Sermon for January 21st, 2018 - Revision history

Iraneal at 04:44, 21 January 2018

2018-01-21T04:44:58Z

Iraneal at 04:32, 21 January 2018

2018-01-21T04:32:44Z

Iraneal at 04:30, 21 January 2018

2018-01-21T04:30:31Z

Iraneal at 04:20, 21 January 2018

2018-01-21T04:20:56Z

Iraneal at 03:52, 21 January 2018

2018-01-21T03:52:10Z

Iraneal at 03:48, 21 January 2018

2018-01-21T03:48:40Z

Iraneal at 03:40, 21 January 2018

2018-01-21T03:40:31Z

Iraneal at 03:15, 21 January 2018

2018-01-21T03:15:33Z

Iraneal at 02:57, 21 January 2018

2018-01-21T02:57:22Z

Iraneal at 02:52, 21 January 2018

2018-01-21T02:52:00Z

@@ Line 22: / Line 22: @@
 While this story references classical Greek mythology, if you scratch just a little beneath the surface, it's really classical Christian mythology with the names changed. Here's a clip of young Diana as her mother tells her the story of how the world (and people) came to be.
-*[http://youtube.com/watch?v=Y7XrrZlRciM Film Clip # - The Story of Ares]
+*[http://youtube.com/watch?v=Y7XrrZlRciM Film Clip #2 - The Story of Ares]
 Eventually, we learn (spoiler alert) that the "God-killer" is in fact, Diana, who is revealed to be the daughter of Zeus, the weapon by which Ares will be defeated and humanity saved.
@@ Line 41: / Line 41: @@
 In what might be one of the most stirring scenes from the film, Diana/Wonder Woman makes a similar move, breaking through the fear and paralysis of the men, and ultimately inspiring them to follow her into battle.  The clip is appropriately called "No Man's Land."
-*[http://youtube.com/watch?v=MlwHKphUU_Y Film Clip # - No Man's Land]
+*[http://youtube.com/watch?v=MlwHKphUU_Y Film Clip #3 - No Man's Land]
 ====Christus Victor====
@@ Line 48: / Line 48: @@
 Then, as an example, Ares drags in front of Diana Doctor Poison, a female German scientist who is responsible for the deaths of thousands of people.  Here's the clip.  Incidentally, we should be reminded of the story of Jesus and the woman caught in adultery.
-*[http://youtube.com/watch?v=9MHHV-uyYjM Film Clip # - Goodbye, Brother]
+*[http://youtube.com/watch?v=9MHHV-uyYjM Film Clip #4 - Goodbye, Brother]
 Notice, at the climax of the film, Wonder Woman taking the shape of the cross?  In this movie, our Christ type is not Jesus crucified and resurrected.  It is "Christus Victor," the classic name for the Jesus who triumphantly goes into battle and defeats Satan, while mankind stands accused, hanging in the balance.

@@ Line 32: / Line 32: @@
 Change the names--Zeus, Ares, Diana--to God, Satan, Jesus, and we should recognize our classic Christian story of the creation, fall, and redemption of mankind, plus or minus a few minor variations.
-====Warrior Woman====
+====Warrior Women====
 But there's another story, a little bit more obscure, that might be familiar to students of the Bible.  Diana, or Wonder Woman, is that rare figure among comic-books and hollywood movies who fights, shoots, rides, and leads as well or better than any man.  She is a warrior woman. She is a superhero.

@@ Line 43: / Line 43: @@
 *[http://youtube.com/watch?v=MlwHKphUU_Y Film Clip # - No Man's Land]
-====Total Depravity vs. Imago Dei====
+====Christus Victor====
 Throughout the film, Diana clings to the belief that people are basically good, and that if they can only be freed from the corrupting influence of Ares, there will be peace in the world.  When she finally faces Ares, her nemisis   (much like his biblical counterpart, Satan) twists the truth and places the blame elsewhere.  He says (while quite appropriately engulfed in flames) "Look at this world. Mankind did this, not me.  They are ugly, and filled with hatred."  It's a powerful statement because we, like Wonder Woman, see that there is quite a bit of truth to it.
@@ Line 50: / Line 50: @@
 *[http://youtube.com/watch?v=9MHHV-uyYjM Film Clip # - Goodbye, Brother]
-Notice Wonder Woman taking the shape of the cross?  In this movie, our Christ type is not Jesus crucified and resurrected.  It is "Christus Victor," the classic name for the Jesus who triumphantly defeats Satan, while mankind stands accused, hanging in the balance.
+Notice, at the climax of the film, Wonder Woman taking the shape of the cross?  In this movie, our Christ type is not Jesus crucified and resurrected.  It is "Christus Victor," the classic name for the Jesus who triumphantly goes into battle and defeats Satan, while mankind stands accused, hanging in the balance.
-Like Jesus, Wonder Woman looks at the sinfulness before her, and chooses to remember instead the goodness (represented by Steve) and ascribe that to all of humanity.
+Like Jesus, Wonder Woman sees the sinfulness in the woman before her, but chooses to remember the goodness (represented by Steve) and ascribe that to all of humanity instead.
 Thus it is truly not about what we deserve...it's about what our savior chooses to believe about us.
 John 4:10-11.  "This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another."

@@ Line 44: / Line 44: @@
 ====Total Depravity vs. Imago Dei====
-Throughout the film, Diana clings to the belief that people are basically good, and that if they can only be freed from the corrupting influence of Ares, there will be peace in the world.  When she finally faces Ares, the God of war (much like his biblical counterpart, Satan) twists the truth and points out that he
+Throughout the film, Diana clings to the belief that people are basically good, and that if they can only be freed from the corrupting influence of Ares, there will be peace in the world.  When she finally faces Ares, her nemisis   (much like his biblical counterpart, Satan) twists the truth and places the blame elsewhere.  He says (while quite appropriately engulfed in flames) "Look at this world. Mankind did this, not me.  They are ugly, and filled with hatred."  It's a powerful statement because we, like Wonder Woman, see that there is quite a bit of truth to it.
 *[http://youtube.com/watch?v=9MHHV-uyYjM Film Clip # - Goodbye, Brother]

@@ Line 39: / Line 39: @@
 In our scripture reading today, the bad guy is Sisera, a Canaanite General who is oppressing the people of Israel.  The Israelite general, Barak, goes to Deborah to ask for her opinion and she tells him to lead the army into battle.  But he doesn't believe it can be done, and so Deborah takes the initiative, leading the army into battle.  Another woman, Jael, is the one who strikes the final blow, killing Sisera and freeing the Israelites from their oppression.
-In perhaps one of the best scenes from the film, Diana/Wonder Woman makes a similar move, breaking through the fear and paralysis of the men, and ultimately inspiring them to follow her.  The clip is appropriately called "No Man's Land."
+In what might be one of the most stirring scenes from the film, Diana/Wonder Woman makes a similar move, breaking through the fear and paralysis of the men, and ultimately inspiring them to follow her into battle.  The clip is appropriately called "No Man's Land."
 *[http://youtube.com/watch?v=MlwHKphUU_Y Film Clip # - No Man's Land]
 ====Total Depravity vs. Imago Dei====
+Throughout the film, Diana clings to the belief that people are basically good, and that if they can only be freed from the corrupting influence of Ares, there will be peace in the world.  When she finally faces Ares, the God of war (much like his biblical counterpart, Satan) twists the truth and points out that he
 *[http://youtube.com/watch?v=9MHHV-uyYjM Film Clip # - Goodbye, Brother]

@@ Line 37: / Line 37: @@
 And there is one book in the Bible, more than any other, that is full of superheroes--the book of Judges.  That's where we get the story of Samson with his super strength (and super-weakness for Delilah); the judge Shamgar, who kills 600 Philistines with a stick; Ibzan who had 30 sons (that's kind of like a super-power!); and Gideon the underdog, who defeats an entire army with just a few men.  And then...there's Deborah and Jael, two warrior-women in a book full of men.
-In our scripture reading today, the bad guy is Sisera, a Canaanite General who is oppressing the people of Israel.  The Israelite general, Barak, goes to Deborah to ask for her opinion and she tells him to go for it.  But he is afraid, and Deborah takes the initiative, leading the army into battle.  Another woman, Jael, is the one who strikes the final blow, killing Sisera and freeing the Israelites from their oppression.  There's a great scene from the film that is reminiscent of this, appropriately titled "No Man's Land."
+In our scripture reading today, the bad guy is Sisera, a Canaanite General who is oppressing the people of Israel.  The Israelite general, Barak, goes to Deborah to ask for her opinion and she tells him to lead the army into battle.  But he doesn't believe it can be done, and so Deborah takes the initiative, leading the army into battle.  Another woman, Jael, is the one who strikes the final blow, killing Sisera and freeing the Israelites from their oppression.
 *[http://youtube.com/watch?v=MlwHKphUU_Y Film Clip # - No Man's Land]

← Older revision		Revision as of 03:15, 21 January 2018
Line 24:		Line 24:
	*[http://youtube.com/watch?v=Y7XrrZlRciM Film Clip # - The Story of Ares]		*[http://youtube.com/watch?v=Y7XrrZlRciM Film Clip # - The Story of Ares]

		+	Eventually, we learn (spoiler alert) that the "God-killer" is in fact, Diana, who is revealed to be the daughter of Zeus, the weapon by which Ares will be defeated and humanity saved.

		+	We heard in the clip that "Zeus created beings born in his image, fair and good, strong and passionate." For what it's worth, in actual Greek mythology, mankind is created by Prometheus with a little help from Athena.

		+	But in Christian mythology, God, the king of the heavenly beings, creates humans in his image and calls them good. Satan poisons the hearts of mankind, and starts a war in heaven, for which he is cast down to earth. God sets in motion a plan to save mankind by sending his own child to defeat Satan and save humanity.
		+
		+	Change the names--Zeus, Ares, Diana--to God, Satan, Jesus, and we have our classic Christian story of the creation, fall, and redemption of mankind, plus or minus a few minor variations.

	====Warrior Woman====		====Warrior Woman====

← Older revision		Revision as of 02:57, 21 January 2018
Line 20:		Line 20:

	====Gods and Fallen Angels====		====Gods and Fallen Angels====
		+	While this story references classical Greek mythology, if you scratch just a little beneath the surface, it's really classical Christian mythology with the names changed. Here's a clip of young Diana as her mother tells her the story of how the world (and people) came to be.
		+
	*[http://youtube.com/watch?v=Y7XrrZlRciM Film Clip # - The Story of Ares]		*[http://youtube.com/watch?v=Y7XrrZlRciM Film Clip # - The Story of Ares]
		+
		+

@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 ==Faith & Film VI: Wonder Woman==
-*[http://youtube.com/watch?v=1Q8fG0TtVAY Film Clip #1 - Trailer]
+I have said that movies are the great literature of our era.  But there's another type of literature, also born in the early twentieth century, also looked-down upon and rarely even considered "literature" that may come in a close second.  I'm talking about comic books.  Before you dismiss that idea, consider that five of the top ten highest grossing movies of 2017 were based on comic books.  Together, these films represent almost 2 billion dollars in ticket sales, which is more than any other single genre of films--including drama, romance, comedy, action.  Whether you love them, hate them, or ignore them, the stories we are most interested in as a society are stories about comic-book superheroes.
-*[http://youtube.com/watch?v=Y7XrrZlRciM Film Clip # - The Story of Ares]
+And the highest grossing super hero movie of 2017--the year that began with the largest women's march in history, the year that ended with the #metoo movement and the downfall of scores of prominent men for sexual harassment of women--was also the first Blockbuster superhero movie starring a woman, directed by a woman and about a woman...Wonder Woman.
-*[http://youtube.com/watch?v=MlwHKphUU_Y Film Clip # - No Man's Land]
+*[http://youtube.com/watch?v=1Q8fG0TtVAY Film Clip #1 - Trailer]
-*[http://youtube.com/watch?v=9MHHV-uyYjM Film Clip # - Goodbye, Brother]
+====Three Minute Film Synopsis====
-I have said that movies are the great literature of our era.  But there's another type of literature, also born in the early twentieth century, also looked-down upon and rarely even considered "literature" that may come in a close second.  I'm talking about comic books.  Before you dismiss that idea, consider that five of the top ten highest grossing movies of 2017 were based on comic books.  Together, these films represent almost 2 billion dollars in ticket sales, which is more than any other single genre of films--including drama, romance, comedy, action.  Whether you love them, hate them, or ignore them, the stories we are most interested in as a society are stories about comic-book superheroes.
+====Gods and Fallen Angels====
-Warrior Woman
+====Total Depravity vs. Imago Dei====
+*[http://youtube.com/watch?v=9MHHV-uyYjM Film Clip # - Goodbye, Brother]
 Total Depravity vs. Imago Dei