The Burr in the Burgh

Yesterday, we watched Ridley Scott's Kingdom of Heaven and, in spite of the director's angelic last name, it was terrible. The worst movie on earth. Maybe on Mars there are worse movies. Or maybe there is a worse piece of celluloid toilet-paper in the astral plane between heaven and earth, but this is the worst one here on terra firma, at least from 2005. I'd say it's a piece of rubbish, but that would be unfair to actual pieces of rubbish. Of course, I'm intentionally exaggerating in order to make a point. Do you get my point?

Here are just a few of the reasons I hated this film:

• It was boring. Too many anachronistic speeches given by agnostics about the supreme virtue of post-modernism: tolerance.
  


• Orlando Bloom was terrible. Never has a role been so poorly cast. He simply does not possess enough IT to pull this off. Liam Neeson could have done it. Russell Crowe would have been terrific. Even Stan Laurel would've done a better job. Sure, Orlando did fine as a fairy in The Lord of the Rings. But his only other cinematic claim to fame is that he was completely overshadowed by Keith Richards. . . oop, I mean Johnny Depp, as Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean.


• Kingdom of Heaven is supposed to be set during the period of the Crusades, but naturally, it is historically inaccurate in every scene. Just about the only accurate piece of information in the film is that there actually is a city named Jerusalem and people live there. Beyond that, it's pretty shaky as a historical drama.


• Ridley Scott has made a piece of propaganda, pure and simple. Christians are bad. Europeans are bad. Muslims are noble.


• Big Brother director employs double-speak and double-think. In real life, Muslim armies conquered and took Jerusalem from Christian inhabitants. In real life, Muslim armies attacked and conquered Spain and occupied it for 700 years. In real life, Muslim armies tried to invade France and were repelled by that nation's one and only military hero, Charles Martel. In real life, it is Muslim warriors who behead innocents. In real life, it is Islam which cries that it is no sin to kill infidels and martyrdom is a free ticket to paradise. But in the movie, everything is reversed.


• The anti-clericalism is so thick, I nearly gagged. What kind of parish priest says, "God has abandoned you." Or do we think the Patriarch of Jerusalem was so ignorant of Christian dogma that he would object to cremating human remains saying, "You can't do that. Then they won't be resurrected until Judgment Day." OK, I'm sure he would've opposed cremation, but not because he expected people to be resurrected before Judgment Day. Duh. Everyone will be resurrected on Judgment Day, cremated or ingested by maggots. I'm pretty sure that, no matter his flaws, he knew the Nicene Creed.
  

Over at the Cranach blog, Dr. Gene Veith offers a few good thoughts on current trends in Christian videos for children. See here. Since we recently covered new Veggie Tales products here on the Burr, I thought I'd chime in.

Dr. Veith reviews a few of the current products and then ends with what I consider a piercing insight. He says:

The message of all of these DVDs is essentially moralistic. Yes, children need moral instruction. But would it kill any of these "Christian products" to say something about Christ?

I agree with Dr. Veith 100%. We are SUPPOSED to teach morals to our kids. Where else are they supposed to pick it up?

But if the teaching of morals is the sole (or even chief) objective, then I am much happier with the animations that stay away from the bible stories. Teaching morality is not the central purpose of Scripture. Pointing to Christ the Savior is the central purpose of Scripture. To use the bible only as a story-book showing us proper behavior is to misuse God's Holy Word.

If our cute little videos lead our children (parents too) to think that the Bible is essentially about how to improve your behavior, we are leading them away from Christ, not toward Him. When the Bible is seen as a mere morality tale, and an oppressive one at that, people will turn in despair away from the very source which offers them life.

Dr. Veith sagely asks, "would it kill any of these "Christian products" to say something about Christ?" And I say, "NO, but it will kill the viewers if they don't." And not in the good way.

A must-have, especially for those of us who are at particular risk.



Buy it NOW.


Recent reports have indicated that my own fair city is highly vulnerable.

You may or may not know that my wife is an up-and-coming children's book author. We went out to dinner this evening and stopped to look around Barnes & Noble. We were delighted to see that her thanksgiving book was on sale there. Most of the other books on sale were about pilgrims and native americans and turkeys. Julie writes about that stuff too, but her's is a Christ-centered book. All good things come from God the Father, by and through Christ our Lord.

Julie is too modest to promote her works, but I am very proud of her. This book would be great for kids 5-9 years old. Show the bookdealers that distinctly Christian books will sell. And next Thursday, in between bites, remember your Creator. And maybe instead of stuffing your own gullet until you burst, share from your abundance with someone in need.

According to this news report, a pastor in Sweden was arrested, tried and convicted for preaching this sermon. Unless he wins the appeal, he could face up to two years behind bars. What was wrong with the sermon? He stated (correctly) the biblical teaching that homosexuality is a sin. Do you think it'd ever be possible for that to happen in the U.S.?

Peter Hitchens wrote an article for the Mail on Sunday in 2002 in which he criticizes Philip Pullman as the most dangerous author in Britain.

Philip Pullman, the author of the His Dark Materials Trilogy and outspoken hater of C.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia. His books, aimed at young readers, portray the church as thoroughly evil and God literally as a feeble-minded dolt who eventually dies.

There are many fantasy books series that portray concepts and values which support the Christian worldview. There are many that serve as entertainments and will not undermine the Christian perspective. But Pullman's books set out with the intention of attacking Christianity, the Church and God Himself.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe , C.S. Lewis's classic novel, is the first of seven installments of his The Chronicles of Narnia . These are outstanding children's books that communicate the Christian story and Christian dogma via myth and fairy tale. I've long been a fan of these books and was elated when I found out they are being made into major motion pictures. L,W,W is scheduled to be released on December 9, 2005.

The secularist harpies who hated Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ and love everything base are now emerging to mock and slander everything C.S. Lewis. Of course.

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post against writer Philip Pullman's attack on Lewis. And my post attracted a couple of spirited atheist/agnostics to comment. A brief but invigorating discussion ensued. Go here to check that out.

But I would also like to draw your attention to some of the blurbs Dr. Gene Veith has been posting over on the Cranach blog about the criticism of Lewis.

See here, and here, and here.

He has also written a newly published book on Lewis and Narnia, The Soul of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

If you are at all interested in the present culture wars between the secularists and those with a Christian worldview, you need to look into this.

AMBER ALERT

Police are looking for 14 year old Kara Beth Borden who was abducted at gunpoint from her home this morning. Both her parents were found shot to death. Kara is from Warwick Township, Pa, about 60 miles west of Philadelphia.

Police are looking for Kara's 18 year old secret boyfriend, David G. Ludwig, as their suspect. Read about it.



11/15/05 UPDATE HERE

Note these newly added Lutheran blogs. They're worth your notice.

Bloghardt's Reflector

Intolerant Elle

Katie's Beer

Madre's Missives

Necessary Roughness

Movie - Hotel Rwanda
Some are calling this the Schindler's List for of Africa. It's a grim and violent story of corruption, attempted genocide, and the incompetence of the UN. Not to mention the harsh indifference most Americans and Europeans have towards Africa. But more than that it's a story of courage. Don Cheadle - always a favorite - was excellent. And seeing the people and the setting made me anxious to return to Africa sometime soon.

Book - Fight Club: A Novel
Author Chuck Palahniuk pulls no punches, so to speak. This is a tale of urban terrorism spawned from male frustration with contemporary culture. A culture of boys raised by women, without strong male role models. A culture that wants to feminize the men and masculinize the women. A culture that tells you that you are your name; you are your family; you are your possessions; you are your job. Tyler Durden wants to hunt for elk through the misty mossy canyons of Manhattan. His vision is apocalyptic. It's Hegelian. Let's light this corrupted world on fire so that something purer can rise from its ashes.

Palahniuk uses lots of bad words and intentionally tries to shock his reader. It is brutal and darkly hilarious. His abrupt and choppy writing style, angry and sentimental, is full of testosterone. As is so often the case, a contemporary artist keenly diagnoses many of the ailments of the human condition but is unable to offering a truly helpful response. And yet beneath all the vulgarity is just enough insight to make this a most interesting read.

Has anyone read Lauren Winner's book, Real Sex: The Naked Truth About Chastity? Go here at Raging Rabbits to learn more about it. It is refreshing to hear of a young, articulate, Christian, urban, professional defending chastity with a little more sophistication than "just say no."

Some days I just think we'd be better off with a benevolent dictator to govern us. Or as Plato advised, a philosopher king. Why do I utter such weirdness? Because it is so aggravating to read stories like this one. A poor, clearly troubled, young girl surfs the net and finds a web forum with all sorts of information about how to "check yourself out" so to speak. Someone will witlessly defend this monstrous website on the basis of free speech. Freedom is a wonderful thing. But it will only work so long as the populace are first self-governed by internalized precepts of virtue. Otherwise, freedoms - such as we enjoy - will lead to debauchery, moral chaos and death. Or in other words, without a more firmly established social contract, our lives will become solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short (cf. Thomas Hobbes in The Leviathan). My opinion is that the American Experiment is failing precisely for this reason. A society formed and informed by clear ethical guidance can do well when given extensive liberties. But a society that largely and increasingly rejects all objective standards of goodness will become quite unsafe. To sum it up, the majority of Americans are not "good" enough to handle the freedoms they are given. Forced to choose, I'd rather live under tyranny than anarchy.

I have decided that from this day forward I will only refer to pizza by the last two letters: za. Let it be spoken. Let it be done.

And I thought fish tacos sounded bad. Now I'm reading about fish ice cream in Taiwan. Some of the popular flavors are: pineapple shrimp, wasabi cuttlefish, strawberry tuna and mango seaweed, all in stark colors from orange to green to black. Now, I enjoy eating ethnic foods and trying new things, but this just is not right.

Well, we're almost finished with what has been a long and involved process. But one more layer of asphalt and painting the lines and then we have a new, more level and much larger parking lot for our church. Thanks to God. And to the dedicated lay people who labored many hours to plan this.

The World Health Organization - not that they know everything - is stating that an avian flu pandemic that could kill millions of people is inevitable. It's a matter of when, not if.

Of course, Martin Luther, writing 450 years ago, did not address the bird flu specifically. But he did write a pamphlet on whether Christians ought to flee the bubonic plague when it came to town. In short, the answer is, "It depends." He clearly states that pastors, local officials, and doctors, for instance, must not flee but tend to the their duties for the sake of those inflicted. One of these individuals might possibly flee to safety if his services are honestly not needed. But the general citizen is also obliged to stay to serve his neighbor. To care for the orphans and nurse the sick. If this is already being adequately provided for and one is not needed, one may go. Luther says that if you see a drowning man and do nothing to help save him when it is within your power to do so, you are guilty of murder. Likewise, abandoning your sick neighbor who has no one else to care for him is a sin.

Along the same lines, a Christian cannot neglect to help his neighbor out of fear that doing so might inconvenience him, disrupt his plans, or even result in him being harmed. That is simply a risk that MUST be taken. Luther writes:

He will always reckon with the possibility that doing so will bring some disadvantage and damage, danger and loss. No neighbor can live alongside another without risk to his safety, property, wife, or child. He must run the risk that fire or some other accident will start in the neighbor’s house and destroy him bodily or deprive him of his goods, wife, children, and all he has.

Anyone who does not do that for his neighbor, but forsakes him and leaves him to his misfortune, becomes a murderer in the sight of God...

I do not intend this, in any way, as a political statement. I just thought it was cute.

HT: The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns

In California, a school district decided to administer a 79 question survey to their elementary school children. Ten of the 79 questions related to sex. Some parents objected and took the school district to court. Now the federal court of appeals has ruled against the parents. The Judges believe that . . . well, let me just show you the quote:

"We ... hold that there is no fundamental right of parents to be the exclusive provider of information regarding sexual matters to their children ...."

Parents have no due process or privacy right to override the determinations of public schools as to the information to which their children will be exposed while enrolled as students."

Judge Stephen Reinhardt, Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals