The Matrix is not a movie I would have chosen to watch of my own accord. In fact, I have tried to watch it a few times, but never made it through the whole thing. Looking at with an eye to theology and to the emerging church helped to keep my interest this time around.
The entire premise of the movie is representative of the human condition in the postmodern world. There are many out there living lives that are controlled by the desires and expectations of our culture and, all too often, people are content to stay in the what they consider to be the safe confines of cultural mainframe totally unaware that there is a greater purpose and a freedom somewhere outside that superstructure. Likewise, the question of what is real is one reflected in the movie and in the postmodern culture to which the emerging church is ministering.
That there are people within that structure seeking is a reality with which the emerging church is struggling though not in the typical seeker-sensitive modes of, say, Willow Creek or other megachurches is reflected when Trinity and Neo first meet and Trinity says that she knows Neo is seeking and she even knows the question he is asking. In the emerging church, the fact that someone has questions is an expectation, not a surprise.
There's also a point in the movie - the exact moment escapes me just now, but it may have been in the same scene mentioned above - that there's a realization that there's something out there that's not quite right. If you were to put a finger on the root of the emerging church movement, that would be it - a realization that something wasn't working in the current way of doing (or being) the church in light of the changes taking place in society. It is also the thought that motivates the seeker to look for Christ in the first place.
Even the moment in which Morpheus offers the red and blue pills to Neo can be related to the choice every person eventually has to make - that is to seek the truth about Christ or to simply continue to live in and follow the dictates of the culture at large. I found it interesting, though, that Morpheus said there would be no turning back because, in a sense, there are plenty of examples in the world of people who made the choice to follow Christ and do just that so it is at that moment that, perhaps, the analogy falls apart.
Neo's journey after that moment follows the journey of the new believer, especially, it seems in the postmodern era when faith is born not out of an analysis of the facts, or a crystal clear presentation of the four spiritual laws, but of a relationship between a believer and a non-believer that draws the non-believer into the life of faith. When we first decide to follow Christ, we don't know much and we understand less, but as we grow we come to greater understanding which, in turn, strengthens our faith just as Neo gained strength through the course of the movie until the point at which he was able to defeat those who would come after him and offer a way out for others who are seeking only God knows what as he does in his closing monologue.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Thanks for making it through the Matrix. The spiritual analogies abound in the film--saving Zion. The emergence of Neo as savior is formational, as his faith in and praxis of his power increases--> then his powers increase. I didn't need all the shooting but I enjoy sci-fi with a message ( I am an old time Trekee). How do you utilize film in your YM?
I do use clips on occasion, but that comes with a caveat, of sorts, based on the preferences of our staff. The director of youth and family (who teaches the "youth group" nights; I do Sunday School) said early on that he doesn't like the use of film clips because it sends a message that you are endorsing the film. I say that's not necessarily so, but, rather than cause friction over something so trivial, I just don't use them too much.
Having said that, I recently used clips available in conjunction with the movie, Amazing Grace, to teach a joint adult-youth Sunday School lesson on William Wilberforce and modern-day slavery. These were used as "punctuation marks" on the points I was trying to make.
I have also used film clips to introduce a topic. For example, I did a lesson on Esther that I started with a clip from The Fellowship of the Ring in which Frodo says that he wishes he had never received the ring and Gandalf tells him, "So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us."
So, it's kind of a mixed bag. Clips from movies based on true stories seem to work for me best.
Post a Comment