So I saw the new Transformers movie the other day.
It is amazing.
It has everything.
Good looking girls, explosions, humor, plot continuity and most importantly ***SPOILER*** (but not a huge one) a battle between two enemies one of whom is an ancient Cybertronian referred to only as The Fallen who rebelled and abandoned his brothers because he hated humanity, the first Primes and serves as Darth Sidious to Megatron's Darth Vader. The other is Optimus Prime, a hero with two names but who is usually referred to by the last (which turns out to be a title), a leader who dies to save Earth, and than is resurrected to defeat the Fallen. (See where I'm going with this?)***SPOILER END*** And the U.S.S. John C. Stennis C.V.N. 74 was in the movie, the ship that I had my Youngster cruise on!
But I noticed something very interesting. It has to do with the way that the government handles the Decepticon threat. In the first movie you had the character of the Secretary of Defense played by the awesome Jon Voight (one of my favorite actors) who is extremely proactive, doesn't take any shit from anyone, lest of all a talking robot and even wields a shotgun when the time comes. He is an example of the kind of reaction one would expect from a member of the Bush administration.
Incidentally, while Bush is never named in the first movie, the President, seen briefly when Air Force One is attacked, is clearly meant to resemble W. Obama is, in fact, named in the second movie in a news report after the Decepticons sink an aircraft carrier (not the Stennis).
In the second movie, Sam Witwicky has all the knowledge from the AllSpark downloaded into his brain when he touches a shard of the AllSpark. After utterly pwning most of the planet, including the US Navy, the Fallen hi-jacks most of Earth's communication system in order to broadcast a demand to surrender Sam to them. (Sounds like the terrorists) They want the information in Sam's head, so the can find the Matrix of Leadership, which will activate a Sun Harvester, which has the capability to wipe out life on Earth (this entire plan if the reason the Fallen fell in the first place).
A government agent, who is a liason to the Autobots, actually suggests that they might hand Sam over to prevent another Decepticon attack. This is after he suggests that the Autobots go home, alleging that their presence is the reason that the Decepticons did not leave Earth after the AllSpark was destroyed.
This is exactly what the Obama administration would do in a situation like this! In order to prevent conflict they would negotiate with the people who JUST SANK A FUCKING AIRCRAFT CARRIER! They would be naive enough to believe that the Decepticons would go away if their enemies the Autobots went away too. Wrong! They would just finish the job and destroy the planet. The Obama administration would dialogue with these evil, destroying robots from outer space.
In its characterizations of both of the last two Presidencies, the Transformers movies have been spot on.
Like I said, this new Transformers is awesome! It might be better than the original. Unfortunately, however the same was said about X-Men 2, Dead Man's Chest, and Spider-Man 2 and we all saw how well that turned out. (One alright, another okay and one absolutely awful)
See well just have to wait and see and hope that the Transformers movies turn out like the Lord of the Rings movies.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
A Father's Day Message from the (Catholic) Bible
Many people, especially Catholics, hold up Joseph, the foster father of Jesus, as the role model for all fathers. I find the inherent comparison to be unfair. Saint Joseph was married to the Immaculate Conception and, one episode of adolescent rebellion in the Jerusalem Temple notwithstanding, Yeshua bar Joseph was, by all accounts, the perfect Child.
Aside from Joseph, most fathers in the Bible were abject failures at fatherhood. Noah's son laughed at him when he passed drunk and naked. Abraham banished his first son into the desert and than almost sacrificed his remaining heir. Jacob's favoritism toward his youngest children led his other sons to sell their brother into slavery. David's firstborn son and heir apparent raped his half-sister while another son, Absalom, plotted a coup against his father. Most Biblical fathers are an example of what NOT to do.
That is why Catholics are lucky. We have a positive example of fatherhood in the book of Tobit, a book which the Protestants reject as apocryphal. It is the story of a righteous Jew whose family was carried off to Nineveh when the Assyrian armies conquered the kingdom of Israel. While still in Israel, Tobit traveled to Jerusalem to worship in the Temple, while most of his fellow Israelites worshipped in Samaria or in high places which were not dedicated to God. While in Nineveh, Tobit follows the dietary laws, which most of his countrymen ignore. He also makes sure that the Israelites who were executed by Sennacherib in revenge for his defeat at the hands of King Hezekiah of Judah. are given proper burials. He leaves a feast in order to bury a corpse of his country man. In short, Tobit follows the laws of God scrupulously and always does the right thing.
But bad things still happen to him. He had to go into hiding when the king finds out that Tobit is the one who is burying his victims. His neighbors, including fellow Israelites, ridicule him. To top it all off, he is blinded when a bird poops in his eyes while he is sleeping outside because he is unclean due to contact with a corpse. Even his marriage becomes strained. Life is so bad that he prays for death.
In anticipation of the fulfillment of his prayer, Tobit sends his only son Tobiah off to Rages in Media to collect a very large sum of money from Tobit's cousin. After a chapter's worth of paternal advice, Tobit sends Tobiah on his journey, along with a guide named Azariah, who just happened to be hanging out at the city gate, looking for a job, when Tobiah came by. The author of Tobit (who isn't Tobit) quickly informs the readers that Azariah is really the archangel Raphael in disguise, sent by God to heal Tobit as well as a relative of his, Sarah, who lives in Media.
Sarah is a beautiful young woman who has been married seven times. In each case, the husband died mysteriously before consummating the marriage. The author states that the demon Asmodeus strangled the men. That sounded almost as ludicrous as it would today and Sarah's servant accused her of murdering her husbands. Sarah is in such despair that she, like Tobit, prays for death.
While on the road, Tobiah goes to swim and bath in a river. In the water, he is attacked by a large fish. Azariah instructs him to kill the fish by grasping its gills and than gut it and remove the gall, liver and heart, which apparently are useful as medicines. The pair arrives in Media and need a place to stay. Azariah insists they stay at the home of Raguel, Sarah’s father, who greets the duo excitedly when he learns that Tobiah is Tobit’s son.
When they enter the house, Tobiah notices Sarah and falls in love. She is his kinswoman, a member of the same tribe and he is her closest living relative, which according to the Levirate law, gives him the undisputable right to marry her. Tobit had instructed his son earlier to only marry a woman from their tribe of Naphtali. Tobiah’s only hesitation in the matter arises from the fact that a demon has killed the last seven men she married. Fortunately, Tobiah is friends with an archangel which comes in handy when dispatching a demon.
After Raquel agrees to allow Tobiah to marry his daughter, Raphael instructs Tobiah to burn the heart and liver on the brazier so that the smoke will ward off Asmodeus. Tobiah does so and prays along with Sarah in the bridal chamber on their wedding night. He asks for God’s protection and blessing on his marriage. At the same time Raphael chases Asmodeus into Upper Egypt and chains him there in the desert. (I wonder of anyone noticed that Azariah was missing?) Raquel and his servants secretly dig a grave for Tobiah but joyfully find him alive after which Raquel has his servants fill the grave back in (sucks to be those servants).
Sarah’s family was so happy that they gave the couple a fourteen day wedding feast. Azariah went to Tobit’s cousin to collect the money and bring him back for the feast. When Tobiah left to return to Nineveh, Raquel gave him half of his property as a wedding gift.
Meanwhile, Tobit and Anna are terrified that their only son had died. As they approached Nineveh, Azariah told Tobiah to smear the gall of the fish on Tobit’s eyes. Tobiah does so and the cataracts fall off his eyes him to see. Tobiah tells everything that happened to him to his father and both men praise God. (And have another wedding feast. These guys knew how to party!) When Tobiah attempts to give half of what he brought back from Media to Azariah as payment, Azariah outs himself as an archangel. “I am Raphael, one of seven who serve before the Glory of God,” he says, before ascending back into Heaven.
The moral of the story goes like this: bad things happen to good people but God uses these bad things to accomplish even better things for His people. If Tobit had never been blinded, Tobiah would never gone to Media, never would have met Sarah, never collected the money and gotten rich and most importantly Tobit would have never had a visit from an archangel to affirm his heroic faith. Sarah probably would have hung herself and Tobit would have died without grandchildren because Tobiah would have never married. Tobit’s glorification came about through his son, but it is called the book of Tobit because it is about him. He trusted in God no matter what. He never spoke against Him or questioned His ways. At least three times is praised as an outstanding and noble father. Tobit should be a model for all fathers on Father’s Day.
Aside from Joseph, most fathers in the Bible were abject failures at fatherhood. Noah's son laughed at him when he passed drunk and naked. Abraham banished his first son into the desert and than almost sacrificed his remaining heir. Jacob's favoritism toward his youngest children led his other sons to sell their brother into slavery. David's firstborn son and heir apparent raped his half-sister while another son, Absalom, plotted a coup against his father. Most Biblical fathers are an example of what NOT to do.
That is why Catholics are lucky. We have a positive example of fatherhood in the book of Tobit, a book which the Protestants reject as apocryphal. It is the story of a righteous Jew whose family was carried off to Nineveh when the Assyrian armies conquered the kingdom of Israel. While still in Israel, Tobit traveled to Jerusalem to worship in the Temple, while most of his fellow Israelites worshipped in Samaria or in high places which were not dedicated to God. While in Nineveh, Tobit follows the dietary laws, which most of his countrymen ignore. He also makes sure that the Israelites who were executed by Sennacherib in revenge for his defeat at the hands of King Hezekiah of Judah. are given proper burials. He leaves a feast in order to bury a corpse of his country man. In short, Tobit follows the laws of God scrupulously and always does the right thing.
But bad things still happen to him. He had to go into hiding when the king finds out that Tobit is the one who is burying his victims. His neighbors, including fellow Israelites, ridicule him. To top it all off, he is blinded when a bird poops in his eyes while he is sleeping outside because he is unclean due to contact with a corpse. Even his marriage becomes strained. Life is so bad that he prays for death.
In anticipation of the fulfillment of his prayer, Tobit sends his only son Tobiah off to Rages in Media to collect a very large sum of money from Tobit's cousin. After a chapter's worth of paternal advice, Tobit sends Tobiah on his journey, along with a guide named Azariah, who just happened to be hanging out at the city gate, looking for a job, when Tobiah came by. The author of Tobit (who isn't Tobit) quickly informs the readers that Azariah is really the archangel Raphael in disguise, sent by God to heal Tobit as well as a relative of his, Sarah, who lives in Media.
Sarah is a beautiful young woman who has been married seven times. In each case, the husband died mysteriously before consummating the marriage. The author states that the demon Asmodeus strangled the men. That sounded almost as ludicrous as it would today and Sarah's servant accused her of murdering her husbands. Sarah is in such despair that she, like Tobit, prays for death.
While on the road, Tobiah goes to swim and bath in a river. In the water, he is attacked by a large fish. Azariah instructs him to kill the fish by grasping its gills and than gut it and remove the gall, liver and heart, which apparently are useful as medicines. The pair arrives in Media and need a place to stay. Azariah insists they stay at the home of Raguel, Sarah’s father, who greets the duo excitedly when he learns that Tobiah is Tobit’s son.
When they enter the house, Tobiah notices Sarah and falls in love. She is his kinswoman, a member of the same tribe and he is her closest living relative, which according to the Levirate law, gives him the undisputable right to marry her. Tobit had instructed his son earlier to only marry a woman from their tribe of Naphtali. Tobiah’s only hesitation in the matter arises from the fact that a demon has killed the last seven men she married. Fortunately, Tobiah is friends with an archangel which comes in handy when dispatching a demon.
After Raquel agrees to allow Tobiah to marry his daughter, Raphael instructs Tobiah to burn the heart and liver on the brazier so that the smoke will ward off Asmodeus. Tobiah does so and prays along with Sarah in the bridal chamber on their wedding night. He asks for God’s protection and blessing on his marriage. At the same time Raphael chases Asmodeus into Upper Egypt and chains him there in the desert. (I wonder of anyone noticed that Azariah was missing?) Raquel and his servants secretly dig a grave for Tobiah but joyfully find him alive after which Raquel has his servants fill the grave back in (sucks to be those servants).
Sarah’s family was so happy that they gave the couple a fourteen day wedding feast. Azariah went to Tobit’s cousin to collect the money and bring him back for the feast. When Tobiah left to return to Nineveh, Raquel gave him half of his property as a wedding gift.
Meanwhile, Tobit and Anna are terrified that their only son had died. As they approached Nineveh, Azariah told Tobiah to smear the gall of the fish on Tobit’s eyes. Tobiah does so and the cataracts fall off his eyes him to see. Tobiah tells everything that happened to him to his father and both men praise God. (And have another wedding feast. These guys knew how to party!) When Tobiah attempts to give half of what he brought back from Media to Azariah as payment, Azariah outs himself as an archangel. “I am Raphael, one of seven who serve before the Glory of God,” he says, before ascending back into Heaven.
The moral of the story goes like this: bad things happen to good people but God uses these bad things to accomplish even better things for His people. If Tobit had never been blinded, Tobiah would never gone to Media, never would have met Sarah, never collected the money and gotten rich and most importantly Tobit would have never had a visit from an archangel to affirm his heroic faith. Sarah probably would have hung herself and Tobit would have died without grandchildren because Tobiah would have never married. Tobit’s glorification came about through his son, but it is called the book of Tobit because it is about him. He trusted in God no matter what. He never spoke against Him or questioned His ways. At least three times is praised as an outstanding and noble father. Tobit should be a model for all fathers on Father’s Day.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Why Christianity is awesome
First of all lets get one thing straight-I am not a big fan of the Gathering Place. I find rampantly militant Fundamentalist Christianity offputting and frankly-somewhat disturbing-probably has something to do with the fact that I am a practicing Roman Catholic. But this battle isn't being fought over the Gathering Place. This battle is about the Christian faith (not religion) and its unique claim to the truth. 1) Many people and religions have claimed their founder was a divinely inspired prophet or even a god. But very few have made the claim that their founder rose from the dead. Fewer still can back up that claim. Halie Saliese, the Messiah of the Rastafarians is dead-that is an undisputed fact. Mohammed is buried in his tomb in Medina. Buddha attained Nirvana, but he's still dead (reincarnation does not count as resurrection). Jesus Christ was crucified by the Romans and buried in a stone tomb. Three days later his body was missing. His followers claimed He had risen from the dead. The Jewish authorities maintained that someone had stolen the body. Put the body was never found! Christianity could have been brought to a rather abrupt end if someone came forward with the body of Jesus. No one did. The best the Jewish priests could do was to bribe the guards at the tomb to say that someone stole the body. And in two thousand years, no archaeologist has uncovered the bones of Jesus. The closest anyone can claim is an ossuary with scratches on it that could be the (very common Jewish) name Yeshua bar Joseph. Therefore the claim that Jesus Christ rose from the dead holds itself up to scrutiny. Relics like the Shroud of Turin lend credence. 2)People have died, are dying and will continue to die for believing in the resurrection of Christ. From prison, the Apostle Paul stated that the Christian faith was worthless without the truth of the resurrection. As far as founders of religions go a Jewish carpenter turned itinerant preacher who got Himself crucified by the Romans after only three years of spreading His Message is not very impressive. Yet from the beginning, people were willing to die for Him. This makes absolutely no sense if Jesus had not risen from the dead. The Apostles were thrown in jail and flogged only 50 days after Jesus' death and yet they rejoiced that they "could suffer for His name." Surely if anyone would know the circumstances of Christ's death and his Resurrection it would be his twelve closest friends. If it had been faked, they would know, they probably would have perpetrated the fraud. Yet all but one wound up suffering deaths of varying brutality for refusing to deny their Lord. It is a miracle that Christianity survived three hundred of systematic albeit off and on persecution at the hands of the most powerful force in the known world at the time: the Roman Empire. The witness of these martyrs was so great that their own tormentors were converted many times and the plans of their persecutors backfired as the martyrdoms led to more Christians rather than less. "The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church" Iraneus said and even today martyrs in Iran, China, India and Africa bear testament to the veracity of Christ's resurrection. 3)Furthermore, Christianity-in particular the Catholic Church-has survived for 2,000 years against every single storm imaginable. Christianity stared defiant in the face of Nero, Diocletian, Atilla the Hun, Robespierre, Napoleon, Hitler, Stalin and Obama and have not blinked-and have won. That is a claim that Muslims, Rastafarians, Wiccans, Buddhists, Hindus, Raelians and Zorastrians can not and never will be able to mak
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)