Saturday 30 October 2010

Shawshank Redemption!


It's been a little over 14 years since I went to the Cinema to see a little known film called the Shawshank Redemption, and in a relatively empty theatre I was captivated like never before. And as an avid film watcher, I yearn for that experience again to no avail, even though some have come close...
But last night I decided to sit and watch it again (which is now well into double figures), and the film still doesn't fail to make an impression on me. Partly because of the theme of Redemption, something we all look for in its different forms.
But what I find from the film is the notion of Redemption from the darkest of times, with the metaphor of prison symbolising that the circumstances of life can seem to trap us, if we let ourselves think that way. But just like Andy Dufrane who never lost what was within, even faced with a corrupt warden, brutal guards, sexually deviant prisoners and a false conviction in his life space. We as Christians can hold onto an eschatological hope in light of an unjust world, where we are just as prone to hardship as anyone else.
Now I don't think that Frank Darabount had the above in mind (he might even be an Atheist),,, But the film still resonates with the Christian paradigm of Redemption, whether this was intentional or not.

Saturday 16 October 2010

Thinking Christianity...

There is nothing which saddens me more than those who refuse to engage cognitively with their Christian faith... And as much as it pains me to say, the master of the overstatement, Richard Dawkins, has a point about some Christians when he states that faith means abandoning any form of reason.

Of course this isn't true of all Christians, but it has been my experience over the last couple months. Having suggested that we change our approach to study, I have been met with what can only be called narrow responses, ranging from that's how people in the group need it, and also how I need to behave.. As a result, what I'm faced with is an autocratic approach with no room for maneuver, and subsequently has an infantilizing effect on those who attend, judging by the latter response.

Going back to the former, the question is does it have to be that way?

I would suggest that it's only if one is out to eliminate all uncertainty from their Christian walk.....Which in turn means adopting a rather distorted view of what faith is..
In short, faith by its very nature is not to be spoon fed answers to the great metaphysical questions, neither is it living with complete certainty. Instead, authentic faith has doubt and uncertainty as companions, and evidently evolves through that process...

However, I really don't claim to be above anyone or approach, and I hope it doesn't seem that way... Instead I'm looking for a faith which interacts with the environment I live in...and engages with the challenges a secular world brings us.