Film Comment: The Box

The premise of The Box (2009) is simple. A nice couple's world is going nowhere. They (Cameron Diaz and James Marsden) are not poor but are having money troubles. Norma and Arthur Lewis are comfortable but not satisfied. They are in careers which do not bring them personal fulfillment. Then Mr. Steward, the always creepy Frank Langella) arrives with The Box and the proposition.

The box is just that, a wooden box, otherwise totally empty. On the top of the box is a red button. Mr. Steward explains the offer being made by his "employers." He opens a briefcase and shows the couple the $1,000,000 carefully stacked inside. All the couple has to do is to push the button. These are the conditions of the offer:

1. When you push the button someone whom you do not know will die.
2. Mr, Steward will hand you the briefcase and walk away.
3. You are not allowed to ask any questions.
4. If you say no, Mr, Steward will simply walk away with the box and the money.
5. If you tell anyone else about the offer, the offer is terminated.

Of course, the couple decides to push the button, not really believing that anything will happen.  Then Mr. Steward delivers the money.

When Norma and Arthur try to give back the money, Mr. Steward tells them, "I'm sorry, Mr. Lewis, the button has been pushed." And later, he says, "If you didn't want anyone to get hurt, you shouldn't have pushed the button." It is obvious that the only way to pass the test is by not pushing the button.

There are numerous ideas invoked by this film.

1. Mr. Steward can be seen as a type of the Serpent and Norma and Arthur of Adam and Eve.
2. Eternal damnation and the possibility of redemption are mentioned but there is no mention of Jesus.
3. Arthur and Norma are being held personally responsible for their actions but their actions also have global consequences.
4. The belief that "we" are somehow superior to some unidentified "other person." If we profit by their death but are not personally involved in that death are we in some way guilty? What if they were a "bad" person?
5. Is there any way we can undo the bad things we have done?

There are many criticisms which can be leveled at this film. One which bothered me very much as a Southerner was the totally awful attempt at a Southern accent by Cameron Diaz. James Marsden does not seem to have even tried to sound Southern.

This is not a Christian film. It is not even a very good film. Parts of it border on incoherency. The name of the polite and friendly "villain" is Mr. Steward, who is faithfully working for his "employers." The film hints at control of the Earth by an extraterrestrial group with the compliance and assistance of the American government. There is a hint that the Earth may face destruction if we are judged to have failed in this "experiment." This is somehow tied to a very amorphous and numinous idea of the afterlife. The idea actually works better in the original short story written by Richard Matheson.

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Car Tags

In the United States there is a tradition of "vanity" automobile license plates. For an additional fee, authomobile owners can have customized messages on their car tags. Some of the most well-known of the vanity tags have these messages:

2THDR       This reads as "tooth doctor" and belongs to a dentist.
GRLPWR   This reads as "girl power."
NOSUP4U  This reads as "no soup for you!" and echoes the famous Soup Nazi episode on the         popular Sienfeld television series.
ISWALO     This reads as "I swallow" and is a vulgar reference to fellatio.
HIOFICER This reads as "Hi, officer!" and is a message to any police officers following the vehicle.
GONPLCS This reads as "Going places."

An extended list of car tags is at www.coolpl8z.com, check out the constantly changing Top 100.  Some are quite vulgar and offensive. You may wonder how some of the slogans got past the censors.

I recently saw a license plate which at first I could not decipher; GETMULA. I eventually understood that it reads as "get moolah." Moolah is a slang word for money. How sad.

The acquisition of money sadly is the primary motivation for many people. A Christian understanding of money is that it is simply a tool, neither evil nor good in and of itself. Ethical acquisition of money, a proper relationship to that money, and its use in furthering the Kingdom of God are proper subjects for Christian discussion.

Female Images of God: A Housekeeeper

God is depicted as a housekeeper who cleans and sweeps through her entire house to find one lost coin.  The lost coin becomes her focus until it is found.

“Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?  “When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost!’  “In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Luke 15: 8-10 (KJV)

Jesus zealously holds onto those given to Him.  These verses are part of the foundation of the doctrine of the Eternal Security of the Believer.  Some describe this as “once saved, always saved.”  The doctrine states that Jesus will not allow anyone who truly belongs to Him to be separated from Him by anyone or anything.

“… Of them which thou gavest me have I lost none.” John 18:9 (KJV)

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one.” John 10:27-30 (KJV)

“For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39 (KJV)

Christianity in Herculaneum

On 24 August 79 AD/CE Mount Vesuvius in Italy began to erupt, spewing out large rocks and streams of molten lava.  The Roman communities of Pompeii, Herculaneum, Stabiae, and Oplontis were destroyed as well as several nearby villas.  The port of Herculaneum was smaller than the port of Pompeii and existed as a resort town for the wealthy.  The towns were covered by 13 to 20 feet of volcanic ash and pumice.

Excavations at Herculaneum and the other towns yielded multitudes of intact buildings after the ash was removed.  Since a 1939 excavation at Herculaneum found only the bodies of a few women and children, it was thought that the town was successfully evacuated during the cataclysm.  It was not until 1981 that over 300 skeletons were found huddled together in cluster of buildings.

During the 1939 excavation of Herculaneum it was proven that Christianity had made inroads in the area when a wooden cross was found nailed to a wall in one of the houses.

Film Comment: The Phantom of the Paradise

At the grocery store I recently heard a little ten year old girl tell a woman, “When I’m twenty, I’m going to be rich.  I’m going to be an actress and a model.”  The child was quite serious, not realizing the near impossibility of her goal.  She certainly was unaware of the many compromises that people are willing to make to reach such a goal.

The Phantom of the Paradise (1974) is a highly exaggerated and stylized expression of the quest for success at any price.  The film incorporates influences, to name a few, from Faust, The Phantom of the Opera, The Cabinet of Dr, Caligari, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and Psycho.

The film concerns a music producer who has sold his soul to the devil, a drug-addled mindless rock star who is complicit in the evil contract, and a mutilated and vengeful music composer.  The film is violent and bloody and all about success at any price. “He sold his soul for rock n’ roll.”

How much are you willing to sacrifice for your goals?  Are your goals worthy goals?

Definition: Casuistry.

Yesterday, I spoke about casuistry in relation to Mark 7:10-13. The word, casuistry, is derived from the Latin word casus, which means “event” or “case.”  The benign definition of casuistry is that it is a discipline within ethics which deals with ambiguous issues of right and wrong.  The most common use of the word today is more sinister: it is described as sophistical reasoning used in matters of ethics.

Sophism (from the Greek word Σοφία = “wisdom”) comes from the ancient Greek Sophists who developed elaborate philosophical and rhetorical arguments to teach excellence and virtue to young men.  The catch was that they charged for their teachings.

Socrates refused to take any money for teaching and considered the practice by the Sophists to be deceptive and specious.  From this developed the modern English use of the word: a specious argument used to deceive and to obscure one’s true intent.  There are many modern examples of this practice.

Korban

“For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death:  But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free. And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother; thus invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that."” Mark 7:10-13

The Hebrew noun korban (קרבן) is derived from the root word KAREV which  means “to approach,” “to come near,” “to get into a close relationship with somebody.”  From this, applied to God, the word came to mean “sacrifice,” “gift,” or “offering.”  A man who declared his worldly possessions korban was thus dedicating them to God so that they could not be used for any other purposes.  The property would become God’s (belong to the priests) upon the man’s death.

Some men declared their possessions to be korban so that they could not be required to use their funds to support their elderly parents.  The man was not required to give his money to the temple as long as he was alive.  This was casuistic hypocrisy, which Jesus exposed in Mark 7:10-13.

The effect of the tradition was to nullify the intent of the practice by insisting on a literal, and sometimes cynical, strict implementation.

More on casuistry tomorrow.

Christians

At some time during their lives, the following people have publicly identified themselves as Christian.   Inclusion in this list does not indicate approval or disapproval of the person, of their orthodoxy or lack of it, or of their actions.  Some of those listed may surprise you.  Readers are encouraged to suggest persons who should be included on this list.  This is a recurring segment in this blog.

David L. Ramsay III: (b. 1960, USA) Personal money management expert, motivational speaker, author.  Ramsay encourages people to live debt-free.

Bruce Manning Metzger: (b. 1914, Pennsylvania, USA – d. 2007) Biblical translator and textual critic, university professor.  Specialist in Greek, New Testament, and New Testament textual studies.

Karl Ludwig Harding: (b. 1765, Germany – d. 1834) Astronomer.  In 1804, Harding discovered three comets and an asteroid, 3 Juno.

Mark Tronson: (b. 1951, Australia)  Tronson is pionerrin sports ministry in Australia.  He retire in 2001 after seventeen years as the chaplain of the Australian cricket team.  Baptist.

Andrew Wingfield-Digby: (b. 1950, England) Cricketer, pastor.  Founder of the organization, UK Christians in Sport.  Anglican.

If I Could, Updated

Recently, I posted a statement about a phrase someone wrote on our message board in our laboratory rest room.  They wrote, "If I could."  I wrote, "I would."  Today, someone has added, "Be rich."

I'm sure most of us would not reject an opportunity to be wealthy.  The problem is that many people think that being rich, or being a celebrity, would solve all their problems.  Their eyes are on material things rather than the unlimited value of the Blood.

“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Matthew 6:19-21

A Possible Interpretation of the Parable of the Unjust Steward

Jesus strikes me as having been pleasant and calming rather than strident and militant.  He was willing and able to express anger, but probably more often than not made his disciples smile or laugh.

I recently posted about the hard to understand Parable of the Unjust Steward.  What I said in the first paragraph may hold a key to understanding the parable.  Jesus seems to be praising the Unjust Steward.  I think He was.  He was using the Aramaic/Hebrew form of humor expressed as sarcasm or irony.  I believe that the parable probably struck His disciples as humorous in a wry sort of way.

If you are going to serve money, do it as well as you can.  If you are going to serve God, do it as well as you can.  You cannot serve two masters.  If you try, you will serve neither well.  God despises lukewarmness.

“So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.”  Revelation 3:16  

The Parable of the Unrighteous Steward

OK, I understand verses 13 and 14.  I have to admit that the rest of this parable eludes me.  Can anyone explain how verses 1 - 12 lead to verses 13 and 14?

"The Parable of the Unrighteous Steward

1And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. 2And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward. 3Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. 4I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. 5So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord? 6And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. 7Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore. 8And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. 9And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.

10He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. 11If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? 12And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own? 13No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." Luke 16:1-14

A Text in the Middle of the Night

Last night at one-thirty AM my wife's smartphone received a text message.  We have someone in the hospital so we burst out of bed to read the message.  It was a text of an internet scam which has been active for over a year.  The text says that the receiver has won $1000 and to get the money one needs only go to a link provided in the text.  The link loads a virus which steals a person's private personal information (passwords, account numbers, social security number, etc) from a computer or smartphone.
This is a criminal activity.

Attacks on personal information are rampant.  In just the same way, Christians are constantly under attack from The Evil One and his servants, especially when they are distracted by life's worries or worse, are spiritually asleep.  It is not currently popular to think of Satan as a person but the Bible clearly does.  Most people, including Christians, do not need his help in falling short of the mark.

Remember, if you resist the devil in the power of the Lord, the devil will run away! James 4:7.

A Financial Company Dedicated to Biblically Responsible Investing

The Timothy Plan was created in 1992 by Arthur Ally as a retirement plan for evangelical pastors.  The plan is now a family of funds which screens investment opportunities for activities inconsistent with a conservative Evangelical Judeo-Christian understanding.  The items for which the plan screens include alcohol, tobacco, abortion, pornography, casino gambling, anti-family entertainment, alternative lifestyles, and anti-Israel bias.  As do all legitimate investment firms, the plan warns that "Investing in a mutual fund may result in loss of principal."

Book Comment: The Money Answer Book

The Money Answer Book (2010) by Dave Ramsey, is a collection of questions and answers about money and personal finance from a Christian perspective.  There is nothing of the heretical Prosperity Gospel here.  Ramsey does not teach that you can have a person “key to God’s bank.”

Several of the principles taught by Ramsey include:

1.     Be responsible to God and your family in your use of money.

2.     Discuss all money decisions with your spouse.

3.     Do not borrow money.

4.     Get rid of debt.

5.     Do not let your emotions be manipulated into buying  things.  You do not need more things. 

6.     Tithe.

An example Ramsey gives:

“The average monthly car payment is $378.  If you only have one car payment you’re shelling out almost $5000 in one year.  Investing $378 per month in a good growth stock market fund from age 25 to age 65 will be worth more than $4.4 million !”

In the book, Ramsey discusses:

1.     401K and IRA retirement saving accounts

2.     Saving and Investment

3.     Retirement

4.     Insurance

5.     Real Estate

6.     Student Loans

The book is interspersed with biblical quotations with illuminate the points being made.

Wanting to Be a Millionaire

"It is absolutely okay for a Christian to want to be a millionaire, because as Christians we know that no matter how much we have, we own nothing.  We are simply managers of the resources God has given us.  If we can manage God's Money, whether $100 or $1 million, we are okay."  Dave Ramsey

Dave Ramsey is a Christian financial expert who advocates living debt-free on a strictly cash basis.  His advice is biblically based and does not seem to be associated with the heretical Prosperity Gospel.  His basic message is work hard, don't spend more than you have, and don't borrow money on credit.

Held For Ransom

“A young couple was visiting a church for the first time.  As the preacher’s sermon dragged on, their little girl became restless.  Finally, she leaned over to her mother and whispered, “Mommy, if we give him the money now, will he let us go?”

“From The Big Book of Church Jokes, published by Barbour Publishing, Inc. Used by permission.”

What They Think of Us: Woody Allen on the Sign He Wants from God

"If only God would give me some clear sign!  Like making a large deposit in my name in a Swiss bank." Woody Allen

Many people want God to be their personal magician or financier.  They want God for what He can give them.  Others want some sort of irrefutible sign.  I will believe if you show me plainly who you are.

God has already given us Himself.

Don't be That Guy!

Mukesh Ambani is the second richest man in Asia and the ninth richest man in the world.  He lives in Mumbai, India in a 27-story tower which serves as the personal home of his family (his wife, mother, and three children).  The tower has three helipads.


If you happen to have been blessed by God with wealth, please don't be this man.  Use your wealth for the glory of God, not of yourself. 


"And it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the sabbath day, that they watched him.  And, behold, there was a certain man before him which had the dropsy.  And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day?  And they held their peace. And he took him, and healed him, and let him go;  And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day?  And they could not answer him again to these things.
   And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms; saying unto them,  When thou art bidden of anyman to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him;  And he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room.  But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee.  For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
  Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompence be made thee.  But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind:  And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.
   And when one of them that sat at meat with him heard these things, he said unto him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.
   Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many:   And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready.    And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused.   And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused.   And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.   So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.   And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room.   And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.   For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper."  Luke 14:7-24.

Biblical Coins

The earliest known coins minted during the rule of Herod Antipas (d. after 40 AD/CE), Tetrarch of Galilee ($ BC/BCE - 40 AD/CE), were issued in 19-20 AD/CE.  The words "Herod," "Tetrarch," and "Tiberias" appear on the coins.  Antipas, a son of Herod the Great, was the ruler of Judea at the time of Jesus' crucifixion.  He was banished in 40 AD/CE to Lugdunum (Lyons, France).

Surprisingly, many coins from the biblical period are available to modern collectors.  Below are links to several commercial sites which sell coins from ancient times.  The Forum site is especially interesting.  If you place your cursor on a picture of a coin, a box pops up which gives a description of the coin and its modern value.

One of the coins on the Forum site is a denarius, mentioned in Matthew 22:20-21.  It is valued at $900.00 (US).

Forvm Ancient Coins 

RomanCoins.net  

BiblicalMites.com 

Imperial Coins and Artifacts