Terminator Eschatology?

I think I'm going to copyright the above phrase as a new way to talk about Christian eschatology. My thinking isn't fully clear here, but I've got some thoughts that might prove interesting.

I'm a big fan of the new series, Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles, on Fox that follows a growing teenage John Conner, leader of the resistance in the future against the machines of SkyNet that control the world. The series follows him, his mom Sarah, an uncle Derek sent from the future, and a terminator turned guardian named Cameron, also sent from the future.

The point of the show is to follow them as they make decisions to prevent SkyNet from taking over an inevitable future of total control and annihilate the human race. What I find so interesting is that their whole orientation to how they live their lives in the present is determined by what they know of the future. They have a unique grasp into the future because their future selves continue to send hints back in time to try to prevent certain events from happening. People are sent back in time with information on upcoming events. Even terminators are sent back in time by SkyNet to prevent the early resistance of the Conners. They live their lives now because of what they know of their futures.

It's the same for Christians. We have a certain picture of our future revealed to us in the death and resurrection of the man Jesus from Nazareth. God has shown the world what is in store for the future. The Apostle Paul speaks of our becoming a new creation. That we will die but our deaths will not result in futility or despair. Our deaths will be like a seed which must die to its normal character in the soil and be raised into a new creation, a new plant.

And because of this picture we get in Jesus' resurrection, our lives are changed--here and now. Our lives are re-oriented to this new picture of the future--a future of hope, a future with God forever. We have our hints from the future revealed to us in the Scriptures. They are there from cover to cover.

"Death is swallowed up." --Isaiah
"No one will have to say to one another, know the Lord, for we will all know the Lord." --Jeremiah
"I'm preparing a room for you in my Father's house." -- Jesus
"We will not all die, we will be changed, in the sparkle of a moment." --Paul, the apostle

We have our hints of what our future will look like. Our struggle is: what do we do with them now? It's the struggle that John Connor faces every day. There are times when he accepts his destiny as leader of the resistance, this person whom he will become. There are also times when he chooses to be a 21st century teenage boy who doesn't listen to his mom, skips school, and just wants to chill.

Our future is determined. There's no changing it. God has mind up his mind about where this world is heading. The resurrection has already happened. How does that change us now? Do we resist it? Do we accept it? "Reorient your lives, the time has come." (Mark 1:1)

Batman: The Dark Knight: A Must See

A couple friends and I went to see the latest Batman movie today. We hit the matinee, so I was happy to part only with $6.50 instead of the arm/leg prices they charge for evening movies. By the latest accounts, it looks like we contributed to the number 1 film of the weekend which has also broken box office records as the biggest open for a movie ever.

I was curious about the latest movie. I had seen again the latest in the series of Batman movies on AMC the other evening, Batman Begins. Batman Begins ends with the setup of this latest installment--they introduce the character of the Joker after Batman has first saved Gotham from destruction.

I was also curious in Heath Ledger's (+RIP+) performance. Some say that his heavy involvement and deep investment with the character of the Joker led to his death. I don't know what to believe, but I'm sad he's gone. He gave the performance of the year in this one. As I watched the screen, I couldn't believe that the same guy who took part in Brokeback Mountain was the same one playing the villianous, vile, disturbing, dark Joker. He was center screen, and by the end of the movie the audience was caught up in Batman's immense frustration to pin him down and finally win.

Overall, it was some of the best screenwriting I've seen in a while--especially for a Batman action flic. We all remember how silly the first Batman movies were. Remember when the scandal was whether or not to include nipples on the Batsuit?? I'm so glad that director Christopher Nolan has added the plethora of dimensions in this latest run at the Batman character. There's lots of pros and cons about how the movie was edited, how characters drop in and out with little explanation, and an endless timeline that goes on for 2.5 hours.

I was captivated by the performances. The themes were ones that reached out and grabbed me....the global AND internal fight of good-v-evil, the struggle to obey the narratives that create our lives and give us meaning or to shuttle them in the midst of passion and lose with them our identity, the scapegoat to allow society to live in the lie it has created for itself, etc, etc. I say, "Go and see it, suspend disbelief, and enjoy it as it moves over and through you."

IN-DEPENDENCE...

It's time to celebrate the independence of our nation America. It's time to celebrate the work of brave men and women who stood up to an old British regime which treated them unfairly by taxing them to the gills and then demanding more. It's time to remember those who weathered further incursions and threats from other power-hungry nations in the world seeking to further their renown by taking over control. It's time to celebrate our independence. So pass the hot dogs and ketchup and light those fireworks already!

On this independence day, I'm struck by how independence can become a fatal flaw to honor. Don't get me wrong here and dive off into rants about how I might not be a patriot because I question the need of independence. In a culture as individualistic and self-serving as ours, the celebration of independence can quickly turn into a farce.

We are an IN-Dependent nation. I depend on you to pay your taxes, and you depend on me. When we do, governments run, roads are built, police protect us, and water is delivered to us. If we were all on our own, life would look at lot different.

I depend on our troops who stand on the front lines of danger to protect our journey to treat one another equally. Recent politics has shown us how we still treat others unequally. The point is, I depend on troops to allow us to keep trying at this process.

Finally, I depend on God to create the next moment and the moment thereafter, and to give me grace, mercy, and unfailing love. If God stops, it all stops. We don't realize how much God is involved in our lives. The next second is not a guarantee, neither is the one after that. God lets us live in limited/finite freedom where we can become fully developed individuals, but we're not left to live on our own. God is involved, and we depend on God.

Independence day is a day that ought to remind us that we really need each other to make all this work. And this is hard, gut-tearing, uncomfortable work. It means that I may have to let go of my agendas at times in order for us all to enjoy life in a community.

But the point for me is not to have my best life now. The point is how we can have our best life together. That's what an IN-Dependence Day celebration should look like.

Thought for the day:

Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?

It comes from a former president who lost his bid to become his state's senator. He had no national experience before he was elected as president. He ran his farm, split fences for rails, ran a little store, and served as a state legislator for 8 years. He led the country through crisis and turmoil and the most change it had seen since the constitution was created. He paid the ultimate price with his own life a few years later.

The president with little national experience but a heart for change??

Abraham Lincoln.