Film Comment: Sinners (2025)

 

Sinners is a movie which is intended to be about racism, cultural oppression, colonialism, black culture, anti-religion, and anti-Christianity. As usual, I can make Christian observations about the film which are probably unintended by the director.

“Son, you keep dancin’ with the Devil, one day, he’s gonna follow you home,” from a pastor father to Sammie, nicknamed Preacherboy, who is aching to become famous for his outstanding blues guitar and singing talent. Sammie hooks up with two morally fluid brothers who are opening a juke joint. This sets up a conflict when two white men and a woman show up that night wanting to join in the fun. The problem is that they are vampires.

One man about to be killed/turned into a vampire begins to loudly quote the Lord’s Prayer. All the vampires join in and help complete the quotation. This seems to be intended to show that Christianity has no power against evil.

A Christian response: the frightened man’s words were just that, words, and they did have no power. There is a difference between knowing and believing. The power is not in the words. They are not a Magick spell. God is not our genie in a bottle. The words have power only as they are used by the Holy Spirit.

The theologian, Martin Luther, noted that "The Devil can quote scripture to his own ends." Satan quoted Psalms 91:11-12 while tempting Jesus to misuse his authority (Matthew 4:1-11, Luke 4:1-13). Satan is the father of lies (John 8:44). Jesus responded to Satan's attack by quoting scripture back to him, Matthew 4:7, which quotes Deuteronomy 6:16..

Find a Penny

 

Find a penny and pick it up and all the day you’ll have good luck. I heard this chant many times as a child in the southern portion of the United States but it is not restricted to the American South.

            The “lucky Penny” superstition has been known for thousands of years. Ancient peoples, just like many moderns, often believed in the power inherent in coins. Finding a coin was considered to be a sign of good luck, or of coming prosperity, because metals were considered to represent wealth and protection.

            Making a wish after throwing a coin into a fountain may have originated as giving a valuable offering to water deities.

            “A penny for your thoughts” carries the idea that your thoughts are valuable because the coin has value.

            After a coin flip, a coin landing with its head-side up (obverse) is considered to be a positive sign. A coin with the tails-side up (reverse) is considered to be negative. Some people will not pick up a coin from the street if the coin is in the tails up position. In American football, the referee determines first possession of the ball by the use of a coin flip.

            This may seem like a trivial and harmless holdover of an ancient superstition. Most people would view it in this way and, for the most part, it is. The children gleefully throwing coins into the fountain outside a restaurant and making a wish are totally innocent. Most adults have no idea of the origins of the superstition and have not given it a single thought, and probably never will. In its origins it is a demonstration of the use of Magick.

            Magick, as opposed to harmless stage magic (where you do not actually see what you think you see) is an ancient concept. The actual modern word, Magick, seems to have been originated by Aleister Crowley, an utterly evil and awful man who described himself as The Great Beast. His most famous quotation is “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law.”

            Magick is the intentional attempt to control reality by performing certain actions or saying certain words. It is an attempt to impose one’s will on the universe. It is an assertion of self as the master. If you gave them a coin, the water deities were obligated to grant you a wish. If you rubbed the lamp, the genie was your slave. If you said the correct words in the correct sequence, a demon could be forced to obey you.

            Simony is the practice of buying or selling objects held to be religiously sacred. It does not include the selling of modern Christian merchandise which, of itself, is not inherently holy or sacred.  Simony would be the selling, for personal profit, of materials or items or powers used in the official functions of the church. The word originates from Acts 8:18-24, where a magician, Simon Magus, offered money to Peter in an attempt to purchase the power to perform miracles. Peter angrily rejected Simon’s offer of money.

            The Bible clearly says that we are to avoid the intentional use of magic and the occult. Deuteronomy 18:10-11, 18:2; Exodus 22:18; Leviticus 19:31, 20:6,27; Isaiah 19:1-4; Ezekiel 13:20-21; 2 Kings 21:6; Revelation 21:8.

………………………………………………………………………………………………….

            Your innocent child can probably still enjoy throwing a few coins into a fountain.

Magic Squares in Christian Occultism, Part 2

Magic squares became associated with occultism through the practice of numerology. Numerology assigns number values to individual letters of alphabetic writing systems. Individual words or names can be assigned a numerical value by adding the values of their component letters. Numerologists often consider names and words with the same numerical value to be telated to one another in some way.

 Gematria, a form of numerology, began among the Assyro-Babylonians and was later adopted as a practice by the Jews. Words with identical numerical values were considered to be related to one another or to a person whose name could be assigned the same number. Remember that for the first few years, all Christians were Jews. The number of the Antichrist. 666, was recognized to also be the number of the Roman Emperor Nero, Nero Qasr (Nero Caesar).

The Hebrew word, gematria, probably comes from the Greek word, geometria (“geometry”).  Numerology is closely associated with the Jewish Qabbalah tradition, but there are examples within the Bible, where numbers such as 3 or 666 carry special meanings. The primary language for gematria has always been Hebrew. There is a Jewish tradition that God manipulated the letters of the Torah in order to create the universe; in effect, God’s creation of the universe was through the use of numbers; mathematics. The universe does indeed have a highly mathematical structure as attested to by modern physics.

The ancient Hebrews, and later the Jews, were very careful with names because the name of a person carried characteristics associated with that person. An example is Isaac, which means “he laughed” because old Abraham (he was over 100 years old) laughed when he was told that he and the aged Sarah (she was over 90 years old) would have a son. God said Sarah also laughed in secret but she denied it. Their laughter became that of joy and wonderment.

This is where the magic squares and the occultists come in. Because every word can be written as a number, words and even phrases can be embedded into number sequences. Sending a coded message to a fellow occultist, or placing a blessing or  a curse upon a person, could be accomplished by handing them a talisman upon which a magic square of numbers was inscribed. 

This is an attempt to use the power of words, phrases, and names to influence or to alter reality. Occultists believe that if the correct words (spells) are known, the practitioner can force the universe to create good health, wealth, love, and/or personal power. It is also true that malicious persons felt that they could cause disease, economic trouble, sadness, family conflict, and even death.

Even with the biblical proscriptions against involvement with magic, some Christians were fascinated by this.

Next: Magic Squares in Christian Occultism, Part 3   

Magic Squares in Christian Occultism, Part 1

I had to remove today’s post because it became corrupted by some sort of commercial spam. I am instead posting on another subject entirely. Before you read this, let me absolutely declare that I am not an occultist of any sort.  I reject the practice of magic. I am not speaking about stage magic, which is a form of entertainment based on sleight of hand and visual deception.  That is clearly not real and does not claim to be real.

What I am talking about is Magic (or more properly Magick). Magick is based on the belief that there is an underlying basis to reality which is not apparent to the normal human senses. Magick  believes that with knowledge of the correct words, phrases, or actions, one may influence, or even force, the universe to produce particular intended results. In other words, spells and curses. The traditional Christian understanding is that we should have nothing to do with any of this. Of course, some Christians, even some very learned Christians, have not abided by this understanding. Knowing about Magick and understanding how it crept into Christian use is not a violation of the proscription against it. It is necessary so that we do not do it again. (Sadly, some still do.) [Deuteronomy 18:9-13; Exodus 22:18; Leviticus 19:26, 19:31, 20:6, 20:27; Galatians 5:19-21.]

This will take several days to discuss, so bear with me and keep on reading. The subject of this series of posts is “Magic Squares” and how they have been used in Christian symbolism.

The simplest Magic Squares are, of themselves, merely mathematical constructs which consist of numbers arranged so that the addition of the numbers in a column in any direction (left to right, right to left, top to bottom, bottom to top, or diagonally from corner to corner) always add up to the same sum. Examples are:

                                    2 7 6                                    All the columns in any

                                    9 5 1                                    direction total to 15.

                                    4 3 8

                         8   58 59  5   4   62 63  1

                        49 15 14 52 53 11 10 56  

                        41 23 22 44 45 19 18 48            All the columns in any

                        32 34 35 29 28 38 39 25            direction total to 260.

                        40 26 27 37 36 30 31 33

                        17 47 46 20 21 43 42 24

                         9  55 54 12 13 51 50 16

                        64  2   3   61 60  6   7  57

These mathematical constructions were known in numerous cultures around the world from early in the history of mathematics.  

The mathematical process for producing the squares can be expressed in mathematical formulae. The earliest squares were based on addition, but later squares have been based on multiplication, complex numbers, shapes other than squares, hypercubes, primes, and even genetic algorithms.  The term “magic square” is also applied to word squares which read the same in any direction.   

The squares became associated with occultism through the practice of numerology. Numerology assigns number values to individual letters of alphabetic writing systems. Every word or name can be assigned a numerical value.

More in the next post: Magic Squares in Christian Occultism, Part 2

Magic For Jesus

{Some videos will not play properly when you click on the triangle.  Instead,  click on the title line in the picture and the video will begin .  When the video is completed, close the You Tube pop-up window to return to this blog.} 

This is magic (sleight of hand) not Magick or Sorcery.  It is not supernatural but is based on making you think you see something which you do not see.

Magic for Jesus is a ministry to Sunday Schools and youth groups presenting visual lessons about biblical truths.  Many people, children especially, are visually oriented and will understand a point if it is in the form of a story, or, in this case, a magic trick.

Jesus used this approach in his parables.  The Kingdom of God is like …”

Magic for Jesus is non-denominational and from their short statement of faith, appear to be doctrinally orthodox.  They state that “We believe kids are the church too; not the future church.  They are the church right now.”

.................................................................

One commenter was concerned that sleight of hand is based on deception and, therefore, could be viewed as dishonest.  I would say that this is a needless concern.  Magic for Jesus never tells children that the magic is real.  The tricks are used to make spiritual truths understandable.

.................................................................

Magick and Sorcery are a different thing entirely.  They are ceremonial magic based on occult concepts and amount to attempts to influence events and people by the use of rituals, ceremonies, and secret or hidden knowledge.  Some claim that Magick and Sorcery may be White (good or benign) or Black (evil or malignant).  The Christian view is that all magic which attempts to influence people or the world is based on man's rebellion against God.   
.................................................................
A magic trick which looks stunningly real, but it is not.  The magician offers to sell you the information on how to perform the trick.
http://www.youtube.com/user/dreamlandmagic?v=bc7wJA8fhKg&feature=pyv&ad=6923422215&kw=magic%20tricks

Film Comment: Green Lantern

Green Lantern (2011) is a superhero movie based on the on the long time comic book series produced by DC Comics.  The film was long considered to be unfilmable until computer generated imagery was perfected.

The plot of the film is well known to long time comic book readers.  After an alien spacecraft crash lands on Earth, the ring worn by Abin Sur, the dying alien pilot, searches the planet for a worthy successor to its prior owner.  The ring is not supernatural, but is instead, the product of a greatly advanced technology.  It chooses a seemingly undeserving recipient, Hal Jordan, an immature and self-absorbed daredevil test pilot.

Jordan discovers that he is now the Green Lantern of his sector of outer space, even if he does not wish to be.  He is told that the ring does not make errors and that he is now a member of the Green Lantern Corps, one of the 3600 super-powered beings who serve as a sort of intergalactic police force.  Of course, he must confront a being who has misused the ring technology and, as a result of his adventures, Hal Jordan becomes the greatest of the Green Lanterns.  This is standard epic fantasy/science fiction.

Many viewers of Green Lantern have noticed the heavy occultic symbolism in this film.  A Green Lantern's power ring converts his/her thoughts into material reality.  As students of comparative religion will know, the essence and the aim of "magick" is the ability of the will to alter and control reality.

The symbolism in this film is quite heavy.  When they are using their power, a Green Lantern's eyes glow green.  Images of the Masonic symbol known as the All Seeing Eye , an eye within a pyramid, occur repeatedly within the film.

The Green Lanterns take their oath of service on their Power Lanterns, from which they recharge their power rings.  The lantern symbols on the rings and on the superheroes chests are identical to the Masonic symbol 101 (the point within the circle ) turned on its side.

There is a strong undercurrent in the film of a secret government involvement in some sort of conspiracy.  One commenter notes that a sign in a bar scene includes the word "harp" and relates this to the HAARP project, a real life scientific research station in Alaska which many conspiracy theorists believe is being developed as a secret government weapon to cause earthquakes and control the weather.

The Green Lantern Corps is, in effect a secret society.  The Corp has initiation ceremonies, secret knowledge, and its existence is not revealed to the public at large.

Tomar Re , the bird-like Xudarian alien Green Lantern who is the first mentor to Hal Jordan, has what one commenter calls "Baphomet legs."  Baphomet is an occult symbol of Satan represented as a human-goat hybrid with legs whose knees bend backwards.

The green "uniform" of the Lanterns is not actually clothing.  It is an integral part of their being, it is who they really are, like their skin.  This is consistent with the occult/New Age idea that our true inner being is divine (our True Self, our Inner Christ) and that enlightenment comes when we realize that we are God.

One commenter claims that when Hal Jordan transforms from his human self to his Green Lantern self that there is a brief burst of light from his wrists and ankles, reminiscent of Christ's wounds.  This occurs at 2:05 of the first official trailer for the film.  What actually occurs at this point is that Jordan's power ring begins to glow, making the back of his hand appear to glow.

Most people who watch this film will not notice or understand the heavy symbolism and many who do, will not care.  That the symbolism is there is so obvious that it must be intentional on the part of the film's makers.  Without falling into the trap of becoming totally paranoid conspiracy theorists, Christians must be alert to the messages being sent out by the world's media.  We really are at war.