He Speaks to Us

God speaks to us through absolutely everything, from the air we breathe, to the people we talk to. The Bible is the final authority, and we should search the scriptures daily to see what God is saying. But sometimes He speaks to us through other media, as well, inserting Himself into stories and songs and crafting them into parables that explain Him and His Kingdom.

[seeking-omnipresence]

What This Blog Is About

I have this thing for finding God in everything, kinda like that one TobyMac song. In my case, I tend to see God revealing Himself in various secular media: books, movies, TV, music.

I came from a very twisted and legalistic background, so while I've always believed that God is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him, it's always been a struggle for me to feel like I actually found Him. Quite frankly, I don't often find Him in church or in conversations with other Christians. Just too many people with too much fear and/or selfishness, very often with an agenda of trying to "help" other people in some attempt to wash their own conscience clean. It has disappointed me. I supposed you could call me jaded.

TV and books have always been my friends. And, more recently, games, although I won't be covering games here. And in recent years, I've come to realize that, even in secular media where people aren't concerned with Godly values or Biblical principles, there still are many stories that somehow manage to show the nature of God, or of God's relationship with mankind. And I've decided that I want to share what I find with others. And so, that is what this blog is about.

It's been very sparse because I wasn't entirely sure what I wanted to do, and, quite frankly, didn't want to spend time on long-form, in-depth analyses. So I'm going to put my thoughts and opinions in here, as well, and write out my essays when I feel up to it.

I do the same thing with games, just in the blog @atwas-gaming. And for my thoughts on animanga (which I'm still fairly new to), check out @my-animeandmanga-journey.

[seeking-omnipresence]

One thing that surprised me was that they decided to use the bit where Mrs. Coulter slaps her daemon.

My introduction to the franchise was The Golden Compass movie. I can't remember who was in it besides Nicole Kidman, but I did like the movie, although I haven't seen it in some 15 years and I wonder if my opinion of it will change now that I've read the books and am watching the series. I need to find a copy of it and watch it again.

Anyway. The scene that always stuck with me the most was when Mrs. Coulter slapped her monkey daemon. Now, with the way so many people seem to hate the movie (which I don't really understand, but that's beside the point), I really didn't expect the series to reference anything from it. But... they did have Mrs. Coulter slap her monkey. That bit wasn't in the book, so the series definitely must have gotten it from the movie.

I honestly can't say whether she would have done that in the books or not. But one thing is certain: in any universe, Mrs. Coulter utterly loathes herself.

[seeking-omnipresence]

Watching HBO's adaptation of His Dark Materials for the first time and I think that, in some ways, Mrs. Coulter might be even worse than she was in the books. Even aside from her monkey assaulting Pan, there are times she's absolutely monstrous towards Lyra, then turns right around and pretends to shower her with love and affection.

Actually, except for the fact that Mrs. Coulter is a much better liar, she reminds me a lot of some people I've known in real life- abusive narcissists, every single thing was meant to benefit them in some way.

Mrs. Coulter is a very believable character, if you've ever known someone like her. Kudos to both Ruth Wilson and the director.

[seeking-omnipresence]

Watching Ya-Ya Sisterhood for the first time. Just got to the part about Vivi's ring. And I gotta say, if Vivi thinks she's "daddy's precious girl," she's totally screwed up in the head. Yes, her dad is always nice to her, but he treats her mom like shit. And so Vivi's mother is jealous of her own daughter.

I've seen this pattern before: dad abuses mom but is nice to the child, and since mom is a spoiled, rotten brat by nature, her response is to take all the abuse that the dad gives to her, and pass it down to the kid.

Now, I'm not excusing the mother for the horrendous way she treats her daughter. Everyone is responsible for their own choices in life. What I am saying that it starts with the dad. That's his WIFE that he's grinding under his heel. If he really cared about his daughter, he would treat the mother right, so she wouldn't have all this repressed rage that she takes out on her daughter.

Vivi seems to look up to her dad as some kind of savior, but the truth is, HE is the reason why her mom treats her like garbage. The abuse Vivi is suffering at the hands of her mother is just a hand-me-down of the abuse her mother suffered at the hands of Vivi's father.

[seeking-omnipresence]

Watching Tron for the first time. It's interesting how the MCP wants to erase all knowledge of the users from the programs' minds, and he loathes anyone who tries to tell him that he was created by the users. I think it's because, if the users created him, then they have power over him, to command him, or to shut him down.

It's very similar to how so many people don't want to believe that God created them, because if God created us, then He has the right to exert His will over us.

[seeking-omnipresence]

One thing I still like in the book was Edmund's personality. In the Disney movie, he was given a lot of sympathetic nuance, but originally, CS Lewis gave no nuance whatsoever, just described him as having always been a brute and a bully, not just to Lucy, but also at school. He was just a nasty little creep.

And yet, even he wasn't a lost cause.

Now, I'm not saying, "oh, he wasn't a lost cause, he was still deserving of love, blah blah blah." I'm saying he wasn't a lost cause because he chose to repent. Some people choose to say they are evil and unforgiveable, not because they truly are, but because they just plain want to reject Jesus. An unfortunate truth, yes- but it is the truth.

Edmund's story shows that no one is ever so lost they can't choose to repent. It's not a matter of whether you're good or evil, because according to the Bible, we're ALL evil, because we're all sinners that have rejected Jesus at least once in our lives. But we can CHOOSE to turn back to Him and let Him change us. If you have no good qualities, great! Jesus will give you some if you repent.

[seeking-omnipresence]

I don't care what other Christians say: the Disney/WaldenMedia version of LWW is actually better than the book. I can see God's hand ALL OVER this story. And what finally clinched it for me:

This wasn't in CS Lewis' book. It IS, however, straight out of the Bible.

When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. John 19:30

The writers not only read the books, and understood them, they also read THE Book, and understood the Word of God, and how to present it to a modern audience- and, quite frankly, with even MORE power than the original children's story.

God had a hand in making this movie. He started a good thing when He gave Lewis the idea for the book; He finished it when He gave Disney the idea and the resources to make the movie. And He expanded on it and put so much more of Himself in it, in so many ways.

And before anyone says anything about "It is finished," because I looked at reviews and forums before posting this: I've seen the argument that "well, if it was actually meant to represent the Bible, Aslan would have said it on the Stone Table, not after he was resurrected." This statement shows a GROSS misunderstanding of Jesus' words. He didn't say "It is finished" because He was dying. He said "It is finished" because the work He came to do, in defeating sin and Satan and death all at once, THAT was what He had finished. In the Bible, this happened when Jesus died. In Narnia, this did not happen until Aslan took off the witch's head.

I have much else to say about LWW, but it will come in other posts.

[seeking-omnipresence]

I really like the scene in the Disney version of LWW where Edmund meets Tumnus and watches him being turned to stone. It makes his repentance seem even more genuine.

The movie did a lot of things I didn't like (like turning Susan into a selfish brat looking to blame Peter for everything, or making Peter pretty much bully Edmund), but I actually really liked what they did with Edmund's character.

I'll say more after I finish rewatching the movie, because it's been several years.

[seeking-omnipresence]

I don't know all the Godzilla lore, and it's been many years since I watched any Zilla movies, but I think what always stood out to me the most was that Godzilla killed the original Mothra, yet her baby still would ally with Godzilla against other enemies. Perhaps it was just an "enemy of my enemy" kind of thing, but I always liked to see it as the younger Mothra being kind and forgiving of her mother's murderer.

I've heard that less than 5% of the Japanese population is Christian. Yet even in Japanese fiction, this Christ-like concept of forgiving those who have wronged you, somehow it persists even here.

[discipleofmothra]

Ishiro Honda very deliberately wanted to invite a heavenly image with Mothra, and as a result they tied several aspects of different world religions to her mythos. The forgiveness aspect of the character is very Buddhist or Christian as you point out, but there were several other deliberate nods to Christianity (notably the cross and church bells, along with the rebirth and resurrection motifs). Rogo wanted to create a kaiju that was more than a monster, and could be more of a savior figure.

[seeking-omnipresence]

I don't know all the Godzilla lore, and it's been many years since I watched any Zilla movies, but I think what always stood out to me the most was that Godzilla killed the original Mothra, yet her baby still would ally with Godzilla against other enemies. Perhaps it was just an "enemy of my enemy" kind of thing, but I always liked to see it as the younger Mothra being kind and forgiving of her mother's murderer.

I've heard that less than 5% of the Japanese population is Christian. Yet even in Japanese fiction, this Christ-like concept of forgiving those who have wronged you, somehow it persists even here.

[seeking-omnipresence]

As a Christian, I, of course, disagree with LGBTQ. And as such, I have often wondered exactly how Jesus would respond to their requests to be addressed by their chosen names or pronouns. I've asked other Christians about it, and while some are adamant that Jesus would address them by the pronouns that match the sex He assigned them at birth, the more honest ones simply say, "I don't know." Because we never see such discourse in any of the Gospels.

Now, I'm not trying to put words in Jesus' mouth, or use a fictional character to tell me what Jesus would or wouldn't say. But I've been reading through Lion, Witch, and Wardrobe, and I feel like Lewis did a better job of depicting Jesus' character outside of a documented Biblical story than any I've ever seen. So I think, just maybe, God might have been speaking through him in this line, to address the issues facing Christians today:

"Queen of Narnia, indeed!" said Mr. Beaver. "Of all the cheek-" "Peace, Beaver," said Aslan. "All names will soon be restored to their proper owners. In the meantime we will not dispute about them."

What is a pronoun but a kind of name?

When Jesus spoke with the woman at the well in John 4, He was not the first to say the woman was a sinner. He simply made conversation and answered questions. The woman admitted her own guilt. Jesus did not dispute with her about her situation, her life, or her name.

Perhaps this is the answer. Address people with respect and don't argue. Speak the truth without being combative.

I can't say whether Jesus would call a Tommy a Tina if that's what they choose to call themselves. But I see nothing in the Bible that says we cannot. Many men and women in the old testament, such as Joseph, Daniel, and Nehemiah, all served under wicked, ungodly kings, kings who believed themselves to be literal gods. Yet these godly men still addressed those kings by their chosen titles and made obeisance to them, despite knowing full well that these kings were not the gods they believed themselves to be.

In this world, everyone sees themself as a god. So why not follow the examples set by the heroes of the Bible and show people respect? It's more harmless in the long run, and anyway, you are never the one in the position to judge or change anyone. Only God is. So get out of His road.