Monday, December 12, 2005

of course he's not safe

i saw narnia this weekend. yes, i know the marketing was likely done by karl rove, the exploiter general of all things sacred...but i really loved the movie. i loved that it wasn't lord of the rings. i love that it was a children's movie (sort of). i love that the talking animals weren't cheesy...which is pretty hard to pull off. i loved that people know the book so well that they left the theatre saying, "that didn't look like edmund at all!"

speaking of edmund...man, did they nail the whole "sins of humanity" thing with his character, from my perspective anyway. i think i pretty much was that kid growing up (ok, i still sort of am). while i'm not a big turkish delight fan, i am greedy, selfish, indecisive...well, i think i'll stop there.

the funny thing is, when i really thought about which child i would like to resemble, it wasn't really peter so much as lucy. she was innocent, but boldly curious. she trusted people (well, half-people, half-deer), and really had very little doubt or criticism. she also had a genuine enthusiasm with which i can't seem to recall my last encounter...

speaking of doubt, i know it's very cool for all of us post-whatever christians to be riddled with doubt. i seem to doubt nearly every doctrine of the church at some time or another, but the doubt that i guess i have never really had is that deep fear that maybe this is all a sham...that nothing really matters...that nothing will really work out in the end.

i can't explain this phenomenon. i can't tell you it's because Jesus was neither a liar nor a lunatic, so he must have blah blah blah. i can't tell you that the fossil record clearly blah blah blah. i can't even tell you about a miraculous healing or a near-death experience. all i know is that the story is true. i don't even know what true is. but i know the story is true. and i also know that what motivates me to share the story is not that my church believes in the eternal concious torment of all "non-believers"; but rather the meaning and beauty and hope that fills life when you know the story, believe the story, and love the story.

do you think if we all just embraced the most conservative theology imaginable, everything would be just fine?

7 comments:

Jon said...

I have to say that the narnia books have shaped my theology more than anything I have ever read. I still think of the end of the Last Battle as my image of what heaven will be like. Also I think you need to stay far far away from liberty. My guess is that you would spend 10 minutes on their campus before going postal.

cory said...

don't they have the interracial dating ban. that's what i'm talking bout. back to basics.

Alyssa said...

wow, mr. erlandson. commenting at 10:35 pm? isn't that a little past your bedtime?

i found a picture to show you. it kinda looks like you did with your hat on this morning.

go here: when i click here, i'm admitting i'm incredibly white

Mary said...

cory, this is a beautiful post. wish i had words like that!

cory said...

thanks. say, can anyone help me please include those fun links like the rest of you have on your pages? like other blogs, good web sites, etc.

it would be cool of you...

Mary said...

ok, i tried writing it out but the comment section won't allow some HTML code. so just go here:

http://help.blogger.com/bin/answer.py?answer=110&topic=22

that should answer any questions. and if you can't get it, email me and i'll help you out. fun, fun :)

(yes, i am a total web geek)

cory said...

well, thanks for the help. after much piddling around, i think i maybe have some sidebar action. life is great.