Why Christians should read Ernest Hemingway

Published in Christian Renewal magazine.

Ernest Hemingway is one of the most famous authors in American history. Born in Oak Park, Illinois, in 1899, his writing career began in 1917 as a reporter for the Kansas City Star in and continued as a European correspondent for the Toronto Star. Within a decade, he had earned an international reputation.

It is for literature, however, not journalism, that Hemingway is most widely known. His first successful collection of short stories was In Our Time (1925), and his first novel, The Sun Also Rises (1926), was considered a masterpiece immediately after publication. His other major works include the novels A Farewell to Arms (1929), For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940), and The Old Man and the Sea (1952); the nonfiction works Death in the Afternoon (1932) and A Moveable Feast (1964); and numerous short stories, which have been collected in The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway: The Finca Vigía Edition.

In terms of style, Hemingway was one of the most influential writers of all time. One biography describes him as having done “more to change the style of English prose than any other writer in the twentieth century . . . [He] wrote in short, declarative sentences and was known for his tough, terse prose.” Hemingway compared his own writing to an iceberg, in that the words on the page are only part of the story. The rest, “the underwater part of the iceberg,” is always just beneath the surface, giving depth and character to what is written. Such famous authors as Jack Kerouac, J.D. Salinger, and Hunter S. Thompson have credited Hemingway as an influence.

To Christians, perhaps the most interesting thing about Hemingway’s writings is the way they so clearly convey his worldview, which can be summed up in two words: truth and tragedy. Everything he wrote reflects in some way those two ideas.

Hemingway described writing – fiction or non-fiction, it makes no difference – as a struggle to describe people, places, experiences, and ideas as truly as they could possibly be expressed.

"Good writing is true writing. If a man is making a story up it will be true in proportion to the amount of knowledge of life that he has and how conscientious he is; so that when he makes something up it is as it would truly be" (By-Line: Ernest Hemingway, p. 215).

"Sometimes when I was starting a new story and I could not get it going, I would sit in front of the fire and squeeze the peel of the little oranges into the edge of the flame and watch the sputter of blue that they made. I would stand and look out over the roofs of Paris and think, ‘Do not worry. You have always written before and you will write now. All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know.’ So finally I would write one true sentence, and then go on from there. It was easy then because there was always one true sentence that I knew or had seen or heard someone say. If I started to write elaborately, or like someone introducing or presenting something, I found that I could cut that scrollwork or ornament out and throw it away and start with the first true simple declarative sentence I had written" (A Moveable Feast, p. 12).

"All good books are alike in that they are truer than if they had really happened and after you are finished reading one you will feel that all that happened to you and afterwards it all belongs to you; the good and the bad, the ecstasy, the remorse and sorrow, the people and the places and how the weather was" (By-Line: Ernest Hemingway, p. 184).

"The hardest thing in the world to do is to write straight honest prose on human beings. First you have to know the subject; then you have to know how to write. Both take a lifetime to learn" (By-Line: Ernest Hemingway, p. 183).

Hemingway demanded this kind of truthfulness about all of life. His combination of an unusual perceptiveness and exceptional writing skill enables his readers to see the world as he saw it. Many of his written works – which range in subject matter from war in Europe to bullfighting in Spain, skiing in Switzerland, the people of Paris and Key West, hunting in Africa, and fishing in Michigan and the Gulfstream – consequently resonate as genuine and honest. They seem real above all else.

Hemingway’s characters are often memorable and reveal how he perceived the people he met. Some are deep and dynamic, like Frederic Henry in A Farewell to Arms or Nick Adams, the hero of numerous short stories. Others are shallow caricatures meant to mock the people they represent, like the Bimini brawler in Islands in the Stream or the laughing lady in To Have and Have Not. His descriptions of children can be particularly moving, as in the short story, “A Day’s Wait.”

One of Hemingway’s editors, Maxwell Perkins, said of him, “If the function of a writer is to reveal reality, no one ever so completely performed it.” Unfortunately, Hemingway’s insistence on telling the truth does not provide his reader with many happy endings. As Hemingway saw it, life is tragedy.

In his well-known short story, “Big Two-Hearted River,” Hemingway refers to swamp fishing as a “tragic adventure.” Sadly, the phrase also aptly describes the majority of his life. He certainly understood his profession to be tragic:

"Dostoevsky was made by being sent to Siberia. Writers are forged in injustice as a sword is forged" (Green Hills of Africa, p. 71).

"Madame, all stories, if continued far enough, end in death, and he is no true-story teller who would keep that from you" (Death in the Afternoon, p. 122).

Hemingway’s tragic adventure was not confined to his writing; his favorite pastimes also inevitably ended in tragedy. In hunting and fishing, either the animal dies or the hunter or fisherman experiences the tragedy of failure and loss. In bullfighting, either the bull is killed or the torero is gored.

Hemingway seemed bent on extending his tragic adventures into his personal life as well. He was married four times, with numerous paramours on the side. According to one story, his last wife, Mary, threatened to kill one of Ernest’s lady friends if she caught them together. His relationship with his three sons was often strained as well.

Thus death and loss was a way of life for Hemingway, and he lived out his tragic adventure to the end. After several years of mental deterioration and depression caused by lifestyle and genetics, on the morning of July 2, 1961, Ernest Hemingway shot himself in the head with his favorite shotgun in his Ketchum, Idaho home.


What should Christians read Ernest Hemingway?

The ideas of truth and tragedy encapsulate Hemingway’s life, writings, and worldview – or perhaps truth as tragedy is a better way of putting it, for Hemingway saw tragedy as the message that he was truthfully telling. And concerning the tragedy of life, Hemingway was right. This world is utterly and completely fallen; that fallenness spares no one and extends itself to every area of our lives.

The saddest thing about Hemingway – the shortfall of his worldview – is that he understood tragedy so deeply but rejected the hope that comes in Jesus. Without that hope, it is no surprise that he sought relief in such things as drink, dalliance, sport, and suicide, but found no lasting satisfaction in them. The real surprise is that he was so driven to communicate the truth of tragedy to others, diligently beginning his work at dawn each day. By his writing he became an apostle of a grim gospel of loss.

Sadder still is the fact that Hemingway’s worldview is shared by so many around us. Even those who talk themselves into optimism or distract themselves by one means or another are only temporarily avoiding the reality that a world without Jesus is just as Hemingway describes it:

"What did he fear? It was not fear or dread. It was a nothing that he knew too well. It was all a nothing and a man was nothing too. . . . [H]e knew it all was nada y pues nada y nada y pues nada. Our nada who art in nada, nada be thy name thy kingdom nada thy will be nada in nada as it is in nada. Give us this nada our daily nada and nada us our nada as we nada our nadas and nada us not into nada but deliver us from nada; pues nada. Hail nothing full of nothing, nothing is with thee. . . .

"Now, without thinking further, he would go home to his room. He would lie in the bed and finally, with daylight, he would go to sleep. After all, he said to himself, it is probably only insomnia. Many must have it." (From “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place,” written by Hemingway in 1926 at the age of 27, in The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway: The Finca Vigia Edition, p. 288.)

The first reason Christians should read Ernest Hemingway is because they regularly meet people who share his worldview, whose hearts and lives reflect the hopelessness he writes about. Reading Hemingway will give us a better understanding of exactly how such people see the world.

We will find many of his writings to be offensive, but it should not surprise us when the lost act lost. We must temper our offense and respond in compassion and love, for they can learn only from us that “everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame” and that “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Every time we are confronted with a worldview like Hemingway’s is a golden opportunity to respond with the world-transforming gospel of Jesus Christ.

A second (and equally important, I believe) reason why Christians should read Ernest Hemingway is to better their writing. Above all other people, Christians know the power of words. Every Christian has experienced the power of God’s Word to change lives, and that same Word commands every Christian to be ready to articulate his faith. Learning to speak and write as well as possible is part of taking that command seriously, and doing so does not undermine the Holy Spirit’s work in conjunction with the Word, even though some so-called evangelists have relied more on their own skill than God’s power.

Few authors in history have been such a keen observer of people, such a vivid and moving reporter of life, and such a master of words as Hemingway was, and he had much to say about developing the skill and style of writing. Who better to learn from than such a man? No one would say that we should ignore such unbelievers as Monet when learning about art or Jefferson when learning about politics. Why then would we not learn how to write from Hemingway? I have certainly learned more about writing from him than I did in my university English classes.

Hemingway is not the only writer who can teach us to write better while revealing something of how our neighbor understands life. He is particularly skilled at doing those two things, but perhaps you prefer a different author. By whatever means, however, Christians must be sure to remain aware of the worldview surrounding them and to improve continually their ability to speak the truth in such a setting.

Why Christians should visit Rome

Published in the 30 January edition of Christian Renewal magazine.

For over two millennia, Christians have been travelling to Rome. In the first century, no less than the Apostle Paul expressed a passion to visit the church there “in the fullness of the blessing of Christ.” While Roman pilgrimages have been almost universally connected with the Roman Catholic Church, a visit to Rome would be of great benefit to even the most committed Protestant.

Of all the great cities in the world, Rome exudes history perhaps more than any other. Volumes have been written about the things to see and do there – from the grand and beautiful, such as the Villa Borghese and the Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II, to the dark and sombre, like the Carcer Mamertinus, the dank prison cell where Paul is supposed to have written Philippians. Here we will contrast just two of Rome’s many magnificent sights.

The catacombs of Domitilla, St. Sebastian, and St. Callixtus, three of the five catacombs that are open to the public, are within walking distance of each other just off the Via Appia Antica, an ancient Roman road that runs south from the city center. The Roman Christians of the first few centuries A.D. dug the catacombs and used them as subterranean graveyards, expanding them downward as the upper passages filled. Thousands of small burial niches, each averaging only about 20 inches high and 135 inches long, were carved one-over-another along the miles of passages of soft rock. A body was placed in each one and sealed inside with a plaster slab, usually inscribed with only the deceased’s name and a small Christian symbol, such as a fish or dove.

A handful of the graves are more elaborate; some of the wealthier families used more than the usual amount of space, constructed ornate sarcophagi, and commissioned paintings to adorn them. But these few tombs stand out as the exception; indeed, one of the most striking things about the catacombs is their uniformity and simplicity. In the ancient world, an elaborate tomb was a sign of wealth and power. But in the catacombs, the graves of the mean and the significant are almost always identical.

From the sacking of Rome to the 10^th century, and then again after they were rediscovered in the 16^th century, the catacombs were pillaged. Treasure-seekers smashed open the vast majority of the graves, expecting to find valuables buried with the bodies. However, in contrast to most ancient religions, which taught that certain possessions should be buried with the deceased in order to demonstrate their greatness and equip them for the afterlife (for example, see the tombs of the Egyptian pharaohs), the early Christians knew that the dead leave the world just as they entered it – naked. Consequently, with the exception of those who sold bones as relics in the era of the Reformation, the treasure-seekers found almost nothing of value.

Even the relatively few paintings that were done in the catacombs have a remarkably different focus. Whereas much graveyard art from the ancient (and modern) world portrayed the deceased and extolled his virtues, the paintings in the catacombs are almost universally of Christological (for example, the Good Shepherd or Jesus’ miracles) or eschatological (the resurrection and last judgment) images – I do not recall a single one that portrayed the dead.

Visitors to the catacombs can barely help but notice how they reflect the beliefs of the early church. The graves’ simplicity and imagery almost force one to walk slowly and quietly and speak in a whisper. One might even feel an unexpected closeness to these brothers and sisters, who are separated from the visitor only by time. After all, the strange sense of hope and subdued joy that the catacombs seem to emit remind those who share their faith that we will one day be privileged to meet those who carved these tombs of rock.

Across Rome’s city center from the catacombs, in its northwest corner, lies la Città del Vaticano, the Vatican City. This city-within-a-city is the remains of what was once one of the most extensive and powerful kingdoms in Europe, in which the pope exercised political control over a territory covering most of present-day Italy and extending far northward. Today his direct political power extends only to this mini-state.

St. Peter’s Basilica dominates the Vatican skyline, but the symbols of the pope’s temporal power extend well beyond this famous church. Within its high walls, the Vatican boasts one of the world’s greatest libraries, the best art collection in history, and opulent palaces and churches, including the Sistine Chapel. The papacy makes full use of its holdings from a cash-flow standpoint as well, collecting admission fees from thousands of visitors per day. Between its elaborate buildings, the priceless and irreplaceable treasures they contain, and the mind-boggling amount of cash in its independent bank, the Vatican exudes power and wealth, the two great measures of worldly greatness.

The Vatican’s symbols of greatness were ostensibly built to prove the greatness of God to all the world, but they stand in such striking contrast to the catacombs. Whereas the catacombs are simple, humble, uniform, and focused on future glory, the Vatican is immense, grandiose, inimitable, and focused on proving the glory of God in a temporal sense, here and now through the Church of Rome. No visitor to Rome can help but notice the vast differences between the two sights, but such an observer must guard against externalising this great contrast – that is, understanding them as caused simply by the errant beliefs or extravagant tastes of the Roman Catholic Church and being of little concern elsewhere.

Being Protestant or Reformed or whatever else makes us no less vulnerable to losing sight of the humility and promise of future glory that are still displayed so movingly in the catacombs, even after two millennia of pillaging and decay. Nor does it make us less likely to pursue those things that seem so important here and now, yet are nowhere to be found when we go naked to our graves. The Scriptures teach that God’s glory is displayed not in temporary, worldly greatness, but in weakness and hope in the future promises of God:

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor. 12.9-10, ESV. See also 2 Kings 18.17-19.37; Psalm 20; Zech. 4.6; 1 Cor. 1.17-2.9, 13.10, 15.42-44; 2 Cor. 4.1-11, 11.30; Phil. 4.11-13).

Between the beautiful, the base, the grand, and the gritty, there is plenty to see and do in Rome, and any Christian who pays attention will learn much in this great city.

Why Christians should know about Che Guevara

Published in the 16 January edition of Christian Renewal magazine.

Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara de la Serna is arguably the most iconic Marxist revolutionary of all time. A surprising menagerie of people have made use of his name and legacy: from communist dictators and guerrilla warriors to artists and agitated middle-class students. His image, especially the famous Alberto Kordo portrait, has adorned political posters, t-shirts, and high-fashion handbags, and his books are still in print in numerous languages. One of the most surprising things about the worldwide ‘cult of Che’ is how little most his followers know about his life and what he believed.

Che Guevara was born in Argentina in 1928, the eldest of five children in an aristocratic, yet Marxist-leaning, family. He was an unusual child, whose interests were as varied as philosophy, rugby, chess, the military, and poetry. At school he was nicknamed ‘Chancho’ (‘pig’) because of his proud aversion to bathing, but he was given his more famous nickname because of his habit of frequently saying the colloquial exclamation, ‘che’ (rough equivalent: ‘hey’, ‘man’, or ‘mate’).

At age 20, Che began to study medicine at the University of Buenos Aires. Four years later, in 1952, he set off with a university friend for a year of travel. On an old motorcycle they named ‘La Poderosa II’ (‘The Mighty One II’), they headed north to work for the summer at a leper colony in Peru. Their journey was chronicled by Che in his book, Notas de Viaje, and popularised by the film, ‘Motorcycle Diaries’ (2004).

As they travelled, the two men noted the widespread poverty and oppression of the people they encountered - how different life in Buenos Aires was from what they were seeing in the countryside. The trip took longer than they had anticipated due to many (sometimes humorous) mishaps with the motorcycle, but they eventually made it to the leper camp.

In 1953 Che graduated from medical school and traveled again, this time all the way to Guatemala. There Che sought to observe first-hand the transition from capitalism to communism as the recently elected Marxist president, Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán, sought to implement reforms. Although he strongly sympathized with the Guatemalan Marxists and was widely known in their circles, he at first refused to join the Communist Party and become active politically.

A year later, however, a CIA-backed coup overthrew the communist government, replacing Arbenz with Carlos Castillo Armas; from this time onward, Che committed himself to fighting what he perceived to be the imperialism of the West, particularly the United States. When the Argentine embassy offered him a flight back to his homeland after the coup, he turned it down and headed north to Mexico City, where he intended to join a Cuban revolutionary group that was forming there.

When he met a young Fidel Castro in Mexico City in September 1954, Che immediately joined his ‘Movimiento 26 de Julio’ (‘July 26th Movement’), which was preparing to overthrow the Cuban dictator, Gen. Fulgencio Batista. Although he was supposed to be the group’s medic, Che trained as a soldier along with the others. Gone were the days when he was content to remain an observer and see how political solutions might bring about change. Che now believed that the only answer was violent revolution.

In November 1956, the Movimiento invaded Cuba. Nearly half the group was captured or killed almost immediately; soon after landing, the number was down to 15-20 members. According to Fidel Castro’s recent autobiography, the force was reduced to three men, two rifles, and 120 rounds of ammunition at its weakest moment. Che quickly distinguished himself as a leader in the small band, and after nearly three years of guerrilla fighting, they famously succeeded in overthrowing Batista’s government and installing Fidel as the new communist leader.

After the Cuban revolution, Guevara held several high-level positions in the Cuban government. He again served as Fidel’s second-in-command, at various times overseeing the island nation’s prisons, agriculture, manufacturing, and banking. All the while, he was organizing small revolutionary expeditions in which the Cuban government would send advisors, finances, and equipment to communist guerrillas in Panama, the Dominican Republic, and elsewhere. He was also instrumental in bringing to Cuba the Soviet missiles that instigated the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962; he was quoted soon afterward as saying that if the missiles had been in Cuban control, they would have been launched at cities in the United States.

Government administration positions did not suit Che’s thirst for revolution. In March 1965, he disappeared, and his whereabouts were an international mystery. Months later, he resurfaced in the Congo, leading a revolutionary expedition of a dozen Cubans to train locals in Marxist ideology and guerrilla warfare techniques. The expedition was short-lived, however; Che’s preface to his published diary of his time in the Congo begins, ‘This is the history of a failure.’ He withdrew temporarily to Mozambique and Prague while planning his next move.

Che’s final expedition was in 1966 and 1967. Again he led a Cuban-backed force, this time intending to start a revolution in Bolivia. He set up a clandestine training camp in the mountains and tried to recruit locals to join his movement. He was surprised at their reluctance, and he was even more surprised when the Bolivian government learned of his whereabouts before he had had a chance to recruit and train a proper army. Backed by the CIA and a battalion of US Army Rangers, the Bolivian military captured Guevara in October 1967 and quickly executed him. After displaying his body to prove his demise, Che was buried in an unmarked grave. In 1997, his remains were found and transferred to Cuba, where he is interred in the city of Santa Clara.

Pro-Che demonstrations protesting his execution occurred around the world, and the news of his death sparked a flurry of articles, tributes, and even folk songs about him. Che quickly became the quintessential symbol of revolution in all its forms. Young and old, East and West, rich and poor, learned and unlearned all appealed to Che as representing their fight against oppression. French existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre even called Che ‘the most complete human being of our age.’

After his death, however, stories of Che’s brutality increasingly emerged. The same man who had started his revolutionary career by noting the cruelty and oppression experienced by the poor became, his critics argued, the very thing he had so hated. While fighting in Cuba, he regularly killed those accused of being informers or deserters. During his time as a government official in Cuba, as many as several hundred people were executed without judicial process by Che’s order. Many more stories of his ruthlessness emerged from the Congo and Bolivia.

Yet even now, the ‘cult of Che’ remains around the world; he is as recognizable an icon today as he was in his lifetime. Some of his latter-day followers believe in his Marxist revolutionary ideology, while others use his image as a symbol of fighting the system in all its forms, without reference to any particular political philosophy.


Why should Christians know about Che Guevara?

Most Christians view Che Guevara as the antithesis of what they believe, and consequently they might not see any point to learning anything about him. However, given his religion-like cult status in popular culture and the great number and wide variety of people who seem to identify with him, it might benefit Christians to know two things about this radical Marxist revolutionary:

1. Che Guevara correctly identified many of the same problems that Christians recognize.

One of the most enigmatic things about Che Guevara is the way he was both a ruthless revolutionary and yet so sensitive to the suffering in the world. In his travels as a young man through South America, he was deeply moved by the injustice and poverty he witnessed. Instead of pursuing a potentially lucrative and successful career as a medical doctor, he completely gave up his former life and committed himself to doing anything he could to right those wrongs. No sacrifice was too high, even his life.

This is, without doubt, why Che Guevara’s legacy remains so strong today. Those who feel oppressed are looking for a larger-than-life figure, a hero who represents the hope for release from their chains. Sadly, Che Guevara was not that hero, and all who look to him, his ideology, or his image for salvation hope in vain.

In this respect (and only this respect), Che Guevara’s life is reminiscent of what we as Christians are called to do. Should anyone be more sensitive to the troubles of the world than we are? And should anyone be more willing to sacrifice than we are? What an indictment it is that a Marxist revolutionary was more sensitive and more willing to sacrifice himself than I am.

2. Sadly, Che Guevara offered gravely wrong solutions to those problems.

The great tragedy of Che Guevara’s life is that he sacrificed everything in vain, and he took down a great many people with him. Many lost their lives fighting with and against him, and the echoes of his actions are still reverberating today.

Each of Che Guevara’s solutions to the problem of injustice and oppression ultimately fails to solve the problem. Warfare causes as many problems as it solves; revolution replaces one oppressive government with another. In the final analysis, he caused a multitude of people to feel the very kind of political, economic, and religious oppression that he so loathed. Indeed, Che Guevara himself became the very kind of iron-fisted dictator that he had overthrown.

Only the gospel offers a solution to these problems, and how different that solution looks: Jesus came to save his people, not as a Che-style iconic warrior, but as a sacrifice. He sends forth his people, not as an expeditionary force of Marxist missionaries intent on fomenting rebellion, but as merciful servants who are poor in spirit; meek mourners who hunger and thirst for righteousness, not bloodshed; and persecuted peacemakers who are pure in heart.

We go forth into a world that makes a hero of a murderer and revolutionary while executing the innocent, but we offer a message that can turn that all upside down. Che Guevara thought he could change the world, but we have the assurance of the One who is seated on the throne that, if we follow him, we most certainly will change the world. May our King grant us the grace and courage we need to do so.

My response...

... to the below letter.

Thank you for your letter in response to my article, 'Why Christians should watch The Mask of Zorro'. Nowhere in that article do I suggest that Christians should forsake the Scriptures and get their theology from Hollywood, and I certainly agree with you that no film should supplant God's Word as a 'book for the laity'.

I do believe, however, that Christians should pay attention to the culture around them, looking especially for things that reflect the human heart's recognition of the world's imperfection and its yearning for salvation. Such things are sometimes wide-open doors of opportunity to share the gospel, and I believe the Zorro character can provide such an opportunity for the reasons stated in the article.

When we make use of such characters and other opportunities from popular culture, it is important to demonstrate how Jesus is greater than his cultural counterparts. Jesus is like Zorro in the ways I mentioned in the article, but he is far greater than Zorro in the various ways you mentioned - and many more.

I apologize if I did not make this clear enough in the Zorro article, but it is true of every one of the articles in this 'Why Christians should...' series. Our Savior far excells Henry V, Zorro, and anyone else I might compare him to in the course of the series - and that is indeed the point.

Yours in Christ,
Brian Douglas
Brighton, England

A letter in response

Volume 26 of Christian Renewal dated Nov. 21 2007 has an interesting story, “Why Christians should watch “The Mask of Zorro”. Brian Douglas refers to similarities between the deeds done by Zorro and the deeds done by our savior Jesus Christ. I believe that he thinks he is doing well by this and surely he is not trying to lead anyone astray. In his article Brian Douglas is giving the impression that we can see how the first Zorro portrays what Jesus did while on earth and the second Zorro portrays Christ’s return, or at least that is the way I read it. We should be warned, however, not to learn from dumb images (in this case a movie) but instead turn to scripture, which makes it clear that God’s word is sufficient for us.

LORD'S DAY 35 of the Heidelberg Catechism states:
Q. 98: But may images not be tolerated in the churches as "books for the laity"?
A. No, for we should not be wiser than God. He wants His people to be taught not by means of dumb images1 but by the living preaching of His Word. 21 Jer 10:8; Hab 2:18-20. 2 Rom 10:14, 15, 17; 2 Tim 3:16, 17; 2 Pet 1:19.

Habakkuk 2:18-20: Of what value is an idol, since a man has carved it? Or an image that teaches lies? For he who makes it trusts in his own creation; he makes idols that cannot speak. Woe to him who says to wood, 'Come to life!' Or to lifeless stone, 'Wake up!' Can it give guidance? It is covered with gold and silver; there is no breath in it. But the LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him.

2 Peter 1:19: And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

So much for learning from the lies and deceits of Hollywood. Now let’s see some comparisons alluded to in this article. Zorro being portrayed as a hero first pretends that he is a friend of the governor. Jesus on the other hand never pretends to be a friend of those who hate him; instead Jesus stands before the High Priest, the Scribes and Pharisees, before Caiaphas and later in the desert before Satan never denying that he is the son of God.

Zorro changes his clothes and dons a mask so as not to be recognized and takes the law into his own hands. Jesus on the other hand never betrays his identity but obeys all the rules and even repairs the damage done by Peter when he cut of the ear from Malchus.

There is much more which can be said about this, again we can see how sly Satan is using movies to try and mislead believers.

Mark 13:22 For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and miracles to deceive the elect—if that were possible. Let us be ever watchful and not think that we are strong enough to withstand these temptations instead it would be better if we were to spend the time in scripture instead of the movies and learn from what God has given us in his word rather than twist fantasies to make them look like truth.

1 Corinthians 10:12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!

[signed]

Two book reviews . . .

. . . published in the latest issue of the Sussex Journal of Contemporary History. The first review is of Tevi Troy's book, Intellectuals and the American Presidency; the second review is of Whatmore & Young, eds., Palgrave Advances in Intellectual History.

Good news concerning stem cell research: Two developments that respect human life

Published in the 12 December edition of Christian Renewal Magazine.

Two recent news articles described major developments in the area of stem cell research. The first, an Associate Press (AP) story published on 20 November, reported, “Scientists have made ordinary skin cells take on the chameleon-like powers of embryonic stem cells, a startling breakthrough that might someday deliver the medical payoffs of embryo cloning without the controversy.”

This new technique, developed by researchers in Japan and the United States, is called “direct programming.” Scientists collect skin cells from a volunteer, then use viruses to introduce new genetic material into the cell. The new genetic material overrides the cell’s existing DNA, and it begins to function like a stem cell.

One of the researchers who developed direct programming, James Thomson of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is quoted as saying, “People didn’t know it would be this easy. Thousands of labs in the United States can do this, basically tomorrow.”

The AP article quotes Dr. Robert Lanza, chief science officer of Advanced Cell Technology, as saying, “This work represents a tremendous scientific milestone – the biological equivalent of the Wright Brothers’ first airplane. It’s a bit like turning lead into gold.”

Stem cells considered valuable for medical research because of their ability to become into any type of cell in the human body. Newly fertilized embryos are composed entirely of stem cells, which in time develop into the various components of a mature human body.

Stem cell research involving the creation and destruction of embryos has caused been condemned by those who believe that human life begins at conception. The most widely used stem cell production method is called “nuclear transfer.”

In a nuclear transfer procedure, the nucleus of an egg cell, which contains its genetic material, is removed and replaced with the nucleus of another cell, usually an embryonic stem cell. The egg cell then essentially becomes an embryonic stem cell, one which could mature into a fully grown human being if given the proper conditions.

Objections to nuclear transfer rise because of the procedure’s very low success rate – well over 90% of the cells created die, leading some to charge that it carelessly handles human life. As an alternative to nuclear transfer, however, direct programming would provide the medical research community with an abundance of stem cells while satisfying the reservations of the pro-life community.

In addition, direct programming is significantly more cost-effective and efficient than nuclear transfer. Also, since stem cells created by direct programming come from the patient’s own body, there is no risk that they would be rejected by that person’s autoimmune system.

A related article, which appeared in the Daily Telegraph on 16 November, reported that Prof. Ian Wilmut of the University of Edinburgh, who created the world’s first cloned animal, Dolly the Sheep, has publicly abandoned nuclear transfer in favor of direct reprogramming. Prof. Wilmut has gone on record as saying that direct programming is a superior means of creating stem cells, which can in turn be used to research treatments for such serious illnesses as heart disease, Parkinson’s, muscular degeneration, and blindness.

Prof. Wilmut admits that his motivation for changing his method, despite his earlier success with nuclear transfer, is mostly practical; direct reprogramming provides stem cells at a significantly cheaper cost and with vastly greater degree of efficiency. However, he also recognizes that direct reprogramming is also “easier to accept socially” than its alternatives.

As the science of stem cell research has developed, the facts concerning its practice have unfortunately been too often clouded by misinformation and politicization. For example, those reporting on the progress of stem cell research, both in the scientific community and in the media, have often failed to properly nuance between its various kinds and the practical and moral considerations of each development. This misinformation might at times be caused by the technical nature of the subject, but in some instances it is more caused by the ideological commitments of the reporter.

Political figures have obscured the matter by using stem cell research as a means of appealing to different groups of voters, either the pro-life community or the seriously ill. Too often oversimplifications and misinformation abound when things of a highly technical nature get sucked into the arena of politics.

The pro-life movement has at times misunderstood the difference between embryonic stem cell research, in which human embryos are created and destroyed, and alternative stem cell research methods that offer genuine medical promise but in no way threaten human life. Consequently, it has sometimes wrongly condemned stem cell research as a whole.

If Prof. Wilmut’s abandonment of nuclear transfer in favor of direct programming indicates a wider trend in the scientific community – and indications are that this is so – then perhaps stem cell research will sidestep some of these ethical and political issues and be resolved in a way that satisfies all involved.

Why Christians should watch 'The Mask of Zorro'

Published in the 21 November edition of Christian Renewal magazine.

First created in a 1919 serialized story, Zorro has been wildly successful character, inspiring innumerable books and comic books, nearly a dozen television shows, over forty films, and even popular and classical music. Named the Spanish word for fox in honor of his cunning, Zorro is a hero of the people who stands up for justice and protects the innocent when seemingly no one else can. Most often set in a corrupt and ruthless portion of the Spain-controlled areas of Mexico or California, Zorro customarily appears at a story’s most dire moments – wearing an all-black costume with a flowing cape, wide-brimmed hat, and thin mask while armed usually with only a sword and a bullwhip – and inevitably saves the day.

Some literary scholars believe Zorro to be inspired by the title character of the novel The Scarlet Pimpernel. Zorro in turn served as an inspiration for such popular characters as Batman, The Phantom, and many other regular-men-turned-heroes who rely on their mental and physical skills rather than any super powers.

‘The Mask of Zorro’ is an action film released in 1998 about the legendary vigilante hero. It stars both Anthony Hopkins and Antonio Banderas as older and younger versions of Zorro. The latter is the first Spanish-speaking actor to portray Zorro in a major film.

Set in California at the transition from Spanish to Mexican rule, the film begins with a memorable depiction of Zorro in action and what he means to the people for whom he fights. The evil governor, Don Rafael Montero, decides to execute a batch of innocent peasants. Just as the firing squad is preparing to shoot, Zorro intervenes. With the help of the cheering crowd, he thwarts the executions in grandiose fashion and then returns home to his wife and newborn daughter.

However, Montero discovers Zorro’s real identity: Don Diego de la Vega (Hopkins), whom Montero thought to be his ally. In retaliation, Montero kills de la Vega’s wife, kidnaps his daughter, and has him sent to prison, where he remains for twenty years. During that time, Zorro has not shown his face, and consequently the people are increasingly oppressed. They mourn the loss of their hero and yearn for him to return and restore justice to their society.

Finally de la Vega escapes with plans to kill Montero in revenge, only to find that Montero has raised de la Vega’s daughter as his own – an act of ultimate revenge on his former nemesis.

Although de la Vega is too old and broken by his imprisonment to return as Zorro, he recruits a bitter, drunken, and impetuous young thief, Alejandro Murrieta (Banderas), to take his place. The older Zorro begins to train the younger, and in more than just acrobatics and swordsmanship: he teaches the rough young Murrieta how to be a gentleman as well, including posture, speech, and dancing. In a memorable scene, the de la Vega gives his mask Murrieta, symbolizing that he has completed his training, and the younger Zorro becomes the hero for which the people have been waiting.

Posing as a nobleman recently arrived from Spain, Murrieta slowly earns Montero’s trust. In the process, he learns of the many ways in which Montero has been taking advantage of the peasants; in particular, he has been using them as slave laborers at a gold mine that he is using to finance his schemes. Dressed for the first time as Zorro, Murrieta breaks into Montero’s house and steals a map to the gold mine, fighting off dozens of soldiers in the process. As word of this daring raid reaches the people, their hope is restored for the first time in many years: perhaps Zorro will return and all will be made right.

Using the map he stole from Montero, Zorro head for the gold mine with hopes of freeing the people and ending Montero’s reign of terror. If you want to know the rest of the story, you will have to watch the film.

Like all action movies, ‘The Mask of Zorro’ is at moments more about choreographed fighting, explosions, and an upbeat soundtrack than it is about plot. Nonetheless, certain themes make its story resonate with any viewer – for example, the people’s yearning for their hero.

To the citizens of Montero’s California, Zorro was their only hope for justice and protection. Their rulers were corrupt and conniving; they saw them as something sub-human and sought only to take advantage of them. The very ones who had a duty to serve and protect them became their oppressors. Zorro, however, was a man of honor and integrity. He treated even the meanest of people as something worth fighting for and sought to protect them from every injustice.

After Zorro disappeared, the rulers again had their way with the people, and the people’s hopes slowly died. Every time some injustice or oppression occurred, they remembered the days when their hero would intervene and they wished to see his return – if Zorro were here, all would be made right.

Why Christians should watch 'The Mask of Zorro'

Many people in our own day wish some hero could swoop into their lives and make everything right. Everyone would agree that this world is frequently cruel and unjust, and far too often throughout history, those in authority have abused their power in one form or another. Whether or not they realize it, Christians and non-Christians alike make at least some effort to explain the harsh realities of this life, with each explanation varying in terms of its complexity and consistency.

Some explanations offer hope through the exercise of the collective will of the people – by acting together, we can overcome the difficulties of this life and have peace and happiness. Others say that success comes by exercising the individual will – by discovering myself and being myself, I can overcome the difficulties of this life. Still others assert that there are no such things as peace and happiness – we just have to accept that what is, is, and that is simply the end of it.

The problem with these explanations and others like them is that they simply do not work. People have tried to achieve peace and happiness through the collective will and the individual will and by many other means, but the outcome has always been the same.

Further, such explanations do not really address the yearning to see things made right that is common to every human being. We might each have a very different idea of what is right, but there can be no question that we all yearn for it, and this belief most visibly affects our thoughts and actions on a daily basis. But where does that universal belief in right, which is so strong that some even sacrifice their lives for it, come from?

Only Christians can fully understand this yearning, for only Christians know the whole story: that man was created in the image of God with certain duties to perform on the earth. But man rebelled against God, he ceased performing the duties that he had been given, and the divine image was marred by this sin. This story is the origin of the cursedness of our world, and this explanation is only found in Christianity.

Further, only Christians can offer a solution to the problem. How interesting it is that heroes appeal so broadly! Everyone has a hero, and it can be a disastrous thing when people see their heroes fall. But Christians can offer a hero who will never fail: Jesus, the ‘Savior of all people’ (1 Tim 4.10).

Like Zorro, Jesus came a first time offering a taste of the peace and justice to come. As we witness injustice of every kind as we yearn for his return, it is easy to lose hope and ask,

How long, O LORD?
Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I take counsel in my soul
And have sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? (Ps 13.1-2, ESV)

But unlike the citizens of California, who could only hope that Zorro might someday return, we have assurance that our hero will return in a full display of his power. He has already demonstrated that power by rising from the dead, thus providing the ‘first fruits’ as evidence that he will do what he has promised.

Watching ‘The Mask of Zorro’ should turn Christians’ eyes toward their true hero, remind them of his promises, and fill them with joy that he is even more honorable and capable than Antonio Banderas in a black mask.

Further, this film should turn their eyes toward their neighbor, knowing that he is as desolate and oppressed as the peasants for whom Zorro fights. Who else can address their needs – both spiritual and physical – but us, and how else can they know about our real-life, non-fictional, death-conquering hero unless we tell them?

Consider and answer me, O LORD my God;
Light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,
Lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”
Lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.
But I have trusted in your steadfast love;
My heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
I will sing to the LORD,
Because he has dealt bountifully with me. (Ps 13.3-6, ESV)