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@delightedbyblog
“Everything okay?” She asks, moving towards me with caution. I stare at her for a moment, trying to remember.
I can’t remember if her soul belongs a little bit to me, or mine to her. I can’t remember if the spaces between our fingers were meant to collide in the clinginess of sisterhood. I don’t...
My friend Chrissy Boothe has a gift for writing.
ROYALTY
Through the Clouds, Night
The love of God is not merely to be analysed, understood and adopted into holistic categories of integrated theological thought. It is to be received, to be absorbed, to be felt.
Don Carson in The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God (via littlethingsaboutgod)
L'automne
WOLF: THE SILVER HUNTER
LION: THE KING OF BEASTS PART II
THE HUNGER GAMES & THE CHRISTIAN METANARRATIVE
I came across an interesting article recently, one that was posted in the Washington Times by Donald L. Brake, Sr. After analyzing his experience watching The Hunger Games with his granddaughter in theatres, he concludes, “Maybe we don’t need to work so hard to make [the Bible] relevant by viewing movies as a basis for Bible studies and dissecting the theology of every movie or book.” I will tell you I was greatly distressed by this statement and I wholeheartedly disagree with Mr. Brake’s conclusion. Granted, we don’t need to “try hard” to make the Bible relevant, God did a more than sufficient job of ensuring His Word would never lose its relevancy, but should we give up “dissecting the theology of every movie or book”? My answer is no! A thousand times no! (a little reverse quote there for you P&P fans) The problem plaguing Christianity and the world today is the same problem that plagued the nation Israel in Hosea, how’s that for relevancy? Consider the Lord’s word to them in Hosea 4:6a “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…” Too often we are guilty of “just reading to read,” “just listening to listen,” and “just watching to watch.” We are no longer being taught or exhorted to interact with music, books, and movies. We have become passive consumers who feast on whatever is laid before us, never taking the time or care to read the nutrition labels of our entertainment meals. Yet, everything we consume has a theology. So Mr. Brake, you do a great disservice to a culture that is perishing for lack of knowledge when you make erroneous statements such as you do in your article. I urge you reader, please dissect everything.
Now, I would like to turn your attention to The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins. This post is entitled, “The Hunger Games and the Christian Metanarrative.” Metanarratives are embedded in every story. At its simplest definition, the word, metanarrative, could be defined as the "big story," or the comprehensive explanation of many little stories. The Bible appears to be a collection of many different stories, but on a higher level, we see a unity present in the Scriptures, an overarching theme: Creation, Fall, Redemption. This is the Christian metanarrative and it is present in every story. Put another way, you could write is as: Origin, Conflict, Resolution. I would argue that to write a story sans these components, the author would have to go to great lengths to do so. But why is this important? This is important because people like Mr. Brake are a dime a dozen nowadays. Brilliant writer D.P. Teague explains this tragedy, “[Postmodern] people do not believe in metanarratives. They feel that there are no grand stories which give meaning to all of life and which define what is true. Jean-François Lyotard (1924-1998), the postmodern philosopher, said: ‘Simplifying to the extreme, I define postmodern as incredulity towards metanarratives.’ Opposition to metanarratives is the defining characteristic of postmodernism and its followers. We must reject this belief and continue to engage and look for the metanarratives so present in all that we read, watch, or listen to.
So, what is the relationship between The Hunger Games and the Christian metanarrative? First of all, I would like to say that one of my dear friends introduced me to these books and they are fantastic reads! *SPOILER ALERT* Granted, I was very upset with some deaths in the series, namely, Cinna and Prim, Suzanne, why?? But, to continue I will say after finishing the series and having some good talks with a friend and serious reflection on the theology present in the books, I have made a conclusion. The first book was intriguing, the second, thrilling, and the last, disappointing. I finished Mockingjay feeling kinda blah (to put it in serious theological terms). I would say I felt kinda unfinished, dissatisfied, frustrated, and a little let down. Why did I feel that way? I mean, even though I am totally Team Cinna :) the guy got the girl, Suzanne even gave us a nice little epilogue so we could get a little more on their happily ever after, and the villain was defeated. So why did I feel this way? What more did I want (besides Cinna and Prim to be alive)? And here it is… religion, God, anything of that sort is completely absent and removed from The Hunger Games Triology. So how does this story relate to the Christian metanarrative? Well, granted it has everything, origin/into, conflict, and resolution, it does lack something still, something powerful enough to make you feel unfinished, blah, after concluding the series. What Suzanne Collins has done, either on purpose or not, is something brilliant when noticed. She asks and answers the question, what does redemption look like in a world without God? Or, what does redemption look like in a world without a redeemer? If there is no Creator, no God, how do we as humanity recover from our terrible fall? The fall is present in this story. You see the utter depravity of man showcased brightly through the games. It bears strong similarities to the Lord of the Flies, in that regard. Yet, when all is recovered, repaired, redemption takes place, you get the feeling that things will still never be the same. If you remove the Cross from history, you remove humanity’s hope. So even when things are “repaired” even the repair is just not that great. Redemption is just not as sweet. The boy gets the girl, the villain is destroyed, they live happily ever after, but how happy? How free? Blah is the sentiment of redemption and the characters and we, the readers, are forced to settle with that.
This of course, is all just my opinion. I would love to hear your thoughts! Even if you totally disagree with me, I do hope that you will take the time thoughtfully reflect and seriously dissect whatever you choose to read, watch, or listen to. SOLI DEO GLORIA friends.
PILOT ME
http://rebeccaallenart.com/
This is my site where I post all my art work, please check it out!!!
"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh" (Ezekiel 36:26, NIV
To be loved but not known is comforting but superficial. To be known and not loved is our greatest fear. But to be fully known and truly loved is, well, a lot like being loved by God. It is what we need more than anything. It liberates us from pretense, humbles us out of our self-righteousness, and fortifies us for any difficulty life can throw at us.
From The Meaning of Marriage by Timothy Keller (via littlethingsaboutgod)
FLAMINGO: THE PINK BEAUTY
Jonathan McReynolds - Lovin’ Me (Lyric Video) (by pcolson90)
So I belong to a pretty small church, and for those of you who know what that’s like, you know you gotta pitch in wherever you can. For me, I try as much as I am able to use my graphic design abilities as an extension of my tithe and worship to bless my church community. Where is this going? Two...
My heart lives in so many places. With so many people. But God whispers to me that I really have only one home, and that is with Him. I will never be content on this earth. I will always be a nomad. It was meant to be that way. My heart was created with a desire for a home, a nest, a sanctuary, and that can be found only with Him in Heaven.
Katie Davis (via littlethingsaboutgod)
