Truth from an Unexpected Source

Sometimes Truth comes from unexpected places. No matter how our society tries to censor God and keep Him out of main-stream media, He still finds a way to reveal Himself. Without knowing where writer Joss Whedon stands on faith issues, I  give him credit for this post, which turns out to be a bit of a movie review, unintentionally.

I saw "The Avengers" on Saturday with my husband (first movie in a theater since having the baby! Woohoo!), and I have to say that the movie is a par above most action movies. (I also appreciate that it was not two-hours of sex, gore, and swearing.) There were many funny moments, a few poignant ones, but three moments specifically that made me think.

*WARNING* SPOILER ALERT- Do not read anymore if you don't want me to ruin the movie for you!

The first two of these moments were clever one-liners. When Captain America first meets Thor (the Norse god of thunder), he says (and this is not a direct quote, given that my memory is not what it used to be), "There is only one God, and I'm sure He doesn't dress like that." How many movies out in the past five years have a line that begins with "There is only one God..."?!

And when the Hulk grabs Loki (the Norse god of chaos),  gives him a good thrashing, then grumbles to himself in his Hulk-ish growl, "Puny god," I have to agree with him... any god who can be beaten is not omnipotent. At the end of the movie, Loki is taken away for judgement by some universal governing body. Unlike God, who is Justice, Love, Goodness, and Life itself, the gods of mythology are only representations of our human selves.

The third moment involves a monologue given by Loki, proclaiming that humans are meant to submit to a higher being, that essentially, we are creatures that need to be ruled in order to have peace. The speech is given in a negative light, but when I heard it, I agreed with it whole-heartedly. I only disagree with Loki in that I wouldn't want him, the 'puny god', to be my ruler.  I want to be ruled by God, who is self-sacrificing, not self-centered.

All in all, "The Avengers" was entertaining, and surprisingly enlightening (now I do sound like a movie review!) If you allow your children to see it, it could generate some good family discussion.