Alternative Culture: Made in Italy Theological Review

 

Robert and his son Jack agree to renovate their old Italian house for sale

I rarely watch contemporary drama films as I have an inherent liking for action-based, fantasy or sci-fi films. Nevertheless, I decided to watch Made in Italy on Netflix for a few reasons. One, it starred one of my favourite actors, Liam Neeson, and two, it showcased one of my favourite countries, Italy.

Synopsis
Jack Foster (Micheal Richardson) is released from his job as an art gallery manager in England. The owner is Ruth, Jack's estranged wife. To continue his lifestyle, Jack offers to buy the gallery, by selling an Italian mansion he and his father, Robert (Liam Neeson) inherited.

The problem is that he and his artist father are not on good terms and he needs his father's consent to sell it. To make things worse, the mansion is in poor condition after years of neglect. After some father-son confrontations and advice from a property agent Kate (Lindsay Duncan) and a neighbour (Valeria Bilello), the duo decide to work together to restore the mansion.

Christian themes explored

The reality of suffering
One thing I did like about the film was the exploration of the reality of suffering. Jack's mother's death and the absence of his father during Jack's childhood were traumatic to him.

Similarly, Robert's abandonment of his son and loss of artistic talent was due to the immense guilt that he may have caused his wife's death. In his sharing with Kate (who is pained by her cheating husband),  they could never go back to how things were.

Except, you never really can start again. -- Robert to Kate

However in Christianity there is hope. Jesus is divine, and yet is able to empathise with us.

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. - Hebrews 4: 15.

Jack and Robert look proudly at their renovation

Restoration of relationships
Being a simple film, the focus is on the restoration of relationship between Jack and Robert. It only happens after massive arguments, petty disagreements and quality time together. Yet though great desire, they realise that their restored relationship was worth more the monetary value of the mansion.

Similarly, God desires the restoration of relationship with us. The journey towards that restoration may be painful, but it will be worth it.

For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. -- Romans 8: 19-21

Conclusion
Despite being a simple film, I was suprirsed by how much I enjoyed it. Adding to the emotion impact was that Liam Neeson and Micheal Richardson are real-life father and son, and this film was seen as a passion project (as Nessons's wife Natasha Richardson died in 2009).

Alternative Culture: A theological view of recent moral scandals of Singapore politicians

 

According to Arthurian legends, the illicit affair between Lancelot and Queen Guinevere led to fall of Camelot and King Arthur. This screenshot is from the game Pendragon.

Recently, my country Singapore has been hit by a wave of scandals. These incidents involved Transport Minister S Iswaran, Speaker of House Tan Chuan-Jin, Member of Parliament Cheng Li Hui, Member of Parliament Leon Perera, and senior member of the Workers' Party, Nicole Seah. 

The purpose of this post is to provide a theological view of the incidents. I am not here to give a political analysis or probe into their personal lives. I will also not be speculating on the character of those involved. For a factual view, I attached links from Channel News Asia in the first paragraph.

Here are my theological reflections:

These incidents are not unique or as rare as we think
This is definitely not the first time such scandals had arose from positions of power. In 2012, Speaker of the House Michael Palmer was also caught in an affair and resigned his post. American President Bill Clinton used his position of influence to have an sexual relationship with Monica Lewinsky. Even in Biblical times, King David (paragon of faith) had an affair with a married woman.

One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (Now she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness.) Then she went back home. The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.” - 2 Samuel 11: 2-5

As Canadian businessman Stewart Butterfield noted "It [Power] makes you more than who you already were.". In other words, being in positions of power increases the resources and opportunities to sin. Power amplifies our flaws.

A common theme in the Soul Calibur fighting game series is the corrupting influence of power.

We should use such incidents to reflect and repent of our own sins

Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish."
- Luke 13:2-3

While it is tempting to join the bandwagon and condemned moral failures, we must be on guard for our own potential failures. If we are being honest with ourselves, we all are 2-3 small mistakes from our moral atrocities made public.

Prior to controversy, Tan Chuan Jin claimed that he had to be even more vigilant as a Christian in public office because his "own vanity, ego, social pressures and expectations" are now in the open. This is echoed in the Casting Crown song, Slow Fade, warning on how easy it is to slip into sin if we are not careful.

For the Christian, these incidents are reminder to remember how much we need Jesus.

My Confession: Reflections on Job 8

 

I continue my reflections on Job.

Synopsis
Job's reply in Job 6-7 did not sit well with Bildad. It was now Bildad turn to speak,

“How long will you say such things?
    Your words are a blustering wind.
Does God pervert justice?
    Does the Almighty pervert what is right?" (Job 8:2-3)

According to Bildad, Job's children got what they deserved for their sin. He explained,

"When your children sinned against him,
    he gave them over to the penalty of their sin." (Job 8:4)

He continued,

"Such is the destiny of all who forget God;
    so perishes the hope of the godless.
 What they trust in is fragile;
    what they rely on is a spider’s web." (Job 8: 13-14)

He then concludes by a simple view of God's justice,

“Surely God does not reject one who is blameless
    or strengthen the hands of evildoers.
He will yet fill your mouth with laughter
    and your lips with shouts of joy.
Your enemies will be clothed in shame,
    and the tents of the wicked will be no more.” (Job 8:20 -23)

My reflections
Despite his attempt to comfort Job, Bildad is wrong in relegating God to a simplistic view of justice. In his view, only the good are rewarded while the wicked are punished. In other words, physical health and material wealth is one way to know if a person is right with God.

But we definitely know that this is not true. In our lifetime, we definitely have witness injustice. There are healthy and rich people who are corrupt; while there are sickly and poor people who are honest. Bildad seems to be promoting a form of prosperity gospel.

I myself must not follow in Bildad's theology and promote such binary thinking.

Alternative Culture: Bad Genius Review

Bank (left) confronts Lynn (right) over her cheating plan.

At the moment I am enjoying Netflix. Netflix had brought to my attention a slew of films I would have otherwise missed out on as they are non-Hollywood or widely advertised in Singapore. I have mainly been watching Sword Art Online: Ordinal Scale, the Wandering Earth and Modest Heroes. The film I do want to do a theological review today is the 2017 Thai film Bad Genius.

The paper chase

In Asian society, formal education is highly valued. Thus the competition for grades and scholarships is highly intense in Thailand. Seeing a business opportunity, poor Thai student Lynn decides to help her schoolmates cheat using a code system in return for cash. To increase her earnings, she decided to include more clients into her cheating scheme.

Later in the movie, she was engaged to help cheat during the international standardised university test called the  STIC (analogous to the SAT or GRE). Realising she could not come up with a cheating system alone, she decides to recruit Bank (another smart student) into her schemes.

The surest way to hell

Interestingly Lynn, who had prided herself in her intelligent and practical schemes, started to feel increasing guilty as her participation in cheating deepens. On the other hand, Bank who had earlier held fast to his morality, was willing to dive deeper and deeper into cheating.

The movie seems to make the following statement: People who are most sure about their goodness are more likely to fall into the path of evil. Those who recognise their sinfulness are more likely to be take the path of redemption.

Parable of the debtors

I am surprised to see this movie's parallels to the parable of the debtors (Luke 7:40-47):

Jesus answered him, "Simon, I have something to tell you."

He said, "Teacher, say on."

"A certain lender had two debtors. The one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they couldn't pay, he forgave them both. Which of them therefore will love him most?"

Simon answered, "He, I suppose, to whom he forgave the most."

He said to him, "You have judged correctly." Turning to the woman, he said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I entered into your house, and you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head. You gave me no kiss, but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss my feet. You didn't anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little." He said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."

Let's us not take pride in our self-righteousness and remind ourselves that we too have potential for great good or evil.