Would you rather live…in a world characterized by the movies theme: Rules stand in the way of compassion or a world characterized by biblical morality?
Personally, I would prefer to live in a world characterized by biblical morality. A world with standards from the Bible would be a world of order. It still wouldn't be a perfect world, but in my opinion, it would still be a lot more peaceful than a world with no rules, or in this case a naturalistic world. In a world without rules, anyone could literally do whatever they wanted. This includes murder, theft, sex, drugs, abortion, and so on, pretty much all of the things we look down upon in our present day society (mostly). It would definitely be chaotic, with no structural backbone to uphold society and its morals. Without morals and nothing technically illegal or wrong, but commonplace, everybody's consciences and moral compasses will be distorted. In a Naturalistic world, like the world we live in now, you could do anything that is socially acceptable, as long as it does not bother the people around you. People could think/believe that abortion is acceptable, or that sex is just a casual thing that you can do whenever you want.
Contrary to the prompt, I do not think that rules stand in the way of compassion. I actually believe that it is the opposite. Laws and rules in a society help and encourage people to show compassion, as well as keep order in society. This is especially prevalent with Biblical laws. In the Bible, we are commanded by Jesus to "Love our neighbors", "Love our enemies", to care for the poor, and so on. In such a world or a strong society with rules and laws characterized by biblical morality, there is a backbone and a positive or negative consequence for every action. People will obey the laws not only because they are supported with clear cut consequences, but also because they will have a clear conscience. They also know the positive benefits at the end of the road waiting for them. As well as this, I have learned from my father countless times when he tells me to clean my room that God is a God of order, not of chaos.
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
Chapter 2 Reflection Questions
1. Does the inclusion of a religious message in a film make it propaganda?
The inclusion of a religious message in a film does not always make it propaganda. However, "the more blatant the message, the more likely it is to be taken as propaganda. Almost all elements have Christian elements, whether it is good against evil, or having a chosen hero to save the world. Instead of blatantly stating the message, most movies indirectly suggest the theme in other ways, such as quotes from the movie, or the unspoken things that you are able to see and infer from the movie, as demonstrated in Wall-E (2008).
2. The Bible describes a lot of bad things (for example, violence and immorality). Why isn't this considered bad by most people?
The Bible does not say that the violence and immorality that occurred was right, only that it did happen. It is simply describing the situation, not prescribing it for us. Instead, the Bible tells us that these things are immoral and shouldn't be done. Even though it did happen, God shows us the consequences through historical events of such actions.
3. If someone did not mean for a message to come through in a film, or meant for a different message to be communicated, does that change what message the film actually sends?
Yes, to me, it does change the message. The message that all audiences receive from the movie is what they actually see in the movie. No one is going to go search up the director's real intent after they watch the movie. If it sends a message other than what was intended, then that is the message that the audience will receive. For example, in the movie Facing the Giants (2006), the real message that was intended to be sent was to put God's will above our own and to lift all our concerns up to him. However, the message that the audience seemingly received was that a life lived for God gets you whatever you want.
The inclusion of a religious message in a film does not always make it propaganda. However, "the more blatant the message, the more likely it is to be taken as propaganda. Almost all elements have Christian elements, whether it is good against evil, or having a chosen hero to save the world. Instead of blatantly stating the message, most movies indirectly suggest the theme in other ways, such as quotes from the movie, or the unspoken things that you are able to see and infer from the movie, as demonstrated in Wall-E (2008).
2. The Bible describes a lot of bad things (for example, violence and immorality). Why isn't this considered bad by most people?
The Bible does not say that the violence and immorality that occurred was right, only that it did happen. It is simply describing the situation, not prescribing it for us. Instead, the Bible tells us that these things are immoral and shouldn't be done. Even though it did happen, God shows us the consequences through historical events of such actions.
3. If someone did not mean for a message to come through in a film, or meant for a different message to be communicated, does that change what message the film actually sends?
Yes, to me, it does change the message. The message that all audiences receive from the movie is what they actually see in the movie. No one is going to go search up the director's real intent after they watch the movie. If it sends a message other than what was intended, then that is the message that the audience will receive. For example, in the movie Facing the Giants (2006), the real message that was intended to be sent was to put God's will above our own and to lift all our concerns up to him. However, the message that the audience seemingly received was that a life lived for God gets you whatever you want.
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