Matt Capps Arts, Culture, Philosophy, Religion, Thoughts

Heath Ledger, The Joker, and Christian Theology

I saw the ‘Dark Knight’ last week, and ever since seeing Heath Ledger’s Joker performance, a few things have been in my mind. Ledger delivered one of  the most chilling depictions of human depravity I have seen in a while.

The Christian doctrine of ‘depravity’ (The Greek word ‘porneria’, which can also be translated ‘corruption’) essentially speaks of humanities ‘active intent to corrupt or destroy’. This condition involves the concept of moral corruption and liability to judgment. (There is some debate among theologians over the proper quantitative word to be used in describing humanities depravity, ‘Are we totally depraved or radically depraved?’)

Either way this debate must take into account the fact that we were created in the image of God with the capacity for good, but every part of our being has been affected by sin (Rom. 7:18; Titus 1:15; Jer. 17:9; Eph. 4:18). Every person is sinful. It is this sinful nature that manifests itself differently in each individual person, yet all mankind is marked with the scars of sin.

Here is where ‘The Dark Knight’ comes into play, I was totally enthralled with Heath Ledger’s performance as The Joker. Ledger took the character to a whole new level, a totally depraved psychopathic villain. The Joker lived to create chaos, and seemed to be enslaved with a thirst for gratuitous evil. Ledger perfectly characterized ‘the heart of darkness’.

Not only was Ledger’s performance Oscar worthy, the Joker completely stole the show. So I began thinking, why is it that this evil villain seemed so believable? Why is it that Ledger’s performance resonated so deep, so memorable? If there was ever a time when an actor blurred the lines between art and reality, it is in this movie. Ledger managed to convince me (at least) that he really was ‘that evil’.

I think Christian Theology can speak to these questions. It is much easier for a fallen human being to depict evil than good. This is not a knock on Ledger’s performance, but an observation of reality. Besides the fact that Batman sounded like “the spawn of Clint Eastwood and a Grizzly Bear” (this is pretty funny), the character was unrealistic, ‘too good to be real’. The Batman represented an ideal, just like other ‘super-heros’ who reach beyond the regular abilities of humanity for some ‘greater good’. Being that good, or standing for good in the way batman does is much harder when your life is on the line. As C.S. Lewis once remarked, “no man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good”.

The scary thing is that the Joker never did anything ‘non-realistic’ (I am speaking in terms of ‘the possible’). The possibility of sin and destruction are part of this created order. These realities are the horrible effect of the fall.

See, the reality of evil was not an ‘original thing’, (evil is not a ‘thing’ itself, but the depravity of ‘things’) but the possibility of evil entered created order when the first man and woman deliberately turned there backs on God. This is where the Joker hits home; he represents the darkness of the human heart in its most depraved form. If anything, this character illustrates our need of the Gospel, and sheds a whole new light on common grace. I am absolutely thankful that God has placed moral order in this world to guide our sinful hearts. But more than that, I am thankful that God has provided a way for righteousness through Christ His Son. This is the meaning of the Gospel, that all of us deserve death (from those who are as evil as the Joker, to those who ‘mess up’ every now and then…essentially we are the same), but Christ has provided a way to eternal life and reconciliation to God in the Gospel.

Matt Capps Religion, Thoughts

Christ as the Meaning of Life

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:1, 14)

When John began his account of the Gospel of Jesus Christ he deliberately drew a connection to Genesis 1:1 in reference to ‘the beginning’. The ‘beginning’ is in reference to the origin of all things (arche also bears the meaning ‘origin’). In John’s Gospel- Christ is meant to be seen as the originator and reason for life itself. But beyond the concept of origins, Christ provides meaning for life.

The Greek concept for logos (translated ‘word’ in this passage) refers to the inner thought, the reason, or even the science behind creation. One of God’s chief desires in the creation of this world (cosmos) was to reveal Himself. In that sense, God’s word (Christ) is His most powerful self expression in creation, revelation, and redemption. This is shown in the text since ‘the word was with God, and was God’, it is obvious that the word is God himself, and nothing less.

John applies this logos (word) concept to Christ so that the readers would see Christ as the reason, or principle by which everything exists. If this concept is true, then the ultimate fulfillment-the primary reason for existence is ‘to know Christ’. In knowing Christ, God is most fully revealed. This was why Christ came and ‘dwelt among’ man, in order to make God known, and make God known in a tangible way, within the limits of humanities rational grasp.

Matt Capps Health, Life, Personal, Religion, Thoughts

Prayers for a 2 Year Old Boy with Scoliosis

One of my best friends, Ronny Richard has an ugent prayer request and is asking for support for his two year old cousin Ronald Holder Jr. Here is the story,

“My 2 year old cousin, Ronald Holder Jr. was just diagnosed with a severe case of scoliosis. It is so bad that if he doesn’t have surgery he will die soon. The curvature of his spine is causing one of his rib cages to apply pressure on his lung which will eventually suffocate him.

The surgery cost over 200,000 dollars but The Shriners Hospital is going to take care of the expenses. However, the MRI’s that he need’s will cost $10,000 dollars and we must come up with half of that ($5,000) before they will even proceed. We already have $3,000 of that so all we need is $2,000. Friends, anything you can do can help. Every little bit counts and if you can only give 5 or 10 dollars, it still adds up! Please let this little boy enjoy the full life he deserves. This is a very successful procedure and time is of the essence.”

Here is a link to the web site where you can find information on providing financial support for this family. If you are not in a position to give, pray that God would provide the means. This little boy deserves a chance to live life to the fullest.

http://ronaldholderjr.wordpress.com/

This is a wonderful opportunity to minister to a family and exhibit the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Matt Capps Thoughts

Theology for Women

A friend of mine, Sharon Hodde, has developed a blog where she writes (and writes well) on issues related to women and theology.

“Sharon Hodde is a North Carolina girl, born and raised. She is originally from Charlotte, NC, and she received her undergraduate degree and Masters of Divinity from Duke University. She is now a college minister to students at Duke, UNC-Chapel Hill and UNC-Greensboro.”

A link to her blog can be found here. Sharon has also been featured on Ed Stetzer’s blog.

I have found that what Sharon says is challenging and encouraging, and would recommend her blog to any reader.

Matt Capps Philosophy, Religion, Thoughts

A Thought on True Worship (Part 1): Romans 12:1

In Romans 12:1 Paul writes “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”

First let us establish that true Christian worship, as Ernst Kasemann once noted, “does not consist of what is practiced at sacred sites, at sacred times, and with sacred acts…It is the offering of bodily existence”. True Christian worship consists of offering the whole of self, the mind and heart, so that God would be glorified. This was made possible at the cross, where Christ offered himself as a sacrifice once and for all, thus opening up the way of true fellowship between God and man. The possibility of such a relationship  was, before the work of Christ, cut off at the fall.

The Greek translated ‘spiritual worship’ can also be rendered ‘reasonable service’. This ‘intelligent worship’ is reasonable given the mercies of God shown in salvation for all who believe. Thomas Schreiner notes that, the call to worship recalls a theme already introduced in Paul’s letter to the Romans, 1:25. From this observation we can conclude that the fundamental sin of man is ‘failure to worship’ the one true God. Therefore, those who seek to truly worship God live there entire lives so that he is honored and praised.

Moreover, this word translated ‘worship’ has a rich background in Greek and Hellenistic Jewish philosophy, possibly referring to the fact that God created human beings as having logos (reason). This ‘reason’ is one of the things we, as humans, have in common with God. Emphasizing ‘truly appropriate worship’, which involves;

1. The Mind: Seeing and Understanding how God has made Himself known in redemptive history (Through the Bible).

2. The Heart: Loving and Treasuring God for the sacrificing of himself (Christ) in your place, and opening the eyes of the redeemed to see the beauty of redemption (Spirit).

This is the Gospel, and the foundation of true worship.

For more on the Gospel of Jesus Christ, click here.

Matt Capps Religion, Thoughts

Thinking about Seminary?

I often hear Christian’s throwing around the idea of ‘going to seminary’. I would say, ‘if you are being called into the ministry go to seminary, you need the training’.

I would also suggest that you read Dr. Daniel Akin’s “Reasons for Theological Training“, or Dr. John Frame’s “On Seminary“, or this excellent post by Justin Taylor titled “Thinking about Seminary?”

Beyond that, I have found that many theological schools are now offering online training, you can click the following links to download MP3’s of seminary level classes;

Covenant Seminary

Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary

Reformed Theological Seminary

This last link is a combination of teachings from various seminary professors,

Biblical Training

Reclaiming the Mind Ministries

These links are great for getting the ‘feel’ of what seminary traning is like. Even if you are not thinking about seminary, these lectures are great for long morning walks.

Matt Capps Religion, Thoughts

The Death of a Christian

For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.” (2 Timothy 4:6)

Often times we forget that the Apostles were human beings. People like you and I, with emotion, hopes, sorrow, pain, and so on. But the faith of these men always blows me away.

Above I have posted what Paul writes to his disciple Timothy as he is contemplating the possibility of being condemned to death. In fact, Paul is very near his death. Paul uses precise imagery. It seems that the idea of a Christian martyr’s blood being a libation (poured out as a sacrifice) or drink offering was the image Paul wanted Timothy to recall.

The technical word ‘drink offering’ could be seen in two ways, 1.) the Roman custom of pouring out a glass of wine to the gods as a sacrifice. There was reason to believe that every meal ended with this symbolic act. Paul was about to be executed, and saw it as a symbolic act to God. Or 2.) The libation of wine which was poured out beside the alter. According to the law (Num. 15:1-10), when a lamb was sacrificed, a drink offering consisting of wine was gradually poured out to signify the final act of the entire ceremony.

Either way, Paul was able to face his death and look back at his whole life as ‘a living sacrifice to God’ (Rom. 12:1, Phil. 2:17). How many of us could say the same thing of our lives? This is a powerful image, an image of what it looks like to see a true Christian die, this is also what it looks like to see a Christian truly live. Just another part of God’s vast redemptive history.

Matt Capps Personal, Philosophy, Thoughts

Morality in Postmodernity

I was thinking about the effects that pluralism have on morality this morning, and I must acknowledge that humanity is in need of universal truth. We live in an age where truth is subjective, where men and women do as they please, where ‘what is true to me, might not be true to you’, therefore there is no standard beyond the mere restraints of the criminal and civil laws which have been established.

But we are heading towards a day where law will become more and more elusive. Maybe to the point of such confusion that justice can no longer maintained.

I think you can read this excerpt from Bruce Little’s essay titled “Vital Cultural Issues and Necessary Virtues” and understand why I am making such a statement.

“It is clear by the discussion that one’s view of morality is bound inextricably to one’s idea of ultimate reality. If one’s philosophical commitments lead him to deny the actuality of the transcendent, then it follows he cannot affirm the existence of universals or absolutes. Moreover, if universals do not exist, then all there is, are the particulars, but in such a case, there is no objective way to assess the meaning of the particulars. Meaning must be derived from only the relationship of one particular to another. The end is, as Weaver suggests, that man is the measure of all things and, in the case of morality, all that is left is relativism. In this relativistic context, everybody’s moral views must have equal weight.”

How then can we know right from wrong, truth from error?

Matt Capps Philosophy, Religion, Thoughts

“God Is Not Dead Yet”

Below is a link to an article written by William Lane Craig which appeared in the July issue of Christianity Today.

Here is the first paragraph;

“You might think from the recent spate of atheist best-sellers that belief in God has become intellectually indefensible for thinking people today. But a look at these books by Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and Christopher Hitchens, among others, quickly reveals that the so-called New Atheism lacks intellectual muscle. It is blissfully ignorant of the revolution that has taken place in Anglo-American philosophy. It reflects the scientism of a bygone generation rather than the contemporary intellectual scene.”

This article is a brief overview of the philosophical foundations for Christianity, namely, arguments for God’s existence.

Click Here for the article.

Matt Capps Philosophy, Religion, Thoughts

C.S. Lewis on Desire

Below I have posted one of the beginning paragraphs of C.S. Lewis‘ collection of essays entitled “The Weight of Glory”.

“If you asked twenty good men today what they thought the highest of the virtues, nineteen of them would reply, Unselfishness. But if you had asked almost any of the great Christians of old, he would have replied, Love. You see what has happened? A negative term has been substituted for a positive, and this is of more than philological importance. The negative idea of Unselfishness carries with it the suggestion not primarily of securing good things for others, but of going without them ourselves, as if our abstinence and not their happiness was the important point. I do not think this is the Christian virtue of Love. The New Testament has lots to say about self-denial, but not about self-denial as an end in itself. We are told to deny ourselves and to take up our crosses in order that we may follow Christ; and nearly every description of what we shall ultimately find if we do so contains an appeal to desire. If there lurks in most modern minds the notion that to desire our own good and earnestly to hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing,. Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”