She knows she’s not supposed to be there. I’d be a fool to expect her not to stay out as long as I’m not keeping watch. It’s the Garden of Eden in our own home.
general
Christian Visions
I’ve always enjoyed watching Christian apocalyptic films. They’re an insight into the thinking of fundamentalist Christians. They often see these films as representative of true prophecy, some kind of history before history. So how do fundamentalists see this future? It depends on the film, but one of the classics of the genre is the Thief in the Night series. The third film in the series, Image of the Beast, covers the period of time when the antichrist, known as Brother Christopher, rules the world as the head of the newly-established one-world government. A scrappy band of Christians, led by Reverand Matthew Turner, fights this evil power.
In one scene, Reverand Matt explains to a character simply known as “Kathy” a picture in a book, saying that it’s “a replica of the temple of Herrod, the one that Christ worshiped in. But today’s temple is defiled by the worst sacrilege that could possibly befall Israel.” When Kathy asks him to explain further, he reveals:
The computer, Kathy. The computer has been the most innovative and time-saving device known to man. Paid bills, made travel reservations, cooked meals. It’s the new golden calf. A computer that speaks and convinces people that it thinks, hundreds of millions of people will worship that inanimate object, and it’s in the temple.
We have to understand that this film was made in 1980, so computers were still relatively exotic. But come on — “A computer that speaks and convinces people that it thinks” which leads people to worship it?! In what reality would this happen? Even if we created the most magnificent AI neural network possible, does anyone seriously think people would worship it? That reveals such a level of naivete that it’s difficult to comprehend.
The film then cuts to Brother Christopher, the leader of this one-world government, addressing the globe:
First of all, what the hell is he sitting on? Is that supposed to be a throne? How does he get up there? Levitate? And what’s with the palm tree emblems behind him? This reflects the fundamentalist view of God’s own throne (notice the angels with outstretched wings, like on the Ark of the Covenant?) because they view everything the devil does as a perversion of what God does.
But better than the imagery is Brother Chris’s speech itself, which is something spectacular:
My friends and loyal subjects, for the last four years, we have worked together to overcome the greatest physical hardships the world has ever known. World war, drought, famine, pestilence, fire, earthquakes and volcanoes of unprecedented violence. But we have prevailed, thanks to our fantastic computer technology and the intervention of his satanic majesty. Where, dear friend, was the loving God of creation during our recent perils? Was he helping mankind, the children of his creation? No, on the contrary, it is he who has visited these disasters upon us, and to you, God, God of wrath and destruction to mankind, I say do your worst, but we will prevail.
There’s so much here! He references “[w]orld war, drought, famine, pestilence, fire, earthquakes and volcanoes of unprecedented violence” to tie into the apocalyptic visions of Christians, but it raises the question of the intelligence of Satan, the bad guy in all this. Fundamentalists insist these events, which culminate in the fall of Satan, have been prophesied in the Bible for millennia, yet Satan apparently either can’t read, doesn’t know about these prophecies, or somehow thinks he can overcome them anyway.
Then there’s the direct acknowledgment of “the loving God of creation,” which suggests that the devil (incarnate in Brother Christopher) does know at the very least that God is, well, God, further underscoring this silly question mentioned above.
Finally, there’s the direct mention of “his satanic majesty.” Somehow, all these so-called Christians who remained (because all the real Christians got raptured away in the first film) then turn to blatant Satanism (as fundamentalists might view it)?!
Here’s the full scene:
It’s all so staggeringly stupid. But do Christians really take this stuff seriously? At ChristianCinema.com we find the following reviews:
- A very good film about the end times. I recommend watching all 4 movies in series – Ronnie A T.
- Very good and realistic. Was looking for Nicolate (sp) but do not see it. – Everette M.
- Excellent movie. Very realistic and Scriptural! – Everette M.
- My 12 year old wasn’t interested at first but after a while he wouldn’t leave the room. – Patrick B.
- This whole series has been a blessing to me and my family I have enjoyed each movie and most important I have learned so much through them. It’s a great movie for believers and of course non-believers. As a believer it makes you think of your walk with the Lord, on how serious you are about following him and how big is your faith and trust in him. Great movie!! – larisa n.
More evidence that we’re too naive as a species to survive indefinitely.
Caving and Volleyball
The Boy and I went on a one-of-a-kind Scouting adventure this weekend: we spent the evening rambling around an enormous cave system, then spent the night in said cave.
We all met in the parking lot around six, gear in hand, all excited, with the adults (well, speaking for myself anyway) a little anxious about how all the details might work out.
Our first stop -- our camp location. It was an enormous room, with a relatively high ceiling and a length probably five times or more its width.
After we dropped off our belongings, it was time to explore. We had what's called a wild tour, which mean we got to go to places most tourists don't see and crawl through passages and openings that left us covered in clay and dirt.
Finally, it was bedtime. It was then that the fun began: the echoing snores; the footfalls that reverberated throughout the cave as people plodded to the bathroom; and a whole host of mysterious noises.
We made it out at a little past seven in the morning -- as instructed -- and after breakfast, headed home.
The Girl was in Knoxville, playing volleyball.
Steskal
Steskal’s restaurant was on the corner of the rynek in Nowy Targ, at the intersection of Jan III Sobieskiego and Szkolna (School) streets. It was about a one-kilometer walk to the bus station (according to Google), but it was where I often spent the time waiting for the next bus back to Lipnica.
It was nothing fancy: they served the basics, and more often than not, when I ate there, I ordered fasolka po bretońsku. They made a good plate of beans.
When K and I began dating and started taking weekend trips together, we often ended up in Nowy Targ — waiting for a bus, of course. We sat drinking hot tea and talking about our next trip together, or about the coming holiday season, or about (eventually) our wedding.
At some after we moved to America, it closed. K and I were going to pop in for old times’ sake only to find it was no more.
I hadn’t thought about it in years until I found a picture while going through old photos in Lightroom.
Monument
I passed this monument countless times while I lived in Lipnica never really knowing the full story behind it.
Eighth-Grade Night
Wednesday in Class
That fifth period can be a tough group of kids. They sometimes disregard what's going on in class to have a little private conversation that is not at all private because of the number of participants and the volume of their voices. They sometimes ignore simple instructions. A few of them are capable of being truly disrespectful to other students, to me, and by proxy, to themselves.
Yet by and large, they're a great group of kids. They're just typical 14-year-olds, many of whom come from less-than-perfect situations and have developed less-than-perfect habits. In my teaching career, there have only been a handful of students that, as humans, I didn't like, I just didn't trust. In almost 25 years of teaching perhaps four or five such kids. There are no such kids in this group.
But they can be tiring.
These final weeks of school, we're going through The Diary of Anne Frank. Why do such an important piece in the waning, testing-ladened final quarter of the year? That's when the district requires it. It might be a good thing, though, because these kids are more engaged now than they've been all year: more focused, more involved, more eager in their participation.
Plopped down in the middle of this is L, a young man from Mexico who speaks not a word of English. Not a word. Well, no, that's not true: he spoke not a word of English when he arrived last week. He's already picked up quite a bit. And today, he was able to follow along with the play, even though he didn't understand 95% of what the kids were saying.
"Where do you think we are?" I'd ask through my phone using Google Translate. He'd point to where we were -- each time, dead on. "Great!" I'd say. His smile was ear to ear.
After Dinner Play, Redux
When your kids ask if we can do the same thing after dinner as we did yesterday, and it involves laughter and the dog, of course, you say yes!
The Day After, Again
What is it about the day after Easter or Christmas that makes us want to do nothing? We do what we have to do, but it’s just off. And even if the day after is a day free from the obligations of work, it still feels off.
I’m not talking about hangovers — those are easily avoidable. Just don’t drink to excess. It’s undoubted the feeling of deflation, of everything coming down after building up for so long.
The party is over; the friends are gone; the spell is broken.
I want to say it’s because we don’t have anything to look forward to, but that’s not true. We look with anticipation and excitement at many things coming in our family’s near future: a camping trip, several tournaments, a summer trip to Poland.
Perhaps it’s the bustle of getting so much ready so quickly for a party, and then the sudden release of all that?
Or maybe it’s nothing…
Easter 2022
