This month (July), I have the real privilege of teaching a class on film and theology at my church. I've been a film buff for a long time and any chance I get to mix theology and the arts is one I cannot pass up. I plan to show a movie to my class and make spiritual observations about the film's content and mix in what the Bible says about the subjects we discover. I chose a rather obscure 1990 movie, Joe versus the Volcano, but even though the film is one of Tom Hanks' lesser works, it may be one of the most introspective films I've ever seen. A fairy-tale comedy, it makes observations about the value of life, the omnipotence of God, self-sacrifice, and how all three interact with each other. I love this line from the film, uttered by the female lead:
"My father says almost the whole world's asleep. Everybody you know, everybody you see, everybody you talk to. He says only a few people are awake. And they live in a state of constant, total amazement."
I love this line because it draws a line between two kinds of people: those walking in darkness and those walking in light (having been freed from the darkness). Here's how Saint Paul described what Patricia, the female lead, may have been referring to:
"The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ." (2 Cor 4:4, 6)
This class is gonna be fun.
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