Christ-figures

I’d say that the most obvious trend to point to when talking about the apologetics of story is the use of Christ-figures. I mean, it has Christ in the title.  I’ve been thinking a lot about these sorts of characters recently. Why are they there? What are they for? Are they a good thing or a bad thing?

It can be a bit uncomfortable at times to see a character in a book or film blatantly compared to the savior of the universe. But so we feel that unease because they serve as a Christ-figure, or is it something else?

 

Maybe we should start by defining our terms. It’s pretty simple, actually. A Christ-figure is a character in literature who possesses some quality or performs some action reminiscent of the Biblical Savior.

What are they for, though? What would prompt a writer to compare their character to Jesus Christ? Think about it. The core message of God’s story is the fall of humanity, and it’s restoration through Christ Jesus. He is the theme of the Bible.  Therefore, in their fictional microcosms, writers create characters with similarities to Christ  in order to communicate their themes.

Then what is it that causes a Messianic comparison to strike us as wrong or blasphemous? It’s not the literary construct itself. In fact, the very idea of the Christ-figure is a testimony to Christ.  The problem is the theme. As strange as it may seem, a character reminiscent of Jesus can be used to convey a theme quite contrary to him. For example, (as much as I hate to cite this book), John Steinbeck’s Jim Casy serves as the Christ-figure in The Grapes of Wrath. While his actions and attributes,(such as his initials being J.C.), can be compared to the Son of God, he represents a humanistic pantheism that is quite anti-Biblical.

Now that that’s out of the way, here are a few more examples from literature and sci-fi, (because this is a geek blog):

-Atticus Finch (To Kill a Mockingbird): His defense of a helpless man- just as Christ it the defender of the helpless human race-- communicates the theme that you should always try to understand a person before you judge them.

-Spock (Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan/The Search for Spock): His sacrificial actions for his ship and crew highlight the ideas of life coming from death and loyalty being stronger than revenge.

-The Doctor (Doctor Who): Over and over again, this man from outside earth is called upon to be the planet’s savior. One of his main themes seems to be that no one is unimportant.

These are just a few I came up with from my recent ponderings. I’m interested in poking around for more themes displayed by Christ-figures. If you have any other examples, I’d love to hear them!

Keep on glowing in the dark,
Elora

Hey there! If you're still reading, thanks for your patience. Hopefully the posts on this blog will become more regular and scheduled come summer. My next post may have something to do with the Theory of Everything, subatomic particles, and Colossians. Hope you enjoy!

God's Not Dead Movie Review

   Hey all! The promised post is finally here. Today, I will give a review for the recently released Christian film, God’s Not Dead. This is my first time writing and publishing a movie review, so I hope you enjoy it. If you have any thoughts on the movie, or suggestions for future reviews, please leave a comment. And if you haven’t seen the movie yet, don’t worry. I’ll stay spoiler free!

 God’s Not Dead is a movie about….well, a lot of things, actually. Though the main storyline is about a Christian college student standing up to his aggressively atheist professor, there are quite a few subplots, some of which I found even more compelling. It takes most of the movie before we start to see these plots come together, and the way they all tied together in the end was a bit weak in my opinion. However, in these scattered anecdotes, there is some very strong, moving storytelling. I felt an emotional attachment to certain characters, cared about what happened to them, and was surprised by a plot twist at the end.

  The characters of this movie are pretty black and white. In general, you can tell which people are the good guys, and which are the bad guys. This is not necessarily detrimental to the story, though, and most of them are written and acted genuinely.

 

   Theme is most definitely the core aspect of the story. There is heavy-handed Christian and apologetic content- which fits into the stories which were being told. The movie does not try to conceal its message. At all. The title is the thematic statement: God’s Not Dead. I didn’t notice too much deep, underlying symbolism, but meaning was not at all lacking. One minor element I thought may have detracted from the message was the occasional relativisation of truth-claims in the dialogue. For example, one of the characters made the statement, “to me, God’s not dead”. That seemed to push the idea of God’s existence into a relativistic domain. However, this only happened a few times, and I’m certain it wasn’t intentional. The writer(s?) wove in a few literary references, which I would not have personally brought up because of their own themes, but they seemed to fit the worldview of the characters who mentioned them. ( Of course, I try not to think about The Grapes of Wrath at all, much less mention it in my stories.) The production quality is the highest I’ve seen in a Christian movie probably since the film Soul Surfer came out. Music was used well, and the few special effects that were needed were believable.

  

   Overall, I don’t think God’s Not Dead is a groundbreaking movie. I do think it is a good movie. I came into the theatre expecting to be disappointed, and came out pleasantly surprised. I had a good time watching it. I’d recommend the film to anyone who wants to enjoy a well-made, Christian worldview film, and support similar endeavors in the future. That, I think, is the most exciting part of God’s Not Dead. It’s a sign that more and better things are ahead for Christian cinema (like maybe a sci-fi movie? Maybe? Perhaps I should learn how to write screenplays…).

Keep on glowing in the dark,

Elora

Here is a bonus, super-fast review!

My least favorite part of the movie: No one mentioned subatomic particles! They got so close, so many times, but they never did mention them. Alright, in seriousness, my least favorite part was the excess of break-up scenes.

My favorite part of the movie: There was a twist at the end that I actually wasn’t expecting. Some people I went to the movies with said they saw it coming, but I did not. It can be really fun to be caught off guard in stories. Also, the reporter girl’s subplot was touching, and it was cool to see cameo appearances from the show Duck Dynasty.

Happy Star Wars Day!

May the Fourth be with you, one and all. You'll probably need it too. Giving all the Star Wars nerds (such as myself), a day to themselves? I have a bad....well, you know.
More posts to come (hopefully) soon!
Keep on glowing in the dark,
Elora

The Science Fiction Syllogism

Alright, alright. It's a little late to be considered a "Saturday" post, but at least I'm getting this up. Have you ever run into a situation where you wished you had a logical reason to give someone for liking sci-fi? Did you ever wish that reason came in the form of a logical syllogism? Well, if you did, I happen to have that very logical syllogism right here. The blue bubbles are the premises, the red is the contrary argument, and the green is the rebuttal. I hope you enjoy!

Keep on glowing in the dark,

Elora

What is the Apologetics of Story?

   Let’s start with the original Greek, shall we? (I always like starting with the original Greek. It makes me happy!) As many of you may know, the Greek word for “defense” is Άπολογία (Apologia). We find this word in the famous passage of scripture 1 Peter 3:15, “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear” (NKJV).  

Apologetics today is commonly defined as “defending the faith”-reflecting the courtroom terminology of the word Άπολογία- or, offering proof for the validity of the Christian faith.

   Now onto the whole story thing. You may be wondering what in the world fiction has to do with proving the truth of God. Well, if you read literature, watch movies and television, enjoy comics, ect., you might have noticed that stories seem to be about a bit more that just entertainment. Authors communicate real-world ideas and meaning through their work, whether they mean to or not. Fiction is a conduit for reality.

   Don’t believe me? Then maybe you’ll take it better from a famous playwright. Ever heard of William Shakespeare? (I hope so. Even Klingons have heard of William Shakespeare). Here’s a quote from Hamlet on the purpose of theater, (another notable form of fiction), “For anything so overdone is from the purpose of playing, whose end, both at the first and now, was and is to hold, as ’twere, the mirror up to nature” (Act 3 Scene 2).

   So, stories have meaning. I think we’re all clear on that. Authors, playwrights, creators, artists all infuse their worldviews into the things they make- whether they be Christians, Atheists, Buddhists, Mormons, New-agers, whatever. Does this mean only stories written by Christians convey truth? I’ll get to that. Suffice it to say that people definitely do let their personal worldviews shine through in stories, and many are definitely false.

   Now, where does apologetics play into all of this? You see, I believe that God Himself created the concept of story. Think of all the parables Jesus told. And think of the way God composes the life stories of every human being. The way He weaves those stories together. Think of the ultimate story God has written- the redemption of the human race through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. That is it. That is the story. And I think that by their very nature, all stories try to reflect it in some way.

   

   If you've ever taken a literature class, you probably are pretty familiar with many of the elements that make a good story- foreshadowing, symbolism, setting, characters- as well as themes that make a good story- sacrifice, hope, redemption, the fallenness of man. All of these are played out in their fullest sense in God’s story. (I hope to get into many of these in detail in later posts).

   Why do stories written by New-agers include Christ-figures? Why do stories by Humanists have any semblance of Hope? Perhaps it’s because stories, by their very nature, point back to the inescapable truth of the God who created them.

   Sure, it’s not the ultimate proof that there really is a God, but if you look at the impact of story in our culture-in every culture- I think it’s a pretty strong argument.

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Thanks for reading! I hope you are finding these ramblings of mine thought provoking! If so, please join me this Saturday, when I'll share my logical argument for why sci-fi is valuable, as well as next Wednesday when I'll be reviewing the Christian movie God's Not Dead and giving my opinion on Christian arts and media!
Keep on glowing in the dark,
Elora

Welcome Aboard!

Hi everyone. I’m Elora. This is my geeky Christian blog. You may be wondering what I’m doing starting a geeky Christian blog. I’m definitely not the first one to explore the concept. Perhaps this post will help you understand what I am doing and why I am doing it.
 
     I’m a geek. I’ve been a geek...basically since I was born. I’m also a storyteller. I love to immerse myself in reading, writing and analyzing stories. Most importantly, I’m a Christian. I’ve been rescued from sin and death by the God of the universe. Therefore, I strive to walk according to his truth in everything I do.            
 
   As a Christian, and a geek, and a writer, I see something in stories- especially in sci-fi - that I think points back to God. That may strike you as a bit odd. How in the cosmos could there be an intersection between science fiction and Christianity?

    You see, sci-fi is a genre about hope, about life, about the soul, about ideas,and about truth. I think that’s what draws me to it. However, in the evolution and humanism sci-fi loves to profess, none of these things matter. Why is a dystopian society bad if people are just animals? Why even care about genetic engineering and cloning if man is just a random assortment of molecules? Why boldly explore the galaxy if all of it is destined for utter heat death and then nothingness?

    Science fiction presents its fans with deep questions which its own philosophy writes off as meaningless. I believe the problem lies in how story works. The heart of story is to tell the truth. Even when a storyteller’s worldview is skewed, the core idea of story is still based in God, and the ultimate narrative He is telling through his son.
   
    That’s something I like to refer to as the Apologetics of Story. It excites me. It’s one of the main reasons I’m here- to talk about things that interest me in the light of the Thing that is most meaningful to me, and hopefully to encourage others who feel the same way. I will mostly be talking about science fiction, story, and general geekery on this blog. But I will occasionally delve into apologetics, logic, and subatomic particles, whenever I feel they are relevant.

    I aim to put up my main posts for this blog on Wednesdays. ‘What will they be about?’ You may ask. Well, they may be about a myriad of things. A review of a nerd movie that just came out? Certainly. An article on how literary elements point to the story of Christ? Definitely. A ramble on a point of truth I saw in a Star Trek episode? Oh, yes. Anything I think will be thought-provoking and interesting.

   When possible, I will try to post geeky little tidbits on Saturdays. Ramblings about my favorite characters, speculations I have made about shows, and other stuff you may find generally entertaining.Eventually, I want to start using Tuesdays for top-five and top-ten lists, because what nerd doesn’t love a good list?

   All of these things are incredibly exciting to me. If they are also exciting to you, I hope you come along for the ride. If you’re interested in geeking out, having fun, and thinking through things with me, I hope you stick around.

   If you care to join me in my quest to find the fingerprints of God in every area of life, from scripture, to spaceships, to subatomic particles, welcome aboard!

  Keep on glowing in the dark,
 Elora