New movies are usually released to theaters every Friday, but who’s got 10 bucks these days to drop on a movie that may well be a load of crap? Given those odds, each Friday I offer an alternative on DVD that you can rent at your local video store (or in some cases, avoid at all costs). Some will be new releases, others you may have to hunt for, but all of them are available to light up your small screen should it be a lazy Friday night.

The movie begins with Fenton Meeks (Matthew McConaughey) walking into the office of FBI agent Wesley Doyle (Powers Boothe). Doyle has been hunting the notorious “God’s Hand” serial killer, and Fenton has come to confess that the killer is his brother, Adam. In response to Doyle’s questions, Fenton tells the story of his childhood, which is presented in extended flashback and comprises the bulk of the film. When Fenton (played by Matt O’Leary in his younger iteration) was entering his teenage years, he and Adam (Jeremy Sumpter), who was about 10, were being raised by their dad (Bill Paxton, who also makes his directorial debut). Their father was a hard-working, loving, God-fearing, blue-collar single dad doing his best to raise the boys. One night, however, everything changed. The boys are awoken in the middle of the night by their father, who says that he has received a vision from God. God, he says, has informed him that the end of days is near, and he and the boys have been tasked with destroying demons. The horrifying catch is that these demons will appear to be people. An angel will give them the names of those who are to be killed, and he will provide the weapons (an old axe and a lead pipe) to be used. As the three kidnap their first “demon” for the slaughter, young Adam blindly follows his zealous father while the horrified Fenton suspects that his dad isn’t a holy executioner but a madman.

Without getting into spoilers, the film is basically the story of Fenton and Adam’s different reactions to their father’s actions, and what effects those reactions have on their lives. It is here that I found a very interesting theological issue arising – namely the importance of normative revelation (i.e. Scripture) to the life of faith. I can’t get into too many specifics without spoiling things, but I’d be interested to hear what others who saw the film have to say. If you’ve seen the movie, leave me a comment and we’ll discuss. If you haven’t seen the film, consider the comments section a spoiler zone. As a piece of entertainment, the movie is a fantastic success. Paxton’s rookie effort behind the camera is a great one, and his terrific portrayal of the elder Meeks lends some sympathy to what could have been a caricature of a character. The boys are pretty good for child actors, and their innocence only makes the film all the more disturbing as they watch their father slaughter his victims. The movie is about as dark as they come, thematically, and the cinematography conveys the sense of unease and dread palpably. Let me warn you – if you are turned off by horror films or graphic violence, best leave this one on the shelf. However, if you like a good thriller and are tired of the gratuitous, self-indulgent, cookie-cutter slashers that seem to hit the theaters on a weekly basis anymore, let Frailty give your nerves a jolt and your brain some questions to ponder. – **** (out of four)

Frailty is rated R for violence and some language.

Last night, my Charlotte Bobcats played their first game under new coach Larry Brown. Brown is a basketball mastermind, and his hiring has many Bobcats fans (all 17 of us) hoping that this will be the year the team finally puts the pieces together and pulls off a winning season. That may still happen, but last night’s 96-79 loss to the Cavs showed that there’s still a lot of work to be done. This team has a lot of young talent, but they’ve got a ways to go to put it together as a team. Here’s hoping that they find a way to do it.

This morning, I had a bit of a quandary. Last night, I realized I was out of shirts to wear to work, so I threw a few in the wash before I went to bed. My in-laws are in town, and my mother-in-law offered to change the shirts over to the dryer before she went to bed. Sounded like a plan – I’d just quietly (the basement doubles as our guest room and laundry room, so my in-laws were sleeping down there) walk down to the basement in the morning and retrieve one. This morning, as I reached the bottom of the stairs, I realized an unforeseen difficulty. Our basement, at 6:30 AM with no lights on, is pitch black. Oops. I tiptoed over to the dryer, feeling my way along, knowing by daily routine where it was. However, after opening the dryer, I could see absolutely nothing inside. I felt around and pulled out what I thought might have been a work shirt. Wrong. This process repeated itself for a while until I eventually wound up with the right shirt.

The shirts were there – they’d been there the whole time. However, because I couldn’t see them, they were inaccessible to me, so they might as well have not been there at all. Welcome to the time before the Reformation. Spiritual darkness reigned over the church. The Bible was there, yes – but since it was only translated into Latin, and not the languages of the common people, it was completely inaccessible. One’s only hope of finding spiritual truth was a religious education or a rare honest priest. Today, we look back on the efforts of one such honest priest, Martin Luther, who 491 years ago today challenged the abuses of the church at the risk of his livelihood, and even his life. Luther, Calvin, Huss, Wycliffe, Zwingli, and the others whose efforts we celebrate didn’t invent our faith. It had been there the whole time. It had lain dormant in the pages of Scripture, obscured by a church more interested in lining its own pockets than guarding the souls of its people. These men simply had the courage to shine a light, and they reminded the world of the marvelous riches of the grace of God.

Chances are that if you’re reading this, you’ve got a Bible on your shelf. Have you taken it for granted? Does this jewel sit neglected, with you secure in the knowledge that you can always look something up in it in a pinch? Or, perhaps you have become so familiar with the words of Scripture that they’ve lost much of their punch. You’ve taught so many Sunday School classes that his grace ceases to amaze you anymore. When we neglect the Word, either from familiarity or contempt (or as the old adage says, both), we cast a sad shadow on the men and women who worked, some giving their lives, to bring the truth of God before our eyes. They fumbled through the dryer, tirelessly looking for the right shirts. They turned the light on for us. They ironed and pressed the shirts, slipped a mint in the pocket, and went on their way. Yet, on many days, we just can’t work up the energy to walk to the basement. We go to work without a shirt on. But it’s okay, we realize as we sit at our desks. Nobody else has theirs on either.

For more Reformation reflections, head on over to Tim Challies’ blog for his Reformation Day Symposium.

Quite possibly the funniest local news report in human history. “Who all seen the leprechaun say yeah!”

Last night, we took a break from our John study and kicked back together to celebrate Reformation Day. Breaking from our usual retelling of the Luther story, we talked about John Wycliffe’s efforts translating the Bible into English. It was a great time. Praise God for the brave men and women who he has used through the centuries to stand up for truth, and Soli Deo Gloria!

My Hurricanes are off to a good start at 4-2-1, but if stuff like this concussion-inducing (though clean) hit on rookie Brandon Sutter keeps happening, we won’t be able to put a team on the ice by January. Get well soon, Brandon.

New movies are usually released to theaters every Friday, but who’s got 10 bucks these days to drop on a movie that may well be a load of crap? Given those odds, each Friday I offer an alternative on DVD that you can rent at your local video store (or in some cases, avoid at all costs). Some will be new releases, others you may have to hunt for, but all of them are available to light up your small screen should it be a lazy Friday night.

The movie is set in – you guessed it! – Chicago, in the 1920s. Times are good, sexy cabaret jazz is all the rage, and the people are fascinated with sensational tabloid journalism. That’s the world that young Roxie Hart (Renee Zellweger) aspires to enter. She seeks stardom, so she cheats on her boring-family-man husband (John C. Reilly) with a club owner who’s promised her a big break. When he goes back on his promise, she murders him in a rage, and is taken to prison to await her trial. There, she meets several other women who took care of their no-good lovers (“He had it comin’,” they say), the most famous of whom is Velma Kelly (Catherine Zeta-Jones), a former star performer who’s now locked up for killing her husband. The two women compete for the services of star (and crooked) lawyer Billy Flynn (Richard Gere), who has the legal chops to get them off the hook. Then, they can use their newfound tabloid stardom to achieve even bigger celebrity. Using theater as a metaphorical alternate-reality, we watch Roxie, Velma, and Billy work their song-and-dance magic on a public that eats it all up and clamors for more.

It’s here that Chicago shines. The clever juxtaposition of show and reality illustrates just how dangerously close those two are. We live in a culture that craves showmanship, personality, and entertainment, and cares very little about truth. Chicago illustrates that with damning accuracy and cleverness. The music’s great, the film is perfectly cast (supporting players include Queen Latifah, Christine Baranksi, Taye Diggs, Lucy Liu, and Colm Feore), the production design and cinematography are second-to-none, but they’re all applied in service of a film that gives us a wink as it holds a mirror in front of our eyes to the fickle nature of humanity. Watching it now during the endless parade of an election season, I think the film carried even more punch. As I said, the movie’s musical numbers are staged as cabaret acts and as such are more than a little risqué. If that bothers you, then by all means, stay away from this one. If not, then please give Chicago a shot. You’ll come away entertained, yes, but also sadly and cleverly reminded that in the world in which we live, everything’s a show – and a little razzle-dazzle goes a long way. And that’s a trap that not just cabaret dancers, but we Christians too, fall into all too easily. – **** (out of four)

Last week, a good friend lent me a copy of Randy Pausch’s best-selling book, The Last Lecture. Pausch (who died in July) was a computer science professor who in his mid-forties was diagnosed with terminal cancer. After the failure of all treatment options, Pausch was given only 3-6 months to live. He was invited by his university, Carnegie-Mellon, to give his “last lecture,” a tradition where outgoing profs expound on the wisdom gained in their lives and what they’d like to pass on. The father or three young children, Pausch saw this as an opportunity to leave a message and a legacy to them, and gave the lecture. His book is an expansion of the lecture, telling his life story and passing on what he learned through it. I had heard good things about the book, but I’ll admit that I was a little apprehensive about reading it. I had visions of an overly smarmy 200-page long Hallmark card. Those fears were shattered as I got into the book, and found myself tremendously moved by one of the best books I’ve read in the last few years.

One thing that instantly jumps out from the book is Pausch’s personality. Within the first few pages, I had the unshakeable thought, “I like this guy.” As I waded deeper into the book, that very quickly morphed into, “I want to be like this guy.” This was a man who understood what was important in life. This was a guy who loved his wife and kids, wasn’t afraid to follow his dreams, and lived every day with a joy and a purpose. From his reflections about his parents and his childhood to his recounting of his bachelor days to his beautiful discussions of being a husband and father, this is a man with a story to tell – terminal cancer or not. One anecdote sticks out to me that seemed to sum up his personality. He talks of his bachelor days, when he would be the “fun uncle” to his nephews. He had just bought a snazzy new convertible and was preparing to take them for a ride as his sister hounded the boys to be careful not to mess up Uncle Randy’s new car. Wanting to communicate that there are more important things in life than stuff, he cracked open a can of Coke and poured it all over the back seat as the boys watched in amazement. Pausch talks about how a few days later, one of the boys got sick and threw up in the back seat. Needless to say, he didn’t feel scared that Uncle Randy would be mad at him for ruining his new car.

Countless situations like that paint a picture of a man who didn’t waste his time worrying about what everybody thought of him. He lived his life, and he lived it well. I found myself reflecting on my own life, and how much I take for granted – my wife, my daughter, my family. Whether my life ends at 45 or 95, I want to be able to look back and know that I lived it well, that I truly focused on the things that are really important. This is a book I can recommend wholeheartedly to any and everyone. It’s a fantastic memoir from a man who truly has a story worth telling.

That brings me to one final reflection. One cannot read a story like this without asking the “why” question. Why would God take a man like that in the prime of life, with a wife and kids who need him? (Interestingly enough, though Pausch reflects briefly on his faith and his church, the “why” question never comes up) Adding to the irony is the fact that I spent time yesterday in a blog debate about how a loving God can be in sovereign control of a world filled with suffering. I had to ask the question – how can Romans 8:28 apply to Randy Pausch? Surely, his wife and kids grieve his loss with a sadness that I can’t even imagine. I don’t want to downplay that in the least. But consider this – I’ve repeatedly said that this is a man with a story worth telling. However, if it weren’t for his cancer, his story would never be told. After all, the man was a computer science professor at Carnegie-Mellon. Computer science professors at Carnegie-Mellon don’t write NYT best-selling memoirs. Randy Pausch, because of his suffering, was able to impact millions of lives, including mine, with his own. I am so thankful that God allowed me to see his life story, for there is much in it that I want to emulate. Does it take away the suffering? No – but it is a glimpse into the gracious and sovereign hand of God who works all things together for good.

This weekly topic is an effort to recap the Wednesday night Bible study I teach at Sola5, my youth group. I hope it serves to help us all in contemplating the ceaseless riches of God’s grace as revealed through the Scriptures.

What is faith? We claim that it’s what saves us, that it’s central to our lives, but what is it? If you told somebody today that they should have faith in Jesus Christ and they asked what that means, what would you tell them? Last night, we sought to answer that question as we continued our study of the Gospel of John in John 20:19-31. As Jesus appears to his disciples for the first time after his resurrection, we see firsthand the effects that a true faith should have on us, and we have an object lesson on the nature of faith itself.

First up, we see the results of faith. The disciples are sitting in a locked house, confused about the day’s events (the empty tomb) and fearful of the religious leaders who had Jesus crucified little more than 48 hours earlier. Suddenly, Jesus appears in the room, showing them his hands, feet, and side – that he was more than just a ghost, but that he had been raised from the dead. At this point, all the disciples in the room believe in his resurrection as they see him standing before their very eyes. Let’s focus, though, on what Jesus has to say to them. What should their newfound faith cause to happen? First, he says, “Peace be with you.” He’s calming their fears. Why can we have peace in our lives? Because Christ is risen. Sin loses its power, death and suffering lose their sting. If we have placed our full confidence in Christ’s atoning death and resurrection, then what have we to fear? Our future is secure. We like that, but immediately after Jesus says something more difficult. “As the father has sent me, so I am sending you.” Our faith must produce work. It must cause us to actually do something. I can talk all I want about my faith in a certain chair to hold my weight, but if I won’t actually sit in it, I have no faith in it at all. Faith necessitates action. Jesus tells us that he is sending us out just like the Father sent him into the world. He expounds on that, saying that we have authority to forgive sins. His statement sounds strange. In what sense do we have the authority to forgive sins? We offer forgiveness when we offer the gospel. We are sent into the world not with an authority that is inherent to us, but with an authority derived from the Word of God.

However, one disciple is absent from this meeting, and it is through him that we get a glimpse into the nature of faith. Thomas is told of what has happened, and he doesn’t believe it. He promises that he will never believe it until he can see for himself. Now, at this point, we might half expect to hear God say, “Tough luck, Thomas. That’s not how this whole ‘faith’ thing works!” But what does Christ do? He appears to Thomas. He invites him to see for himself. Despite the constant accusations of the New Atheists such as Dawkins, Hitchens, and their loyal cyberspace followers who repeat their arguments ad infinitum, faith is not blind. God has not left us to guess, but he presents to us evidence to understand. Our faith is not a blind mysticism but a faith grounded in a historical claim – that Jesus of Nazareth was raised from the dead. However, before we trade in our idea of faith for an encyclopedia, Jesus delivers a stinging rebuke to Thomas. He points out that the faith God calls us to is often one that requires belief without absolute material certainty. Faith is not blind, but it is also not proof. I can’t empirically prove that Christ was raised from the dead. Becoming a Christian is not about assembling the correct tidbits of knowledge to build the perfect case. It is about trust. It is, at the end of the day, faith. But this faith has its reasons, as Pascal said. That’s what John points to in verses 30 and 31. He says that he is writing these things down – things he himself has seen – so that we might believe. He is giving us the story of Christ, reasons to have faith in him, but he also calls us to believe. Faith can be a tricky thing. Perhaps you’re seeking to follow Christ, but feel like you’re constantly overcome with doubts about how it can all be true. Perhaps you’re on the flip side – you have all the intellectual answers, but find it difficult to put those ideas into action and live a life of faith. Either way, seek God in his word, and pray for a stronger faith. Ask for the advice of those who have walked the journey of faith before you. At the end of the day, our task can be incredibly complex, but it’s also painfully simple. Trust Christ.