“You shouldn’t feel upset that I haven’t seen the Star Wars films; I hardly see any films. I read... I was raised with Latin and Ancient Greek and poetry from Greek antiquity, but sometimes, just to see the world I live in, I watch ‘WrestleMania.’”
— Werner Herzog
I am not a political pundit, and this is not first and foremost a political episode, but I do feel a need to respond to the human element that is imperiled by Right-wing calls for Leftist economic policies.
Do not forget what we aim to conserve.
Full episode below.
https://t.co/zephPYbBHd
Predator’s "Shooting the Jungle" scene exists because the director got pissed off... and he hates it.
On set, John McTiernan kept getting heat from the studio for “not enough guns.” After days of it, he snapped: “Fine. You want guns? I’ll give you so much gunfire you’ll get the orgasm you’re itching for, and then we stop this nonsense.”
So he shot the absurd sequence where Arnie and the boys mow down half of Central America (actually Mexico).
The line “We hit nothing” was McTiernan’s message to the studio: the scene accomplishes zero. It wasn’t meant for us... It was a note.
Ironically, dumping endless bullets into the jungle (or anything else for that matter) became an action-movie trope, one McTiernan even reused in Die Hard a year later.
@MichaelFKane The sound design of the animals in Riven. *swoon* My mom didn’t trust Ghen. Her first experience was calling him and never using the linking book. It was a memorable moment as she jumped back and realized that the game was not as safe as she had come to expect.
This was predicted.
And shouldn't surprise you.
This has happened in the past. Christian progressives thought they could use the power of government a hundred years ago to create a perfect government. They were also obsessed with race and racial purity like today's Christian Nationalists have been.
This led to a resurgence of the KKK, a segregated federal government, and the worst expansion of government power of all time under Woodrow Wilson, a supposed Christian. He claimed Christianity but his actions caused immense damage to the country. He had let politics and the idea of control and power overcome his view of the Gospel.
One hundred years later we have Christians obsessing over race and trying to create a Christian utopia on Earth through government power again. It was only ever going to go the way it did in the past.
Step back from the ledge. Woodrow Wilson damaged the country in ways we are still dealing with. It won't be better because it's "our side" this time. This will always be destined to fail because it is not how the Lord called us to live and to behave.
The premise itself is wrong that we need to use government power to enforce our beliefs.
If this was the way to extend the Gospel into the world, why is it not mentioned in the texts? Why doesn't Jesus ever command His followers to grab as much power as possible? Why does He instead say that they need to be HUMBLE? Why does He call us to lead by being servants? Why didn't He leave us a political manual like so many other leaders have?
Should Christians be involved in politics and government? OF COURSE! Just as we should be involved in art, academia, military, and any other role that impacts this world as much as we can be. Use your God-given talents to glorify the Kingdom.
But don't mistake Christians operating government for the growth of God's kingdom. God's Kingdom is "not of this world," and it comes through lives changed by the Gospel. He writes His laws not in congress but in the hearts of man through His Holy Spirit. He is so much greater than a gavel slapped by a judge or a glinting crown on a king. Holy Roman Empire's have come and gone, colonial christians have risen and fallen, and even Christian absolute monarchs had their day.
Yet through it all the true Gospel work has been done through His people in pulpits, in prayer rooms, and in the pews. Whether those pulpits were underground escaping persecution, or those pews were in fancy churches, His Word has been fruitful in the fields of His people.
Friedrich Engels, co-author of the Communist Manifesto, once listed the "character he most disliked". He only had one name: Spurgeon
Why? Because Spurgeon loved the poor, cared for the orphans, and preached hope to the people. The exact opposite message that those who wish to upend the world want. Socialism and Christianity do not mix.
Christians who compromise on the Gospel and make it about political power will always begin to see the government as the answer to their problem.
And they will be wrong.
This always makes me think about THE CHEAPEST MUPPET MOVIE EVER MADE, which might be one of the funniest movie ideas Jim Henson’s crew ever came up with.
The whole joke was that the movie would literally get cheaper as it went along. Gonzo takes over as director, the production starts losing money, and eventually they can’t afford to actually film the ending anymore.
So the movie would just become storyboards.
Then, right at the end, the Muppets supposedly get the funding back and suddenly the movie explodes into this huge, ridiculously expensive musical number.
It’s such a perfect Muppet idea. The budget problems aren’t something the movie has to hide. They become the plot.
Imagine watching a movie slowly fall apart because the characters have run out of money, only for Kermit and the gang to suddenly have enough cash for the biggest musical finale imaginable.
I really wish this movie had actually been made.
I have a few free promo codes for the audible version of the "Return of the Dragon: The Shocking Way Drugs and Religion Shape People and Societies" read by @willanselme available. First come first serve. Let me know.
“There is neither remembrance of former generations, nor will there be remembrance of future generations.”
-The words of the teacher, the son of David, King in Jerusalem