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Batman Begins I saw a really great movie tonight. Talk about the power of remembering a story. I won't go into detail here for the sake of you who want to see it. But there is one idea I want to expose and invite some analysis on once you can see the movie.
"It's not who I am underneath but what I do that defines me." It is a recurring line through the movie. The movie is all about identity and vocation and their interrelationships.
Another interesting feature. As my friends and I were leaving the movie, one of them commented with some excitement, "That was amazing. It was so real. I feel like I could be batman. They made it so believable."
And I thought-- that's the whole idea of worship and the Christian Story. To so encounter Jesus that I can imagine becoming him-- to put on his character-- so to speak. To "skadoo" into the Story as I have indicated in an earlier post. "I am crucified with Christ and I no longer live but Christ lives in me. The life I live I live by faith in the Son of God who has loved me and given himself for me."
Now here's the kicker. I overheard a conversation in the bathroom following the movie. Three guys, one of them apparently a pastor, were discussing the film with excitement. One of them-- presumably the pastor-- said, "Yeah, I got a letter from Fuller Seminary that they were doing a Bible STudy on the movie." Another eagerly added, "Yeah, I can see the applications."
I will be interested to see that one. posted by John David Walt | at 6/17/2005 10:47:00 PM
Today...
7 Comments:
It was a great movie, and it has lots of tones of this narrative idea that we've all be wrestling with. I love the line about it's not who we are underneath but rather what we do. I also thought the whole notion of justice with compassion was powerful - very Christ-like.
Interestingly, I had almost the exact experience with someone leaving the theater. They remarked how believeable the movie was. They said that for two hours, even though they knew the whole Gotham stuff was fake, they were able to believe it could be real.
The story is very well told. It has a great cast (Liam Neeson and Morgan Freeman), and the screenplay is cleverly written. Worth seeing in the theater for sure!
- saw it Wednesday night @ midnight - i am such a dork:)
- the thing about the character of Bruce Wayne is that it shows how fine the line is between being driven by guilt as opposed to being driven by an ideal. - he seeks out to learn how to destroy crime because of his guilt, or does he seek out to destroy crime because of his sense of justice? And how does the transformation take place? Only by the confrontation of self.
- i was also very happy about how human they made his character - very believable.
- reminds me JD, of the idea of how God's mercy IS His justice.
one more thing.....
- how many Christians are driven by "a true sense of God's justice", or are just driven by the desire to not go to Hell? This is translated in Catholicism into good old fashioned "Catholic Guilt" - but seriously, is our Holiness based out of guilt, or out of love?
Great last point, Matt. I have been wrestling with this idea of people not wanting to go to hell for a while now. I'm convinced that if you asked most folks why they wanted to go to heaven the most popular answer would be because they don't want to go to hell (i.e., they really don't want to go, but it beats the alternative). I think if we really want people to desire heaven then we must become better at telling the whole story and helping people see themselves in something far bigger than just them and what they can get out of it.
What a phenomenal movie! Great entertainment. But as I try and move it from the entertainment category into the life-lessons category, siren's go off, red lights flash, and I hear a metallic voice say "Danger, Will Robinson, Danger!"
Specifically the line, "It's not who I am underneath but what I do that defines me." This phrase is diametrically opposed to Christian thought. You see, It is who I have been made underneath that defines me. It is who I have in me who defines me. My actions may glorify or shame him on a given day, but it is still He who defines me and not my actions.
That was the phrase the Pharisee's used, and Jesus called them "Whitewashed tombs," nice and pretty on the outside, but filled with rotting death on the inside.
To elevate the Bat to a messianic type is ludicrous to me. Yes, the basic concept of Justice and compassion are evident in the narrative, but that is where the similarity ends. The execution of those principles differs drastically from Christian thought. In Exodus 34:6-7, when God proclaimed his name to Moses he said, “YHWH, YHWH, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation." This does not sound like creeping in the shadows, preying on the fears of the wicked. We must never forget that it is his “Kindness that leads us to repentance.”
I am deeply grateful that God approached my wickedness with kindness. I am deeply grateful that it is His presence in my life that defines me, and not what I do.
"Its not who you are on the inside but what you do that really matters."
Or as Joel Green says, "what you do reflects what you believe."
Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. Sometimes a story is just a story. Sometimes Batman is just Batman. Then again...
Tim, I really appreciate your comments. However, I really connected with that line in the film. I'm sure we could proof-text this back and forth all day long. To me, I'm concerned with our Christian culture's emphasis on BELIEF defining one's idenitity as a Christian, with in fact a negative preoccupation with what one does. It's the whole faith and works, chicken and the egg discussion, yada, yada. Mostly, I see the negative pointing to the Pharisees as examples.
But I see what Jesus is doing with the Pharisees as something completely different. The Pharisees put their own piety before the needs of their neighbors.
A theme rampant throughout the OT prophets is that of acting on behalf of the poor and needy -- of DOING justice. The servant in Isaiah 61 is defined by what he does. There is no concern given to what the people of Israel believe. In fact, in Matt 25, the sheep and goats are separated not by what's inside, but by what they have and have not DONE.
As for a Batman bible study, that saddens me. It saddens me to think that we as pastors and teachers cannot communicate an enthusiasm for Scripture to allow it to stand on its own. Somehow we fail to relate our own personal stories to the biblical story and fall back on relating it to external stories. That just should not be.
It perpetuates the commercialization and secularization of the church. I mean, what message does that send? To see Batman pitching Burger King meals on Saturday and then a Bible study on Sunday?
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