Now having read a few reviews of 
this movie, I knew exactly what we were in for. 105 minutes of bloody violence with a few naked women thrown into the mix. But still in the three weeks since its release the movie has grossed over $162,354,000, and continues to dominate the box office. Now obviously I don't think that we should just go along with whatever culture does, but when something makes such a splash, I think that there is something worth checking out. Why are people seeing it? So we went. Now I will say this about the movie; There, were a few minutes where we all spent some time studying our shoes (but the movie wasn’t nearly as sexual as I had been led to believe). And second there is a lot of blood (although it looks pretty fake). With that said, at the end of the movie all of us were wishing that we lived back in 400 B.C. and we had what it took to be a true Spartan. What was it about this movie, that inspires? That draws a longing deep within us? What this movie does is it shows us a world were things are simple. It shows us a world where honour, respect, and glory are held above everything else. It shows us a world where there is something greater than ourselves to live and die for. It shows us a world where men discipline their bodies, and make it their slaves. It shows us that our lives can mean something, even if we are small and it seems like everything is against us. It shows us a community of people who will stand by each other and sacrifice their lives for each other. Essentially it shows us the world that we wished we live in. Now most of us would rather do without all of the violence and battle, that came with this era, but we want something to live and die for. We want honour, respect, glory, discipline, community, and a cause. And that is what draws us to this movie.
Of course there is more too it than that. Cinematically it is stunning, and the stylized fighting is amazing to watch. But I believe that at the heart of it, there is a longing that this movie creates in us. I know that even days later, I still have a longing to be a warrior, to have a battle that demands my life.
And so.... the question is, where do we go from here? I believe that within Christianity there is a place for honour, respect, glory, disciple, community, and obviously there is a cause that we have. But how to we draw that out? How do we inspire men to grab hold of the faith, and become warriors? How does Christ, become our battle of
For more info you can read Relevant Magazine Plugged In Magazine and Ben Witherington
for their reviews of 300
7 comments:
Hmm. Sounds just like the last hockey game I saw. The great war for the Stanley cup is looming and the Mighty Ducks are set for battle. Who says we have to go back to 400 BC.
hmmm... reminds me of a discussion we had in one of my Anabaptist belief classes. Should Christians play/watch hockey? Seems like a pretty violent way to spend our time.... :D
This raises some questions -
Since our actions speak louder than our words, as a Christian and Pastor is this an appropriate place to go? Some in the congregation of believers would find this offensive and heartbreaking.
Hi, anonymous,
I'm sorry if you feel this way. I do my best to try and live my Christian life with integrity, and honesty, I'm not sure that I can do much more than that.
I think it is about passion - It would be nice if some of the passion that we see played out in a battle or war brought back to our lives/Christian faith. It seems that we forget that we are in a battle. I know I forget the reality of the unseen way too quickly.
Nathan you are totally right. We do long for "honour, respect, glory, discipline, community, and a cause." And these things we see in our stories of the old days (though I have a feeling that reality would have been a little different). I guess the question that we need to struggle with is how do we create these things today?
Ben I think you hit the nail on the head... (is that how the saying goes). That is what I have spent a lot of time thinking about since seeing the movie. How do we create a place where our longings are met. Where our dreams are lived out. Sista C is right. It's about Passion. And that is something that is missing from most of our lives.... except maybe Dwight when he's eating ribs.
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