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Showing posts with label kill. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kill. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Film Comment: The Road to Perdition


"My father's only fear was that his son would follow the same road ...," the road to perdition.  The word "perdition" is of Indo-European origin through Latin.  The main idea of the word is "loss."  In Christian theology, the word is used of loss of the soul, eternal damnation, utter ruin, and destruction.  It can be seen as a synonym for Hell.

The film, The Road to Perdition (1998), is set in Depression era 1931 and tells the story of Michael Sullivan,  a crime mob hit man, a paid assassin, whose son accidentally witnesses one of his murders.  The mob bosses are not pleased and want the boy killed so that he cannot tell anyone.  The killer dearly loves his son and takes steps to protect him.

Based on a black and white graphic novel (comic book), this excellent and suspenseful film stars Oscar winner Tom Hanks as the hit man and is loaded with other top level actors: Stanley Tucci, Jude Law, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Daniel Craig, and Paul Newman.)  The story is concurrently loving, tender, violent, and depressing.

The film is based on the idea of "the sins of the fathers," a biblical concept.  We teach our children how to act by our example.  Even if we do not wish for our children to follow our example, our actions do not affect only us but can have effects on our families and friends for generations.  Often, once they are set in motion, the consequences of our actions cannot be avoided.





Monday, July 2, 2012

An Armed Man Walks Into Your Church ...


Last Sunday a man armed with an assault rifle and multiple other weapons walked into a church service in Fairhope Alabama (USA) and sat down, with his wife, in one of the pews.  Naturally this stirred some alarm among the congregation and someone used their cell phone to notify the local police.

The man was arrested and carried to the local jail, but his wife was not charged.  The man was found to have controlled drugs in his possession and had numerous other unregistered weapons in his home.

How would your church respond, especially if the man had begun to shoot?  What about armed men attempting to steal the morning’s collections?


The case has caused a lot of discussion.  Here are some of the opinions:
1.     Armed guards should be posted at the doors of the church.
2.     There should be no armed guards, but the church members should carry concealed weapons.
3.     The church should affirm its refusal to allow weapons within its premises.
4.     The church should provide self-defense classes.
5.     The church should discuss the issue and decide on evacuation routes and defensive measures.
6.     Arming the church will probably result in accidental shootings.
7.     Totally banning weapons may result in legal challenges.
8.     Do we really want to kill someone in our church?
9.     Does the Christian have a right to self-defense?
10. Would church members reject being “saved” by an armed security guard?
11. It is better to have an electronic security and alarm system than an armed guard.
12. Should Christians be entirely pacifist?
13. Is there a difference between “murder” and “kill”?
14. Could not fifty unarmed men (or women) overpower one man with a gun?
15. 2 Corinthians 2:10
16. Should we fear man or fear God? Proverbs 29:25
17. We are called to be an example of Jesus.
18. Jesus was never armed.

What do you think?