Today is Saturday the 26th of May,
It is a day of massive 'achievement' and 'advances' in women's health and rights in Ireland because the 8th Amendment to the constitution has been repealed, and with it, the only protection of the life of the unborn has been removed from our constitution.
It's apt that this has happened on a Saturday, with the vote on a Friday. I think we can still see the sovereignty of God at play.
Good Friday, as it is now known, was not good the day it happened. The Apostles were confused and feared for their lives, the women who followed Jesus were shocked and in mourning, and the leaders of the country celebrated the death of one who stood in the way of their political agendas.
There is a lot to compare here, but obviously that bad Friday was to become Good Friday because on that day Jesus died on the cross, paying the penalty for our sin so that we could be right and in relationship with God again. It's hard to see yesterday as ever being called Good Friday from this vantage point, at this point in time. But I know God better than that.
The Saturday between Good Friday and Easter Sunday has had various names, I'm going to call it Dark Saturday. On that day hope was gone, there was mourning, weeping, fear, confusion, devastation on the one side, and shouts of joy, celebration, victory, and success on the other side.
Today feels very like that day. It feels like a devastating blow was dealt to the land of saints and scholars yesterday and as we watched Christian Ireland die, we who follow Christ are left like those who followed Christ on that first Dark Saturday, all while the leaders of our country celebrate and shout for joy.
I think our Dark Saturday will be longer than the one in the first century, but it ends the same way. God is sovereign, God is in control, God is still on the throne. Sunday's coming!
We don't know how to deal with this new Ireland. It has been a long time since Christians in the West have had to live in societies more akin to the Roman Empire Jesus lived in than the Ireland our great grandparents lived in. But we have to learn.
That is, I think, where our attention as the Irish church needs to turn now. The church flourishes in places where it is not the norm. The death of Christian Ireland opens up new opportunities for the Christians of Ireland that we have to find and use and allow the Holy Spirit to guide us through new and, admittedly more difficult, terrain.
One of the heartening things I have heard many yes voters saying throughout this campaign as they tackled my no views on my Facebook and in private messages and conversations is that they want to see an Ireland in which there is no need for abortion, but they believe there is a present need for abortion.
That's something we can agree on.
Some people I spoke to voted yes, in fact many people voted yes, because they see the pain people are going through and want to help. That's a noble reason to vote. Of course, I believe that this vote will only cause more pain, when people begin to see abortion isn't the holy grail they were looking for, when this thing that has been held up as the answer to so much pain proves to be unable to live up to the hype it has been given.
Abortion has been raised high and it's going to fall from it's height.
As Christians we know that true hope, true comfort, and true healing from pain lies in Jesus Christ. He is the light of the world, the healer of nations, the prince of peace. It is Him that hurting people need.
I called today Dark Saturday, and I like that analogy. You know why? Light is so much more powerful in darkness.
While Leo and the government and Together for Yes celebrate the 'light' they have brought to Ireland, we know that the true light is found in Christ. Everything that man does to bring light to situations is like having a battery powered torch. The batteries are just going to run out. When they do, the people of Ireland need to be able to see a true light source, one they cannot notice right now because 67% or so of them are looking at the torch (and the other 33% are looking at the torch too).
So, how can the church shine brighter in this darkness?
We can be the church!
All we have to do to reflect the light of Christ is to let the light of Christ shine through us.
Practically what I think that means is not shouting about the result, not giving out, not calling it rigged, not saying Ireland is evil.
I don't think that's light.
Grace is light. We need to be an alternative lifestyle. That's how the church has always been effective and we have so many more opportunities to do that in Ireland today.
- We can get married instead of co-habit.
- We can stay celibate until marriage.
- We can not have abortions when we get pregnant.
- We can support children's charities and disability charities and adopt unwanted children.
- We can confess our sins when we do fall and not try to hide and cover things up.
As well as this we can show the love, grace, mercy and compassion of Jesus towards the people of Ireland. Ireland isn't evil, it's just lost. God doesn't hate the people of this country, He wants them to know Him.
Our reaction to today can create more darkness, or it can shine the light of God's grace into this country so that when the torches blink out, the light that is left is the true light, the light of God's grace for the people of this country.
I mourn for the lost little ones but I'm also really hopeful, because I know the God I serve, I know He is good, He is kind, He is loving, He is merciful, He is gracious, He is powerful, He is in control, and He is moving in ways we haven't seen Him move.
I also know He is just, and I am so thankful that the just punishment I deserve for my sin was laid on Christ and the justice of God was satisfied in Him and in what He did on the cross and I want to see that reality for more and more of my own people. That's why I came back to plant Calvary Limerick, my desire is to hear praises in the Irish language when we are in heaven and I believe that on this Dark Saturday we have the opportunity to shine brighter than we have before.
Grace is, as always, the way forward. And our God is the source of grace upon grace.
It's a Dark Saturday, but Sunday's coming!
~
Saturday, 26 May 2018
Wednesday, 20 December 2017
The Last Jedi
So I saw The Last Jedi and this post is obviously going to be choc full of SPOILERS so don’t read until you’ve seen the movie.
As per usual I've divided these, check the bold!
As per usual I've divided these, check the bold!
Right so wasn’t that really surprising?
I feel like Rian just looked at all the theories and questions out there and if you imagine them as a chess board, he just threw that board and all the pieces away like Luke does with the lightsaber Rey gives him.
(I mean come on Luke, 2 years we’ve been waiting to see you take the thing and you toss it aside like garbage, hilarious moment but also not on).
I think the movie made it pretty obvious that the theme of the movie is failure, Yoda even says it (he, by the way, did not fail, what an epic scene!) So we should expect pretty much everyone to fail, which makes for annoying storytelling, but Rian successfully made a frustrating movie about failure, which I guess means it was successful?
Characters in the movie, key moments and how they fail?
I think the movie made it pretty obvious that the theme of the movie is failure, Yoda even says it (he, by the way, did not fail, what an epic scene!) So we should expect pretty much everyone to fail, which makes for annoying storytelling, but Rian successfully made a frustrating movie about failure, which I guess means it was successful?
Characters in the movie, key moments and how they fail?
So Luke for most of the movie is a depressed idiot who thinks because he had a moment of weakness that inadvertently created the thing he feared (Kylo Ren) that he should go die in Ireland... Luke was always a little pathetic for a series hero, but this one took it to whole new levels. So Luke for the first 2/3s disappointed me, it’s like he didn’t grow as a person in over 30 years at all. Luke failed Ben Solo, and fails Rey and Leia for most of the movie too.
Rey is fantastic in this movie. She is a little less perfect in this one, just a little, because she mistakenly believes Ben Solo is a good guy. She fails to convert him to the Light side of the force.
I don’t know if I believe Kylo that her parents are nobodies and sold her for food, I wouldn’t trust him. I think there is still scope for JJ to add another twist and shock us again with who they are. I do love the idea of her as a sort of chosen one that is born of the light as the darkness becomes too strong which was hinted at.
Snoke fails too. He fails to kill Rey or Luke, and he fails to notice Kylo turning on him, as well as failing to notice the lightsaber turning towards him.
Since seeing this one I am convinced Snoke is Palpatine’s master. If you remember back to episode 3, Sidious is telling Anakin about a Sith who learned to stop death and create life as they watch the bubble opera thing? His master was called Darth Plageius and Palpatine said he killed him... but how exactly do you kill someone who can cheat death? Also, Snoke’s disfigurement looks an awful lot like scares from a lightsaber blow to the head and force lightning (like Palpatine after his conflict with Mace Windu his face looks sort of melted and we know Sidious’ weapon of choice was force lightning.)
Since seeing this one I am convinced Snoke is Palpatine’s master. If you remember back to episode 3, Sidious is telling Anakin about a Sith who learned to stop death and create life as they watch the bubble opera thing? His master was called Darth Plageius and Palpatine said he killed him... but how exactly do you kill someone who can cheat death? Also, Snoke’s disfigurement looks an awful lot like scares from a lightsaber blow to the head and force lightning (like Palpatine after his conflict with Mace Windu his face looks sort of melted and we know Sidious’ weapon of choice was force lightning.)
If you remember, as Snoke died he bragged about knowing exactly what Kylo was thinking. Either his arrogance at his own power (which is a lot and adds to my thought that he trained Sidious, the previous strongest dark side user we’ve seen) that arrogance blinded him to Kylo’s real intentions or it was his plan. If he is Darth Plageius then he can regenerate in time. So big woop. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him in 9 and that we learn it was all part of a greater plan to cement Kylo’s dark side resolve which it seems to have achieved. I think we may learn that he spent the time from before episode 1, when Sidious “killed” him to the Force Awakens honing his power and becoming even stronger, moving beyond the Sith in the dark side, something beyond the power of ambition, hate and selfishness.
I was very disappointed by the Finn and Rose storyline. Obviously, they both fail. Rose is a very loveable character but besides for igniting rebellion in the young broom floating boy’s heart in Dubrovnik (Canto Bight?) their story accomplished nothing and was pretty pointless. It’s like Rian needed something for Finn to do, found nothing and made up a crap side mission for him that if it were deleted from the movie would take nothing away. Even if it was cool to see the streets we walked down for Jon and Catherina's wedding on the big screen.
In that vein Captain Phasma was, again, disappointing. She has been on screen for all of 10 minutes across both movies yet she is shown as a main character all the time. Again, Rian couldn’t come up with anything for her. We were promised she would come into her own but her role was pretty much the exact same as the Force Awakens. Her absence would have taken nothing from the movie.
Also, she was left on Star Killer base as it exploded, but survived and now she’s been left on Snoke’s SHIELD logo ship as it exploded but I bet she’ll survive. I hope she dies again in 9 it would be like how people lost an arm a lot in all the Old movies. She failed to kill Finn or Rose in this one, and maybe failed to die again too.
I also need to point out that no one lost an arm! Is it even Star Wars. Also, I currently don’t remember anyone saying “I have a bad feeling about this.” Tut tut Rian! [He says it is there, but I can't remember it, unless it is BB8 that says is to Poe at the start in beeps].
Poe is potentially the most interesting character in this one. He is rash and wants to know everything, he disobeys Leia’s orders and arrests her replacement (more on that below) Admiral Holdo(?) and almost gets everyone killed. Again, a whole lot of failure there.
The Resistance fails to not get blown up, a lot.... And though they blow up the Dreadnought (Fulminatrix, apparently), they lose so many. As Leia remarks, "many heroes, no leaders".
Leia fails to rally support to come to the aid of the Resistance, "use my personal codes," but nothing comes of it and then she loses hope.
Hux fails to win, again.
Kylo Ren fails at everything except tricking Rey and killing Snoke, his failure on Crate/Krait/Krate, the salt planet, as he takes over as Supreme Leader Emo Kid is astonishing, and we get this glimpse in Hux's eyes that he will attempt to overthrow Kylo (when he was out after Rey's lightsaber exploded Hux would have shot him had he not woken up).
The First Order fail to wipe out the Rebellion (which it is again now, it's no Resistance anymore, the First Order rules supreme, as the opening crawl informs us).
DJ fails to have morals.
Chewbacca fails to eat porgs or stop them taking over the Millennium Falcon.
C3PO fails to get his odds of surviving out without being told to shut up by Poe.
Above I said Yoda doesn't fail. The only other two characters that don't fail are R2D2, who successfully convinces Luke to come to Leia and the Resistance's aid by playing the old hologram of Leia saying "Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope", one of the most moving scenes in the movie. The other is BB-8, who is just so badass in this movie. He shoots chips in a casino, steals a space craft and a walker. It was actually great.
Things I really Loved.
Poe was annoying most of the movie, but then at the end there is a great moment where he leads people to safety instead of a war they cannot win. Everyone looks to Leia and she looks behind here, a comical and perfect moment that allows us to see Poe becoming something of a General himself for 9.
When Luke comes! Like... Wow... He gives the dice from the Falcon to Leia and she mentions about changing her hair, that was great. Then he goes out and faces the First Order alone (something he told Rey he couldn't do, and it was ridiculous of her to expect him to). Then all these guns fire on him and after that he still stands so Ben faces him alone and he just ducks and dives until he has an Obi moment and allows Kylo to strike him down, but he isn't there, he is still in Ireland! Legend.
The kid that force pulls the broom to himself at the end and swings it like a lightsaber, showing the Rebel symbol on his ring! Perfect end!
Leia's use of the Force to bring herself back aboard the Raddus. It was very interesting, she is seconds from death and almost like instinct pulls herself back on board her ship.
The Raddus being named for Admiral Raddus from Rogue One, he was the one that looked like Admiral Ackbar.
Yoda, just all of it "Page turners they were not." I want a Yoda movie!
Porgs! They are cute and funny! I love when the one screams as Chewy does in the Falcon!
The boy with the broom!
The chase scene through Canto Bight, Dubrovnik.
How much Ireland was in it!
R2 and the hologram!
When Admiral Holdo goes to hyperdrive and crashes into Snoke's ship. The scenes there are like paintings they are so beautiful as the ship is being ripped apart and there is no sound. Those shots were just beautiful, destruction can look nice, who knew?
John Williams and the music, the use of well known Star Wars themes (Imperial March, The Emperors theme, the Force theme, Leia's theme, brother and sister theme from Return of the Jedi, Rey's theme, the March of the Resistance. It was a great soundtrack!
Gareth Edwards, director of Rogue One, is the guy in the trench that is told that the planet is a salt flat by his colleague next to him. That was good!
The parts played by Carrie Fisher's dog, Gary (Canto Bight scene) and Carrie Fisher's daughter, Billie. Billie was in Force Awakens but you'd hardly notice. She had many scenes in this one and it was good to see her becoming less one dimensional and more of a character. I hope she is a leader in the Rebellion in episode 9. It's nice she went from a cameo in 7 to a role in 8.
Things I did not like:
How Admiral Ackbar dies and it's just like... whatever.
Finn and Rose's story and Finn and Rose kissing...
Poe's mutiny. The whole Poe as a wreckless and feckless idiot. I love his development and him stopping Finn from rushing to help Luke, and he notices Luke is giving them time to escape. But I don't like how we had to get there.
Phasma's lack of importance.
Luke goes and becomes one with the force after a Force projection Lightsaber battle with Kylo... I want to see him fight one more time.
The Rebellion is now the size of the Millennium Falcon.
Questions I still want answered:
Who is Snoke?
Who are Rey's parents really? Is Kylo lying?
What happens to Leia?
Can Poe use the Force? Is that why he is such a good pilot?
Where is Lando?
What is the extent of what a Force Ghost can do? Yoda destroyed things and hit Luke, can all ghosts do that? Just Yoda?
Can a Sith be a Force Ghost? Could Sidious or Maul return and physically interact with their environment in 9?
What does Kylo plan to happen next? Is this all part of Snoke's plan?
Is Rey now a Jedi? Will she train broom boy? Yoda says she already has all the knowledge the ancient Jedi texts contained, so...?
Are the Jedi still ending or are we back to the light-side, dark-side dynamic?
What happens with the hyper-space tracker? Can they track the Millennium Falcon? How do they survive?
What happens the Jedi Order now?
Is this a way to move past the past and have a new Jedi and Sith order? That isn't based on Eps 1-3?
The Resistance fails to not get blown up, a lot.... And though they blow up the Dreadnought (Fulminatrix, apparently), they lose so many. As Leia remarks, "many heroes, no leaders".
Leia fails to rally support to come to the aid of the Resistance, "use my personal codes," but nothing comes of it and then she loses hope.
Hux fails to win, again.
Kylo Ren fails at everything except tricking Rey and killing Snoke, his failure on Crate/Krait/Krate, the salt planet, as he takes over as Supreme Leader Emo Kid is astonishing, and we get this glimpse in Hux's eyes that he will attempt to overthrow Kylo (when he was out after Rey's lightsaber exploded Hux would have shot him had he not woken up).
The First Order fail to wipe out the Rebellion (which it is again now, it's no Resistance anymore, the First Order rules supreme, as the opening crawl informs us).
DJ fails to have morals.
Chewbacca fails to eat porgs or stop them taking over the Millennium Falcon.
C3PO fails to get his odds of surviving out without being told to shut up by Poe.
Above I said Yoda doesn't fail. The only other two characters that don't fail are R2D2, who successfully convinces Luke to come to Leia and the Resistance's aid by playing the old hologram of Leia saying "Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope", one of the most moving scenes in the movie. The other is BB-8, who is just so badass in this movie. He shoots chips in a casino, steals a space craft and a walker. It was actually great.
Things I really Loved.
Poe was annoying most of the movie, but then at the end there is a great moment where he leads people to safety instead of a war they cannot win. Everyone looks to Leia and she looks behind here, a comical and perfect moment that allows us to see Poe becoming something of a General himself for 9.
When Luke comes! Like... Wow... He gives the dice from the Falcon to Leia and she mentions about changing her hair, that was great. Then he goes out and faces the First Order alone (something he told Rey he couldn't do, and it was ridiculous of her to expect him to). Then all these guns fire on him and after that he still stands so Ben faces him alone and he just ducks and dives until he has an Obi moment and allows Kylo to strike him down, but he isn't there, he is still in Ireland! Legend.
The kid that force pulls the broom to himself at the end and swings it like a lightsaber, showing the Rebel symbol on his ring! Perfect end!
Leia's use of the Force to bring herself back aboard the Raddus. It was very interesting, she is seconds from death and almost like instinct pulls herself back on board her ship.
The Raddus being named for Admiral Raddus from Rogue One, he was the one that looked like Admiral Ackbar.
Yoda, just all of it "Page turners they were not." I want a Yoda movie!
Porgs! They are cute and funny! I love when the one screams as Chewy does in the Falcon!
The boy with the broom!
The chase scene through Canto Bight, Dubrovnik.
How much Ireland was in it!
R2 and the hologram!
When Admiral Holdo goes to hyperdrive and crashes into Snoke's ship. The scenes there are like paintings they are so beautiful as the ship is being ripped apart and there is no sound. Those shots were just beautiful, destruction can look nice, who knew?
John Williams and the music, the use of well known Star Wars themes (Imperial March, The Emperors theme, the Force theme, Leia's theme, brother and sister theme from Return of the Jedi, Rey's theme, the March of the Resistance. It was a great soundtrack!
Gareth Edwards, director of Rogue One, is the guy in the trench that is told that the planet is a salt flat by his colleague next to him. That was good!
The parts played by Carrie Fisher's dog, Gary (Canto Bight scene) and Carrie Fisher's daughter, Billie. Billie was in Force Awakens but you'd hardly notice. She had many scenes in this one and it was good to see her becoming less one dimensional and more of a character. I hope she is a leader in the Rebellion in episode 9. It's nice she went from a cameo in 7 to a role in 8.
Things I did not like:
How Admiral Ackbar dies and it's just like... whatever.
Finn and Rose's story and Finn and Rose kissing...
Poe's mutiny. The whole Poe as a wreckless and feckless idiot. I love his development and him stopping Finn from rushing to help Luke, and he notices Luke is giving them time to escape. But I don't like how we had to get there.
Phasma's lack of importance.
Luke goes and becomes one with the force after a Force projection Lightsaber battle with Kylo... I want to see him fight one more time.
The Rebellion is now the size of the Millennium Falcon.
Questions I still want answered:
Who is Snoke?
Who are Rey's parents really? Is Kylo lying?
What happens to Leia?
Can Poe use the Force? Is that why he is such a good pilot?
Where is Lando?
What is the extent of what a Force Ghost can do? Yoda destroyed things and hit Luke, can all ghosts do that? Just Yoda?
Can a Sith be a Force Ghost? Could Sidious or Maul return and physically interact with their environment in 9?
What does Kylo plan to happen next? Is this all part of Snoke's plan?
Is Rey now a Jedi? Will she train broom boy? Yoda says she already has all the knowledge the ancient Jedi texts contained, so...?
Are the Jedi still ending or are we back to the light-side, dark-side dynamic?
What happens with the hyper-space tracker? Can they track the Millennium Falcon? How do they survive?
What happens the Jedi Order now?
Is this a way to move past the past and have a new Jedi and Sith order? That isn't based on Eps 1-3?
Monday, 24 July 2017
Some Scholars on the King James
Some scholars opinions on the King James...
Introduction to Biblical Interpretation by Klein, Blomberg and Hubbard on the KJV:
Summary of what they say about the KJV:
Though the translators did their best for 1611, many of the Greek texts they used were from the same area. Since then, a wider spread of texts and ones closer in date to the time of the original authors have been found. It is generally accepted that things closer to the date they happened are more accurate, so having earlier manuscripts should influence how we translate the Bible.
Would they recommend the KJV/NKJV as Bible scholars?
"We really ought to be thankful, for example, that Mark did not write the KJV rendering of Mark 16:18, but readers who limit themselves to the KJV will never know this. Readers of the NKJV will know the differences among manuscripts, if they read the footnotes, but they will naturally conclude that the better readings are those of the KJV. For this reason we cannot endorse the widespread use of these versions when alternatives are available." (120)
How to Read the Bible for all its Worth, Fee and Stuart:
"The KJV for a long time was the most widely used translation in the world; it is also a classic expression of the English language. Indeed, it coined phrases that will forever be embedded in our language ("coals of fire," "the skin of my teeth," "tongues of fire,"). However, for the New Testament, the only Greek text available to the 1611 translators was based on late manuscripts, which had accumulated the mistakes of over a thousand years of copying. Few of these mistakes- and we must note that there are many of them- make any difference to us doctrinally, but they often do make a difference in the meaning of certain specific texts. Recognising the English of the KJV was no longer a living language- and thoroughly dissatisfied with its modern revision (RSV/NRSV)- it was decided by some to "update" the KJV by ridding it of its "archaic" way of speaking. But in doing so, the NKJV revisers eliminated the best feature of the KJV (its marvelous expression of the English language) and kept the worst (its flawed text).
This is why for study you should use almost any modern translation rather than the KJV or the NKJV." (40)
Grasping God's Word Duvall and Hays:
They note a prominent scholar of the day wasn't happy with the translation saying:
"Tell his majesty that I would rather be rent in pieces by wild horses, than any such translation by my consent should be urged upon poor churches. The new edition crosseth me. I require it to be burnt." (Dr. Hugh Broughton, cited 162) I know nothing more about him but he's presented in the book as being against it not on religious grounds but scholarly ones.
"The King James Version was a good translation for the early 1600s since it was written in the English of the early 1600s. Today, however, most of us would have trouble even reading a page of the original 1611 version, since it was printed in Archaic English.
"To argue that we should still use the 1769 KJV edition (the one that is popular today) is to admit the necessity of revising a translation. This is the case since there have been thousands of changes from 1611 to 1769; they are literally two different bibles. Why not continue the process of revision by drawing on the latest in biblical scholarship and using language that today's readers can understand? Anything less seems to violate the intent of those who translated the original King James Version." (164)
Of the four bible study/interpretation books I found in the CCBC library, only Andy Deane's (a Calvary Chapel guy) recommended the King James as one Bible to use (but even he says you need to compare any Bible translation you choose as your main translation to others to get a full understanding of Scripture)
Monday, 17 July 2017
Grace and Buffy the Vampire Slayer (RBIS)
Yeah, I know, a blog about Buffy, I'm surprised this is about Buffy too.
So, recently I have been reading about, and learning from, and realising the importance of, God's grace. And, as many of you will know, I love seeing Christianity in popular culture. I have previously written a blog on God as seen in Buffy the Vampire Slayer as being one of the reasons I really love the show. If you want to you can read that here.
In that blog I talk a little about an episode in season 4 where Faith (as Buffy) stops some vampires that are taunting God after taking a church hostage. That episode left a big impression on me (I was maybe 9 or 10 when I first saw it). I even visited the church because it's not too far from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, CA.
Anyway... flash back to now. I'm wondering and thinking about grace in popular culture, and my brain is finding it really hard to find any good examples. Sure, there are examples of forgiveness, thanksgiving, mercy and love in popular culture, but grace... where is grace?
I've been thinking about this for awhile but today my brain hit on something...
Buffy was a show of seven seasons (running from 1997-2003). Season six is almost universally the most hated by Buffy fans. It probably contributed for Sarah's decision to quit playing Buffy as she constantly complained that the new show runners were taking the character of Buffy in a direction that Sarah, having played Buffy for five years at that point, didn't agree with and believed she wouldn't do.
So, at the end of this awful season is the best picture of grace I have seen in popular culture. I hadn't even considered it, because it's a bad season!
Previously on Buffy the Vampire Slayer:
Willow, Buffy's best friend, has become addicted to magic. She attempts to give it up earlier in the season, but then her girlfriend is shot and killed in an attempt to kill Buffy. Willow's grief consumes her and she gives in to her addiction, finding all the magic she can in order to kill the three people responsible (or partially responsible by association) for Tara's death. She is basically Evil Willow (or Dark Witch Willow as the toy of her is called).
Where sin abounds?
So, Willow has gone dark. She has killed Warren, the guy who shot the gun, and she is after the other two. Buffy tries to stop her, and she beats Buffy up, turning against those she loves and who love her in order to get what she wants, in order to fulfil her desire for revenge.
Enter Jesus character No. 1
Giles, Buffy's former mentor, returns imbued with the magic of love (not really called this in the show, but hinted at when it states Willow's power is from a place of grief, pain and vengeance, while Giles' power is from 'the true source of magic'). Giles faces off against Willow, weakening her. He convinces her that she needs to steal his power to be the most powerful, so she does.
Taking Giles' powers weakens him, and he knows he is going to die. His plan was to sacrifice his own life in order to give Willow the good magic, that it might just spark something inside her.
However, Giles' plan doesn't exactly work out. (Unlike actual Jesus who saved us by His finished work on the cross). Willow now has more power than any other mortal has ever had, and she has this added compassion to all her grief power. She feels the grief and pain of the entire world and decides to end the world.
Enter Jesus character No. 2
Willow traps Buffy and her sister Dawn in a bit facing what are sort of like tiny Ents from Lord of the Rings. Root-Ents. So Buffy cannot help.
Instead, Xander, the powerless one of the group, the only one without magic, or teleportation, or enhanced strength etc. comes to face Willow.
Willow has raised this Satanic Temple and is channelling the essence of the earth (I'm guessing) through her and into it. Xander steps in the way and the line is broken.
Willow blasts him out of the way, but he gets back up, breaking the line again.
Xander tells Willow that she is his best friend, and if the world is about to end there is nowhere he would rather be than by the side of his best friend.
She strikes him with her power again. He tells her a story of how she broke a yellow crayon on their first day of school, and how he loved her then, and loves her now in all her black magic power.
She blasts him again, causing gashes to appear in his shirt and on his body.
He tells her he loves her and begins to take steps towards her, repeating that he loves her with every step and every strike.
By the time he is within arms reach she cannot use her powers anymore and is in tears, she hits him, not like a powerful witch but like a scared young girl in her twenties dealing with grief. She collapses into his arms and her hair, which was black as she was evil, becomes its natural red again.
Giles' sacrifice to implant love in Willow, and Xander standing in the way, taking a beating to show how much he loves her, saves the day... and saves Willow too who becomes a full member of the group after some time in England rehabilitating in season seven.
Comparisons to God's grace:
It's hard not to see the parallels with God and His grace there. I cannot believe I missed it for so long.
Giles is willing to die to give the one committing evil a chance at love and to reenter relationship.
Xander is punished for Willow, in order to keep telling her he loves her.
Finally, relationship is restored and Willow joins the team and her friends forgiven, accepted and loved. In the end, the power from love proves to be more powerful than the power of grief and pain, as Willow will be one of the key players that helps save and change the world in the next season.
"Where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more."
The episode even has a song as Willow falls into Xander's arm, that as I rewatched I noticed was very Christian. It is the Prayer of St. Francis, sung by Sarah McLachlan.
And, if you want to see the best example of grace I've seen in popular culture, you can see it here.
So, recently I have been reading about, and learning from, and realising the importance of, God's grace. And, as many of you will know, I love seeing Christianity in popular culture. I have previously written a blog on God as seen in Buffy the Vampire Slayer as being one of the reasons I really love the show. If you want to you can read that here.
In that blog I talk a little about an episode in season 4 where Faith (as Buffy) stops some vampires that are taunting God after taking a church hostage. That episode left a big impression on me (I was maybe 9 or 10 when I first saw it). I even visited the church because it's not too far from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, CA.
Anyway... flash back to now. I'm wondering and thinking about grace in popular culture, and my brain is finding it really hard to find any good examples. Sure, there are examples of forgiveness, thanksgiving, mercy and love in popular culture, but grace... where is grace?
I've been thinking about this for awhile but today my brain hit on something...
Buffy was a show of seven seasons (running from 1997-2003). Season six is almost universally the most hated by Buffy fans. It probably contributed for Sarah's decision to quit playing Buffy as she constantly complained that the new show runners were taking the character of Buffy in a direction that Sarah, having played Buffy for five years at that point, didn't agree with and believed she wouldn't do.
So, at the end of this awful season is the best picture of grace I have seen in popular culture. I hadn't even considered it, because it's a bad season!
Previously on Buffy the Vampire Slayer:
Willow, Buffy's best friend, has become addicted to magic. She attempts to give it up earlier in the season, but then her girlfriend is shot and killed in an attempt to kill Buffy. Willow's grief consumes her and she gives in to her addiction, finding all the magic she can in order to kill the three people responsible (or partially responsible by association) for Tara's death. She is basically Evil Willow (or Dark Witch Willow as the toy of her is called).
Where sin abounds?
So, Willow has gone dark. She has killed Warren, the guy who shot the gun, and she is after the other two. Buffy tries to stop her, and she beats Buffy up, turning against those she loves and who love her in order to get what she wants, in order to fulfil her desire for revenge.
Enter Jesus character No. 1
Giles, Buffy's former mentor, returns imbued with the magic of love (not really called this in the show, but hinted at when it states Willow's power is from a place of grief, pain and vengeance, while Giles' power is from 'the true source of magic'). Giles faces off against Willow, weakening her. He convinces her that she needs to steal his power to be the most powerful, so she does.
Taking Giles' powers weakens him, and he knows he is going to die. His plan was to sacrifice his own life in order to give Willow the good magic, that it might just spark something inside her.
However, Giles' plan doesn't exactly work out. (Unlike actual Jesus who saved us by His finished work on the cross). Willow now has more power than any other mortal has ever had, and she has this added compassion to all her grief power. She feels the grief and pain of the entire world and decides to end the world.
Enter Jesus character No. 2
Willow traps Buffy and her sister Dawn in a bit facing what are sort of like tiny Ents from Lord of the Rings. Root-Ents. So Buffy cannot help.
Instead, Xander, the powerless one of the group, the only one without magic, or teleportation, or enhanced strength etc. comes to face Willow.
Willow has raised this Satanic Temple and is channelling the essence of the earth (I'm guessing) through her and into it. Xander steps in the way and the line is broken.
Willow blasts him out of the way, but he gets back up, breaking the line again.
Xander tells Willow that she is his best friend, and if the world is about to end there is nowhere he would rather be than by the side of his best friend.
She strikes him with her power again. He tells her a story of how she broke a yellow crayon on their first day of school, and how he loved her then, and loves her now in all her black magic power.
She blasts him again, causing gashes to appear in his shirt and on his body.
He tells her he loves her and begins to take steps towards her, repeating that he loves her with every step and every strike.
By the time he is within arms reach she cannot use her powers anymore and is in tears, she hits him, not like a powerful witch but like a scared young girl in her twenties dealing with grief. She collapses into his arms and her hair, which was black as she was evil, becomes its natural red again.
Giles' sacrifice to implant love in Willow, and Xander standing in the way, taking a beating to show how much he loves her, saves the day... and saves Willow too who becomes a full member of the group after some time in England rehabilitating in season seven.
Comparisons to God's grace:
It's hard not to see the parallels with God and His grace there. I cannot believe I missed it for so long.
Giles is willing to die to give the one committing evil a chance at love and to reenter relationship.
Xander is punished for Willow, in order to keep telling her he loves her.
Finally, relationship is restored and Willow joins the team and her friends forgiven, accepted and loved. In the end, the power from love proves to be more powerful than the power of grief and pain, as Willow will be one of the key players that helps save and change the world in the next season.
"Where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more."
The episode even has a song as Willow falls into Xander's arm, that as I rewatched I noticed was very Christian. It is the Prayer of St. Francis, sung by Sarah McLachlan.
And, if you want to see the best example of grace I've seen in popular culture, you can see it here.
Tuesday, 11 July 2017
Dublin and Palestine
This is old news, and I'm sorry if you already don't care, but I've been meaning to stick up a blog on this, so here it is.
On the 11th of May 2017 an approved motion of Dublin City Council was put into effect. The motion was to fly the Palestinian flag above Dublin City Hall for one month to mark the fifty-year anniversary of the occupation of the West Bank by Israeli forces.
Ireland has a long tradition of supporting countries like us, countries dominated and oppressed by a larger, more powerful, neighbouring nation.
The suffering and death of innocent lives is never good, no one denies that. However, Ireland has no right to do anything like this.
That's because Ireland is a NEUTRAL country.
Neutrality, by its very nature, means not taking a side in an international conflict.
Palestine-Israel is the definition of an international conflict.
Dublin City Council's decision to fly the Palestinian flag for the monty of May, and into June, indirectly violates the Irish principal of neutrality.
If we value neutrality as much as we attest to, if we want to avoid entering into international conflicts, we need to be wise about what we do. Whether people personally feel they should support Palestine or Israel is up to them, but Ireland and her political entities should never enter into taking a side in this conflict.
The principle of neutrality should mean we fly an Israeli flag as well.
I was heartened to see that the former Justice Minister, Alan Shatter, condemned the move.
Sadly I must criticise President Higgins, the protector of the constitution in which Irish neutrality is legally defined and enshrined, should have vetoed this move as it was not in the best interest of the country and paints a bad light on Ireland, and certainly on Dublin!
On the 11th of May 2017 an approved motion of Dublin City Council was put into effect. The motion was to fly the Palestinian flag above Dublin City Hall for one month to mark the fifty-year anniversary of the occupation of the West Bank by Israeli forces.
Ireland has a long tradition of supporting countries like us, countries dominated and oppressed by a larger, more powerful, neighbouring nation.
The suffering and death of innocent lives is never good, no one denies that. However, Ireland has no right to do anything like this.
That's because Ireland is a NEUTRAL country.
Neutrality, by its very nature, means not taking a side in an international conflict.
Palestine-Israel is the definition of an international conflict.
Dublin City Council's decision to fly the Palestinian flag for the monty of May, and into June, indirectly violates the Irish principal of neutrality.
If we value neutrality as much as we attest to, if we want to avoid entering into international conflicts, we need to be wise about what we do. Whether people personally feel they should support Palestine or Israel is up to them, but Ireland and her political entities should never enter into taking a side in this conflict.
The principle of neutrality should mean we fly an Israeli flag as well.
I was heartened to see that the former Justice Minister, Alan Shatter, condemned the move.
Sadly I must criticise President Higgins, the protector of the constitution in which Irish neutrality is legally defined and enshrined, should have vetoed this move as it was not in the best interest of the country and paints a bad light on Ireland, and certainly on Dublin!
Seriously England
So, for those of you who do not follow English politics let me give you a brief history before my rant about the sorts of images appearing in English newspapers recently. Scroll to the image if you know the background.
Brexit happened, you probably remember that. It was when the UK voted to leave the European Union. The Prime Minister (PM) at the time was David Cameron, the leader of the conservative (Tory) party. He stepped down as he was not pro-Brexit and Theresa May took his place, becoming the UKs second female PM.
As part of Brexit, Britain need to enter into negotiations with the other 27 member states of the European Union to flesh out with a post-EU relationship will look like for Britain.
May wanted a clearer mandate and called a snap general election, hoping to return a strong majority for her Tory party. She was returned as PM, but she did not get that clear majority, and so clear mandate, she hoped the election would provide.
In order to form a government, May needed the support of a smaller party. Enter Northern Ireland.
The North, for those who don't know, is still controlled by the UK (and because they cannot come to agreements with their parliament in Stormont, they could go to being directly ruled by Westminster in London again, which would not be good for the Good Friday Agreement and peace in the region between pro-British factions and pro-Republic of Ireland factions.
Anyway, the DUP, a Unionist or pro-British party, won ten seats in the election in the North. Sinn Féin, the pro-Republic party, won 7 but they abstain from taking them as they don't recognise the authority of Westminster in Irish affairs.
So, to stay PM and form a government that could work, May formed an alliance with the DUP, a party on pretty much no Englishman's radar. So newspaper political cartoons came out, and they have been ridiculously racist.
Here is one example published in the Daily Mail and I want to discuss why it is wrong, not helpful and should be retracted.
Here's the image:
This really offends me. I have grown up in a good period of history and camaraderie between the UK and Ireland, with our two states officially recognising the existence and validity of the other, with Queen Elizabeth IIs state visit to Ireland, followed by Michael D.'s state visit to the UK (that moment the Irish national anthem played out in Windsor Castle will never leave my memory). Everything was so hopeful, and then this.
800 years of dominion and oppression. 800 years of being treated as less than human. The British Government enslaved Irish people, deported them to work in their colonies in the Americas and Australia. They watched us die in the famine as they exported food that could have saved lives. They depicted us as monkeys, apes and drunks. Finally things were beginning to heal. But then this.
This image, and images like it appearing in papers in the UK right now, show the old Irish stereotypes are still strong in the UK, because this image shows zero understanding of Northern Ireland and uses the stereotypical image of the Republic instead.
The DUP are a Protestant, pro-British, largely Evangelical group. This means that:
1. Large numbers of them do not drink alcohol due to their Christian beliefs.
2. They do not consider themselves Irish and therefore would not choose an Irish beverage to be the thing they agree to government to get.
3. They do not lie around drunk when they should be helping govern their country.
It's a sad step in the wrong direction at such a volatile time in Anglo-Irish relations, and when the issue of Northern Ireland is a key one in Brexit negotiations as the border between the Republic and the North will be the only land border into the European Union affected by Brexit.
Britain, we have forgiven a lot in Ireland (we remind you guys of all you did a lot, because your history books teach you that you had a great civilising Empire that admittedly made some mistakes but was generally celebrated), but we look to a future of friendship, not to a past of hate; it's time to grow up and stop dehumanizing the people you probably share the most in common with on earth.
PS: we drink more tea than you!
Brexit happened, you probably remember that. It was when the UK voted to leave the European Union. The Prime Minister (PM) at the time was David Cameron, the leader of the conservative (Tory) party. He stepped down as he was not pro-Brexit and Theresa May took his place, becoming the UKs second female PM.
As part of Brexit, Britain need to enter into negotiations with the other 27 member states of the European Union to flesh out with a post-EU relationship will look like for Britain.
May wanted a clearer mandate and called a snap general election, hoping to return a strong majority for her Tory party. She was returned as PM, but she did not get that clear majority, and so clear mandate, she hoped the election would provide.
In order to form a government, May needed the support of a smaller party. Enter Northern Ireland.
The North, for those who don't know, is still controlled by the UK (and because they cannot come to agreements with their parliament in Stormont, they could go to being directly ruled by Westminster in London again, which would not be good for the Good Friday Agreement and peace in the region between pro-British factions and pro-Republic of Ireland factions.
Anyway, the DUP, a Unionist or pro-British party, won ten seats in the election in the North. Sinn Féin, the pro-Republic party, won 7 but they abstain from taking them as they don't recognise the authority of Westminster in Irish affairs.
So, to stay PM and form a government that could work, May formed an alliance with the DUP, a party on pretty much no Englishman's radar. So newspaper political cartoons came out, and they have been ridiculously racist.
Here is one example published in the Daily Mail and I want to discuss why it is wrong, not helpful and should be retracted.
Here's the image:
This really offends me. I have grown up in a good period of history and camaraderie between the UK and Ireland, with our two states officially recognising the existence and validity of the other, with Queen Elizabeth IIs state visit to Ireland, followed by Michael D.'s state visit to the UK (that moment the Irish national anthem played out in Windsor Castle will never leave my memory). Everything was so hopeful, and then this.
800 years of dominion and oppression. 800 years of being treated as less than human. The British Government enslaved Irish people, deported them to work in their colonies in the Americas and Australia. They watched us die in the famine as they exported food that could have saved lives. They depicted us as monkeys, apes and drunks. Finally things were beginning to heal. But then this.
This image, and images like it appearing in papers in the UK right now, show the old Irish stereotypes are still strong in the UK, because this image shows zero understanding of Northern Ireland and uses the stereotypical image of the Republic instead.
The DUP are a Protestant, pro-British, largely Evangelical group. This means that:
1. Large numbers of them do not drink alcohol due to their Christian beliefs.
2. They do not consider themselves Irish and therefore would not choose an Irish beverage to be the thing they agree to government to get.
3. They do not lie around drunk when they should be helping govern their country.
It's a sad step in the wrong direction at such a volatile time in Anglo-Irish relations, and when the issue of Northern Ireland is a key one in Brexit negotiations as the border between the Republic and the North will be the only land border into the European Union affected by Brexit.
Britain, we have forgiven a lot in Ireland (we remind you guys of all you did a lot, because your history books teach you that you had a great civilising Empire that admittedly made some mistakes but was generally celebrated), but we look to a future of friendship, not to a past of hate; it's time to grow up and stop dehumanizing the people you probably share the most in common with on earth.
PS: we drink more tea than you!
Saturday, 8 July 2017
The Room of Your Deepest Dreams
So I was reading a book recently and in it the author discussed this old movie. The movie is set in a bleak, dystopian future where hope is dying. However, there is a place where there is a room. This room fulfils/grants the deepest desires of anyone who walks into it.
Three friends, a writer, a professor and a stalker (I have no idea if that is a job, or if this character has a creepy desire to get the person they have been stalking from the room) set off in search of the room of deepest desires.
They each have an idea of what that room will give them when they get there, it is these they set out after, and it is these desires they are pursuing.
Throughout the course of the movie, I'm totally assuming, the trio encounter things that expend their knowledge of themselves. It's one of those movies, they reach the room but then they hesitate, they don't go in. Why not? Perhaps the things they set off in search of are not the things they actually deeply desire. Perhaps the things they thought they knew about themselves as they set out on their quest are not the things they know about themselves at the end. Perhaps those deepest desires they set out in search of are not actually their deepest desires at all.
This got me thinking, and I think it is a good question to ask, what do you think the room would give you if you arrived there?
Now, the last blog I wrote I was told was good because of how honest I am in my blogs. I am sorry to disappoint you in this one, I will not be telling you about what I think the room would grant me.
In my head, however, I divided these thoughts into two: things I hope the room would give me, which I have no problem sharing, and things I fear the room would give me, which I will not share!
The things I hope the room would give me, the things I hope are my deepest desires, are a church group, building and finances to pastor and tell about the love and grace and work of Christ for them; a wife; the success of the books I write; and, eventually, the Presidency of Ireland because I am an idealist and have ideas that I think could make our little patch of land a nicer place to live.
I hope those desires and motives are my deepest, but I certainly wondered on hearing the story of the three friends and their room. You don't need to tell me, but what do you hope and fear the room would give you if you went in?
I'm gonna be praying that the things I hope, and not the things I fear are actually, or would become, my deepest desires!
Three friends, a writer, a professor and a stalker (I have no idea if that is a job, or if this character has a creepy desire to get the person they have been stalking from the room) set off in search of the room of deepest desires.
They each have an idea of what that room will give them when they get there, it is these they set out after, and it is these desires they are pursuing.
Throughout the course of the movie, I'm totally assuming, the trio encounter things that expend their knowledge of themselves. It's one of those movies, they reach the room but then they hesitate, they don't go in. Why not? Perhaps the things they set off in search of are not the things they actually deeply desire. Perhaps the things they thought they knew about themselves as they set out on their quest are not the things they know about themselves at the end. Perhaps those deepest desires they set out in search of are not actually their deepest desires at all.
This got me thinking, and I think it is a good question to ask, what do you think the room would give you if you arrived there?
Now, the last blog I wrote I was told was good because of how honest I am in my blogs. I am sorry to disappoint you in this one, I will not be telling you about what I think the room would grant me.
In my head, however, I divided these thoughts into two: things I hope the room would give me, which I have no problem sharing, and things I fear the room would give me, which I will not share!
The things I hope the room would give me, the things I hope are my deepest desires, are a church group, building and finances to pastor and tell about the love and grace and work of Christ for them; a wife; the success of the books I write; and, eventually, the Presidency of Ireland because I am an idealist and have ideas that I think could make our little patch of land a nicer place to live.
I hope those desires and motives are my deepest, but I certainly wondered on hearing the story of the three friends and their room. You don't need to tell me, but what do you hope and fear the room would give you if you went in?
I'm gonna be praying that the things I hope, and not the things I fear are actually, or would become, my deepest desires!
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