition, is by the Dutch painter Hendrick ter Brugghen.
[Books & Culture, March-April 2004]* Selected for Best Christian Writing 2006*
Most movies wait till after they're released to stir up controversy, but Mel Gibson's “The Passion of the Christ” has been preceded by nearly a year of fisticuffs. It provided an unusually rich opportunity for people who don't know what they're talking about to do just that. I'll continue that tradition by admitting that, as I write this, I still have not seen the film. I expect it will be good movie-making, a powerful example of the artistic possibilities of film. I hope it will stir up old faith in Christians, and break forth new faith in unbelievers.
[Today's Christian, March-April 2004]
Q. Any advice on how I can encourage a young Christian woman that it is not right to share an apartment with a man, even though their relationship is non-romantic? --Name withheld
A. I notice that it happens to be the young woman you're trying to talk to about this, rather than the young man, so let me note that women are a little slower to see the problem. Young men know that sexual desire can overwhelm them unexpectedly, and that it is hard to direct or restrain. The actor Dustin Hoffman once remarked
