Thursday, November 29, 2007

Monday, November 12, 2007

The Beating Heart

Cross-posted from Re-Inventing the Adventist Wheel.

Watching this trailer gave me a severe case of the chills. It created a moment where I had to shake my head and wonder at the emotions that swirled around me. "For The Bible Tells Me So" was released several weeks ago, and I pray that it creates meaningful dialog within the church in general, and the Adventist church specifically. I'm also a little jealous; I would have loved to be involved in the making of the film.

This is a subject that has haunted me for years, from being a teenager who at times questioned his own identity and mouthed the mantra that I loved the sinner, hated the sin; to being a college student whose views got the Humpty Dumpty treatment. I've seen homosexuals in the church treated terribly, heard church members angrily declare that they'd like to kill every single of 'those people' or express their deep hatred of something so different.

The medium of storytelling can change the world, and I hope the stories told in this film change someone. If we as Christians can put as much emphasis in loving, really loving people as we do in following the rest of the law (we forget that love is the beating heart of the law) then the world really will be changed.

Perhaps watching this film will enable some to walk away, not necessarily with changed opinions, but with changed hearts, with the ability to love and respect.

Continue the journey...

Sunday, November 11, 2007

The Great Debaters - Trailers

Posted Nov 06, 2007

A drama based on the true story of Melvin B. Tolson (Denzel Washington), a professor at Wiley College Texas. In 1935, he inspired students to form the school's first debate team, which went on to challenge Harvard in the national championship.

Films like this get released every few years, and I doubt I'll ever get sick of them. It reminds me why I'm so proud of my people. Sometimes I wish I lived back 80 years ago to be a part of that history as terrifying and challenging as it would be. In someways it's less terrifying than living today when everything seems very gray, with defined lines growing more smudged with every passing year.

Continue the journey...