Since the Alpha

Three persons in One,
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
One since the alpha.

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.

Film Comment: At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul

Jose Mojica Marins (b. 1936, Brazil) is a director/actor of what would be known in the United States as independent, non-studio films, and is credited with producing the first Brazilian horror films.  Marins’ entire life has revolved around films; his father ran a movie house in Sao Paulo and the family lived in an apartment above the theater.

Though he has made and appeared in many other films, Marins is almost exclusively known for one recurring character, Ze do Caixao (Coffin Joe), who is always portrayed by Marins.  The character is so popular that he has appeared in films, on television,  in comic books, and in documentaries.  Mentions of Coffin Joe occur in numerous songs, magazine articles, and film reference books.  He even has been parodied in the short film, The Blind Date of Coffin Joe. (2008)

Coffin Joe is the embodiment of the amoral man dedicated to one thing and one thing only, himself.  Joe first appears in the 1964 film,  A Meia-Noite Levarei Sua Alma (At Midnight I’ll Take Your Soul).  The film will not be confused with Citizen  Kane but is undeniably powerful.

There is an almost constant stream of eerie background noises, including ominous music, screams, animal sounds, and echoes.  The feeling of the film is quite intense and aggressive, pushing itself at you.  Just like Coffin Joe himself.

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Coffin Joe is an undertaker in a small, very superstitious town in rural Brazil.  Joe is a sadistic and brutal man who believes in nothing and enjoys the fear, disgust, and open hatred shown to him by the townspeople.  He believes himself to be infinitely superior to  all of them, For him, they exist only for his pleasure and for the accomplishment of his desires.  They are his slaves and he brutalizes them to force their obedience to him.

The one thing that Joe wants above all else is immortality, to be remembered forever.  Since he does not believe in God or the Devil and knows that he will eventually die, Joe decides that his name must live forever; in order to ensure “the continuity of blood” he decides that he must have a son, a perfect son.

To produce a perfect son, Joe is willing to commit murder, rape, torture, or any other brutality.  He is the totality of everything which is evil about the self.

The Christian view is that the self is the problem.  The Bible assumes that everyone loves themselves and it never says that we should hate ourselves.  What it does say is that we should love others as we love ourselves.  Romans 13:9-10, John 13:34-35, Colossians 3:12, Philippians 2:3, 1 Peter 5:5, James 3:13-18, 4:7.

Instead of prosperity (the heretical doctrine of the Prosperity Gospel), the Bible promises that we can expect opposition even from our own families and sometimes, persecution.  Matthew 10:34, 16:24-25.

Female Images of God: A Mother and Her Son

"Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee." Isaiah 49:15

A Christian Father

One day in 2008, a two-year old boy named William Bronner "Cornbread" Burgess fell into the family swimming pool and drowned.  How his family, and especially his father, responded is an inspirational Christian story.

Rick Burgess and Bill "Bubba" Bussey are "Rick and Bubba ," a nationally syndicated radio team whose humor is based on their Southern heritage.  There is much more to them than the average morning radio talk show hosts.  They appear primarily on secular radio stations but never shy away from clearly stating their Christian faith.

The First Three Words of the Bible

בראשית ברא אלהים את השמים ואת הארץ
Bereishit bara Elohim et hashamayim ve'et ha'aretz. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Bereishit (בראשית)in Hebrew means "at the head of." Since the first letter bet (ב) is closed on three sides, and since Hebrew is read right to left, the midrash Bereishit Rabbah 1:10 says that interpretation can only go in the open direction, ie. don't worry about what came before. The three middle letters are the same word as in Rosh Hahanah ("the head the year"), the beginning of the year. Bara (ברא) means "filled" or "fattened." Elohim (אלהים) is a name of God.

Some Christians see even more in these first three words of the Bible. The first letter of the sentence, bet ב, is the first letter of ben (son). The second letter of the sentence, resh ר, is the first letter of ruach (spirit, breath). The third letter of the sentence, alef א, is the first letter of abba (father) and of the third word, Elohim (אלהים). Father, Son, and Spirit, with the third word of the sentence being "God." Also, the name. Elohim אלהים, is a plural form and the first letter, א, in its simplest form consists of three strokes.