For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. But you say, ‘How shall we return?’ 

Malachi 3:6-7 (ESV)

Troubled Times

A year has passed since the first case of the 2020 Coronavirus was reported in the US. Needless to say, much has changed since then. Last month, a mob of Trump supporters attacked the US capitol, wishing to overturn the most recent presidential election results. 

We have heard a lot of talk about how divided and polarized our nation is. I neither support nor truly understand the sentiment embodied by those who participated in this attack. It is difficult to express how jarring and surreal this event feels right now, but I have to confess a degree of nervousness, thinking that our country has reached a point where some sort of reckoning must follow. I am reminded of the haunting questions posed by British author and Nobel laureate Kazuo Ishiguro: 

"Are there times when forgetting is the only way to stop cycles of violence, or to stop a society disintegrating into chaos or war? On the other hand, can stable, free nations be built on foundations of wilful amnesia and frustrated justice?" [1]

Where is God in all of this? How do we make sense of the fragmentation of our lives, the forces in our society that seem overwhelmingly to separate person from person?

Approaching the Holy in Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke

I trust that more than a few readers will ask these questions with me. Anime, or Japanese animation, may be a surprising place to look for meaningful answers for some, especially from the perspective of religious faith. Princess Mononoke (1997) is an animated film that became the highest-grossing film at the box office in the year of its release (and to this day, it is still the 7th highest-grossing film in Japan).[2]  Mononoke is made by Studio Ghibli, Japan's equivalent to Disney in terms of fame, artistic talent, and cultural import. Its director, Hayao Miyazaki, is a household name in Japan, a living legend of world animation and Japanese film. My first line of work was in the Japanese anime industry, where I was both an animator and a salesman. Princess Mononoke was probably the most significant influence on my desire to enter the industry. More importantly, however, it is a film that explores the relationship between human beings and the natural world in a way powerfully resonant with our world today.

Mononoke and its director occupy a special place within the Japanese popular imagination. Amongst anime fans worldwide, if there is such a thing as "mainstream" anime, Miyazaki represents that mainstream. In addition to being among the most popular, however, I would like to suggest that Mononoke is also one of Miyazaki's most deeply religious films. This is not to say that the film maps itself onto an easily recognizable religious tradition (it certainly does not). By the director's admission, however, the film is built on what he believes is a distinctly Japanese notion of the sacred.[3] 

The film depicts the encounter of a boy with a deep forest located somewhere in western Japan. The forest has no reason for existing; it simply "is" in all of its mysterious beauty. Its chaotic canopies and frightening creatures represent sheer otherness to rational, enterprising mankind; yet, the forest also brims with life and is indeed the source of life. As the Temple in Jerusalem was for Israel, the forest is where the holy is tangible and active. In Miyazaki's mind, this is the image of the sacred that resonates most deeply with the Japanese spirit. The world of Princess Mononoke is thus an expression of the director's religiosity; it tells the tale of humanity's encounter and collision with the sacred.

A Curse Unto Death

The film begins in a land far removed from the sacred forest, in a village beset by a tatarigami – a vengeful spirit, a living being twisted into a wrathful demon after being subjected to profound suffering. Tatari in Japanese is a curse that arises out of bitter resentment; it is often the wrath borne out of unjust suffering or an unsatisfied life. In this case, the twisted being, or tatarigami, is the giant boar, Nago – a deity who dwelt in the sacred forest. 

Humans desecrated Nago's forest, and human guns wounded him. The protagonist of the film, Ashitaka, finds himself face to face with this tatarigami as it suddenly attacks his village. Though he manages to kill the beast before it can harm anyone else, Ashitaka is cursed in exchange. Nago's final words are for "vile humans'' to know his pain and suffering. This is the catalyst for the story: Ashitaka is banished from his village on account of the curse he has received from Nago.

Ashitaka is told his curse would spread slowly throughout his body, eventually reaching his bones and killing him. Although he travels far to the sacred forest searching for a way to lift the curse, he discovers that the people of the wider world  are afflicted by curses of their own. He finds an outpost of metalworkers in a pitched battle with the deities of the forest, seeking to dominate and exploit the land; embittered by what seems to be a losing battle, the forest deities seek to inflict as much pain as possible upon the encroaching humans. He sees local warlords waging war on the metalworkers, greedily seeking a share of the wealth. The entire world order, it seems, is embroiled in a cycle of violence and vengeance. In the words of Jiko, a priest-like mercenary, "the whole world is a curse."

Is it Possible to Forgive?

Characters in Mononoke find forgiveness difficult. Nago curses all of humankind with his last breath; men and women who lost loved ones to the spirits of the forest seek to settle their scores; even the primary female protagonist (and the film's namesake) – San, or Princess Mononoke – cannot, in the end, forgive the violence and desecration humans have wrought on the forest that raised her. The movie does not condemn these characters. However, part of what makes Mononoke's storytelling so compelling is its ability to acknowledge people with opposing commitments without denying their personhood ("personhood" here refers to the moral nature of technically non-human characters as well). Even Jiko, seemingly the most antagonistic of the film's characters, has, in Miyazaki's own words, "an average person's mindset." [4] Each party, each character, has its own life and its own say. In such a pluralistic world, however, there seems to be no possibility of avoiding conflict. Throughout the film, Ashitaka repeatedly calls on others to sever the cycle of vengeance and hatred, but these calls fall on deaf ears. Understandably so: if humans continue to exploit the forest, its inhabitants appear to have no way of protecting themselves and their way of life without resorting to terror and violence. Conversely, the ironworks had given many women who were sold (likely into prostitution) renewed lives there, and people with leprosy had found care and community there; what would become of them if the ironworks fell? "The world is a curse" – though the evils of the world are plain for the eye to see, the individual, it seems, is remarkably helpless to bring about real change.

How Then Shall We Live?

At the core of Princess Mononoke is a deep ambivalence about human nature. The film invites us to empathize with a wide range of human experiences, but it also displays a nervousness about humans' ability to change. San's final line in the film is, "I like you, Ashitaka. But I can't forgive humans.” You, a particular human, I have come to know and like; humanity, in general, I still hate. There is a hopefulness here in the personal relationship between San and Ashitaka, a sign pointing towards a future in which humans and the forest can live in harmony. Yet, even after all is said and done, the protagonists still struggle in this tension between forgiveness and justice.

Princess Mononoke reminds me of a classic tension in Christian thought. How can mercy and justice coexist? The destruction of habitat and culture is painfully familiar to our own world. Should the oppressed be told to forgive while the world continues to do violence to them? Jesus teaches his disciples to forgive those who wrong them, but God also judges the wicked. If God is "a stronghold for the oppressed," can there possibly be mercy for the oppressors?

I am reminded of the dialogue between the prophet Habakkuk and God in the Old Testament. Habakkuk cries out to God about the injustices committed in his own country:

...the wicked surround the righteous;

    so justice goes forth perverted. 

Habakkuk 1:4b

God's startling response is to send the Chaldeans - a foreign power, one that does not even worship the God of Israel - to bring judgment upon his own people. However, to a bewildered Habakkuk, God also pronounces judgment upon those like the Chaldeans, nations driven by exploitative practices and vainglory. Where, then, does God's judgment finally fall?

Princess Mononoke itself explores this same question in a remarkably familiar way. The deepest part of the forest is inhabited by a figure called the Shishigami, or deer god. The Holy One of the forest, the Shishigami is the giver and taker of life. It is no mere creature, but a spirit described as "life itself." Different people seek different things from the Shishigami. Some seek liberation and powerful intervention; some seek healing; some seek to conquer and subdue it, as the Chaldeans did with respect to the God of Israel. Each character's quality of life can be read by that character's relationship to the Shishigami, revealing the character's attitude towards life. 

This implies that the quality of life we live is somehow bound to how we understand what "life" is. There is a mode of life that produces death and a mode of life that gives life. Without giving too much of the film away, this Shishigami is revealed to carry within itself both the destruction of death as well as the wholeness and peace of life. The Shishigami is the forest's wrath; the Shishigami is the life, restoration, and peace people desire. The Shishigami, however, also gives life by absorbing death into itself; death, in this way, only gives way to life. I invite the readers to decide whether they agree with what I see in the film and how this echoes the Christian faith.

Forgiveness is not a topic to be taken lightly. If forgiveness is simply the lack of consequence for one's actions, then parts of the Bible indicate that even God does not forgive. But God does constantly implore us to "turn," or return, so that we may be forgiven. 

Part of Princess Mononoke's realism is in its perceptive observation that humans tend to ask: "How shall we return?" How is it that we "turned away" in the first place, and what can be done to "return"? A legitimate Christian response is to turn to God demanding justice. But perhaps we should also give heed to Desmond Tutu's call to see the common humanity in the eyes of our enemies. Amid his confusion, Habakkuk is told:

For there is still a vision for the appointed time;

    it speaks of the end, and does not lie.

If it seems to tarry, wait for it;

    it will surely come, it will not delay.

Look at the proud!

    Their spirit is not right in them,

    but the righteous live by their faith. 

Habakkuk  2:3-4 (NRSV)

In the Bible, forgiveness is neither an absolute ethic on its own, nor is it recommended simply for its effectiveness in mending human hearts - though it certainly may be. It is, first and foremost, what God did for us in Jesus Christ. 

Though unforgiveness is a reminder of our world's brokenness, forgiveness gives us a glimpse into the hope of God's peace. In a complex world, we are called to discern when, where, and how to hang on to something or to let go, to fight or to make peace. In the meantime, the final wholeness of God's peace still eludes us - and yet, we are told, "there is still a vision… wait for it." 

What shall we wait for, then, and how will we wait for it? 

Resources

We’ve created a downloadable PDF to explore the article deeper. It contains discussion questions about the topic in general terms that will give you a jumping-off point for beginning a conversation.

The second page contains a way to see the topic from a biblical perspective.

And finally, to go deeper into the subject, we have chosen a few curated resources to explore from other authors’ and thinkers’ research or perspectives.

Read. Engage. Enjoy!

works cited

1. Kazuo Ishiguro – Nobel Lecture. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Media AB 2021. Wed. 27 Jan 2021. <https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/2017/ishiguro/lecture/>

2. Kogyo Tsushinsha. Cinema Rankingu Tsushin. Wed. 27 Jan 2021. <http://www.kogyotsushin.com/archives/alltime/>

3. Miyazaki, Hayao. Orikaeshiten 1997~2008. Tokyo, Iwanami Shoten, 2008, p. 41.

4. Miyazaki, Hayao. Orikaeshiten 1997~2008. Tokyo, Iwanami Shoten, 2008, p. 37.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Depending on how a gem is held, light refracts differently. At B+PC we engage in Pop Culture topics to see ideas from a new angle, to bring us to a deeper understanding. And like Pastor Shane Willard notes, we want “…Jesus to get bigger, the cross to get clearer, the Resurrection to be central…” Instead of approaching a topic from “I don’t want to be wrong,“ we strive for the alternative “I want to expand my perspective.” 

So, we invite you to engage with us here. What piqued your curiosity to dig deeper? What line inspired you to action? What idea made you ask, “Hmmm?” Let’s join with our community to wrestle with our thoughts in love in the Comment Section! See you there! 

Few stories display the sweeping consequences of hate and unforgiveness better than the Star Wars saga. Both Anakin and Ahsoka had reason to hold a grudge.  Let us examine both of their stories, spanning Star Wars Episodes 1-3 and the Clone Wars animated series. 

Anakin

When we first meet Anakin, he is a sweet boy with a big heart and good intentions.  He loves deeply - first his mother, and later Padme.  But those attachments also make him more vulnerable.  How many of us have been hurt because we loved too much?  We see him drawn to forsake the standards of his order out of his passion for Padme, and he also comes to resent that his Jedi duties have kept him away from his mother.  This resentment became full-on hate when he learns of her fate and destroys every living being in the Tusken Raider village that held her captive.  

Anakin’s actions led him down a path to be taken advantage of by a cunning mastermind who manipulated him over the years to become his right hand.  How did Palpatine accomplish this?  In addition to Annakin’s hate of the Tusken Raiders, Annakin began to develop a self-loathing - both from his horrible actions, and with Palpatine’s manipulation, a growing anger at his inability to be powerful enough to save his mother.  Have you ever done something - or failed to do something - that continues to haunt you?  Or perhaps you have internalized taunts and bullying that led you to believe you were inadequate?   It opens the door for self-talk (and manipulations) that lead down a dangerous and harmful road in our life, just as it did in Anakin’s tale.

When visions of Padme’s death started to come, his desire for power grew even more - he felt inadequate in saving his mother, and now he wouldn’t let it happen again.  He leaned even closer into the Dark Side as the only option.  The final blow came when Palpatine tells Anakin he, in his anger, had killed her.  I believe Palpatine told him this half truth to cement his control over Anakin.  Now Anakin was not only trapped by his lust for power, but his self-hatred at what he had become.  There was no turning back.  The rest is history...well, until Luke’s unwavering trust in him helped him finally find the courage to face the Emperor as well as his own demons...and forgive himself.  What a beautiful story of redemption!

Through the Clone Wars (2008-14) we also get insight at Anakin’s other attachments.  Anakin was especially protective of his padawan, Ahsoka.  In the final episode of season 5, Ahsoka was accused of a crime against the Jedi Temple and the Republic, and it was later learned that she was framed by a trusted Jedi friend.  In spite of Ahsoka’s loyalty and service to this point, the Jedi Council decided to play politics and kick her out of the order so she would be tried in a Republic court.  

Anakin worked tirelessly to prove her innocence, and succeeded at the last minute, saving her from execution. The Council asked for forgiveness and reinstated her, chalking it up to a learning experience/proving trial for Ahsoka.  But to everyone’s shock, Ahsoka walked away.  She had become disillusioned with the Council, and this also laid the groundwork for the distrust and hatred of the Jedi that Palpatine preyed upon for Anakin’s conversion.

Ahsoka’s Response

She was betrayed by those she trusted. They were basically her family. Have any of you been hurt and betrayed by close friends or family?  Or possibly worse, by a church or someone in the church?  Betrayed trust - worse when it is by family, someone in authority, or someone we thought was “spiritual” - is one of the most difficult things to forgive, especially in the case of abuse and constant manipulation or belittling.  We see Ahsoka walk away hurt and disillusioned, but after a self-discovery break, she answered the call to work alongside the Jedi again to defeat a foe. That had to be painful!  But after a successful partnership, she once again turned down Yoda’s invitation to rejoin the Order.

Ahsoka’s response is important.  She still had her doubts about the Jedi.  She was still hurt.  But I didn’t detect unforgiveness.  What we do see is her setting healthy boundaries.  She had the courage to leave the order instead of becoming embittered and falling to the Dark Side like Anakin.  She also didn’t abandon the Force - she found a different path, and was a vital leader who gathered rebel remnants to fight the Empire (Star Wars Rebels series, 2014-2018).  Hurts - especially from within the Church - can shake our beliefs, but if we stay open, God can use this to make us stronger than before.  He loves each of us deeply and has a unique path for us (Psalm 37:23, Proverbs 16:9).

Ahsoka’s reaction is a reminder that forgiveness doesn’t always mean things have to return to normal.  In an unhealthy relationship, we may need to do the same, and set boundaries to protect ourselves.  What forgiveness does is free us internally.  We realize our accountability is between us and God, just as the person who hurt us is also personally accountable for their actions to God (Ephesians 4:31-32, Romans 12:17-21).

Forgiveness is not natural to any of us. But just as we see in Anakin’s arc in Star Wars, a root of unforgiveness and hate is as destructive to us as the ones we hold a grudge towards.  God wants us to let go and see healing.  He set the example through his extraordinary forgiveness of those who put Him on the cross.  He seeks to free us from our own prison:

It was to this that God called you, for Christ himself suffered for you and left you an example, so that you would follow in his steps. He committed no sin, and no one ever heard a lie come from his lips. When he was insulted, he did not answer back with an insult; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but placed his hopes in God, the righteous Judge. Christ himself carried our sins in his body to the cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness. It is by his wounds that you have been healed. You were like sheep that had lost their way, but now you have been brought back to follow the Shepherd and Keeper of your souls.

1 Peter 2:21-25 (GNT)

We know that Jesus was also betrayed by those closest to him and yet forgave.  Let us follow Jesus’ example and place our hopes on the righteous Judge - God the Father.  And like Ahsoka, may we find our own path of strength and courage - with healthy boundaries - learning to grow through the hurts we suffered. 

Resources

We’ve created a free downloadable PDF to explore the article deeper. It contains discussion questions about the topic in general terms that will give you a jumping-off point for beginning a conversation.

The second page contains a way to see the topic from a biblical perspective.

And finally, to go deeper into the subject, we have chosen a few curated resources to explore from other authors’ and thinkers’ research or perspectives.

Read. Engage. Enjoy!

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Depending on how a gem is held, light refracts differently. At B+PC we engage in Pop Culture topics to see ideas from a new angle, to bring us to a deeper understanding. And like Pastor Shane Willard notes, we want “…Jesus to get bigger, the cross to get clearer, the Resurrection to be central…” Instead of approaching a topic from “I don’t want to be wrong,“ we strive for the alternative “I want to expand my perspective.” 

So, we invite you to engage with us here. What piqued your curiosity to dig deeper? What line inspired you to action? What idea made you ask, “Hmmm?” Let’s join with our community to wrestle with our thoughts in love in the Comment Section! See you there! 

If you hold fast to my teachings, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.   

-John 8

In today's culture, when we speak of truth, all too often, people respond with "what is truth?" This question is meant to avoid accountability or face uncomfortable situations. The same desire to avoid accountability and discomfort keeps us trapped in a place of hurt and brokenness.

Recently I watched the remake of the 1980's television show Fantasy Island (2020), where hurt and brokenness abound. The story follows a group of people who win a contest to visit an island where all of your fantasies come true. They soon discover that their dreams brought to life turn into horrific living nightmares they must try to survive.

On Fantasy Island, businesswoman Gwen Olsen (Maggie Q) realizes that she accidentally caused a fire in her apartment that resulted in the death of her neighbor, Nick Taylor (Evan Evagora). She recognized that fellow contest winner, Patrick Sullivan (Austin Stowell), as the police officer on the scene that horrific night, who refused to run into the burning building to save Nick. 

It turns out that another contestant, Melanie Cole (Lucy Hale), was supposed to have a date with Nick the night of the fire, but was stood up because he died. Melanie arranged Fantasy Island's entire event for revenge against the other contestants for contributing to Nick's death. 

While watching the movie, I realized that it was the character’s failure to forgive and hanging on to bitterness that ultimately led to Melanie's revenge. It reminded me of my own path to healing and forgiveness, understanding that I had to choose to forgive my abuser and move on. To move on, I had to forgive myself as well for my perceived role in my abuse.

Early in elementary school, I began being sexually molested by an older male relative. This abuse went on for a couple of years. At one point, my abuser even invited a teenage neighbor to join in, referring to the abuse as "our game."

I had no idea that I was being abused. "Our game," as he called it, felt good physically, so I participated. There were even times that I asked to play. It was this seemingly voluntary participation that would wrap me in self-destructive guilt and shame for the next thirty years. I remained in bondage until, through the help of a counselor, I finally accepted the fact that the abuse was not my fault. 

As a seven-year-old girl with no concept of sex, much less appropriate sexual boundaries, I was not responsible for what an older male coerced me into doing. I began the journey of forgiving myself for my abuse because I could finally tell the truth about what had happened for the first time in fifteen years of counseling. I told the counselor about asking to play "our game." That one decision, to shine the light on the entire truth of the situation, especially the darkest, most painful parts, allowed the shackles of shame and condemnation to be stripped away, beginning my journey towards freedom from the abuse.

This is only the beginning of my story, though. After the abuse began, this relative told me he would get in terrible trouble if anybody found out. So, as a loving child, I not only asked to play our game, but I was also tasked with protecting my abuser. The last thing I wanted was to be the cause of trouble and pain for him. The burden of this responsibility would keep me silent for years.

Having only told one other person in my life, I decided to share my abuse with my first husband in a moment when he shared long-held hurts from his childhood. My codependency wanted so badly to love him enough that he would be able to overcome his past hurts. So at that moment, I told him. 

Two years later, after having our son, and now pregnant with our daughter, I found myself in court disputing an unrelated matter. In the middle of my questioning, his attorney asked me, "Is it true you were sexually abused by (the male relative's name) as a child?"

At that moment on the stand, my deepest trust violated for no purpose other than to hurt me publicly, with my father sitting nearby, just as stunned at the question as I was; all I could think to do was deny and defend my abuser. I felt that it was my job to protect my abuser from the consequences of what he had done to me. I felt it was my job to protect my parents from the deep pain this knowledge would cause them. I had to take care of everybody but myself. After all, it was just as much my fault, right? I had asked to play the game.

After court, my father met me in the hall; with tears in his eyes, he asked, "Is that true? Were you molested by this relative?" Faced once again with the opportunity to utter the words that would begin my journey towards freedom, drowning in guilt, shame, and condemnation, I heard myself say, "Of course it's not true, Daddy. He's just trying to hurt me." At that point, my father told me to prepare this relative for what had been said. He said, "This testimony is now public record, and your relative will find out. He will not be able to handle this emotionally. You need to go prepare him." 

I dutifully went one-on-one, and told him what had been said. I saw the fear wash over his face, and tears fill his eyes. Without him having even responded, I said, "But we know it's a lie. We know that never happened. It's just something he made up to hurt me."

I had been sexually abused for approximately two years, offered up to a neighbor, protected my abuser, convinced myself it was my fault, pretended it didn't happen, pretended it didn't affect me. I had my trust violated in court, lied to my father to protect him and my abuser, and now I'd let my abuser entirely off the hook for any responsibility. I did all of this because I didn't want to acknowledge that it had happened at all. Much less, that it had any actual effect on me.

Years later, I found myself in a counselor's office again. After talking about my abuse for years, this day was the first time I told anybody that I had requested to play "our game," and thus, I shared culpability. My counselor then asked me this question: "If one of your pre-teen daughters came to you and told you somebody had been abusing them, then told you they had even asked to play the game, what would you say to them?" 

With tears streaming down my face at the thought, I said, "I would hold them and tell them it wasn't their fault. They are just little girls." And at that moment, I knew. I knew I had to hold my seven-year-old self and tell her it wasn't her fault. I had to forgive her for what she did unknowingly as a little girl. I had to love her the way I would one of my girls. I had to fight for her, defend her against the continued abuse- from the lies about what happened to who was responsible. I had to begin the journey of setting myself free by releasing my seven-year-old self from a burden that was never true, that was never hers to carry. I had forgiven my abuser years before, but I was finally able to forgive myself, the little girl. She was the very last one I needed to forgive. I was able to offer that forgiveness because I spoke the truth to myself and someone else.

In 2011 I met and married my husband. Before we were married, I told him about the abuse. Over the last nine years, he has walked with me, encouraged me to take steps I didn't want to take, and loved me through it all. He helped me talk through and type this article. It was the decision, to tell the truth, all of the truth, that began my journey towards freedom. I've had difficult conversations with my parents. I've had difficult conversations with my abuser, kids, friends, and anybody else I thought needed to hear. None of these conversations have ever happened out of a place of bitterness or a sense of vengeance. I have never sought to harm, but rather to speak the truth in love so that others know they do not have to live in shame and condemnation because the truth will set them free.

The journey towards freedom will not be comfortable, and often it will not be quick, but it will always be worth it. There will be people who don't want to hear the truth. There may be people who are not supportive, encouraging, or helpful. Do not let them deter you from sharing the truth in love. If only Melanie had this same self-discovery and freedom, the trip to Fantasy Island would have been much different for not only her but the others as well.

Step 5 from Celebrate Recovery says,

"We admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs." 

Admitting it to God is the easy part. Admitting it to ourselves and to someone we trust is more complicated.

I want to encourage you to face the thing you are most hurt by and afraid of. Do not let fear, shame, and condemnation dictate who you are, how you feel, and how you value yourself. You are so much more than your hurts, habits, and hang-ups. 

You were created to walk in freedom. Will you begin that journey today? Let me encourage you to expect something different. Be truthful with yourself, then find somebody who loves you, somebody you can truly trust, and begin your journey towards healing. 

RESOURCES:

https://store.newlife.com/p-189-healing-is-a-choice-revised-updated.aspx

https://www.boundariesbooks.com/products/changes-that-heal-four-practical-steps-to-a-happier-healthier-you

https://www.wetoo.org/

Resources

We’ve created a free downloadable PDF to explore the article deeper. It contains discussion questions about the topic in general terms that will give you a jumping-off point for beginning a conversation.

The second page contains a way to see the topic from a biblical perspective.

And finally, to go deeper into the subject, we have chosen a few curated resources to explore from other authors’ and thinkers’ research or perspectives.

Read. Engage. Enjoy!

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Depending on how a gem is held, light refracts differently. At B+PC we engage in Pop Culture topics to see ideas from a new angle, to bring us to a deeper understanding. And like Pastor Shane Willard notes, we want “…Jesus to get bigger, the cross to get clearer, the Resurrection to be central…” Instead of approaching a topic from “I don’t want to be wrong,“ we strive for the alternative “I want to expand my perspective.” 

So, we invite you to engage with us here. What piqued your curiosity to dig deeper? What line inspired you to action? What idea made you ask, “Hmmm?” Let’s join with our community to wrestle with our thoughts in love in the Comment Section! See you there! 

listen

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Mia: Hi, welcome to B+PC today. Today, my friend Stefanie and I, who is a pastor in Hawaii, will be talking about the movie Fatima (2020). She was watching Amazon Prime a couple of weeks ago and she came across this movie and just said, “There are some amazing things that we need to unpack in it.” So, welcome Stefanie, I’m excited to talk to you today.

Stefanie: I am so happy to be here, Mia. Thank you so much, this is awesome! 

Mia: Thank you, thank you! So, tell me a little bit about how you came across Fatima.

Stefanie: You know what, I think I was actually scrolling through my Instagram and you know how they have movie highlights in there. When I saw it, it captured me right away for a number of reasons. One, it was gonna be a religious movie and it was filmed beautifully, Another one was that the acting seemed like it was gonna be fantastic- and it’s just so rare that Christian movies have those components in them. Where the acting is good, the cinematography is good, the script writing is good- and that was just from the trailer. So I came home and I watched it and I I think there’s so many things that we can unpack from that movie.

Mia: Yeah, definitely. Stefanie mentioned it to me last week and I jumped on and watched it and kind of felt the same way she did. I kind of went into it very skeptical, skeptical of Christian movies,  unfortunately that’s my background, so I’m a little critical.  But also because I was raised Catholic I just kind of skeptical about the whole idea of miracles and that recently the children were canonized as saints by Pope Francis. Skeptical about how you could weave this into something for today, kind of skeptical about where they are going to go with this. Are they going to over emphasize certain elements…

Stefanie: I guess we should probably unpack what the movie’s about literally a little bit so people who haven’t seen it can understand it. Because not everybody knows about Fatima, right? I think like you said, it comes mostly people from a Catholic background would know it.

But essentially these three little Shepherd children have a vision. (Fatima story) And it said, the Virgin Mary actually appears to them, and she gives them very specific things. The first thing, an angel appears to one of them and teaches her how to pray and I was so intrigued by the prayer that she felt like she was given. Because it was a very simple prayer, she’s like, “You must pray and this is how you pray: My God I believe. My God I adore, I hope, and I love you.” 

And then the next part of it was for other people, is I beg pardon for those who do not believe. So, I looked it up just to make sure that really happened. Because in the movie they just showed,  “I believe. I have hope. And I love you.” And that was such a simple prayer- and I thought, wow! For me, let’s just start with that. Let’s just start with that simple prayer. If nothing else from the entire movie, can we just keep that idea of keeping our prayers that simple? “I believe you God, I adore you, I love you, and I have hope.” I think even in the midst of Covid and everything that we’re going, through, to actually say, “I believe, I have hope,” it's an important prayer for us to have right now. Do you know what I mean?

Mia: Definitely. And I think it’s so interesting that the children were 7, 8 and 10. They’re these young kids from Portugal, from Fatima, Portugal, and Christian children who just came from salt of the earth families. They said a messenger of peace, an Angel of Peace came to her. And then when the three were together, they were visited by the Virgin Mary and then just kind of the whole exploration. And I found it super interesting that it’s framed in you know you open with Lucia the oldest of the three children years later. I think it was in like 1989, as an older nun. And she had dedicated her life to the Lord and she’s visited by this writer, who’s like, I want to understand what this is about. I don’t believe it, but I want to hear your story. And so it's her telling her story years later. Even years later, never changing the story, and she never changed that simplicity of prayer, like you said. She said, this is just what happened to me. I don’t have the answers, I don’t know everything, but it's just what happened.

Stefanie: And that’s what makes it so credible, unbelievable, right? That she still, all these years later, she’s giving her entire life to the Lord. And there were three things the angel and later the Virgin- so I was different, the angel the beginning and then eventually the Blessed Virgin- and I don’t know if that’s because they were Catholic. Like, why did God choose to reveal himself in this way to them? Do you know what I mean? Those are the things that you think about, right? To these kids - did they just make it up or do we even believe in miracles anymore? Can we look at that and say this happened or it didn’t? This is her experience. And that’s where the guy’s trying to go, “Oh you were just kids. Did you want the attention? But what really impacted her and I think it gives credibility to how she ended up living her life was that she was given a vision of hell. And of people in hell. And changed how she, I mean in her little teeny life, how she prayed and how she interceded for other folks. 

And there were three, I think, three different -they called them secrets, that will reveal to the children, that only later came out and one of them was at the bishops and the popes were going to be martyred, that they were going to be killed. I researched it, just because that’s how I am. In World War II there were actually bishops that were murdered. There were a lot of clergy that were actually taken out in World War II. And the warning came during World War I for her. Yeah, like if this doesn’t change it’s only gonna get worse. And I think we can see the proof of that, even now, looking back at it from then til now. And see what’s happening. And I don’t know, I think all of us need that revelation of hell to get us to that place of willing to be on our knees.

I don’t know, did you mention this earlier when we were talking, the suffering part of what the children were told? 

Mia: Yeah, I think for me, that was the part I struggled with the most. Is, that you expect this interaction or connection with God, through Mary. I didn’t expect it to go the way of suffering. I really had to sit with that for a little bit and take it apart, why suffering? What is it that suffering does for us? It seems cruel, unfair, or unjust. But what actually happens in suffering? I think this movie is a great exploration. I don’t think the purpose of life is comfort. I don’t think the purpose of life is not feeling pain or avoidance of pain. Or getting to the next thing. I think there’s a beauty to suffering. I know there’s this idea out there of Transformational Suffering- don’t waste the suffering, let it transform you for the better. I don’t know, what are your thoughts? Did you wrestle with the fact that the very first thing they were told is that,  “You are going to suffer”?

Stefanie: You’re going to suffer. And I think, I mean Paul tells us that in the Book of Romans, right? That suffering produces something in us. That it actually produces perseverance- if we allow it to we will develop perseverance. It will deal with our character. And in the end it will leave us with hope. So I think our whole culture has sort of been programmed into not suffering. You shouldn’t suffer. You’re not meant to suffer. I think you and I have talked about this as parents- maybe we have protected our children so much because we didn’t want them to suffer. And it's actually in that very suffering, that things are produced in them that will actually help them later in life. We actually have kids that are so anxious, that are on all types of medications for their anxiety, for all the things that they’re dealing with. And when you look at- did they really suffer- like, was there any suffering? It reminds me of that scripture, if you run with the footmen, and they’ve wearied you, how are you going to keep up with the chariots? We’ve raised a generation that can’t even keep up with the footmen right now because they’re so overwhelmed with their anxiety and their unwillingness to feel pain or to suffer. I have regrets as a parent, I have to tell you. 

Mia: Someone told me once of this analogy. Don’t cut a butterfly out of its cocoon as it’s working through things, and breaking things off, as it's scraping things off their bodies, their limbs, their wings. And it actually said, if you help a butterfly out of its cocoon, it actually handicaps the butterfly. So I really thought that was a great analogy from nature of just allowing our children, or our friends- be in the suffering with them- like Job’s friends kind of were- though they weren’t the most helpful people in it.

Stefanie: But they were quiet for seven days. They didn’t say anything, so I’ll give them that. That they just sat with him for those seven days. I heard the most powerful, sorry, because we're suffering right now, but Leo Buscaglia, he was a writer. But he was giving away an award for the person who loved the most. And this four year old boy won it. What happened was, their next door neighbor lost his wife of fifty years and he was sobbing. And the little boy went and crawled up into the old man’s lap and sat with him. And later, when the mom asked, “What did you say to him?” He said, “I didn’t say anything, I just helped him cry.” I just thought, what a powerful picture of how to be with those that are suffering. Sometimes there’s nothing that we need to say, nothing that we have to do. But just like that little boy but that we would just sit with someone in the midst of their suffering. But I think, like I said, that as a momma we just try to keep our kids from suffering- and sometimes it's the very suffering that they need to do.

When we think of these kids from Fatima and their willingness to, I mean, they would crawl on their knees to get to the place where they saw...I mean that outward forcing yourself to suffer, I don’t know if that’s what God is really after. 

Mia: I mean, Mary even corrected her when she was putting that rope around herself in some type of self-flagellation kind of thing. She said, “Don’t do that anymore. That’s not what we’re doing here.” 

Stefanie: It’s not that kind of suffering. You can’t inflict it on yourself. It's just that suffering of the world and to get that picture of what that looks like and to give it to them. It turns out that the two younger ones, spoiler alert, ended up passing away young. She told them, “I’m coming back for you quickly. I’ll be back for you, but not for the other one.” Not for the older one.

Mia: Lucia. 

Stefanie: Yeah, Lucia was going to have to wait. 

Mia: For me, in life, there are two questions as a believer. Who is he? Is he your God, your Jesus? But the bigger question that I think we spend more of our time, after we make the decision for the first one, is, is he good? And suffering is an amazing opportunity, I know at least two times in my life, where I’ve had really traumatic experiences, I had to really wrestle with that. You know, is he good? Is he for me? Even when I don’t see it, or feel it, or taste it or smell it right now? You know, is he good? I love, love the scene where she’s talking to the author at the beginning, as an older woman. And she says, “My only regret, is that I didn’t do more.” Because she answered the question- God is good. In spite of everything that they went through as kids, I’m sure she was harassed for the rest of her life- people asking: Is this real? Did it really happen? I mean come on, is this really a lie? I mean, the church didn’t even believe her at the beginning. I think to me, that’s the biggest question out of suffering.  In spite of the trauma and the loss, in spite of that it feels like it's all falling apart, is he good? And hanging on to that- if you can answer yes. 

Stefanie: Yeah, no, that’s so good- so right on point. You know it is interesting that the church didn't believe the children. I think it's so fascinating, because the bishops or whoever they were, the upper echelons of the clergy were like,”Why’s he speaking to you children and not speaking to...why did she reveal herself to you and not to us who pray and are so pious?” And the kids were just like, “I don’t know!” I think it's just that purity of heart, when you seek God you will find him. And when you seek him with all of your heart- and he knew their hearts were looking for him- literally seeking after. I think that’s in the church even now. When people have miracles, how do we process someone who’s actually declared that we had a miracle? And we have modern day people who say they’ve had visions and they’ve had all these things. 

But how are we to process that and look at it and make sure that it's not crazy antics or shenanigans, but it's actually a true encounter? And what I think, when we actually look at this movie and see what these kids said, it came back to the simplicity of “I believe, I have hope, and I love you. And it wasn’t about becoming a celebrity or being famous, it was, “We saw hell and we don’t want anyone to go there.” It’s so much different than I’m going to be the next so and so, or I’m going to be the biggest influencer. No, these kids were like, “No, hell is real and its a place and we don’t want anyone to go there. So we need to pray.” I don't know, those were the things I was thinking about in terms of miracles today and how we see them. Or do we treat them lightly or do they even affect us at all? Because the clergy was absolutely ready to dismiss what happened with these kids. And we wouldn’t even have it today, I think if they had their way, they would have put them away and shut it down. They almost demanded that they recant everything they said. And the kids wouldn’t do it.

Mia: Yeah, and I think it goes back to almost the same conversation they had at the beginning of the movie- that writer asks, in a cynical way, he’s asking, “Well tell me this. Why is it these iterations, these miracles always happen in the same iconography of the culture that it occurs in?” He kind of calls them out- in yours it shows up as Mary. And the stigmata, who gets it wrong- where it shows up in their palm when we know that Jesus was crucified through the wrist? I think you’re right on. Can we hold space for- is God still working miracles, first of all? And then can we hold space to just appreciate the person’s interaction with God, and celebrate that with them?  

I was talking to another girlfriend, right before we met today. And that’s what she was saying. Isn’t that great that He is gracious to show up in the way that we could handle it? You know, if he showed up burning bush like with Moses. Yes, it was odd and it was out of the ordinary, but Moses could handle that. I don’t know that we could handle him in that iteration. Could it be- however it shows up- in a healing, a changed life, wherever we are. Then there’s the whole conversation of things that are happening in Africa, the Middle East, in China- the miracles that are happening there,  to them are commonplace. Where to Americans, “I need the logic, I need reasoning, show me the proof first.” Does it have to do, I don’t remember the little boy’s name, but they said, you have to believe- the one that experienced being able to walk again. Mary told the littlest girl to say, “When he believes, then he’ll get his healing.” And he did. Then they tried to reason away- “Well the doctors did say that he may eventually begin to walk again one day.” So, can we hold space for the fact that the little boy did walk again? 

Stefanie: Right? And don’t we do that? And don’t you wonder, Mia, how often we actually witness miracles, and we do that all the time, “Oh, he was going to walk anyway. Oh, that was going to happen anyway. Oh, it was because of the medicine.” And we reason away the power of God moving amongst us to the point that we’re so dull to it that we’re not even aware anymore. We don’t even see it any more. 

Mia: Yeah, definitely. And I think being academic and being very logical and reasonable that I am, there was a time that I had to choose. Am I going to celebrate what I don’t understand? Can I hold space for the mystery of God working- He’s God, I’m not. And would I be ok with that? I think I’ve personally gotten to a place where I would choose to celebrate it with you. I would choose to see God working- I choose it. I think that’s something we all have to work through. 

Stefanie: I love that though as a picture that we all have to choose. We’re going to choose how we’re going to go out through our day. Are we going to see God in everything? Are we going to trust Him with everything? Are we going to know that we aren’t going to trust our own understanding? But we’re going to trust Him. It's a choice everyday. Even this past year of COVID has been suffering- so many people have suffered. But when I look back on it, for me, in that suffering it built my faith, Mia. You know I didn’t want to go through it. If you had said, Stefanie, your second year in business everything is going to shut down, you’re going to be forced to shut down. I would have said, “No, I don’t want to do it. I don’t want to suffer.” But looking back on it, I’m so grateful for the suffering. Because through that, I saw the faithfulness of God. I’ve seen Him moving in ways I’ve never seen Him move before. And that trust has been so powerfully built. I know that’s bad for suffering, but you know what I mean, right? So I’m grateful for it. But I have to choose it, like you said- it just goes back to choosing to see His goodness in everything that we’re going through even when it seems hard to find anything that’s good. It’s like, “Where are you God? I know you’re doing something good, because good is who you are. I know you’re full of love- because love is who you are. And making sure that I choose it. I love that you said that.

Mia: Yeah. I think that at least for my journey the last couple of years, it's realizing that I have a choice. And I think in the movies, that’s what it all came down to for Lucia. She had to choose to keep telling the truth. I love that it wasn’t, like for the youngest little girl, faith came easy. She obviously had a gift of faith. But for Lucia, it was hard. She felt like she had denied, she wasn’t as strong as the youngest one, and she had to keep making that choice. And I feel like that’s one of my big takeaways from the movie: We fail, that’s ok, and He takes account for that, but we have to keep choosing. We have to keep choosing faith, we have to keep choosing love, we have to keep choosing that’s The Way. 

Stefanie: Yeah, that’s so good. I love that, that’s a great takeaway. And I’m excited that Christian movie-makers are making movies that have a spirit of excellence in them and that are done well. I think that in looking at this movie and then checking the facts, fact-check it, that I was really impressed that they stuck to the story- like it or not, here’s our presentation of it. And it did have some slow parts, even with Lucia when she’s older with the guy, there’s some slow moments in there that just kinda creeped by. But overall I think it's well worth watching and gleaning from. 

And I think there’s much to glean-things that we’ve talked about and I think there are more questions than that we were able to cover than in this short amount of time. I hope that people that are engaging with this will engage more and keep the conversation going. I’d love to hear what other people got from this as well because I think it sort of hits you where you are. For me, its in that place of prayer and intercession. And wow, it's going these three little kids could dedicate their lives to this, its just that simple intercession, that simple devotion, that simple prayer- then I can be doing a lot more of that than I’ve been doing lately. 

Mia: Yeah, that’s really, really good. So thank you so much Stef for taking your afternoon to break this down with us and share with our community what we gleaned from it. And like Stef said, we’d love to see in the comments what you got from it- if it’s totally different from ours or if you have questions and seeing where you’re being hit- share that with us. But thanks so much Stef, we really appreciate you.

Stefanie: It's an honor. So fun.

Mia: Yes, well, we look forward to seeing you next conversation! Thanks Stef!

Stefanie: Thanks Mia, have a great day!

Mia: You too!

Stefanie: Bye!

Resources

We’ve created a free downloadable PDF to explore the article deeper. It contains discussion questions about the topic in general terms that will give you a jumping-off point for beginning a conversation.

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And finally, to go deeper into the subject, we have chosen a few curated resources to explore from other authors’ and thinkers’ research or perspectives.

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WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Depending on how a gem is held, light refracts differently. At B+PC we engage in Pop Culture topics to see ideas from a new angle, to bring us to a deeper understanding. And like Pastor Shane Willard notes, we want “…Jesus to get bigger, the cross to get clearer, the Resurrection to be central…” Instead of approaching a topic from “I don’t want to be wrong,“ we strive for the alternative “I want to expand my perspective.” 

So, we invite you to engage with us here. What piqued your curiosity to dig deeper? What line inspired you to action? What idea made you ask, “Hmmm?” Let’s join with our community to wrestle with our thoughts in love in the Comment Section! See you there! 

Escaping the dreadful grasp of the Wizard, Elphaba and Glinda argue about the events that had transpired. Suddenly a voice filled with frightful vengeance echoes from above. It is none other than Madame Morribel, the Wizard's secretary. She confidently exclaims that Elphaba is wicked and has committed heinous crimes against Oz. She is to be captured to face the consequences. 

Glinda sweetly encourages Elphaba by telling her to be not fearful of the situation at hand. Elphaba, without hesitation, replies that she doesn't fear the circumstances or the Wizard, declaring that the Wizard is the one who should be in fear of her. 

Glinda tries to persuade her dear friend to speak with the Wizard. To apologize to him, rather than throwing away everything she wanted and tirelessly worked to obtain. Elphaba excitedly proclaims that she can no longer desire the life she wanted before, explaining the change within her. She acknowledges who she was and recognizes who she needs to be and that this version of her requires a leap of faith. 

The citizens of Oz break into Glinda and Elphaba's temporary haven, Elphaba takes that leap of faith by trying an impossible incantation: a levitation spell. As the citizens break through the threshold, Elphaba commands their attention to the sky, where she effortlessly defies gravity. Glinda wishes nothing but the best for her friend as Elphaba continues to rise and obtain her purpose.

Another War

There once was an ongoing argument between the Israelites and the Philistines-a feud was over which of them would rule. This argument eventually blossomed into an ongoing war with no end in sight. 

As a result of this never-ending war, the Philistines proposed a clever solution. A challenge to the Israelites: bring forth your strongest soldier to fight one on one with our greatest soldier: Goliath. 

The giant Goliath stood 6'0" to 9' 6"; a tower of muscle, resilience, and intimidation. The very sight of him induced such a crippling fear in the Israelite soldiers that they refused to engage in the deadly challenge. Goliath enjoyed mocking these soldiers, declaring them weak, cowardly. However, there was one heroic young man that would change the world forever. 

David, an eager, young shepherd boy delivered food into battle to his brothers for his father. His brothers just so happened to be a part of the militia that withstood Goliath’s consistent jeering. On that fateful day, David witnessed the mighty and all-powerful Goliath. He stood in awe of Goliath and the challenge that spewed mockingly from his lips. He thought with foolish confidence, “I can do it. I can defeat him and win this war.”

So, it was set in stone. David decided to take on this challenge not as an observer, but as Goliath's opponent. He sought out the king, Saul, for the blessing and approval to take on this monstrosity of a man. King Saul hesitantly gave his consent, wishing the brave shepherd boy good fortune. David, readied himself to defeat this obstacle known as Goliath, entering the fight with nothing but a couple of stones he had picked up along his journey, a slingshot, and the belief that he would indeed defeat Goliath. 

David did exactly what he had set out to do. He confidently walked up to Goliath and declared victory with this little stone and a slingshot. Can you imagine approaching this gigantic soldier with only a rock and a slingshot and having the confidence that you’re going to win? That confidence is what I believe we call faith.

What does that story from ages ago have to do with us? Who or what is Goliath to us and how we can defeat him? Goliath has become a modernized expression for the obstacles we face. Goliaths can be anything from a specific person or group of people to the opinions of others and society. You could even be your own Goliath. Goliaths are diverse in the journey of life and many will come and go as we grow into who we are meant to be. We view obstacles or Goliaths like something of a wicked nature. But perhaps they are the exact opposite. Could Goliaths be strategically placed in our lives to push us to discover, learn, and change?

Defying Gravity

‘Defying Gravity’ is an expression given life by the musical Wicked. Wicked is a different take on the childhood classic, The Wizard of Oz which follows the storylines of Elphaba Thropp, the Wicked Witch of the West, and Glinda (the Good Witch of the North) before Dorothy arrives in Oz. 

Elphaba sings this anthem of victory after discovering the harsh truths unfolding before her eyes. Truths such as the Great Wizard of Oz is a fraud, an evil one at that. That her dear friend, Doctor Dillamond not only faces ridicule from society but the demise from the Wizard of Oz and his vicious plans. She mourns the oppression and disappearance of the animals in Oz which just so happens to all lead back to the Wizard. When Elphaba makes these unpleasant discoveries, she flees. The Wizard’s secretary, Madame Morrible, announces that Elphaba is wicked, dangerous, and is to be arrested for her crimes against Oz.

Elphaba’s song is a homage and an oath to not only those who try to bring her down but to herself. She proclaims, 

“Nobody in all of Oz, no Wizard that there is or was, is ever gonna bring me down.”🎵

A personal proclamation that she will defy the gravity that society has tried to enforce upon her since she was young. She promises to defeat her Goliaths by becoming the most powerful witch in all of Oz, allowing herself to become who she was always meant to be. 

The musical takes issues that we are far too familiar with and provides a solution: Defy gravity even though there are those around us who are too afraid to do what we must.

“Something has changed within me. 

Something is not the same.

 I’m through with playing by the rules

 of someone else's game.”🎵

Defying gravity is the beautiful and rebellious act of rising above all of the odds set before us by the world around us. It is the very moment in which we decide that limitations cannot and will not exist alongside our namesake. It is when we recognize we don’t belong to these Goliaths that dauntingly stand before us. 

When Elphaba discovers that the Wizard is corrupt, she decides to rebel against the Wizard by rising up to fight for her fellow man. Elphaba decides to take on her Goliath. Like Elphaba, we must choose to rebel against the gravitational limits that the world has put on us to rise and meet our God-given purpose and to defeat our Goliaths. 

Colossians 2:8 tells us, 

See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.

Goliaths live for the opportunity to inform you of your identity, your worth, and the limitations of your capabilities. They thrive upon the constant reminder of how the physics of this world works. It is a tradition to attempt the snipping of our wings the minute we arrive in life. However, we do not come from a world of Goliaths. We are the creation of God, His artistry in which he has designed to take flight and soar. Through God, we have the strength to carry the stones, the slingshot, and the knowledge of who we are and how to deal with these Goliaths. 

“I’m through accepting limits, ‘cause someone says they’re so. 

Some things I cannot change, but ‘til I try, I’ll never know.”🎵

How many times have you been told that you could not do something and then you were given a reason that seemed absurd? How did that make you feel? Were you angry? Were you sad? How did you react to the moment? Did you listen to the person who tried to limit you? Did you obey gravity? Romans 12:2 notes, 

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

While the world delights in mocking and prides itself in giving us suggestions about who they assume we are, God has already told us and that he has plans for who He has called us to be. Goliaths may find peace in the indulgence of taunts, but you can find your victory in Jesus.

“Too long I’ve been afraid of, 

losing love I guess I’ve lost. 

Well, if that’s love,

it comes at much too high a cost! 

I’d sooner buy defying gravity. 

Kiss me goodbye, 

I’m defying gravity and you can’t pull me down.” 🎵

God designed each of our purposes, our very own unique set of gravity-defying wings, which we will use to better the world around us, and even ourselves. We were created to defy all odds laid out before us and to do so in the most astonishing way possible. Isaiah 40:31 says, 

But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength; they shall soar on wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not be faint.

God created us in His image, crafting every one of us to obtain the ability to fly. To show the world how all things are possible through Him. So stretch those indestructible wings, relentlessly reach towards Him, and watch your Goliaths panic from above because they now know who the victor truly is.

 “And if I’m flying solo, at least I’m flying free. 

To those who ground me take a message back from me. 

Tell them how I am defying gravity! 

I‘m flying high, defying gravity! 

And soon, I’ll match them in renown.”🎵

Goliaths and Defying Gravity

We are faced with a dilemma, how to defeat our Goliaths and defy gravity? 

It’s up to us. It is a question that I ask myself quite often. The most important, and most common part of successfully doing so is to have courage. Deuteronomy 31:6 says, 

Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.

Trust in this process of free-falling into who you are called to be. And never, under any circumstances, deprive yourself or others of the freedom that comes with such victory. As Elphaba proclaims in her battle cry, 

“Everyone deserves a chance to fly!”🎵

Resources

We’ve created a free downloadable PDF to explore the article deeper. It contains discussion questions about the topic in general terms that will give you a jumping-off point for beginning a conversation.

The second page contains a way to see the topic from a biblical perspective.

And finally, to go deeper into the subject, we have chosen a few curated resources to explore from other authors’ and thinkers’ research or perspectives.

Read. Engage. Enjoy!

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Depending on how a gem is held, light refracts differently. At B+PC we engage in Pop Culture topics to see ideas from a new angle, to bring us to a deeper understanding. And like Pastor Shane Willard notes, we want “…Jesus to get bigger, the cross to get clearer, the Resurrection to be central…” Instead of approaching a topic from “I don’t want to be wrong,“ we strive for the alternative “I want to expand my perspective.” 

So, we invite you to engage with us here. What piqued your curiosity to dig deeper? What line inspired you to action? What idea made you ask, “Hmmm?” Let’s join with our community to wrestle with our thoughts in love in the Comment Section! See you there! 

“Shijyu Hatcha Hyaku Nezumi”

When I first learned to dye with natural dyes, I was puzzled when people said things like…“This one is reddish-gray but that one is yellowish gray.” or “Look at this gorgeous hint of purple beneath the gray!” 

Reddish gray and yellowish gray? A hint of purple? 

Are you kidding me? Because all I’m seeing is just gray. 

One day, I came across an interesting Japanese term about colors: “Shijyu Hatcha Hyaku Nezumi” According to the color pallet of botanical dyers used in Japan during the Edo period (1603-1868), they were able to dye “Shijyu Hatcha Hyaku Nezumi” meaning “Forty-eight shades of brown and hundred shades of gray” all from plants. (It is said there were more colors in dyers’ journal, and the term simply meant “A lot of different browns and grays.” This crazy sense of color birthed out of playful people of Edo* and their high sense of fashion and creativity that looked for ways to enjoy life even when they were banned from wearing any bright colors. 

*a town centered around Edo Castle of Tokugawa Shogun, established in 1603 which later was renamed Tokyo

If they were able to identify that many browns and grays, why can’t I? 

I kept dying with plants, observing colors, immersing myself into the whole process, making sure I didn't miss any subtleness in the colors. I exposed myself to different shades of grays and browns over and over again, listening to how other people described colors.

Then I slowly began to see a hint of mysterious red in gray, or that playful yellow that suddenly shows itself under the gentle sunlight, or that enchanting purple that adds a whole another dimension to the color gray.  

It felt as if I entered a new world of color.

I felt proud of myself for finally “joining the club.”

But did I really? Was I making progress?

Then a strange thought suddenly hit me. 

As humanity, we may be progressing in many areas. Yet, when it comes to a sense of color, are we retrogressing unknowingly into being victims of labels, forgetting how to see the true colors beyond their names? 

When dyed with plants, the fabric absorbs different pigments from the dye pot, not only the main color. That’s why the naturally dyed fabric has such complexity and uniqueness in their colors. Yet today, where most of our daily wear is chemically dyed, we are used to clear and clean colors, becoming less sensitive to the complexity colors originally had. 

How I related to color was a monologue, nonexpanding, unchallenging, and it definitely needed to be upgraded.  

Learning to see more colors, learning to see more of us

Maybe dialoguing with colors from plant dyes is like learning about someone. 

Maybe, growing as a human being is like growing into a new set of color pallets or understanding the limits of each name colors have.

Just like a familiar color name helps me find a platform where dialogue can begin to unfold, I need a framework that helps me relate with someone in the first place. But of course, that’s just the beginning. I feel we are constantly pressured and challenged; What do you see beyond a person’s voice, gender, color, race, religion, political view, upbringing, social status, and all other labels that possibly exist?

I don’t lightly believe in things, but this, I believe: that we as the human race are given a capacity to relate with fellow human beings at a much deeper level. Deeper now than yesterday. Deeper tomorrow than today. Deeper a hundred years from now than ever.

We need to gather up 

our courage to be humble, 

strength to be challenged, 

sanity to doubt what we think we see,

so we may walk into a new dimension as relational beings.

To all the reddish, yellowish, and purplishness 

To all the greenish, blueish, and pinkishness 

That we have failed to see in ourselves and others, 

Forgive us for our clouded eyes

We welcome you back into the dialogue

We still have a long way to go

But we are learning

Learning to see more colors

Learning to see more of us.

Have you ever felt like your “color pallet” (meaning labels, a framework, or a world view) wasn’t quite catching up with what you were experiencing? 

When was the last time your way of interpreting or perceiving things were challenged? - - Did they fail you or caught your back? Did they bring you to a newer discovery or got in a way of your own growth?

Why is it sometimes hard to see beyond certain labels? Are there any that triggers a certain emotion in you? 

Resources

We’ve created a free downloadable PDF to explore the article deeper. It contains discussion questions about the topic in general terms that will give you a jumping-off point for beginning a conversation.

The second page contains a way to see the topic from a biblical perspective.

And finally, to go deeper into the subject, we have chosen a few curated resources to explore from other authors’ and thinkers’ research or perspectives.

Read. Engage. Enjoy!

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Depending on how a gem is held, light refracts differently. At B+PC we engage in Pop Culture topics to see ideas from a new angle, to bring us to a deeper understanding. And like Pastor Shane Willard notes, we want “…Jesus to get bigger, the cross to get clearer, the Resurrection to be central…” Instead of approaching a topic from “I don’t want to be wrong,“ we strive for the alternative “I want to expand my perspective.” 

So, we invite you to engage with us here. What piqued your curiosity to dig deeper? What line inspired you to action? What idea made you ask, “Hmmm?” Let’s join with our community to wrestle with our thoughts in love in the Comment Section! See you there! 

Enola spelled backwards spells alone,

laments our forsaken heroine from her remote home, Ferndell Hall, at the opening of this Victorian-era piece. The Netflix original, Enola Holmes (2020). The movie is based on the novel of the same name, which introduces Sherlock Holmes' untamed younger sister, Enola (Millie Bobby Brown).

The Holmes brothers, Mycroft (Sam Claflin) and Sherlock (Henry Cavill), descend on Ferndell Hall in search of their mother Eudoria (Helena Bonham Carter), who's suddenly gone missing. In their (mostly Enola's) search, Enola recalls her mother's instruction in self-sufficiency and caution that she is alone.

• "Privacy is the highest virtue and the one most violated."

• "Our future is up to us."

• "Paint your own picture Enola, don't be thrown off course by other people, especially men."

But is she?

Through the course of the story, Enola finds she cannot locate Eudoria alone. She encounters many helpers: Sherlock, Lord Tewkesbury, (Louis Partridge) Edith, (Susie Wokoma) even Eudoria herself (through her clues, training, and money). 

She receives some via negativa assistance from the likes of Lestrade, (Adeel Aktar) the Man in the Brown Bowler Hat (Burn Gorman), the Dressshop Owner, as well as Grandmother Tewkesbury (Frances de la Tour) either in the form of irony or lies. 

Enola fully believes throughout her journey; she's alone. She relies on her instincts, deductive abilities, and her mother's words to reinforce this belief. It brings to mind a proverb that warns,

Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.

A reminder that some of the things I trust in: my feelings, what appears to be, etc., aren't always trustworthy.

Do we put too much stock in our feelings?

Our Boy Dash

Enter Dash. One of the most profound sources of help, her imaginary dog, the pinecone on a leash, Dash.

Ah, Dash. The cute little pinecone turned friend makes only three brief appearances, short in duration but big on impact for Enola. He is a reminder of who she is. And the fact, what she has never been, isn't, nor ever will be-is alone.

His first appearance is at Sherlock's remembrance at Ferndell Hall, when he recalls the "pup's" existence and the very young Enola's affection for him. This reminder of who Enola was and the fact that Dash, along with her family, loved and fawned over her in her early years begins Enola's realization that she had a friend and, at one time, a loving family.

Later, at Miss Harrison's (Fiona Shaw) school, Sherlock leaves Dash on Enola's bed as a reminder of who she is. During the second act, Enola discovers that she is quite capable of caring for herself and utilizing the relationships and people around her not only to solve the mystery of Eudoria's disappearance but who's at the heart of the attempted murder of Lord Tewkesbury. She connects with clues (ergo people) and returns to her earlier observation,

 "Perhaps one shouldn't read too much into the alone idea."

Dash's final appearance isn't of Sherlock's doing but the now confident and friended Enola at her cryptic "meeting" with her brothers at the Royal Academy. Enola leaves Dash in a conspicuous place for Sherlock to find, revealing to him secretly that she has found hope and confidence for her future.

Dash is a physical reminder to Enola that she has never been and will never be alone. It reminds me of God's commitment to us in Isaiah 41:10, where he promises,

"Don't be afraid, for I am with you. Don't be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand."

I love that this promise, though said through the Prophet Isaiah, is in the first person. God is personally speaking to us that though things appear, feel, even smells of the fact that we are alone, we are not.

Sherlock says it best,

"It's always there, the truth. If you look for it."

Truth is concrete regardless of circumstance, how things appear, and our feelings. The truth is we're never alone.

Are we really alone?

And Enola's quip at the end of the movie can be something for our consideration,

"Now, I see being alone doesn't mean you have to be lonely."

Could the cause of our loneliness be our perception or disappointed expectations? Can we instead choose to find comfort in what is already around us in the seen and unseen? Can we choose gratitude and acknowledge those who see us- and that be enough? Only we can answer that.

Resources

We’ve created a free downloadable PDF to explore the article deeper. It contains discussion questions about the topic in general terms that will give you a jumping-off point for beginning a conversation.

The second page contains a way to see the topic from a biblical perspective.

And finally, to go deeper into the subject, we have chosen a few curated resources to explore from other authors’ and thinkers’ research or perspectives.

Read. Engage. Enjoy!

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Depending on how a gem is held, light refracts differently. At B+PC we engage in Pop Culture topics to see ideas from a new angle, to bring us to a deeper understanding. And like Pastor Shane Willard notes, we want “…Jesus to get bigger, the cross to get clearer, the Resurrection to be central…” Instead of approaching a topic from “I don’t want to be wrong,“ we strive for the alternative “I want to expand my perspective.” 

So, we invite you to engage with us here. What piqued your curiosity to dig deeper? What line inspired you to action? What idea made you ask, “Hmmm?” Let’s join with our community to wrestle with our thoughts in love in the Comment Section! See you there! 

A woman in sunglasses looks out at the dreary sky as the rain patters on the windshield and car window. She waits anxiously, half-hoping that there is nothing to be found, while also hoping that maybe there is. 

After what seems like an eternity, there's a sudden knock on the window. The door opens and her friend, a priest, joins her in the car. As he shakes the rain from his coat, he says, "They are alive, ma'am." 

Shock, disbelief. "You saw them?" "I did." A wave of sadness and shame washes over her, "How were they?" she asked quietly. 

Internally, her thoughts race: "How could they do this to them? What possible reason could they have hidden them away and made us believe that all this time, our cousins were dead?" The sadness then turns to anger. 

She flies to confront her mother, shouting: "It's wicked! It's heartless; it's cruel. It's entirely in keeping with the ruthlessness I myself have experienced in this family. If you're not first in line, if you're an individual character with individual needs, and God forbid, an irregular temperament. If you don't fit the perfect mold of silent, dutiful supplication, then you'll be spat out, or you'll be hidden away, or worse, declared dead! Darwin had nothing on you lot. Shame on all of you!" 

Recently I finally caught up on season four of The Crown from Netflix. If you haven't seen it, The Crown is a TV marathon-worthy historical drama series centered around Queen Elizabeth II's (Olivia Coleman) reign and events of England's Royal family. This season's setting spanned from the mid-seventies to mid-eighties, which means that the story mainly focuses on Prince Charles (Josh O’Connor) and Lady Diana Spenser's (Elizabeth Debicki) courtship and marriage. 

While many critics deemed the season not very interesting and the Royal family insisted on including a warning before the show that this series was, in fact, a dramatization, many of the moments included in this season (and the show in general) were historically accurate. I enjoyed the season because it gave me (while obviously dramatized and not a documentary) some insight into that time, what people- from all over the world loved about the real-life beloved Lady Di, and insight into some real-life issues like eating disorders, depression, family conflict, pride- that not only do everyday people face, but the Royal family has faced in their history.

One episode in particular that struck me from this season was Episode 7: "The Hereditary Principle." This episode from season four focuses on Princess Margaret (Helena Bonham Carter), one of my favorite characters. In the episode (recap), Princess Margaret grapples with depression for an indefinite time (presumably years) as she's aging; she reluctantly agrees to attend therapy. 

During one of her sessions, her therapist "lets slip" that members of the royal family have a history of mental impairment and suggests that maybe the depression is a hereditary affliction. Immediately, Margaret researches her cousins with cognitive impairment, Katherine and Nerissa Bowes-Lyon. Confirming that the two were, in fact, alive and confined to an asylum (many believed them to be dead), Margaret goes to Scotland to confront the Queen Mother (Marion Bailey). 

The Queen Mother confirms that she was aware of the sisters' circumstances and tries to explain away this act of cruelty, with excuses about "the abdication" and increased scrutiny on the "purity of the bloodline behind the Crown."

Katherine and Nerissa Bowes-Lyon were cousins to Queen Elizabeth & Princess Margaret, the daughters of John "Jock" Bowes-Lyon, the Queen Mother's elder brother. They were committed to the Earlswood Asylum in 1941-- Katherine (15) and Nerissa (22). Both were listed in Burke's Peerage as having died by 1961 when Nerissa actually died in 1986, and Katherine died in 2014. At the tremendous loss of the sisters and their family, much of this episode was historically accurate. The Bowes-Lyon sisters were "hidden away" in an institution for most of their lives. (Read more here).

Rather than using her cousin's treatment to attack her mother (which was similar to how her family has slighted her for being different) and resume her everyday life, one would hope that Princess Margaret would have educated herself further after uncovering this dark family secret. After making the family aware, she could have used some of her (limited) power and resources, her privilege, to build a platform to give her cousins and others that had disabilities a chance at a better life- one full of love and a sense of belonging.

Countless examples throughout history and Pop Culture show this type of ableism and "shame" brought upon those that have disabilities and the families of those with disabilities. Ableism is defined as: discrimination or prejudice against individuals with disabilities. 

This may include individuals with:

• physical and/or mental impairment or differences

• cognitive and/or sensory impairment or differences

• developmental, psychiatric, or intellectual impairment or differences

• chronic pain and/or illness

Individuals can be born with their disabilities and/or differences, or they can be obtained later in life. Disability is often conceived as a "loss of function," a "lack," or "abnormality," functioning from a deficit perspective and refers to the medical model of disability rather than an expression of ability. In some instances, this ableism goes even deeper into a discussion and/or belief of eugenics. We see this dangerous ideal of eugenics illustrated in so many different forms in Pop Culture, but just a few quick examples include:

1. The Harry Potter series, with the idea of "pure-blood" witches/wizards and "mudblood" a derogatory term used against witches/wizards of both magic and non-magic parentage.

2. Disney's Sky High, with the separation of the classes, labeled "Heroes," "Sidekicks," and Non-Supers, based upon their inherited-- or not, or acquired-- or not, superpowers.

3. Marvel's X-Men (based on Marvel comic books) with the idea that humans believe that the "mutants" (evolved, superpowered humans) are inherently evil, dangerous, and should not be allowed to function within society.

Ableism doesn't always appear so drastically as abandonment, abuse, outright discrimination, or eugenics, though. Sometimes, it sneaks upon us. In our word choice (using ableist language), preconceived notions, outdated terms or lines of thinking, being uneducated or just unaware, and even some common phrases that we have are harmful and ableist. 

Throughout Pop Culture, there are various harmful stereotypes of disabilities and innumerable instances of ableism that happen all around us. A recent example is an interview with singer/songwriter Sia, talking about her new film, Music, and her making ableist comments about autism that many people believed were dehumanizing.

While as a whole, society has made leaps of change (click here to see examples of progression in Down Syndrome and Human and Civil Rights in the United States) to make the world a kinder, more accessible place for everyone (some small, positive examples being: closed captioning options are more readily available on most sites and forms of streaming, accessibility options for food services and ordering services, more accessible technology, rising popularity in learning sign language, vast improvements in ADA laws, society as a whole being more generally accepting of those with disabilities) there still is a long way to go, as what we know and learn about disabilities expands every day.

Once we have been made aware of ableism, educated ourselves, and adjusted our way of thinking and/or speaking (working to eliminate ableist language or actions), what are the next steps? What does the Bible say about those with disabilities? What does the Bible say about how we should treat people with disabilities in the Church? How can we go beyond welcoming those with disabilities and those different from us into the Church and genuinely building relationships?

While many passages from the Bible could be taken as an "ableist stance," based solely on the word choice and language used, we can see the true meaning if we explore the context and dig deeper. According to the Bible, we already know that we should approach every person, no matter their differences, with love, as a creation made in the image of God. We should strive beyond only inclusion, instead, creating a place for any and everyone to belong- not only within our communities, our churches, our familiar circles but also in the (big C) Church: coming together to all function as the embodiment of Christ (as illustrated in 1 Corinthians 12:12-26). 

We all have our part to play, our piece of the whole that is the Body of Christ. Is it not our most important task, as followers of Christ, to 1) love God and 2) love people? Are we not called to just welcome people in, but to disciple, care about, and love them as we love ourselves? In Mark 12:30,31, Jesus said: 

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.

We are currently in a season where many people, especially those who have disabilities and differences, feel alone, alienated, isolated, and disconnected from those around them and the Church- because of their differences, a previous hurt from someone within their community/church, ableism, and now an inability to have a physical connection with those around us due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

If we are feeling alone or disconnected, reach out! Make those connections, even if it's not physically right now. Someone might be struggling just as we are that we don't know about. The most important thing we as the Church can do right now? Reach out, welcome everyone with open arms and hearts. Be kind and genuinely love each other, despite any differences we may have, whether it be physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, political... Is that not what we were called to do anyway?

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8)

Resources

We’ve created a free downloadable PDF to explore the article deeper. It contains discussion questions about the topic in general terms that will give you a jumping-off point for beginning a conversation.

The second page contains a way to see the topic from a biblical perspective.

And finally, to go deeper into the subject, we have chosen a few curated resources to explore from other authors’ and thinkers’ research or perspectives.

Read. Engage. Enjoy!

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Depending on how a gem is held, light refracts differently. At B+PC we engage in Pop Culture topics to see ideas from a new angle, to bring us to a deeper understanding. And like Pastor Shane Willard notes, we want “…Jesus to get bigger, the cross to get clearer, the Resurrection to be central…” Instead of approaching a topic from “I don’t want to be wrong,“ we strive for the alternative “I want to expand my perspective.” 

So, we invite you to engage with us here. What piqued your curiosity to dig deeper? What line inspired you to action? What idea made you ask, “Hmmm?” Let’s join with our community to wrestle with our thoughts in love in the Comment Section! See you there! 

Theme 1: Creed and mission (9:45)

Theme 2: Who is a “True Mandalorian?” (15:30)

Remaining faithful to one’s creed and convictions while having one’s mind opened. Bokatan, Boba Fett and Djarin coming from different worldviews. 

Theme 3: Conversion Theory & Din Djarin’s journey through the galaxy (43:34)

Mandalore-Related Star Wars TV Episodes (available on Disney Plus)

• While these are cartoons, these episodes provide additional background on Mandalorian history and culture, which provides a broader frame of context for how The Mandalorianpresents Din Djarin and his "Children of the Watch" collective.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Season 3, Episodes 12-14

• This 3-episode arc provides background on Mandalorian history and the darksaber. It illustrates the struggle between the pacifist "New Mandalorians" ruling coalition and the exiled, traditionalist "Death Watch" faction (which includes Bo-Katan Kryze, as the leader's right-hand).
  

Season 5, Episodes 14-16

• This 3-episode arc presents the Death Watch's overthrow of the pacifist "New Mandalorian" government, followed by Death Watch's fracturing when an outsider (Maul) wins command by combat, (following the ancient Mandalorian ways). Bo-Katan leads the dissident split.
  

Season 7, Episodes 9 and 10

• These 2 episodes show Bo-Katan's and the Republic's "liberation" of Mandalore, immediately prior to the events of Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005). As Emperor Palpatine "reorganizes" the Republic into the Empire, the Republic liberation immediately becomes Imperial occupation, which eventually leads to the "great purge" (mentioned in The Mandalorian).

Resources

We’ve created a free downloadable PDF to explore the article deeper. It contains discussion questions about the topic in general terms that will give you a jumping-off point for beginning a conversation.

The second page contains a way to see the topic from a biblical perspective.

And finally, to go deeper into the subject, we have chosen a few curated resources to explore from other authors’ and thinkers’ research or perspectives.

Read. Engage. Enjoy!

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Depending on how a gem is held, light refracts differently. At B+PC we engage in Pop Culture topics to see ideas from a new angle, to bring us to a deeper understanding. And like Pastor Shane Willard notes, we want “…Jesus to get bigger, the cross to get clearer, the Resurrection to be central…” Instead of approaching a topic from “I don’t want to be wrong,“ we strive for the alternative “I want to expand my perspective.” 

So, we invite you to engage with us here. What piqued your curiosity to dig deeper? What line inspired you to action? What idea made you ask, “Hmmm?” Let’s join with our community to wrestle with our thoughts in love in the Comment Section! See you there! 

Traditions can either be a harsh taskmaster, a warm, cozy place of remembrance, the essence of ''home,” or somewhere in between. Reviewing the stage play turned movie, Fiddler on the Roof (1971) is one example of the struggle to maintain and hold onto tradition, whether based on religion, family, culture, or community.

Our main character, Tevye (Chaim Topol), states, 

How do we keep our balance? Tradition!

In his, as in many situations, change and threats to one's traditions aren't chosen but thrust upon us. His story focuses on his three eldest daughters. Each one finding a husband in a manner alien to their Eastern European Jewish cultural norm.

Tzeitel (Rosalind Harris), the eldest, has her intended selected by her parents and a matchmaker to an older widower, the neighborhood butcher. She already secretly pledged herself to her childhood sweetheart, Motel (Leonard Frey). Unheard of!

Daughter 2, Hodel (Michele Marsh), falls for Perchick (Paul Michael Glaser), an activist student from Kiev. His grasp of Rabbinical Torah interpretation is questionable. Hodel runs away to marry him as he serves time in a Siberian gulag for political activism.

The youngest, Chava (Neva Small), meets and falls for a Russian Cossack, a non-Jew. She marries him and abandons her Jewish faith.

Father Tavya must choose whether he will bend to the winds of change or hold on to his traditional beliefs.

The overwhelming change of the Communist Revolution during the story (as well as history) results in the Jewish community's persecution in the Pogroms, ending in their eviction from Russia.

People of faith struggle daily with their response to change. Overwhelming societal and cultural change can come in like the proverbial frog in the kettle, or it can hit like a tidal wave.

Some things remain steadfast because the issues of faith are based on eternal truth. They are immutable and unchangeable, such as God's truth, His character, His Word, promises, and covenants.

Traditions, however, change day to day and minute by minute as they are man-made and adapt to culture and generations. For example, no two people groups celebrate Christmas (if at all) the same way; traditions differ from family to family.

The title, Fiddler on the Roof, is a description of humankind,

trying to scratch out a simple tune without breaking my neck.'

It is a search for happiness and satisfaction in balancing tradition and change. But when does it come time to change tradition? When it no longer serves those it is meant for.

Resources

We’ve created a free downloadable PDF to explore the article deeper. It contains discussion questions about the topic in general terms that will give you a jumping-off point for beginning a conversation.

The second page contains a way to see the topic from a biblical perspective.

And finally, to go deeper into the subject, we have chosen a few curated resources to explore from other authors’ and thinkers’ research or perspectives.

Read. Engage. Enjoy!

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Depending on how a gem is held, light refracts differently. At B+PC we engage in Pop Culture topics to see ideas from a new angle, to bring us to a deeper understanding. And like Pastor Shane Willard notes, we want “…Jesus to get bigger, the cross to get clearer, the Resurrection to be central…” Instead of approaching a topic from “I don’t want to be wrong,“ we strive for the alternative “I want to expand my perspective.” 

So, we invite you to engage with us here. What piqued your curiosity to dig deeper? What line inspired you to action? What idea made you ask, “Hmmm?” Let’s join with our community to wrestle with our thoughts in love in the Comment Section! See you there! 

Whether one ushers in Christmas with a man in a red suit or a baby in a manger, we find ourselves wrapped in the season celebrating traditions that we often do not know the origin of. Regardless, we immerse ourselves in the festivities with all its stress, commercialization, chaos, and activity-filled calendars. 

At times we can be a bit like Ebeneezer Scrooge; at other times, we are Tiny Tim. We are Grinch personified or little Cindy Lou. "God bless us, every one," as we navigate the season from Thanksgiving Eve to December 25, where we ultimately discover ourselves standing amidst the crumpled paper and simple, empty brown boxes. Even the youngest among us eventually sets them aside, disinterested in the imaginary play that often captured their attention for a longer period than the gifts found within.

The Festivities

The house quiets, and we remain in the aftermath of the scene, rarely giving the holiday another thought except to busy ourselves with removing the remaining rubbish. Funny how, even as I ponder the season of Christmas, I reduce something meant to be so meaningful to something so trivial. I understand how that happens, though…that feeling of nothingness, a poverty of spirit invading so many during a season that should be rich with family, with giving, with hope. That poverty lies in wait, just under the surface, holding tightly to hearts and minds everywhere. Is the commercialization to blame? Is it how the dynamics of our families change from year to year? Is it the race we enter to get everything done, to complete every task to perfection only to find ourselves wrapped in disappointment? Do the words, For unto us a child is born or Twas the night before Christmas, herald in the season? Is it all of these, or is it something else entirely different? The answers to those questions are as individual as the hearts contemplating them.

A juxtaposition to what lies within those hearts is the Christmas tree standing prominently in homes everywhere with its glittering bulbs, shining lights, and brightly wrapped packages adorning its skirt. That tree and all that it symbolizes comes from the traditions of an earlier, simpler time in the United States. Before that, it arose out of Roman celebrations having nothing to do with Christmas or the birth of Christ, eventually traveling to Germany and England before arriving on our shores to adorn our homes at Christmas.

Santa!

Then there is Santa Claus. From childhood stories to the media and advertising of the twentieth century, he arrives in his red suit, big belly, white beard, and a bag full of gifts transported on a sleigh equipped with bells and propelled through the air by flying reindeer. It seems that whether we have been good or bad, Santa arrives, nonetheless. He comes each year during the Christmas season, appearing from the folklore of old and differing cultural interpretations the world over. Few realize, or perhaps they have merely forgotten, the Santa Claus of today, the man born out of legends, was an authentic and real man who served God. 

Nicholas was born to wealthy parents, and though they died when he was young, they instilled in the boy a heart for God. His life exemplified the words of Jesus who said, 

 If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me. [1]

Doing precisely that, Nicholas used his significant inheritance to help those in need. Persecuted for his Christian beliefs, he was imprisoned and exiled. Undaunted, he remained faithful, always choosing Jesus over the world. It is not difficult to imagine that this Nicholas carried upon his back a bag bursting not only with the material gifts he chose to give to the poor, the helpless, the meek, and the suffering but also the fruit of the Spirit that is "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control" [2] he shared with the world.

The stories of Nicholas abound. In particular, one tells of three young women born into poverty who, with no prospects of marriage because their father could not provide a dowry, would be sold into slavery. It is said that because of Nicholas' kind and generous spirit, these women were saved from a life of misery and despair. [3] Having nothing to do with our bank accounts' size, the spirit of poverty touches us all. Misery and despair, be they internal or external, seem commonplace in our world today.  

I wonder how things might change both inside and outside of Christmas if we, like Nicholas, 

Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven….And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.[4] 

Would others discover Christmas as the season of hope, a celebration of God's gift to the world—a baby born in a stable to become His Son crucified, the resurrected Redeemer of the world—Jesus, the one who stands with us in the barren, meaningless spaces of our lives filling us "with an indescribable and glorious joy"? [5] 

works cited

1. Matthew 19:21 

2. Galatians 5:22-23

3. https://www.stnicholascenter.org/who-is-st-nicholas

4. Colossians 3:12-17

5. 1 Peter 1:8-9

Resources

We’ve created a free downloadable PDF to explore the article deeper. It contains discussion questions about the topic in general terms that will give you a jumping-off point for beginning a conversation.

The second page contains a way to see the topic from a biblical perspective.

And finally, to go deeper into the subject, we have chosen a few curated resources to explore from other authors’ and thinkers’ research or perspectives.

Read. Engage. Enjoy!

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Depending on how a gem is held, light refracts differently. At B+PC we engage in Pop Culture topics to see ideas from a new angle, to bring us to a deeper understanding. And like Pastor Shane Willard notes, we want “…Jesus to get bigger, the cross to get clearer, the Resurrection to be central…” Instead of approaching a topic from “I don’t want to be wrong,“ we strive for the alternative “I want to expand my perspective.” 

So, we invite you to engage with us here. What piqued your curiosity to dig deeper? What line inspired you to action? What idea made you ask, “Hmmm?” Let’s join with our community to wrestle with our thoughts in love in the Comment Section! See you there! 

listen here

transcript part 1

Mia:

Today on the B+PC Podcast, my guest is Kevin Lucas, entrepreneur, philanthropist, advocate and my friend and most importantly, fellow Tolkiendil. In the December edition we’re exploring all things memory and tradition. When talking with collaborators for the edition, Kevin and I connected (more like geeked out) over what Tolkien did for us as children- specifically the world that he created that gave us a sense of adventure, belonging, and escape during the darker days of our youth. Welcome Kevin.

Kevin:

Thank you Mia for having me. I’m super excited to be here today! 

Mia:

I'm glad you’re here too. I’m excited to meet a fellow person who loves Tolkien and his world as much as I do and I'm really looking forward to diving in and get the meat of memory and just the world he created and what it meant to us, especially as kids.

Kevin:

Yeah, absolutely! I always think it's so funny when you find people, and especially for me to find, kind of the...who likes Tolkein as much as I do. BecauseI know when I was a kid, and just obsessed with Tolkein and The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings at that time period there weren't a whole lot of girls who were interested in that as well. So getting to the to meet people who are so fascinated and interested is always so special, but even more so when it's a girl. So when it's the rarity that it's a woman.  

Mia:

Awesome! I'm glad to represent!  So let’s jump in. So, what was it that drew you to into Tolkien? What is it that draws you to it as a kid? What is it that you're still connecting with? 

Kevin:

You know, it's really is such a very, very special thing for me. We’ve had conversations about some of the challenges that we had as children. For me specifically, for about a year of my life I was very severely sexually abused on a daily basis at the daycare that I was attending before and after school. And what Tolkien was for me, my introduction to the amazing Mr. Tolkien, mine was The Hobbit. and I was so it was right after it was a new school after I had come to the kind of the completion and then being rescued from the abuse that I was going through I'd have multiple surgeries to fix things it was just really very challenging so is going to the school called The Orchard Center and Elementary School have this really amazing reading program. And so what it was it was called Roaring for Reading, because the mascot for the school was a lion. And if you read 500 minutes in a year at the end of the year they have a very special day where the people who accomplished that goal were invited to watch a movie, have pizza and ice cream for the day. So you got to leave the classroom in the morning, go watch this movie, have pizza and ice cream, and come back after lunch. Then you’d come back after lunch and finish watching the movie. And that movie was The Hobbit. Up until that time period, I don't think that I had really been exposed to any kind of the Fantasy World genre outside of He-Man and GI Joe and that stuff as a kid. The cartoons. But really, The Hobbit was the first, “This is so different. There's something so special and so unique about this!” And so for about two years in a row that I was attending this school that was the whole goal of the end of the year, was to get to watch The Hobbit.

Mia:

That’s so awesome! So you’re obviously a Gen Xer like I am, your age group is... We’ll be more talking about the books and the older movies as opposed to the Peter Jackson films.  

Kevin:

Correct.

Mia:

Ok, I feel like I need to orient our listeners to that. So watch out! Two Gen Xers in the house!

Let’s talk a little bit about what is it specifically, whether its thematically or the characters or just the story in general or the specific plot, what is it that draws you to The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit?

Kevin:

I really think the most important thing that stood out to me was the idea of unexpected heroes and unexpected mentors. Here you had Bilbo, who was this tiny little creature living his life, and not wanting anything abnormal to happen. And all of a sudden, is caught up in this giant adventure. And then as he's going through this adventure, becomes the primary hero. And something that was so significant within this subject or within this dynamic, was being a Gen Xer in that time period, the heroes were all big, giant, strapping manly men. If you look at the movies at the time, you have Conan and Chuck Norris, and you saw Arnold Schwarzenegger and all of these men were giant, massive, bodybuilding superheroes essentially. And really what was so fascinating and so different is that you have this little Hobbit helping to save the world. I really connected with that a lot because it helped me feel as if you didn't have to be this giant, massive superhero with these extraordinary strengths or powers to be able to have an impact.

And the older I get and every year I read the books and watch the movies and look at this more. And as I become more committed to my faith, the more I realize how that’s the most important part to being human. It's not removing the idea that we could be helpful and of service to people if we’re not a gazillionaire like Elon Musk, or if we're not some giant hulking, massive, manly man to come in and rescue the day. It was so different, is what really stood out to me.

Mia:

That’s awesome. It brings to mind Ecclesiastes 3:11, which I believe says, “He placed eternity in man's hearts.” I think that He place has that whole idea of a bigger story. And that you and I are a lot alike, and that is what attracted me to the story- being a part of something bigger than myself. And the escapism that provided for me in dark times of going through -there's another world that I can safely live through Bilbo or Frodo.

When we were talking the other day you had a really interesting thing to say biblically: What does that bring up to you? That whole idea of story, with some of the biblical stories that we were talking about.

Kevin:

I think from a from a story perspective all of us are living these really unique lives and I think so many people can get under this false idea that they don't have a story- that what they're doing doesn't really matter, that who they are in this life is not someone special, is not someone who's doing something special and none of that is true. And I believe that to be true. In my private practice work with thousands of people and I've listened to literally thousands of people's intimate stories and if you were to have them talk about their life it's like its own amazing novel. That you're getting to listen, to observe. But to them, they're caught under this yoke and this ideology that under the side that what they're doing is not important and what they’re doing is not special. So when I look at stories in the Bible, when I look at the stories and the escapism (the word that you used a little earlier) to find peace, to find security, to find safety in that alternate world into that alternate place, 

I think that's why story is so profoundly powerful and why we’re all so interested in it.  I don't think it's a coincidence that people tend to either be obsessed with athletics and watching football, four football games a week or watching these stories and these programs about a different world, a different planet, in a different place, or a different setting within the normality of being human in modern days. But the reality is that story- everybody has one and I wish more people could really tap into understanding how God is helping craft their story and if they were to just really dive full in their story is just as powerful as any other person’s on the planet.

Mia:

I like what we were talking about earlier, David and Ruth and some other people and what seemingly was an insignificant story actually had major Impact, not just on themselves but on the meta-narrative of the Bible and on history. Can you tell us about that a little bit?

Kevin:

Yeah, you know, something that so many people don’t understand is that the generational impacts that every person has on the planet. That you drop the pebble and it ripples and it creates endless ripples. And most of the time people are caught in the negative aspect of generational impact. So, for example, my family's claim to fame was that we have family members who were part of the Hole in the Wall Gang during the wild, wild, west- criminals. In fact, a lot of my family members struggled with addiction, and alcoholism and jail, so the generational story that keeps getting passed on is, “You’re going to be a criminal of some degree. You’re going to be controlled by alcoholism and addiction and poverty.” So a lot of people stay stuck in that, not realizing that generational dynamics and the impact- that they can choose what that’s going to be. That they can choose to continue to facilitate those negative patterns into their children or grandchildren and so on. Or if they wanted to become  a hero within their own world, their own story, And be a hero for their children, and if not their children, maybe it's someone else or who that needs to be. 

But really embracing the fact that I believe we’re here, one, to be of service to other people. Now how we can be of service is with the gifts and the talents that God has given us when we were conceived,  “He knew you in your mother's womb.” So many people are stuck in a place where they don't embrace their gifts, they wish they had somebody else's gifts, and then they stay stuck in that place and they pass on to their children through their example, these limited worlds that they're living in. They go to work, come home and watch football. They go to work, they come home and they watch Desperate Housewives of Atlanta or whatever it happens to be. And so a lot of people want to be the heroes in their own story, but I think their belief isn't there that they can and that's what I hope to help people with the most in all of my work. Really wanting people to realize that what you're doing, whether you think it's small or big, God has intended for it to be bigger than what you could ever imagine and that is going to be generational. That is going to have impacts down the road that you see I can't really fathom.  

Mia:

That’s great, that's really good. And I think I'll so you know watching Bilbo, and Frodo for that fact, when they start out on their journey they didn't start out to become a hero, they were just one part. I think Gandalf said something to the effect of: it's not the great in the big things that make the difference is just the small light one life moving forward. I love that.  

Speaking of that tribe, one of the conversations that you and I had was just a whole idea of the community of diversity that happens in the world of Tolkein. Can you speak to that whole idea? 

Kevin:

Yeah, that is one of the things that drew me in the most outside of realizing that unexpected individuals can be a hero, was this community of of different kinds of, now in the story you have different kinds of humans, dwarves, elves, hobbits, dragons, and orcs and all of these different things. But it was the necessity of the differences of those groups that allowed the characters, the protagonist, to be able to be successful. 

I mean everybody, as we were discussing,  they all had gifts and talents, and often people wish they maybe had another person’s gift or talent, when lo and behold the way that you make the biggest impact is with your gift. But pairing that and blending it beautifully with other people who can’t. Seeing that in storylines and watching what was happening with the dwarves at first-and here you had Gandalf I mean is this wizard and that was so mesmerizing to me first and foremost. This wizard who had the magic, not this tiny little creature who didn’t have the magic, and the person with the magic help position Bilbo to be able to use his gifts and talents paired with the dwarves and as me move through the story, right, them needing to be able to get help from the elves, them needing to be able to to get help from you know the Shapeshifter (Beorn) and all these different things. 

So how this impacted my faith and my spirituality was one of the things that really had me fully embrace God and Jesus was we were at a church one day and we were reading through Galatians (3:28) and Paul was talking about how church is supposed to be diverse. Up until that time period, I was still a little, I had a lot of pushback. My abuse happened in a supposedly household that was spiritual, christian-oriented, supposedly. So I had a lot of negative blockages and strongholds set up against religion and spirituality and so when we were reading through what Paul was talking about- how the church should be diverse, that honestly was the thing that probably pulled down the most amount of strongholds, because that was one of things I loved most about Tolkien. It was his ingenious way to show that without diversity we all can't accomplish our purpose, which is to be of service to other people. 

Mia:

That's really good. And I think what’s super interesting, even if you scale back from elves, dwarves, dragons, all those things within The Hobbit, just looking at the dwarves themselves, just how incredibly diverse. Just looking at Óin, Dwalin, Balin, and Kili and Fili...you’re looking at royalty, the next succession in line. Then you’ve got Dori, Ori, and Nori, combining three different tribes and as comic relief with Bilfur, Bofur, Bombur...I just think it's interesting how intricate he made the character and diverse they were, just within their own race. And what they brought to the story when they decide to revolt against Thorin at the Battle of the Five Armies, who choose what and who they remained loyal to and that carries over into Lord of the Rings when they get to the Mines of Moria and they see how Balin has been killed. I love that. I agree, the diversity is amazing. I’m glad that this was able to speak to you and show you the bigger picture of the Kingdom of God.

Kevin:

I think with what our nation is going through today I think that this point and this principle of diversity is even more necessary, right. So even though these books are about war, then others about space travel and these things coming into, like Flash Gordon, you had Tolkien staying in this Fantasy realm (genre). Fast forward to today, where we're living in a nation that’s so divided. And today we're trying to figure out who's going to be president right now, right. We have this idea, there's a perception of, we want diversity, but at the same time you have people who are being diverse, but not being accepted, And so now more than ever, we need to go back to school and we really need to be sitting and listening and observing the truth behind why diversity is a necessity for us to be as helpful and to develop as a thriving community as possible. Because, if we are all the same that ends up being a pretty limited place emotionally, physiologically, and spiritually. I think it is so important that we continue to help let people see that true diversity and embracing that really is how we help each other Rise to place is a function that we can't without. 

Mia:

I agree, I mean I feel like the Kingdom of God is... my grandfather had this little saying on his nightstand, “It's his only by embracing can we fly.” He was talking about angels, but it's talking about unity, appreciation for his diverse- people groups, talents, gifts, abilities. We see this in His kingdom come unity and we will never accomplish what the kingdom comes until there is an appreciation for it. He's writing this after his experience in World War I and it's part of his procesing his PTSD who he was he got from that experience and you can see it in his writing, it's like yes, they are diverse, unique races and individuals and we see that in the characters, they are so vastly different. But they get the Fellowship, they will never accomplish getting the ring to Mordor, unless they all work together. Even though they broke the Fellowship, it was still, how many times did Aragorn and the other Hobbits worry about Sam and Frodo even in their own journey, because they still felt part of the whole. Even though the Fellowship had split. 

Kevin:

And I think that’s some of the some of the emptiness that so many people are feeling right now, is that with social media, with these computers in our pockets, where we have the ability to correspond more frequently than any other time in all of recorded history, but people are feeling more disconnected than at any other time in history because they are not really coming together for fellowship. There’s the idea of “Hey, we’re watching something on Facebook together or coming into a room where we’re watching a movie, but everybody’s on their phone.” The enemy has been sly in facilitating this separation...There’s all these ways that they could be great tools, but... My mental health professional friends, my counselor, psychologist, psychiatrist, talk constantly about the level of depression skyrocketing because people feel so disconnected with the increased usage of social media. And your word that you used, so powerful, is that fellowship piece. And so, yes differences,yes we are all coming together and the truth around coming together through love, right, which is why I think I had a lot of pushback on coming to my relationship with Jesus. It was under the guise of control right and then as I studied you know the Dark Ages and you looked at what the church did for hundreds and hundreds of years, where if you didn't convert to X form of Christianity, they just strung you up in the courtyard. And so for me, how could that be fellowship? How could that be love?  So there was a lot of ways in which I think as we look at the theme, within the evil of what Tolkein was able to together, I think that delusion in the lies and the whispers of the enemy, that if if it doesn't go a certain way, then it's not going to be okay. And that's what this fellowship of hobbits, of humans, elves, and dwarves all coming together in their uniqueness but, for the truth of love is so important. 

Mia:

You know what really struck me when you were saying that, if you think about the different elves- the Woodland elves vs. the Rivendell elves vs. Mirkwood elves, it’s like the church in a way. I think about how Rivendell was on the edge; they were fighting; they were welcoming; it was the Welcome (Homely) House. But then you have where Legolas is from, his father, Thranduil, he was so closed off- “Lock the gates, we're going to kill, we’re going to do this…”  It's about power, it's about me and mine, it's about what I'm after, after the jewels that they have in the mountain, and I just was thinking about when you were talking about that, just such a good analogy for the church. And just different ways that Christians look at who we are and what our function is. Are we open and loving and helpful? And we're going to stay in Middle Earth and fight the fight or are we closing the gate, circling around, it's about ourselves and our small ‘k” kingdom that we’re developing? I just love that what you thought brought to mind, I wonder if Tolkein was intentional about that, if he saw that? Yeah, just a thought. 

Kevin:

It was a really great thought. 

Mia:

Another thought you brought up was the whole idea of generational battles and that continual fight between good and evil. Can you speak into where you’re seeing that in Lord of the Rings?

Kevin:

When it really stood out was in the movies, of Peter Jackson's version came forth and that they scroll back in time and it when Smegol that the story of how a Golem came into into play right, he goes fishing with his friend in the boat and then he finds this ring and the next thing you know you see this pattern of perversion, and this pattern of twistedness- but not like downright awful, terrible, scary. It was dripped in a little bit at a time a little bit of the time and it changed him and changed him. 

For me, as I have a very deep, deep interest in looking at people's patterns and where they're coming from generationally. And as we're gaining a better understanding about the brain what we’re learning about epigenetics, just a really quick example. There was a study where they took mice- they took the mom and the dad and they made them afraid of the scene of cherry. So as soon as they smelled the scent, they were terrified. This was passed on for fifteen generations. Here’s the crazy thing, the first offspring from the mom and the dad were never hurt or traumatized to be afraid of the scent of cherry. So just the mom and the dad had this traumatizing experience with the scent of cherry and for a minimum of 15 Generations  they just stopped the research because it just continued to go. And they had to stop someplace. So this ongoing generational pattern, we really have sin in our life, where does that really come from? Sometimes we can still struggle with the whole concept of humans- do we really have sin? Where does that really come from? And what is that in my own family? Looking at generation after generation after generation of alcoholics, addicts, and criminals? Like, holy cow or the age old saying of, “the poor stay poor while the rich get rich” we see these patterns. But what are they really? 

Well I know when I spend time with people who are addicts and struggling with finances they talk a certain way, they think a certain way. More importantly, they behave a certain way. People who have money, people who are more healthy, we can even just look at it for health and wellness. The person who's eating at McDonald's twice a day, five days a week, and their choices and then what they teach their children and grandchildren. Those things are not just passed down through physical examples but it's also in our DNA. But the beautiful part to this though, and then what science is showing us. There's a really amazing cellular biologist by the name of Dr. Bruce Lipton, he's one of the leading experts in this field, you can instantaneously change this as well at the genetic code at the DNA level. And what has to happen is that you have to change your behavior. You can change the cells in your body with your thoughts and that has to be built upon with your behavior. 

When I started reading The Lord of the Rings, realizing that it came after The Hobbit, looking at: here you have evil, still doing what evil’s trying to do, but so much of time it's the whispers and it's little lies, and it's little tweaks, and it's little perversions and it's little things here and there that build up to the grotesqueness of war that build up to the awful dynamics of a power and greed and all those things. But it is all little steps to get to that point. And I think Tolkien does such a great job of showing that these little steps and we often want to think that it's just some big bad guy that comes in but it's not it's all those little things that add up and build up. And that takes a person who could choose to make a choice to help other people or a better or an elf or whatever, but then makes a choice to be less helpful and to not be of service. And I think all of those happen with little decisions here and there. 

Mia:

I think a really good example of exactly what you're talking about is Théoden and Wormtongue. Like you said, it's the little whispers in his ear. In the movies, you physically see him change. Once Gandalf starts whispering the opposite to Théoden and he starts believing it. That’s so true and fascinating. And I think especially if you get into the whole idea of generational curses- what is a generational curse and what is the impact, and biblically it says 3-4 generations. It's interesting to see that the science is saying its long, its way longer. 

Kevin:

And really,  what their conclusion is right now, is that there's probably not a limitation to it. That it will just continue to be facilitated so the structure of the DNA strands and telomeres all those different things are governed by the thought processes. And those can be shifted, those can be shifted and changed but only if you don't change your thoughts. So then, if we look at a family, if my parents are alcoholics or any person, the family does certain things. Why do certain families who are lifelong football fans for three generations,I'm new to the South, so that is why this obsession with football is fascinating. But if that was the source of fun and enjoyment and community and fellowship ultimately- it it's it's easy to see why we do that and why we were willing to pay a college football coach 8 million dollars a year, because the culture is so obsessed with finding this Fellowship in a way that we can come together and support each other and support our team, and all of those same similar things is so profound. If we look at health and relationships and finances, all of those similar things apply. 

transcript Part 2

Mia:

Let’s return to that whole idea of the whispers of the enemy and believing a lie. Bigger than just that one situation with Wormtongue or Grima. Can you talk about where you’re seeing that also?

Kevin:

So, within the story, looking at Smeagol, where he starts to make that transition. First, Samwise is like “We can never trust him.” Then Frodo steps in and says, “What if? What if we can trust him? What if we can be kind to him? Maybe we can show him some compassion.” We can clearly see he’s suffering.  Frodo starts showing Smeagol (kindness) and in an instant we see a shift. There’s this thing that starts to happen where Smeagol starts to want to please, wanting to be of service. But then in a blink, it goes back the other way.  So there’s this generational dynamic that is so precarious- those whispers. In Peter Jackson’s version when we see him whipping back and forth in conversation with himself, we see he’s really struggling with both sides of the coin. And the emotion and depth behind that and he’s going both lines, both ways. 

We all go through that, right? We all go through time periods where making choices that are for my higher self, to be of service, to do what God has asked me to do. Or I can go the other way a little bit, I’m investing time and losing focus listening to those whispers of the devil, which are, “You’re not good enough, who are you to do this? Who are you to think you can be happy? Who are you to have a good relationship with your spouse? Who are you to have family members who love you?” When you look at all of these lies that you’re not good enough, strong enough, not wealthy enough...all of these things that are not true, and there’s not enough evidence. What I love is that outside people can see it. One of the things I’ve struggled with throughout my life, especially with the abuse, is some body image challenges. My abuser, in addition to all of the things he did physically, he would make fun of me in a variety of different ways. He would point out things about my body. I was six years old when this was happening. But turning into a teenager, even when I was most healthy, my most fit, and the best athlete I had ever been, in my mind I would look in the mirror and see a chubby, overweight, unhealthy person. And none of that was true. My friends would talk about how good I would be at something and I couldn't see it, I couldn't hear it. I was locked into the lies of the enemy. 

I look at the story of Bilbo in The Hobbit when he’s first leaving the house with the dwarves and it's raining and all of these different things. And the enemy is like, “Who are you…?” to all of these thoughts going on in his head. “You’re not good enough, you’re not strong enough. You can’t do what the dwarves can do. You can’t do what Gandalf can do, you don’t have the magic.” All of these things he’s doing to himself that  are thoughts from the enemy. And none of that was true because look at what they accomplished- what we accomplish. Because look at those whispers- they’re so consistent and so pervasive that its hard to get beyond them, it's hard to see a light through the darkness of what those are.

Mia:

I think what’s super instereing is that it’s Bilbo’s voice that is able to call Thorin back from the edge at the Battle of Five Armies and remind him, “You are a king and you are going to bring your people back.” And he (Thorin) was able to live into that before he died.

Kevin:

And this is where community is everything. One of my spiritual mentors said one time, that has really changed my life is, “We like to think that we’re all so great. But once I get over my ego and self righteousness, I realize I didn’t even make me. I wasn’t even good enough to make myself  here- we had to have two other people create the physiological material, we had to have God create our spirit to inhabit this physical experience.” And when he brings that up I realized that I’m not even that great, because I didn’t even make me. I think that’s such a powerful thing to realize that we need diversity of community to help us when we’re in a wobble, a word that I like to use for it. When I’m struggling with some negative thought processes, or I’m feeling disconnected from God...thank God for my angels and my earth angles, and my community and my fellowship. Because when I’m struggling personally, someone else can step in and say, “No, you’re actually doing a really great job with this. Or no, look at how many people you’re actually helping. Or, no, you don’t look like that.” We get so caught in this wobble and get this tunnel vision and all we’re hearing are the lies and whispers of the enemy. And that’s not true and we need the help  o be brought back up out of that darkness. 

Mia:

So true. That last thing we can talk about is Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey. It’s that whole process of starting from here and ending here- not only the plot that changes, the character changes, who you become because you don’t start out a hero. Can you talk about your favorite part of who’s taking the Hero’s Journey and what about their journey speaks to you? 

Kevin:

Yeah, within the world of Tolkien, if you really read the books and consistently read and you look at the similar storylines within the Bible we see these patterns repeated over and over. We have to discover our destiny- we want to think we know what we’re going to do. In today’s era we do a disservice to our children, we say, “Wouldn’t it be great to be this? And wouldn’t it be great to be that? “ So much of that comes from the fear of the parent needing the child to do well financially and wanting to be in a position where they’re not struggling. But I look at every person I know and every successful person emotionally, physically, psychologically, spiritually, none of them are doing what they thought they were going to be doing when they were children...I know someone who said at ten they were going to be a doctor or dentist, but that is not the bulk of us. We can get caught in the idea that what culture says is successful, healthy, happy, what we should be doing or not doing, but that Hero’s Journey requires us to have experiences we probably didn’t want to have.

And some of my non-believers say, “If God is responsible for the good things, then God is also responsible for the bad things. And if he’s responsible for winning a million dollars then he’s also responsible for you tripping over a stick and hitting your head and dying.” And so there are some interesting conversations that come with that, but in the Hero’s Journey, so many of our challenges come from dealing with other people who are lost in their whispers of the enemy. 

I believe we all have free will so when someone says that God made a bad thing happen, or this person did a bad thing to this other person, I believe a person can get lost and believe and do to other humans things they weren’t designed to do, because they’re lost and the enemy has a hold on them. I look at my own abuse as an example, and I don’t believe that God made that abuse happen. That individual chose with his free will to do things to me that were not helpful and of service. Without that experience my Hero's Journey would be completely different. I don’t want to say that I wouldn’t be helpful or that I wouldn't have wanted to help other people but there is no way that I would have had the passion or obsession and the true commitment that I do without having had that happen. Today my profession is that I own stem cell clinics all over the country and help people heal and regenerate and these amazing things. Did I know  that‘s how I was going to help people? Absolutely not. But I knew at six, the seed was planted for me to want to help other people. And I just didn’t know what that was going to be ,but things happened along the way that I couldn't imagine was going to...those are the things that shifted and became who I am today. 

Mia:

I agree, it's very much like the Hero’s Journey- having an inciting incident that pushes you off, you have all these challenges to challenge it, and then you have the Elixir of Life...you are a living example of the Hero’s Journey.

Kevin:

We don’t know what that’s going to be, right? Again, what I got off track with is and what I really wanted to hone in on is through the media we have this idea that I want to be the Arnold Schwartzenegger superhero. Or in today’s world, for the younger generation, is the Marvel comics, all the comic book heroes. But the delusion behind that thought is that you have to get bit by a radioactive spider or be warped into some weird sub-dimensional place or whatever...probably none of those things are going to happen. But what you can do as an individual, and probably my favorite story and I’ve not thought about it like this before, is the story of David.

We hear about these amazing people who were not probably thought to be powerful or helpful but  he said, let’s take it another step further. What about the day on the hill when Jesus or the disciples fed 5,000 people? And he said imagine if that little boy wasn’t there that day to give the bread from his lunch. Who would have thought that that little boy was a part of feeding 5,000 people? And he said, now, let’s take that one step further, for every person that thinks that unless they're pulling off an Elon Musk or Oprah or unless they’re doing these grand things you're not helpful, he said what if mom didn’t get up that day and bake the bread to put in that little boy’s lunch? So when you add all of the ripples and all of the ways that help people beyond, in ways we never imagined, she was the hero of that story that nobody ever talks about. She was the heroine of that story that no one ever talks about because she got up that morning and baked her son’s lunch. Who then took his lunch to the hill to listen to Jesus speak. And then they were able to share that bread. Every little thing we do, just like the whispers from the enemy, but the opposite end of the spectrum, is how God created an opportunity for us to rise to great heights- doing those little things that we don’t think are significant- are the deal breakers. 

Mia:

I think that’s amazing. And a great example of that is Biblo thinking his purpose in life is caring for his grandmother’s doilies, protecting her glory box. And think about Sam, he’s listening at the eaves, “I’m not dropping any eaves!” And he’s the one who actually destroys the Ring. And it's just insignificant to Sam, he is just carrying Frodo, when Frodo can’t.- to him it’s not significant. So it’s the little things, and it's the little things that add up to a significant thing. 

Which character speaks to you most in Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit?

Kevin:

You know to be honest, I really like Gandalf the most. The reason he’s my favorite is because he was consistently coming in and brought hope. He was the beacon and the light in so many situations that brought hope. Whether it was turning the trolls to stone or coming in with the horsemen after they got banished from their king who was perverted in his mindset about who was helping and who wasn’t. He wasn’t the main character, he had all this magic, we would think that he should be the one who should always be the one taking the role, the most important parts, but then when you think he's the one- he actually says, “I’ve got to go away now and you need to be accountable and responsible for living your purpose.“ His role never overshadowed anybody else and he bolstered and supported everyone’s strengths and then when he was needed he could come in and help. That wasn’t something I felt that I needed or had during those time periods as I was being abused every single day. The daycare provider wasn’t going to help me because she was distracted, disconnected and wasn’t paying attention. Not that my parents wouldn't have wanted to help me, but they didn’t know what was going on. The teachers didn’t know, so I felt like I was lost in this place of no one is really here to help me. So then, when I watched The Hobbit for the first time and saw that there are mentors out there who can do that and as I did meet my mentors throughout my life, it’s been very similar. They did come in to support me when I needed support but then let me know when I needed  to be accountable and go down my own path, my own journey. If more of us had those experiences from the get go, I think we would be fulfilling our spiritual destiny and roles so much more fully. 

Mia:

I agree. And that’s a good segue into mine, Éowyn. She was loyal to her king and saddened by what she saw. I’ve often beat myself up for always being a second in command and not thinking it's important. And sticking with things, and seeing the best and hoping for the best. And the fact that she was the one who brought down the Witch King (of Angmar) as a female in the series. They’re not just good looking ornaments on the side, but she was a warrior in her own right, It just kind of spoke to the warrior spirit that I have within myself. As a young woman and even now, in my 40s, that still really speaks to me. That I don’t have to be ultra feminist, woman power, I can be strong in my own, quiet way, and still have a major impact on building Kingdom. 

Kevin:

Major impact. And I love C.S. Lewis too- The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, was very influential as well. For me, the older I got, the last five years in particular, my studying, my obsession with my faith, I can look back at those stories now and I’ve even read some really great side pieces that talk about  the places of contention between Tolkein and Lewis. They were great friends up to a certain point and they discussed that, Lewis said, “I don't want to oversaturate my writings with Jesus’ teachings and with the church.” And Tolkein was like, “It's part of the process. You can’t separate those things.” And I think when you read The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings and watch them and compare them to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and the other stories from C.S. Lewis, you can see those differences. Some similarities but Tolkein, I feel there are times where you can just interchange the names in the Bible with some of the names in LOTR, it's so similar and we’re grateful for it. 

What brought this conversation up for you and I, after I became a believer and rewatched The Hobbit not too long after that- it struck me (and I get pretty emotional and can get teary eyed about this) God was there the whole time. And I didnt’ believe that, I didn’t know that because in my household it was pretty much, “we'll let you decide what you want to do with your faith.” And we didn’t really talk about God and one of those was there. I’m grateful that it wasn’t from a negative place, like “you have to be of this faith “ But when i look back and when I learned that J.R.R. Tolkein was devout in his faith and I started looking at the story and breaking the story down that God was talking to me then. Helping rescue me then even though it took me another thirty years to get there, before I was there all the way- there were so many other strongholds and blockages that I had to have softened and broken down before I got there all the way. It made sense why I was so obsessed with The Hobbit. It wasn’t just the storyline, it was because it was an example of God’s truth and His love through that story. And now I believe that. And whether I’m making that up in my own mind, or not I don't know but, all that matters is that’s what it is for me. It was powerful. And I think that’s why I wasn't attracted to Conan the Barbarian as the hero or those big macho men, as the superhero and the saviors of the day, I was just so obsessed with the characters in Tolkien’s world that he created because  it’s God’s Word. 

Mia:

I agree. I think that’s exactly how I felt. Thank you so much for your time today and just getting to geek out with me over Tolkein- Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.  We’ll definitely have to make time to watch them together and pick it apart even further- the nuanced things that aren’t the big picture and characters in the plot.

Kevin:

Yeah, I would love that. Thank you so much for having me. It really means alot that you  let me share  that experience. And I hope that what people can hopefully take from this is realizing that community is everything. Diversity is super important to help us see what we are, or are not doing. But most importantly it literally is the little things and we all have a choice to be able to focus on being of service to other people whether using our gifts and talents. And we have to be open to realize that it may not be the way that I fantasize about it in my head, maybe it's making my son’s lunch that day that is the superhero outcome of the day. The more I think we can fall in love with that and the most we stay connected to Christ and help other people when they’re in their wobbles and struggling. 

Mia:

I agree. Thank you so much Kevin. Have a great day!

Kevin:

You too. We’ll talk to you soon!

Resources

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WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Depending on how a gem is held, light refracts differently. At B+PC we engage in Pop Culture topics to see ideas from a new angle, to bring us to a deeper understanding. And like Pastor Shane Willard notes, we want “…Jesus to get bigger, the cross to get clearer, the Resurrection to be central…” Instead of approaching a topic from “I don’t want to be wrong,“ we strive for the alternative “I want to expand my perspective.” 

So, we invite you to engage with us here. What piqued your curiosity to dig deeper? What line inspired you to action? What idea made you ask, “Hmmm?” Let’s join with our community to wrestle with our thoughts in love in the Comment Section! See you there! 

Mia Burke, Ian Carmack, and Micah Carmack

LISTEN HERE

Transcript

Mia:

Welcome to Bible + Pop Culture’s December Edition where we’re talking about all things nostalgia and tradition. Tonight I'm meeting here talking with my two brothers, Ian and Micah, and tonight we’re going to talk as a set of siblings about A Christmas Story and the whole idea of nostalgia and why A Christmas Story. Why is that our family’s tradition and why is that what TBS has chosen to play every year and what people gravitate towards. So welcome, sit back, relax as we take apart A Christmas Story. 

First, let’s dive into that whole idea that we are nostalgic beings. Why is that? Why do you think that us as humans gravitate towards certain things? That we paint it a certain way, whether it was that or not.

Micah:

I think it grounds us to the things that are important to us, like family. It gives us reminders of what we value and can serve as a reason to continue our involvement with each other.

Mia:

I think that’s really true. Culturally, we all just live in different places. I mean back in the day you never went more than two miles from home and now everyone lives in my other states much less other countries. It is grounding.

Ian: 

Nostalgia itself I would say, what are we really nostalgic about? It's always generally about good things, things that make you feel good, things to make you so happy. You're not really nostalgic about bad things that happen in your life so I think it brings up good feelings for you. It brings up good memories of the past, like Micah said, with family. And usually what it gravitates around us is good memories that you had in the past with your family and it just makes people feel good.

Mia:

But I think that brings up the next point. Is memory even reliable? We create these nostalgic sentiments around a Christmas tree, or a decoration, or like in this case: a movie. Was it even good? Is our memory even reliable? And why do we choose to make things that maybe weren’t good, good? 

Micah:

It depends on what you mean by reliable. What is reliably doing? Because I think a lot of times we tend to feel nostalgic about certain things and we try to recapture lightning in a bottle when it comes to the things that we're nostalgic for because not necessarily we want to relive a memory but because we want to relive a feeling. And it's that feeling, the first time watching A Christmas Story, or the first time sitting around as a family this Christmas of that Christmas, you're trying to recapture a feeling that was there and it's not necessary all the time to do the same traditions, but we as human beings love memories. Because they don't necessarily have inherent meaning other than how they make us feel.

Mia:

Why is it that we picked these random things to hang on to as tradition. What makes the cut? And who is the keeper of tradition? In our own family tradition as we watch A Christmas Story. So why is it I wonder, that that made the cut, as what we continue to do for 25 years? 

Ian:

I think it's got a lot to do with the family structure of who they are. And we as kids, mostly of the 80s and 90s, and technology. It was a movie. It was a movie we got to sit down and watch anytime we wanted to during the Christmas holidays. It being a good movie helped for us that we thought it was a good movie and it was funny. We just did it over and over again and it brings back those good feelings of sitting around getting to watch a movie, late at night when you probably would have normally been in bed by then- at that hour. And just to me I guess it's just the fact we got to watch TV, basically.

Micah:

It has broader appeal. There's been tons of movies that we sat around and watched as a family andI think this one stuck, because for us (the children of the family) at the time it was creating nostalgia. For people like our mom, it was reflecting on nostalgia. And so, there’s this broader appeal being set at the time that it was, the forties or whatever, and I think it has a kind of more mass appeal because it does more for more people. You sat down to watch Jingle All the Way and very niche movie that's only going to appeal to very few people who were the right age to see it at the right time, but this one I think the way it was structured and it a comes across as classic in terms of what the subject matter, what it deals with its, its innocence and I think it just has a broader appeal that is kind of more timeless.

Ian:

It didn't alienate anybody. I guess it's kind of what you're saying too. It didn't alienate, like you said, Jingle All the Way, I think that movie was about going out and getting more specific robot toy or something. 45 year olds at the time aren’t going to relate to that, but like you said everybody can relate to the story that A Christmas Story portrays..

Micah:

And everybody has a family, whereas certain movies you know they don't always have situations and characters that you can relate to. But I think in this in this sense, whether you had a family like Ralphie's family, or whether you just wanted a family like Ralphie's family because it just had this appeal to it like this you wanted to live in this world at least for an hour 45 minutes or however long the movie is.

Ian:

Well, the situation of the movie too was also who didn't dream about one thing they wanted for Christmas and wanted to go tell Santa what they wanted and wanted to tell their moms and they want to have their mom say back, “What? That's great!”  That you didn't have that fear of telling their parents, “Well I want this toy.” And they're like, “No you can't have that, it's a little too dangerous” or whatever it may be. It’s too old for you. I think everybody can relate to the certain situations that were in that movie.

Mia:

And who didn’t have the Bumpus hound situation at least once in their life? 

Basically the gist of the movie is Ralphie remembering his childhood. And the question, tying this back to memory is, Ralphie looking back at his childhood. Is he reliable? Is it truthful or is it nostalgia? And I think it's fun to look back at that.  Let’s talk a little bit about that scene, the opening where he’s looking through the toy store window, and he's just looking at all these beautiful things that are available this year and we kind of talked a little bit about in our own experience getting the JC Penney's catalog and doing the same thing. Making our wish-list and what we are going to ask for. Can you talk a little bit about what that brings to each of us individuals?

Ian:

It's a good question too- do you really remember going into the toy store in the mall when we were kids and looking around and saying, “Wow this they've decked this place out this is the most amazing display of toys ever seen in my life?” But if you were able to time travel and go back there as an adult, it's just a bunch of cardboard painted red and green. It's not that magical, it's just a store. But when you're eight years old, seven years old going in that same story like, “Wow, this place is amazing I can't believe they did this just for Christmas!” And I kind of see your point about how we might have blown things up in our mind when we’re a certain age as compared to where we are today as adults. 

Micah:

Yeah, eight year olds don't really distinguish between the magic of Christmas and the over-commercialization of capitalism, and trying to sell as many things as possible. They don't distinguish that because they live in a world that's more innocent and looking through the window of a toy store means possibility. It means there's mystery, there's all these thoughts about what am I going to get for Christmas…

Mia:

Anticipation…Do you have any memories from our childhood of anticipating Christmas …

Ian:

Not in the same thread of thought that we were just talking about. I remember an antidote of when we were younger, I might have been six or seven years old maybe even five, just how enormous I thought our Christmas tree was and how shiny and every night I used to lay underneath it before the presents got put under and looked straight up through it. And thought it would stretch to the stars, that it would just seem so big. But you get the same size Christmas tree now and you're like, “Well, it could be bigger.”  Just in that same line of thought you blow things out of proportion, in a good way, I mean I guess looking back on it it's a good thing that you made everything so magical in your life at that age. When you're older your kind of just, it just kind of levels out.

Micah:

Yeah I agree. I try really hard to think about the gifts I had received waking up Christmas morning every year and I and I honestly I come up short. I don't know- there's a handful of gifts that I can remember getting. Being so stoked, but everything else just kind of faded away, but what I do remember that carries on till today, is the appreciation for the simple things. Like Ian said, you know just looking up at a tall Christmas tree. Like I remember our grandparents used to have bubble lights and I used to sit under the tree and stare at the bubble lights for hours and that has continued into my adulthood where I've created this obsession over I have to have my bubble be the first thing that comes out on Christmas, and it's just to me like it's so simple and so I don't know like there's there's so much meaning for me personally wrapped up in this string of lights with a little bit of liquid in a tube. But for some reason, all of the good feelings that I have about what is Christmas and what is family it wrapped up in these these small little things that I can then take every year and take out of a Rubbermaid bin and put up and immediately be transported back to a time when I initially got that feeling for the first time. 

Ian:

Would it be fair to say that you would remember, let's go with the gifts and maybe even some more elaborate memories, would you remember more the gifts and things you got at a very young age as opposed to your teenage years? Do you think you have a better record collection of like things you've gotten for Christmas in your younger years because it was for all intensive purposes of it’s newer it was more exciting it was grandiose when you're five, six, secen, eight, nine years old?

Micah:

100%

Ian:

And eleven, twelve, thirteen, it's not as it's not as cool, as you still get cool stuff, but it's not as cool because you didn't go through that for about ten years already.

Micah:

Yeah.

Mia:

And  that it’s socks and toiletries at that age as opposed to a bike.

Micah:

Yeah, I completely 100% agree with that, because I was a cynical butt head when I was a teenager and I wanted to sleep in and that the magic of Christmas had worn off because I was only a few years removed, not believing in Santa anymore. It's like there was something lost, I think you're right, there's that magic I think you hold on to those memories a little bit tighter. And so as I got older and had my own family and created my own magic the memories got stronger again.

Ian:

Right, but those memories are directed in a new direction, not for yourself they’re for the memories you’re creating with your new family.

Micah:

Right.

Mia:

And I think it's even interesting if you're looking at the cinematography of the movie. It's played up, it's soft-focus, it's low stakes for the protagonist, it's all those things that was. Or like we had talked about earlier, I think Ian, you pointed out, it's like a conglomeration of what is Christmas all wrapped up in one situation with Ralphie with the Red Ryder BB gun in the movie. I love that. 

So let’s talk a little bit about trying to get more into the specifics of the movie. What do you see in Ralphie where he's doing that exact thing, he's looking back on his life, looking back at this one specific incident with the Red Ryder BB gun that he romanticized comedically, romanticized his childhood, romanticized the whole idea of Christmas. Does anything stand out to you particularly?

Ian:

In the very opening shot, when he’s looking into the store window and he sees this amazing, elaborate set of toys in this window. Realistically, did it look like that or do they make it look like that for the movie because he's remembering it so fondly? Or when he when he was fantasizing about having the gun at the breakfast table and he would shoot Black Bart and all his little minions that's something he held on to it because he's romanticizing it, fantasizing, and justifying his reason for having the gun, the BB gun, to begin with. So yeah, I think it would be kind of fun, if it was a true story, to ask the guy, “Did the store window really look like that or you think it was your memory of that it made it feel so grandiose and magical?”

Micah:

And throughout the movie I think it's interesting that there's a through-line between why he wants this specific toy, this BB gun, and in later scenes it shows him some daydreaming about becoming a hero and throughout the rest of the movie he know he's put up at odds with the school bully and eventually he's overcome with this anger. So he lashes out at the bully and I think, kids tend to gravitate towards playthings that have to do more with what they're wanting out of life at that moment. If you're a sporty kid, you're probably going to ask for a football. But Ralphie felt fairly powerless, he had to take care of his little whiny brother, and had the school bullies to contend with. So he's going to daydream about defeating Black Bart with his trusty Red Ryder BB gun.

For me, now that I think about it, I’m sure plenty of toys that I asked for growing up had everything to do with where I was in life. I remember my Teddy Ruxpin. He played little tapes and told me little stories. That might be directly influenced by the fact that we grew up in a single parent household. I needed a companion around, like a buddy. In the same way with my 2XL robot, like they performed the same function.  

I think there's nostalgia with the things that you ask for as a kid that you don't even realize means so much.

Mia:

I just think it's interesting that all three of us- Ian, you were more like the video games, Micah you too. And me roleplaying with dolls and all three of us are really into story and into human nature- finding why people do what they do. And how we can do that in our lives creatively. That’s a connection I never really made. 

What’s really interesting about Ralphie’s memory is looking at the other characters.  Everybody else is totally over exaggerated. The mom, the dad, the little brother, even Schwartz, and his smark-alkenes, Does anyone want to talk about some of the other characters and maybe why they may be so extreme, which endears them to us, but they are extreme characters. 

Micah:

I always appreciated Ralphie’s dad. What makes me laugh the most is what you hear in the movie is definitely not cursing. But you know for a fact that what is happening and in real life he’s cursing up a storm, it's this hilarious “Razza, frazza, rigga ragga…” 

Ian:

Yosemite Sam

Micah:

Yosemite Sammin’ it up, it always makes me laugh because he’s endearing, for the most part, over it. When it comes to what’s going on with the kids, whatever, I’m just going to be here reading my paper. But at the same time, he’s so genuine in his affection for his family. So I like him as a character the most. 

Ian:

Same, same here. When he’s opening the Fragile Box. He’s so excited, probably more excited than he should have been- throwing the hay out.

Mia

It’s a major award!

Ian:

It’s a major award!  Do you know what this is! Its’a leg...this is a lamp! You’re right, those things are probably very overly dramaticized, but it works for the movie. It makes you like the characters. I’m with Micah, I think the dad is one of my favorite characters in the movie.

Mia:

He’s mine too. And I think even interesting when we’re talking about that whole idea of making him the hero, he made his dad the hero. He fought the dragon in the basement with the furnace, his dream was to be in the pit at the Indianapolis 500 when he changed the tires and he timed it. And then the whole fighting off the Bumpus hounds with the turkey.

Ian:

He also saved the day. Ralphie was so distraught, so disappointed that he didn’t get the gun he asked for. Then all the sudden dad says, “Hey, what’s that over there?” And I wonder if in the back of the real Ralphie’s mind, “Ok, Dad put something over there.That wasn’t from Santa.” Dad turned out to be the hero of the movie all along.

Mia:

Isn’t that interesting? I know I’ve had a lot of conversations in my own life, that I truly feel you become an adult when you can forgive your parents for all their shortcomings and just start to look at memory from a new perspective: that they just did the best they could.  They just were who they were and I can appreciate them, faults and all. So I love that obviously Jean Shephard, the author of A Christmas Story, got to that point where he could not look at himself as a victim, but actually enjoy being a goofy kid with totally dysfunctional or goofy parents just plodding along. Being total normal people of their time with their flaws.

Micah:

There was no malice in Ralphie’s perspective towards his mom for making him eat the bar of soap. Of course that was what I was going to get, because I said something I shouldn’t have said. But I like the retrospective of looking back at a time period, from an adult’s perspective. Because if you would have asked Ralphie, or any one of us growing up at the time, oh yeah, my mom is the worst person on the planet- she stuck a bar of soap in my mouth. I'm going to run away from home. We can we can look back at that in our thirties and forties and laugh because we realize how dumb we were as kids. That's what I think I appreciate about the nostalgic nature of this movie is that for Ralphie he may think that the stakes are so high, but we all know better as adults watching this movie. 

Ian:

Yea. I’ll just add on to your point there too, they did a good job with balance in that aspect too. Because yes, his mom caught him doing something bad and she put a bar soap in his mouth, but she also didn't tell the dad great detail about the fight he had with Scott Farkus. There was a level of okay, Mom did this, but she also did this. She was this person and this person. He didn’t just let it hang as “Mom put bar soap in my mouth and I can't stand that.” 

Micah:

Yeah, and I love how dad got away with not having to do any sort of punishment himself.

Ian:

Right, right!

Micah:

Just let mom know so she could just dole it out. 

Mia:

And she could just dangle it over the kids, “When your dad gets home!” Knowing he never was going to do anything.

Looking in your memories, what's your best Christmas memory? If you were looking back on your own life?

Ian:

I would say, I think we talked about this before, but at a very young age, probably seven, six or something like eight, maybe eight. Anyway, it was a big Star Wars Christmas. I got the big Millennium Falcon ship and a bunch of little guys and I even got some, I think, some Transformers that year to talk about a completely 80s kid. That's where it's at- Star Wars toys of Transformers. But yeah that one was good and that was close, it's hard to remember, but it was close to that time period where I was talking about how I can't believe how big of a tree we have and all the tinsel and everything. And everything was sparkly, all magical and we didn't live in the coldest climates, we don't, South Mississippi. But it didn't matter if it was 75 degrees outside, it still felt like Christmas, it almost to you would feel colder that more than waking up even though it wasn't. And that could just be the memory thing you were talking about- is it good or is it bad? Is it right or wrong? I don't know if it was right or wrong, but it felt to me like it was definitely ten degrees cooler those Christmas mornings and they all have been, in our part of the country. So yeah, that was probably one of the best ones as far as toy-wise, I'm sure they were better ones I can think of as far as family involvement and things like that. But yeah, from a childhood perspective that was probably the best one I had.

Mia:

I like when we were talking earlier in that scene when the kids are coming down the stairs. It's everything that Christmas was supposed to be. We kind of meld these memories together like you said, you can't really distinguish what Christmas that was, when you look back at your childhood Christmas that's what you think about. It's just a melding of that's what because it was what it was supposed to be.

Do you have a scene that is really endearing to you or a favorite scene in A Christmas Story?

Ian:

I think the one Micah was describing when you come down the stairs and you see the glorious tree, and the truck full of presents underneath and the kids are so excited and the parents are like, “Okay, let's just sit down and let them do their thing and ravage and then we'll get started as a family.” I think that really hit all of the good marks for me. 

Mia:

How about you Micah?

Micah:

That scene in particular, there’s something about the old school decoration and the giant lightbulbs does it for me, it hits all of the good marks for me. I also really like the scene in the mall where it starts off with the Wizard of Oz characters and then Ralph standing in line to see Santa. That huge set with a giant slide, a Santa side with Santa mountain and he's standing at the top. I’ve never seen that in real life, but I always wanted an experience it like that. But I really appreciated that scene because I could feel the impatience that Ralphie he was experiencing standing in that line, having to talk to this weird kid…

Ian:

He was on a time crunch.

Mia:

“I like the Wizard of Oz”

Ian:

The mall was closing.

Mia:

That weird kid- “I like the Wizard of Oz.” Get away from me kid, I’m thinkin’.

Micah:

And the Witch comes by and Ralphie, “Hey, don't bother me.”

Ian:
“I’m thinkin’.”

Also, Micah brought up a good point the last time we talked too, as a kid we like the presents of it all, the big shiny trees and the old school decorations, but Micah brought up a good point last time we talked, that as an adult I think one of my favorite scenes the movie as well as Micah, said was when they're at the end of the movie and they're sitting in the dark enjoying a glass of wine after the kids have gone to bed, and all that kind of thing. I think that speaks to me as an adult now having my own kid and going through those types of Christmases. Yeah that one too.

Mia:

I think that’s beautiful because as a parent, as an adult, you're just imprinting that memory on and it makes it all worth it. It's like, “this is what it's about.” it's not the presents, not the stuff, imprinting that you know your kids aren’t always going to be that age, or your family's not always going to be here and just wanting to hold on to that. 

Micah:

I've had just as many good Christmas Eve's as I've had Christmas mornings. I think that's equally as important when it comes to creating memories that you can hold on to for a lifetime. Me and Ian have had a number of Christmas Eves as an adult that I think back just as fondly on as I do waking up the next morning and watching the kids tear up the presents. Because we were able to have that bonding time we are able to just be family, instead of the chaos that is Christmas morning. And cooking breakfast…

Ian:

The calm before the storm…

Micah:

...and that's what's beautiful about Christmas, there is a calmness to it and we never really had snow growing up in the South, but like Ian said before,  for some reason it always just felt like tonight might be the night it does.  it's just because there's a quietness to the air and that's what I've grown to really appreciate as an adult looking back at these times that quietness where you can share as a family and there's no rush to get any older.

Mia:

I love how you wrapped it up last time we talked Micah. You said, “Why we keep having the same tree, the decorations, the movies... they hold in place to keep the feelings in the memories in place because we can't rely on our memory.” I thought that was really good. 

Micah:

I mean, yeah, they look cool. I really appreciate a good Christmas tree, but there was a real pain for me when we got a new tree because the last one got way too busted.  We're beyond buying real trees anymore so we get fake plastic ones. I had that fake plastic one for so long and I really did get bummed out when we threw it away. It was like we infused it with six or seven Christmases worth of memories, and it's not that things have to hold that space for us but it's something about letting an object hold memories is very human. It takes a little bit of a pressure off of us to remind ourselves of those things and instead we have to object we can rely on, for however many years, to “Oh yeah, that's right…”

Ian:

I'm willing to bet that in probably 90% of households Christmas items, Christmas decor, Christmas decorations are probably some of the oldest things that people own. I would almost bet on it.

Micah:

I will too, ya.

Ian:

I mean there's stuff that our family still owns and it's only until it gets busted out and then I'm whisked away to when I was five when I like, “Wow, the elf train!”  Cool! That’s right. All of a sudden there's a flood of memories. Like, oh yeah, remember when we used to listen to the John Denver Muppets album…

Mia:

Yes! Run, run, reindeer!

Micah:

And that stuff is not nowhere in my brain...

Ian:

Until you see it...like that trying to find your apple on Ooma’s tree. 

Mia:

So true. Before we end, any best lines from the movie?

Micah:

Besides the obvious ones, the ones that appear on t-shirts.

Ian:

“Only I didn’t say fudge.”

Mia:

My favorite, favorite line is the one when the dad can't even speak because he's gathering the broken pieces of the lamp and he grumbles, just need to walk away. It's the best scene of the movie.

Ian:

He can’t get anything out but he says, “Not a finger!” 

But I think the best part of that entire scene was Ralphie was interjecting his memories saying, “I can't be sure, but I think I heard the sound of TAPS being played.” 

Micah:

One of my favorites is a moment where the dad has legitimate sympathy for Ralphie and he says,”He looks like a pink nightmare!” He knows Ralphie doesn’t want to wear that pink bunny suit. 

Ian:

No he does not. “He looks like a deranged Easter Rabbit.”

Mia:

That’s awesome. Well, thank you both so much for taking this trip down memory lane for both us as a family as well as memory in light of A Christmas Story the movie. Thank you so much. Thankful for you guys as my brothers and thankful for you spending your night with me tonight.

Resources

We’ve created a free downloadable PDF to explore the article deeper. It contains discussion questions about the topic in general terms that will give you a jumping-off point for beginning a conversation.

The second page contains a way to see the topic from a biblical perspective.

And finally, to go deeper into the subject, we have chosen a few curated resources to explore from other authors’ and thinkers’ research or perspectives.

Read. Engage. Enjoy!

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

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