War of the Worlds
A couple of friends from DC visited me over the weekend. But, being in little Ithaca, it's easy to run out of things to do. So naturally, we ended up at the movie theater. We went to see War of the Worlds. My overall assessment: don't waste your money. It's captures, pretty well, the sentiments of the book, so there's no interesting interpretation from the writer, director or actors. Save your money and borrow the book from the library if you want to remember H.G. Well's book.
Although the writing/directing/acting didn't strike me, I was struck with the carnage on the screen. I will admit that the special effects for burning bodies into dust was interest grabbing. I couldn't help but question the audience's reaction to this carnage to the carnage that so many of them (I'm assuming) read into their christian religions. Allow me to explain.
In War of the Worlds, the aliens decide that they have their own plans for what to do with the Earth, so they invade and begin to quickly exterminate the unwanted population of humans. In essence, they remove the life that isn't in line with their plans for the Earth. Granted, in this extreme case it's all of humanity. Cut to the Apocalypse. Christian god has his own plans for what to do with the Earth, so he will come and quickly exterminate the unwanted population of humans. In this not-so-extreme case it's all sinful humanity. They seem very similar in motivation and result.
So, my question is how can one judge the aliens in War of the Worlds yet not judge the christian god in Revelation? It seems that both must be guilty of unilaterally enforcing their will on humanity. My proposed solution is to rethink a literal interpretation of the Bible. God isn't going to burn up the sinners, else he be a ruthless, tyrannical killer. The end of the world prophecies must be metaphorically teaching us something about how we treat each other. The other option is to praise god as he (righteously?) rains tripods down on america.
Okay, sunday school is over. If you haven't seen the movie yet, here's something to ponder while you watch it. Just a way to pass time until the credit roll.
Although the writing/directing/acting didn't strike me, I was struck with the carnage on the screen. I will admit that the special effects for burning bodies into dust was interest grabbing. I couldn't help but question the audience's reaction to this carnage to the carnage that so many of them (I'm assuming) read into their christian religions. Allow me to explain.
In War of the Worlds, the aliens decide that they have their own plans for what to do with the Earth, so they invade and begin to quickly exterminate the unwanted population of humans. In essence, they remove the life that isn't in line with their plans for the Earth. Granted, in this extreme case it's all of humanity. Cut to the Apocalypse. Christian god has his own plans for what to do with the Earth, so he will come and quickly exterminate the unwanted population of humans. In this not-so-extreme case it's all sinful humanity. They seem very similar in motivation and result.
So, my question is how can one judge the aliens in War of the Worlds yet not judge the christian god in Revelation? It seems that both must be guilty of unilaterally enforcing their will on humanity. My proposed solution is to rethink a literal interpretation of the Bible. God isn't going to burn up the sinners, else he be a ruthless, tyrannical killer. The end of the world prophecies must be metaphorically teaching us something about how we treat each other. The other option is to praise god as he (righteously?) rains tripods down on america.
Okay, sunday school is over. If you haven't seen the movie yet, here's something to ponder while you watch it. Just a way to pass time until the credit roll.