The Burr in the Burgh

Some people are dog people and some are cat people. I'm both. Or one of each. Or whatever. Growing up we always had a dog. But then as a married couple, me going to seminary, living in apartments, Julie and I decided to get a cat. Well, actually, a group of sixth graders in Alhambra, California decided to get us a cat, a kitten. Julie was their teacher and that was her going away present. And we have been cat people ever since. Now our household includes 2 cats and a Golden Retriever. Yesh, cats and dogs living together.

Somewhere I read a quote, I believe from C.S. Lewis, where he opines as to why God gives us animals for pets. Scientific studies show that pet owners tend to have less stress, lower blood pressure, and live longer. Having an animal can be beneficial for a person's physical and mental health. But the quote I'm seeking says something to the effect that God teaches us to be gentle and merciful through animals. In other words, if a man is able to have pity on a beast, it inclines him to being merciful with other people.

Of course, we know with the extremes of the animal "rights" movement today that loving animals and loving people do not automatically go together. They say that Adolph Hitler loved dogs. But the extremists aside, there may be a principle truth in the elusive quote nonetheless. At least the adverse is true. People who are intentionally cruel to animals, who take pleasure in the suffering of senseless beasts, are deeply impaired and are likely incapable of compassion. Most serial murderers and sociopaths have a history of tormenting animals before they take out their aggressions on other persons.

Does anyone know the Lewis quote I'm thinking of?

Below is the homily I delivered this morning in chapel.


Kramer Chapel
February 4, 2008
Text: Luke 9:23-27

And he said to all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. 25 For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? 26For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. 27But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God."

In a fundamental sense, your salvation is something that happens out side of you, extra nos. We speak in our circles of objective justification. By this, we mean that your redemption was accomplished as a real historical event when the Son of God bled and died as a sacrificial lamb upon the altar of the cross. At that moment, God’s just anger toward sin was quenched and satisfied forever. And that is not a thing which happens in your heart or as a result of your actions or by any movement of your will.

Another Christian once asked me, “Are you saved?” And I said, “Yes.” The person then asked me, when were you saved? And I said: “I was saved when Jesus died on the cross for me. Why? When were you saved?”

Your salvation is an objective fact, a reality that occurs outside of you. Christianity then at its very heart is not about you. It is about Jesus. From our perspective, it is never about us.

But from the perspective of God, it is always about you. It is you specifically that our Lord had in mind when he He told Nicodemus that God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son. Jesus said that God loved the world. Who is meant by that phrase, “the world?” The world is not just some abstraction, some generic concept, not a platonic idea. The world refers to you! Whom does God love? The world. That is to say, He loves you.

Love is never a hypothetical. Cartoonist Charles Schulz once said, “I love mankind. It’s people I can’t stand.” Its corollary for the church, I suppose, would be, “I love the church. It’s the individual members I can’t stand.” That line is humorous to us because it’s so obviously ridiculous but it’s also how most of us feel at least part of the time. But the truth of the matter is that you cannot love in the abstract. Nor does God. The world which God loves and for whom He sent his only-begotten Son is you and it is me.

Likewise, when John the Baptist hollered from banks of the Jordan, “Behold, there goes the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” There is a part of you that finds it easier to believe that God loves the world than that he loves you. And that same part finds it easier to believe that the Lamb of God paid for the sins of the world than to consider that He has atoned for your sins. This is manifest in every Christian, particularly every preacher, who confidently declares to others the mercies of God in Christ, but who continues to languish in guilt of his own.

I started this homily pointing out that there is something objective and external about the justification of sinners. But that coin naturally has another side to it for whoever heard of a one-sided coin? On one side, your salvation is objective, occurring outside of yourself, taking place through historical events and residing in the heart of God. Jesus Christ died for you. His death is the once for all, all-sufficient sacrifice to pay for our disobedience: thought, word and deed. But you also must undergo death and resurrection in Him. Salvation is founded extra nos, outside of us, but it does not remain extra nos.

See how naturally Jesus goes from speaking of his own cross to speaking of ours:

22And he said, "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life

23Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”

Crucifixion was a demeaning form of execution. It is an absurdity. It is an obscenity. The cross means one thing: death by torture. To die in Jesus Christ is the painful death of the old nature. German theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, wrote in his most famous book, “When Christ calls a man, He bids Him come and die.” Sounds very appealing does it not? Not too many evangelism programs will be adopting that line as their motto. And if every Christian is called to suffer and die in Christ, then that cross is all the heavier for those called into the Office of the Holy Ministry. Here is what Martin Luther said in one of his house postils: "To the devil with this position! I'm ready to chuck it. That's what it means to have an office. To be on top is no frolic or bunny dance. It entails work and stress, so that no one in his right mind would actively seek it." No one in his right mind, Luther said, would actively seek to hold an office in the church.

First of all, I’d be very curious to know what a “bunny dance” is exactly. But I think I get the gist of it. Do you love this world? Do you desire comfort and pleasure? Then you should not be a student here. I say this with every ounce of sincerity I am able to muster, the pastoral ministry is filled with moments of tremendous joy. I, Scott Stiegemeyer, am very pleased to work at this institution, but I would be able to return to parish ministry without a blink of hesitation. To paraphrase slightly one of the characters in The Hammer of God, I can think of nothing more wonderful than to be a pastor in God’s church. But a “bunny dance,” my friends, it is not.

Here we are, on the brink of lent. Tomorrow is fat Tuesday, one last huzzah before seven weeks of stricken, smitten and afflicted. While Rick Warren talks about his 40 Days of Purpose, we begin our 40 Days of Purple. And when, not if, but when you fast and practice self-denial, it is likely that the words of Luke 9:23-27 and similar passages will underlie your observance and rightly so.

But we do dis-service to these words of Jesus if we make them nothing more than an injunction to being a more committed Christian, as it were. These harsh and hard words are not merely law. They are also promise. To die with Christ is also to rise with him.

You are made participants in the death and resurrection of Jesus by God’s Word as it is applied to you especially in baptism and as your once-in-time baptism continues to unfold its power in you in daily repentance and faith. Matthew and Mark record this passage nearly identically. But it is Luke’s sources that add the word “daily.” The Christian life is a daily dying and rising in Christ. A work both completed at Calvary and ongoing in your heart.

In Jesus’ name. Amen.

February 1, 2008 .................... LCMSNews -- No. 11

World Mission re-evaluating situation in Kenya

By Paula Schlueter Ross

LCMS World Mission has asked its missionaries to Kenya to remain indefinitely in Ethiopia after they attend regularly scheduled meetings there, according to Travis Torblaa, the mission board's personnel care manager.

The move came in the wake of post-election rioting in the East African country that has left more than 600 dead, hundreds of thousands displaced, and widespread destruction of property, including as many as 10 churches of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya (ELCK), an LCMS partner.

LCMS World Mission decided Jan. 30 to temporarily relocate the missionaries -- Dr. Paul and Joy Mueller and Rev. Claude and Rhoda Houge -- after receiving a recommendation to do so from its crisis-response management service. The two couples will remain in Ethiopia "while we re-evaluate the situation" in Kenya, Torblaa said.

"We are hopeful that it will be for a very short time," he added.

Dr. Carlos Walter Winterle, former president of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brazil who has been serving for more than a year as pastor of an international congregation in downtown Nairobi, also is leaving Kenya, according to Torblaa. Winterle's ministry is a partnership of LCMS World Mission and its partner churches in Kenya and Brazil.

Two days earlier, on Jan. 28, Joy Mueller had said via e-mail that the missionaries had no plans to leave, but were taking precautions, especially regarding their travel within the country. She said U.S. embassy officials there were "very optimistic that the [peace] talks will go well and reconciliation and peace will be restored." Some ethnic fighting is still taking place in isolated areas, she said.

Mueller said that Bishop Walter Obare of the Kenyan church body met Jan. 25 with political, community, and gang leaders in Kibera, and the group is "working together to bring peace into Kibera and restore harmony in the community."

In a Jan. 29 telephone interview with LCMS World Relief and Human Care staff, Mueller described the Kenyan people as "very resilient."

"The people have gathered their strength in the Gospel and they've gathered to worship in His name," she said. "They aren't waiting for outside help to come in and solve their problems, but they're getting together, they're praying together, and they're going into communities and they're serving each other out of the love of Christ."

LCMS World Relief and Human Care has sent $60,000 in emergency grants to the ELCK to help people in need. Mueller said the Kenyan church body is using the funds "to help restore lives, homes, churches" and to "share God's love with all."

Contributions to help Kenyans may be sent to LCMS World Relief and Human Care, P.O. Box 66861, St. Louis, MO 63166-6861 -- please make checks payable to "LCMS World Relief and Human Care" and note "Kenya Relief Effort" on the memo line. Or, to make a donation by phone, call the toll-free gift line at (888) 930-4438.

To hear the audio interview with Joy Mueller, visit the Web site of LCMS World Relief and Human Care at http://www.lcms.org/?12981.

The seminary admission office is delighted to announce a new monthly electronic newsletter called ePilgrimage. This is our latest project to help us stay in touch with inquirers, friends and supporters. It is a supplement to the quarterly printed and mailed version called simply Pilgrimage and that will not change.

Who is ePilgrimage for? It’s written for Lutheran pastors, prospective students, teachers, family members, alumni and everyone interested in staying up-to-date with the happenings and opportunities at Concordia Theological Seminary.

Go to this link to sign up:

http://seminaryblog.com/sign-up-for-a-monthly-email-newsletter/

As I was recently working on creating a new blog, I spent a fair amount of time researching the art and science of blogging. There are oodles of websites and resources to learn from. One blog that I'd never seen before, but now can't live without is called Copyblogger by Brian Clark. He's full of insight on everything to do with marketing and promoting your blog to the principles of good style. A few of the gems I've recently discovered:

• Ten Timeless Persuasive Writing Techniques



• The Persuasive Power of Specificity



• Do You Make These Mistakes When You Write?
  

Here's a must-have utility.

Heath Ledger's most critically acclaimed performance was for the recent Brokeback Mountain, a film I did not happen to see. But I could tell from several earlier performances such as The Patriot and Monster's Ball that this was a young artist of considerable promise. It is with some sadness then that I write of his strange and sudden death.

My further comments can be read at the Seminary Blog.

Haven't you heard this before from non-religious people? "Oh, the Bible has been copied and translated so many times in the past 2ooo years, no one can really know what the original manuscripts said."

What is frustrating is that this critique is made so often and is simply accepted as common knowledge when the science of textual criticism would lead to very different conclusions. The historical integrity of the biblical manuscripts is not a matter of religious faith or theological speculation. It's supported by evidence and reason.

See this useful article.

Prospective Students! How would you like to win a copy of the Lutheran Service Book, the Personal / Gift edition and become a published blogger in the process?

We are inviting Concordia University students as well as other prospective seminary applicants to submit brief answers to this question: "What is your favorite hymn in LSB and why?" The answers must be between 300-500 words. A person may submit an entry no more than once per week. A person will only be selected once.

Twice in the month of February (10th & 24th), we will publish on this blog what we believe are the best two responses. The winning writers will receive this handsome resource.

So put on your thinking caps and tell us what you love about the LSB.

The entry form can be found on the seminary's new blog here.

St. Louis songstress, Erin Bode, was a huge hit at the banquet this evening at the Grand Wayne Center here in Fort Wayne. Every year, Concordia Theological Seminary hosts its annual Exegetical and Confessional Symposia. This year the topic was on the Atonement. And every year, the Thursday night of Symposia week is the night of the banquet. Traditionally, attendees were treated to speakers, intros, jokes, etc. This year, to the relief and delight of some and most likely the chagrin of others, the faculty roasts and inside jokes were put aside and the packed banquet hall was filled with the sounds of jazz music. Bode was quite the hit receiving a lengthy standing ovation at the end. Go here to read information about her inspiring work with the Themba school in South Africa.

As you may know, we've launched a new blog from the Admission Department of Concordia Theological Seminary. It's called Concordia TheoBLOGical Seminary. Cute, eh? We're trying hard to use that new blog to bring attention to our school and to hopefully inspire prospective students to inquire.

If you have 2 minutes, you could help us tremendously. Go to the seminary blog and look at the left hand column. Down a bit, you'll see a notice that Concordia TheoBLOGical Seminary is in the running for best religion blog. If you think our efforts have merit and want to help us generate higher traffic, please click that button and vote for us.

Thanks for your support.

Do you ever wish you had your own personal cheerleader?

Check out the latest post at Concordia TheoBLOGical Seminary.

January 6 is the Feast of the Epiphany of Our Lord. The word "epiphany" means that something is revealed. Epiphany is a season which focuses on the manifestations of Jesus' divine nature. God reveals His glory most supremely in the flesh and blood of a man, Jesus Christ.

The Gospel reading for this day is Matthew 2:1-12, the story of the wise men. The Holy Scriptures actually tell us very little about these fellows. And several misunderstandings have piled up over the years.

The songs says, "We Three Kings," but the bible says nothing about them being royalty. They are called magi which means that they were wise men or scholars. We don't know where they came from exactly, though Persia is a good guess. The Scriptures merely say they came from the east. Even though your crèche has the wise men figurines, they were not present at the time of our Lord's birth. The holy family was no longer in a stable, but in a house and Jesus was probably about 2 years old when they showed up. We don't even know that there were three of them. It just says that they brought three gifts.

One thing we do know is that they were not Jews. Thus, they represent the nations of the world coming to Israel for salvation. Jesus later said, "Salvation is from the Jews (John 4:22). Many moderns assume that all religions are essentially the same. The Gospel of Matthews suggests otherwise. If that were so, why did those poor stargazers and their camels cross mountains and deserts to worship the newborn king of Israel? If all religions are the same, they should have just stayed home and prayed to Ishtar and burned that frankincense in the temples of Zoroaster.

Author of study guide for ‘The Golden Compass'

By Rosa Salter Rodriguez

The Journal Gazette

Janelle Sou Roberts | The Journal Gazette

Scott Stiegemeyer, a Lutheran pastor, says “Compass” author Philip Pullman “clearly does have an anti-church agenda.”

Leave it to the Rev. Scott Stiegemeyer not to stray too far from the front lines of the culture wars.

A pastor in the Lutheran Church’s Missouri Synod who now serves as admissions director of Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Stiegemeyer has a longtime interest in the intersection of faith and popular culture.

So, it didn’t surprise him when an editor at the synod publishing house called him three weeks in advance of the release of the controversial movie version of Philip Pullman’s “The Golden Compass” and asked him to write a study guide for use in churches.

“He was a reader of my blog,” says Stiegemeyer, who uses current events and cultural topics to gather readers to his “Concordia TheoBLOGical Seminary.”

But, while some are calling on Christians to boycott the movie because of its allegedly anti-Christian themes and Pullman’s militant atheism, Stiegemeyer’s guide doesn’t.

Instead, it lays out some of the issues and provides biblical and doctrinal context for approaching the work in a question-and-answer/discussion format.

Should Christians read/see works by unbelievers? Who is Philip Pullman and what does he believe? Should I, as a Christian, see the movie?

Formerly a pastor at Concordia Lutheran Church in Pittsburgh, where he started his first blog, “The Burr in the Burgh,” Stiegemeyer has credentials that include presentations on C.S. Lewis’ “The Chronicles of Narnia” and “The DaVinci Code.”

For about two years, he and another Lutheran pastor, Don Matzat, turned an otherwise dead Sunday night radio time slot into two hours of lively chat on a call-in show, “Let’s Talk About Jesus.” The two took on topics such as the then-popular apocalyptic “Left Behind” book series.

“Questions and Answers about Philip Pullman’s ‘The Golden Compass’ ” is available free at www.cph.org/compass.

Why would you as a pastor even get involved in this area of popular culture?

“It seemed to me that congregation members, especially those of the younger generation, are getting more and more of their information from entertainment media even more than from the hour they’re in church on Sunday morning. Popular culture is influencing people’s faith. So as a pastor, I felt called to help them sort the good from the bad, and interpret what they are hearing and seeing from the perspective of their faith.”

What piqued your interest with this movie?

“Well, I had read the novels several years ago, and what piqued my interest about them then is they’re fantasy genre, and with fantasy genre novels, they often have spiritual themes. And Pullman has been outspoken about wanting to be the anti-C.S. Lewis (known for his Christian orientation). I think (Pullman) may be a bit tongue in cheek about that, but he despises C.S. Lewis. So that intrigued me. And a lot of (the commentary) was sort of predictably reactionary and emotional. … ‘Knee-jerk’ is a good word. So I wanted to balance that out.”

For those of us who might have been living under rocks, what’s the fuss about with this movie?

“This is the first part of a trilogy called ‘His Dark Materials.’ Its (theme) is not at all subtle. The characters find the church and God are evil, and they go on a crusade to kill God, whom they call The Authority. It’s set in an alternative universe, but very similar to the one we know. The characters do travel between universes. But it’s very complex, as fantasy novels are. ‘The Golden Compass’ is the most toned down, and the movie, if anything, softens the potentially objectionable material.”

So what happens in “The Golden Compass?”

“The bad thing that happens is that children are being taken, and what you eventually find out is that it is the church that is taking them and torturing them. The church is conducting experiments on them and basically sapping their souls. The heroine and her companions go on this rescue crusade.”

Not a pretty picture.

“No. It’s not a pretty picture. (Pullman) clearly does have an anti-church agenda.”

Which I’d guess you think isn’t accurate?

“In his view, the church is oppressive of free thought and free expression. I think it’s unquestionably true that at times in its history it has been oppressive, by burning books, and, occasionally, people. I’m not defending the flaws. But even from a secularist point of view, the church has done a lot of good.”

So you think Pullman is going to the extreme?

“In his church, there are no good people. There’s no ambiguity there. There’s nothing redeeming. And there’s nothing appealing about the religious characters. I think it’s not only not true, but it also hurts his storytelling, because the art of a good storyteller is to have characters that are multifaceted.”

Do you think his portrayal of God is Christian?

“ He portrays the church and God as being purely about law and rules. His favorite term for God is ‘The Authority,’ which leaves out a lot of things, like mercy and kindness, compassion and love, which are essential features of the God I believe in. He never really talks about Jesus and what he represents. If the church taught what he says, I’d be against it.”

Do you think the movie or the book is appropriate for the audience at which it’s aimed, which is young teens?

“It is targeted to the 12-to-14 age group. That’s a very difficult age. Young people are starting to define themselves. If you have someone who is uncertain in their beliefs, this could have an influence. And there is some merit to the argument that it is an entrée to the other books, but I think that is a weak argument. Do I think it’s appropriate? I wouldn’t ban it. But I don’t think I would just hand it out. I think discussion in a book club or church group is certainly a good way to approach it.”

So, if I’m a parent of someone in that age group, what do I do?

“I am a parent of someone in that age group! (Stiegemeyer and his wife, Julie, a children’s book author, have a son, Jacob, 12.) We went and saw the movie together. I didn’t block him from the book, but he doesn’t show any real interest in it. He was interested (in the movie), but I would have given the movie only a fair grade because it was confusing, and it wasn’t that well crafted as a film. His one response about the movie was that it was confusing. He liked the action scenes and special effects, the computer animation.”

What about parents who say they don’t want, as Christians, to expose themselves or their kids to these ideas?

“Some parents will say, ‘I want to avoid it,’ and I don’t blame them for that; I can respect that. But as a parent, I think we have the responsibility to equip ourselves to answer the challenges it raises, not avoid them. I’m not one of those Christians who want to shield themselves from the surrounding culture.”

So, you’re saying to parents “Don’t overreact”?

“I don’t think it’s a major threat to faith. People will want to forbid it, but I think that will have the opposite effect. If a kid wants to read it, he’ll read it, or if he wants to see the movie, he’ll find a way. I’d rather he do it in front of me than reading it or seeing it and hiding it from me. That way we could have a conversation about it. I just don’t want to make a law about it. I don’t want to be what Pullman says we are, which is lawgivers to exclusion of everything else.”

Why did Jesus die on the cross? I wrote a blog post on that question a while back and it is by far the number one most viewed post on this blog still to this day. Not that I wrote something so terrific. But I still get Google hits on it daily. And that is because people all over the world are asking and debating that question. [Go here to see that old post.]

The Mel Gibson movie brought this discussion to the surface and I was astonished (I was naive) at the number of commentators on the film saying that it is wrong to focus so much attention on the death of Jesus, as if the crucifixion were merely the unfortunate demise of an otherwise promising young man.

Concordia Theological Seminary is conducting an in-depth series of lectures on the subject of the atonement. Classic understandings are being dismissed, even in traditionally evangelical circles. What a delight it is to be part of a major institution that still boldly maintains the central truths of Jesus Christ and His salvation.

Register now to attend the Symposia, January 15 - 18, 2008. Engage with world-class theologians from our institution and elsewhere. David Scaer, William Weinrich and many others.

Posted also over at Concordia TheoBLOGical Seminary.

The CTS Kantorei, a 16 voice choir, is making stops in WY, MT, and CO this week. Check their schedule here and if any of those locations are near to, they'd love to have you come.

Philip Meade is a great blogging buddy over at The Beast's Lair whom I've enjoyed reading for quite some time. Currently, I believe, he is a student at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY whose president, by the way, Albert Mohler, is an active blogger himself. See here for President Mohler's always engaging blog.

I love reading Phil's blog because he seems to like a lot of the things I like, such as scary movies, theme parks, pop culture, and theology. Of course, he's a Southern Baptist and I'm a pretty traditional Lutheran so we wouldn't see eye-to-eye on everything. But one thing I do so enjoy is discovering how much common ground we really have. At least that is how it seems to me. I don't mean this in the sense that either one of us waters down our distinctives but in the sense that we both spring from a common Western Christian Reformational tradition.

All that having been said, I want to direct you to a very fine post he wrote recently that I think expresses views I too have long held. Here is The Knee-Jerk Effect.

In America today, there really are two distinct holidays celebrated on and around December 25th. Both celebrations are called "Christmas." One is a cultural celebration while the other is religious. These are not necessarily mutually exclusive although it seems common for people to observe one and not the other.

See the seminary blog for my post "Keep the Mass in Christmas."

Hey, check this out! The Admission Department of Concordia Theological Seminary-Fort Wayne, IN now has a blog. Here it is. It's called Concordia TheoBLOGical Seminary. Cute, eh? Please come by and say howdy to me and the gang. And check back often too because we plan to post daily.

Eastern Promises is the latest film directed by David Cronenberg and stars Viggo Mortensen, Naomi Watts, and Armin Mueller-Stahl.

Cronenberg has a bizarre repertoire of films with a flair for the grotesque. Not only are his movies often graphically violent, but they serve as veritable meditations on the effects of violence, both emotionally and bodily. And in that sense, I hate to say, I think he may have a spark of genius.

Personally, I do not have a high opinion of most of his work. His most recent two films, Eastern Promises and A History of Violence, however, do deserve a bit of attention. It would surprise me very much, in fact, if Eastern Promises does not earn an Oscar nomination for Best Picture.

Director Cronenberg began his career making low-budget horror films specializing in yuck. E.P. is not a horror film by strict definitions, but is very similar thematically. And there is no shortage of yuck. Two fundamental themes for the horror genre are transformation and identity. Many literary forms ask the question "who am I?" but horror asks "what am I?" and "what am I becoming?", with typically unhappy answers.

The definition of a monster is a being who should not exist but does, or a being that cannot be classified. For instance, Frankenstein's monster is a being who should not exist but does. He is the fabrication of a scientist who plays God and attempts to manufacture new life out of old body parts. And Darth Vader is also a monster because we don't know what he is. He's hard to classify. Is he man or machine?

So horror asks, "what is it?" Dead or alive? Man or machine? Male or female? Plant or animal? Earthly or extraterrestrial? Sane or insane? Healthy or sick? Clean or unlcean? Think of the horror monsters you've seen and you'll find that these are the questions most often at play. The significant thing is that they urge us to ponder what it means to be a human. When does a being cross the line of being non-human to human or vice-versa? Etc. With today's bio-ethical dilemmas and the advances of research in genetics, artificial intelligence, robotics, cloning, chimeras, etc., you will see more and more, I predict, horror stories asking such questions.

How does Eastern Promises fit into this horror scheme? It's not a horror film, per se, but it considers transformation. A History of Violence does so even better, I'd say. Transformation from one thing into another, usually as the result of violence or bodily disfigurement. In E.P., Viggo Mortensen does a truly brilliant job portraying the ultimate thug as part of the Russia mafia in London. He captures the accent, look and mannerisms masterfully.

Here is what I value in this film. It assumes and teaches that violence changes human character. Not being the object of violence, but the subject. My pastor, Rev. David Petersen, posed a fascinating question in Bible class last Sunday, a question that he found in the work of Peter Kreeft, I believe. Suppose your child were a prisoner is a Nazi concentration camp. Now suppose, your child were approached by the sadist Dr. Josef Mengele who proposes to spare your son or daughter if he or she will assist him in his experiments. So the choice is this: Assist Mengele in torturing others or be tortured by him. Now how would you want your child to choose?

Many would say that since they don't want their child to be harmed, they'd prefer him to assist the doctor. But what is truly more damaging, to be tortured or to torture. I agree with Pastor Petersen's point that to do violence to another person damages the doer in more deep and lasting ways.

In his own way, I think Cronenberg makes this point. The monsters in this world are not those who've been damaged externally but those who do the damaging. They became spiritual freaks, if you will, disfigured on the inside.