Warning: This is a long post. But you should read it anyway.<\/p>\n
\nSo as of Sunday night Superman is dead, for real this time. And
\nunlike in the comics, he won’t be coming back. I am not one who
\nis normally effected much by the deaths of celebrities, but, since
\nfinding out about Christopher Reeve’s death (I found out kinda late)
\nlast night, it is something that really bothers me for some
\nreason. Maybe it’s because he is a representation of Superman,
\nthis great hero, who is not longer with us. Perhaps it is because
\nhe was such an inspiration to so many people. Perhaps I simply
\nwanted to see this man who portrayed such hopefullness and
\nperserverance walk again. In any case, I was saddened by the news.<\/p>\n
On another note, since a few people have asked, and I needed to make a new post
\nanyway, I thought I would explain the reasons why I think Saved is such
\na good movie.<\/p>\n
I will start with the main reason why I liked it. The overall
\ntheme of the movie is something that Christians need to hear. The
\nmessage really is that Christians need to show more acceptance and love
\nof people. It tells us the very thing that the Bible tells
\nus. No one can live up to the law. That was the point of
\nthe law. To show us our need for a savior. <\/p>\n
Hebrews 8:7 – “For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second.”<\/p>\n
If we could be saved by living up to the standards of the law, then
\nthere would have been no need for Christ to come at all. Yet
\nChristians CONSTANTLY get down on EVERYBODY that is not living up to
\ntheir particular standard of the week. Homosexuality, which is
\ndiscussed in the movie, is something the Bible RARELY mentions, but
\nChristians tend to treat homosexuals like the plague. Who watched
\nthe movie and DIDN’T see a serious problem with his parents shipping
\nhim off to Mercy House, not even trying to help him themselves?
\nThe sad thing is, it is not difficult at all to believe that people
\nwould do that.<\/p>\n
The movie itself shows respect for Christian ideals. It really is
\nattacking hypocrisy within Christianity, which if someone denies that
\nit is there, they are simply fooling themselves. There is much
\nhypocrisy among those who call themselves Christians. If there
\nwas not, I think there would be little doubt as to the existance and
\nlove of God. One of my favorite scenes in the movie is after they
\ntry to perform the exorcism on Mary… and as she is getting away from
\nhis this dialogue plays (doing it from memory, may not be 100% right)<\/p>\n
Mary: You don’t even know what love is.
\nHillary Faye: I am FILLED with Christ’s love.
\nShe throws her Bible at Mary.
\nMary (holding up the Bible): This is not a weapon….. you idiot.<\/p>\n
One of the best lines in the movie, right there. The Bible is not
\na weapon. Some of the worst things in history have come about
\nbecause of someone asserting that it was. Anyone remember the
\nCrusades? Lets see… here’s a verse that may apply:<\/p>\n
2 Corinthians 3:6 – “who
\nalso made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the
\nletter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives
\nlife.”<\/p>\n
Something that a lot of people have a problem with is Mary having a
\nvision of Jesus telling her to sleep with Dean to save him from his
\nhomosexuality. However, all Jesus tells her in her vision is
\n“Dean needs you now. Do all that you can to help him.” Mary
\nsimply misinterprets the message. The director even states this
\nin the commentary on the DVD.<\/p>\n
In the end, I really see the movie as a story of a girl falling away
\nfrom her idea of who God is and what Christianity is, and coming away
\nfrom it with a new understanding of what God’s love really is.<\/p>\n
Another of my favorite scenes in the movie, demonstrating her complete
\nfalling away from what she had believed in, is the scene right outside
\nthe church, looking up at the cross on the side of the building, after
\nhaving gone to the planned parenthood, etc…. and she looks up
\nat it and says, “Shit. Fuck. Goddamn.” In my opinion,
\nit is a brilliant scene.<\/p>\n
The end of the movie, when Dean arrives at the prom, the conversation
\nthat is had between all the characters is fantastic. When Dean
\nsays “We’ve all been kicked out of our homes and our schools and now
\nMercy House, there’s no place left for us to go,” just as Pastor Skip
\nis trying to make them leave. If people cannot find love and
\nacceptance in Christians, who are supposed to represent Christ to this
\nworld, then where can they find it?<\/p>\n
“It’s just all too much to live up to. No one fits in 100% of the time, not even you.” – Mary to Pastor Skip<\/p>\n
“I know in my heart that Jesus still loves me” – Dean<\/p>\n
These are the reasons why I love this movie.<\/p>\n
I do not see it as being anti-Christian, nor was it’s intent to be anti-Christian, according to the director.<\/p>\n
I think that this movie suffers from what most movies dealing with
\nChristianity suffer from. Christians, for whatever reason, expect
\nChristian characters to be perfect, and in this movie, no one is
\nperfect. No one is even close to perfect. Some people would
\nclaim that the non-Christians in the movie are presented as being
\nbetter then the Christians, but, not really, they have their own
\nproblems… Cassandra is a very different character at the end of
\nthe movie then she is at the beginning. So is Roland.<\/p>\n
As to the comment in my previous post in regards to this… there
\nare some bits to this movie that aren’t exactly Christian ideas, such
\nas Mary says “There has to be a God… or… something… out
\nthere.” In my mind, she still acts very much like she believes in
\nGod specifically, especially since she goes on to say “What would Jesus
\ndo? I don’t know… but we’re trying our best to find out” (or
\nsomething to that effect.) I think they probably just wanted to
\nbe all-inclusive so non-Christians watching the movie could relate,
\nafter-all, the writers and director are not Christians.<\/p>\n
I assume you mean when Roland dresses up as a Rollerskate for Halloween? Yeah, it’s in there. \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Warning: This is a long post. But you should read it anyway. So as of Sunday night Superman is dead, for real this time. And unlike in the comics, he won’t be coming back. I am not one who is normally effected much by the deaths of celebrities, but, since finding out about Christopher Reeve’s … Continue reading <\/span>