"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect" (Romans 12.2 ESV).

Life is full of texts - whether that's Shakespeare, Differential Equations, or the Gazette. And they all need interpretation. How you read, interpret, and understand a sonnet differs from how you read, interpret, and understand an angry newspaper editorial. But, there are other texts that need interpretation, too - a musical composition, a painting, a concert. These are also texts of sorts - they're trying to communicate something, make a statement or evaluation about something. They're an artist's attempt to say something about the world. And it's our job to interpret what they're saying so we can hear them properly and be able to offer insightful, helpful, constructive, critical evaluation.

Our culture is full of texts - one of the main ones today being movies. Wanna make ten easy bucks?

1. Join us for a movie at Western Film (you pay). This is often on Wednesdays after soup.
2. Write up your answers to the following questions and email it to Chaplain Mike.
3. In return, you get a $10 gift certificate to the Wave.

This isn't just an easy way to make ten bucks, though. It's a way to engage in critical, faith-filled evaluation of a text - a text that wants to say something about the world; a text that most people will "read" without discernment as it shapes culture, values, priorities, and hopes. If you're a Christian without discernment, you're dead in the water. You're just going with the flow of culture - and that flow is always down (as in, the toilet).

Analyze, critique, or evaluate the text of the movie with these questions:

1. According to the movie, what does it mean to be human? What is their nature, task, or purpose in the world? What are people for?

2. According to the movie, where are people? Or, what is Creation? What is the nature of the world (does it have inherent meaning or must meaning be created)? What is the material world for?

3. Describe the moral universe of the movie. What is "right" and "wrong" or "good" and "bad"? What are people praised or punished for? Are there consequences to actions?

4. Plot is driven by crisis. So, in the movie, what's wrong (with people, with the world)? What is the basic obstacle that keeps people from fulfillment?

5. A story ends when the crisis is resolved. So, what's the solution to the problem in the movie? What's the remedy? What's the key to fulfillment? What saves us and where is that salvation to be found?

6. What is the main point the movie is trying to make? What's it trying to say? What is it's contribution to our culture?

7. Can you think of a verse or passage from the Bible that either captures what the movie is about or that critiques the movie's assumptions about life?

Fall 2011 Movies
Of Gods and Men
Jack Goes Boating
Black Swan

Winter 2011 Movies
The Adjustment Bureau
Limitless
The King’s Speech
The Tree of Life
Larry Crowne

Fall 2010 Movies
The Soloist
Inception
The Social Network
Invictus
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Girl Who Played with Fire
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest
Love and Other Drugs

Winter 2010 Movies
The Road
2012
Up in the Air
Shutter Island
Crazy Heart
District 9
The Hurt Locker
Whip It!
The Young Victoria