Monday, December 17, 2012

"Once Upon a Time.................."

Saturday Beth and I went to see “The Hobbit”. Actually I saw it; she slept through most of it. That fact did not surprise me, her interests being, like any other woman’s, on romance, package it in any form you wish. This was nearly three hours of fairytale minus Pixar, evil versus a band of gnomes, a wizard, and Bilbo Baggins. The only female presence, of any significance throughout the film, was some sort of queen of the elves (who, by the way, in this story are not portrayed as Tinkerbells), this attractive lady standing a good six feet tall, possessing telepathic powers, but definitely not written into the script for the purpose of love being birthed in its plot. Nope; this is a man’s movie; and, for all that, it smacks a little of “roadrunner comedy”, bringing “unbelievable” to another level, and is not much more than a way to make more money off of “Lord of the Rings”. Will I go see the sequel that is sure to follow? Probably. For seven dollars and fifty cents (senior’s cost), it was a good time, for me anyhow… One might wonder how an old man, so avid for truth, for as much explanation as possible concerning faith in Scripture, could be so entertained by the likes of science fiction, myth, and folklore. Beth makes fun of me when I point out discrepancies in television shows or the “chick flicks” we watch together; but, in truth, my irritation is with error, not with fantasy. Likewise, when it comes to theology, I have no problem with people “working out their own salvation”, but do think they ought to be able to at least plausibly define the terms of their credo; and I say that realizing we all come up short in having solved the mystery in its entirety. Such is my point, however. God save those who consider themselves already “arrived”; God give us all hunger and thirst to ever pursue Him “through the veil”; and God give us eyes to understand the journey is individual, each of us in our own relationship. My experience doesn’t have to be duplicated……

7 comments:

  1. Okay, I'm still stuck on the line "like any other woman's, on romance.." Seriously, Jim? I could accept "many other woman's" or even "a large majority of woman's" but "any other woman's?"

    I've seen all the LOTR's many times, granted I've slept through them at times but I've slept through most movies (especially "chick flicks") at one point or another....

    Anyhow, you made me laugh. And now that I got that outa my system, I'll go finish reading the rest of your post. ;-)

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    1. Could probably have phrased it better, Mich; but I've never seen a man lingering around those Harlequin romance books nor a woman browsing through the WWII dvds. That doesn't mean I, myself, didn't enjoy watching The Notebook, Hope Floats, and Message in a Bottle with Beth, to the point of getting tears in my eyes as the stories unfolded. The Hobbit is worthy of going to see, in my opinion, but is stuffed with a lot of scenes that didn't need to be there. Let me know what you think after you've seen it.

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  2. I have to keep reminding myself that it is, after all is said and done, His story and that mine is a sort of sub-plot, no more and no less valuable than anyone else's. What is that G. K. Chesterton quote about a man knocking on the door of a brothel looking for God? In a way, I suppose that could apply to both fantasy and chick flicks.

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  3. Okay, I shouldn't write before I have a cuppa jo.... It's a heckava jump from the fantasy or chick flicks to the brothel thing but I swear it made sense in my mind this morning.

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    1. Now you've got me laughing. I wasn't familiar with the G.K. Chesterton quote, but it did remind me of a fellow in ministry at a local detention center who once told the kids that the song he was about to sing was given to him from God even though he was so drunk at the time he couldn't stand up. Just glad you keep dropping by here, my friend. Merry Christmas......

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  4. Well that is a good way to get the blood flowing! Ha. I had the same reaction as Mich. I saw the first of the LOTR trilogy three times in the theatre I enjoyed it that much! We are going to see the Hobbit on Boxing Day although I really would like to see Les Miserables, too. I haven't been in a theatre for years though!

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    1. I remember reading Les Miserables at least fifty years ago, but can't recall in the faintest what it was about. Beth and I don't go to the theater much. A "date" now and then when something good comes along.

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