Spirited Away

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Anime (aka, Japanamation), like most other art forms simply does not get the respect it deserves. Cheap thrills ("adult" anime) and cheaply done psuedo Fox Box anime like "One Piece" as well as scads of awful direct videos available at Dollar Tree harm the reputation of this otherwise venerable artform. It is often relegated to the upper escalon of sci-fi/comic nerds (like people whose favorite game is still Battle Toads) or worse, the pervs who Google naked drawings of Sailor Moon.

As such, the unfortunate consequence is that some fantastic films get overlooked. Allow me to insert a disclaimer, I do not maen to say that the following films are up to par spititually, simply that as art goes they are staggering for their message and their media.

My first exposure to anime was, like any 80's kid, Vultron and Transformers (oh yeah, and the Snorks and Smurfs, Go-Bots, M.A.S.K., and the ever lame Thundercats...) . However, over time I lost most of my interest. One movie (that I can't even track down), called Orion, kept my interest though and the original Transformers movie, which I have probably seen over fifty times is still a perpetual favorite.

in high school, I rented what is one of my all time favorite movies on a whim, it is called Akira. If you do not know what this movie is then you are not a nerd. For some, this is good, for the others, you should be ashamed of yourself. The movie is stunningly animated and the message incredible, "if you play God, you will get what's coming to you." A message as intensely relevant to me as a Christian as it ever was as a sci-fi geek hiding out in my room.

Another classic anime is actually a collection of short films called Neo-Tokyo. One of these shorts, "The Running Man" was propelled into pop culture thanks to MTV. It features a man driving in an F-Zero style contest tormented by the spirits of those he has crushed to get to the top. Again, a rich and relevant theme.

So, finally, to my final recommendation. Vicki and I watched one of the most incredible movies I have ever seen last night. It is called Spirited Away. The film made such an impression on the founders of Pixar that they begged Disney to make release an English version and thankfully they did. Man, what a feast for the eyes! The film also, as you guessed, has a driving plot and powerful message. I hope you will take time to see it.

Hear this, anime also has its dark side. Many of the films are loaded with gore and perverted sexual theme (and I am not using those terms lightly). Yet there are a few nuggets in the mine. A few others you might check out are Castle in the Sky, Metropolis, and, if you are feeling dopey, The Last Unicorn.

Anyhow, hope you will enjoy some of these movies. They can be provocative, even disturbing at times. They are not for kids to be sure. But they can be truly riveting.

Rev.

Word of the Day

"depotentiated" -to be removed from a position of authority.

That's what you get when you are reading theology!

Rev.

The Clock

The Clock

Life's clock is wound but once
and no man hath the power
to know where the hands will stop
at late or early hour.

To lose one's wealth is sad, indeed.
To lose one's health is more.
To lose one's soul is such a loss,
that no man can restore.

Today, only is our own.
So live, love and toil with a will.
Place no faith in tomorrow,
for the clock may soon be still.

1932, 1982

Robert H Smith

The Printer v. the Papyrii

To continue my musing on technology:

My aunt would not use e-mail until about five years ago. Her rationale? Not fear that a supercomputer in the Netherlands was tracing her e-mails. No, she was a writer.

When I say writer, I don't mean that she was an author in the traditional sense, but that she involved in two art forms that I fear are in jeopardy with the advent of e-mail and blogs; namely journals and letters.

People have all but stopped writing letters. I can't think of the last time I received a hand written letter from someone other than my aunt or someone in jail. Point of fact, a few years ago, the French were so concerned about the impact of e-mail that their culture ministers demanded it be dressed up as "courrier électronique" to make it more classy. It was seen as a threat to society. (And before you get onto the French/Freedom Fry thing, you might recall that they won the Revolutionary War for us and gave us the Statue of Liberty, so there, and that's coming through my gritted Kraut teeth...)

Now, I know that it is nice to use a computer for the mass Christmas letter, etc. but you know, there was a time when people would receive hand written replies from folks, even actors, authors, and politicians. Wow, could you imagine? A letter form say, Babe Ruth, ol' Clive Staples, or Abe Lincoln? Way cooler than a MySpace comment or a signed photo.

Speaking of Abraham Lincoln, one of his lasting legacies was his reputation as a prolific writer, especially of letters. You might recall the one that was read at the beginning of the film Saving Private Ryan, "I cannot assuage your anguish... your sacrifice upon the altar of freedom..." WOW. That sure has more punch to it than, "TTYL BFF". By the way, Lincoln also wrote a drawer or more full of angry letters to people like George Meade; the guy that could have ended the Civil War years earlier if he had pressed his advantage at Gettysburg, that were never sent. He just needed to get it off his chest. A good practice I might add.

There is something cathartic about sitting down with a pen, paper, and a cup of caffeine and pouring your heart out. Which brings me to the next endangered art. You see, my aunt also gave me a journal.

There are times in life where the only 'person' you can talk to is God. Other times, it is your journal. There are nights when I can't sleep until I write. Days that I can't work until I write (like today) and beyond that do you think blogs will last forever? One day, when their commercial viability has passed, sites like MySpace, Xanga, and yes, even the Google's beloved Blogger will be shut down. Their server farms could be damaged, virus ridden, or someone could spill their latte on the mainframe. Why does this matter? Because I believe that our letters and journals are our history.

In other words, I fear that if we are not careful, there will be a generation whose only history will be what CNN (gasp) and Fox news (shudder) sound-byte for our grandkids. What we thought, dreamed, hoped for, could be lost in a sea of ones and zeros.

Just some thoughts.

E-mail me for my address if you are interested.

End of line.

Rev.

... God would have given us wings.

I have reflected a great deal over the last few months about technology and its overall effect on modern society. In general, I think we would agree that it is fantastic to be able to make a phone call on the go, stay in touch with old friends and family much less expensively on the internet while medical technology extends lives (almost indefinitely) and so on. However, there have also been some serious downsides.

For instance, there is a couple in our church who almost divorced because of an online role playing game. Pornography and lewdness has been staggeringly exponentiated as phrases like "I'd hit that!" have become acceptable vernacular instead being more appropriated relegated as the mutterings of perverted fools. Spouses sometimes know less about their significant others than their blogger buddies do, not to mention the people that you were glad to not be in touch with...

One can't even have a decent meal or watch a movie without a cell phone blaring in their ear. At my aunts funeral , a woman actually answered her phone and began a conversation during the service and at the SBC in San Antonio it seemed like anywhere I sat, someone was on a phone even in the middle of worship.

Are You Wrong With God?

MojoMaven gave us something to weigh in on in regard to our prior discussion:

"Right with God." What would be the opposite of that. If you're not "right with God," what are you exactly? What is the other option?"

You know, there is a Zanism that says, "You are either 100% sold out, or not." In fear and trembling I suggest that this is not entirely true. That operates under the assumption that a "Half-truth is a whole lie." That in and of itself is true, so long as you are operating in malice, but what if, in the case of a believer struggling to make spiritual ends meet, you come up short. Are you out of sync with God because of "sins of ignorance" or only because of "intentional sin".

You know, Witherington made a good point about apostasy, "No one "loses" their salvation. They don't wake up one day and go, 'Wow, where did my salvation go!?'" If one can step out of God's grace, it would be just that, a deliberate stepping away. Repenting from their repentance.

Just enough to get the pot simmering.

Rev.

Are You Right With God?

If you grew up in just about any evangelical faith community you have heard the phrase "right with God". That phrase has some staggering theological implications when you really chew on it.

What I would like to know is, "Do you believe that someone who is born again can ever find themselves in a place where they are not "right with God"?" What does that imply and do you feel that it relates to their position in Christ?

JP

Ford Cruise Control Fatal Fire

If you won a Ford vehicle, you should check this video out:

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2007/08/14/griffin.ford.recall.CNN

Divorce and Religion

One of the less desirable aspects of my place in life is offering guidance to folks whose marriages are falling to pieces. Don't get me wrong, I am glad to help, that is what I do; but it is painful to hear the stories of betrayal, disappointment, etc.

I have recently had a situation come to me where a couple has been married for about three years. Two years into the marriage the wife became a Christian and has been struggling to get off dope. The husband is a frequent user and she often falls into trouble with him and gets back on drugs. Recently she was physically in danger and called the police but did not press charges and a few days later he moved back in.

It is hard to know what to say to a person in that situation. No one should live in physical danger, on the other hand God hates divorce.

Many of my convictions in the past on divorce and remarriage (which impact me at many levels, i.e. ordination of deacons, re-marriage...) has been my evolving understanding of what Jesus said in Mt 5 & 19 concerning marital unfaithfulness. The context of his comments is adultery, but you have to wonder if there is something in the fine print about the sort of situations this woman is in.

1 Cor 7 comes into play. What is a believing wife to do with an unbelieving spouse. I will never forget the time this lady told me that she was being led to get a divorce from her husband because he refused to walk with God. She married less than two years later. I don't think that is what Paul had in mind.

Eph 5 is tough to apply because you can easily get lopsided with it. 'Submit' is a military term. The context is clear. However, there is an oft ignored second command for husbands to love their wives as Christ loves the church. Then there is the whole equity in Christ business (neither male nor female).

Just thinking out loud here.

I advised a period of mutually agreed upon separation and some substance abuse counseling. They need to treat the two issues separately. As it is said, "How do you eat an elephant?" " A piece at a time."

Rev.