"Megamind" is an animated movie about superheroes and supervillains that apparently has more meaning than most of us realize. Part of the story involves a character brought up in a prison and destined to be a villain, yet he overcomes this conditioning. A Christian movie reviewer
finds this to be of particular interest:
And truthfully, this is a moral worth praising, for it reflects the biblical premise that each man and woman is an autonomous moral agent, responsible to God for his or her actions (Romans 14:12; Revelation 2:23b), regardless of upbringing, economic station or even genetics.
It counters secular socialism's sociological garbage that makes victims of us all and would squash the American dream, which contends anyone in a free society through hard work and diligence can improve his station.
Apparently, in the mind of this reviewer, those who believe in a mechanically-functioning world without supernatural influences are against the idea of free will. Only the true believers who think that Higher Powers have created us (and everything about us), are watching and are influencing, are the ones who believe in freedom. Needless to say, a Humanist would disagree. The reviewer is assuming a link between secularism and Marxism, which is apparently the source of confusion.
Some interpretations of Christianity are definitely at odds with the "pull-yourself-up-by-the-bootstraps" version. For example, the doctrine of total human depravity (due to original sin) suggests that virtually anything a person attempts to do will be doomed to insignificance or failure without the undeserved grace and providence of God.
ReplyDeleteWhen American Catholics and Evangelicals accepted the premise that the Republican Party was the Party of God, (because their church leaders wanted them to vote in opposition to abortion, stem-cell research, and gay rights), they swallowed the entire Republican platform, hook, line, and sinker. Since in actuality they rarely read the Bible for themselves and are influenced more by their pastors' or priests' sermons than the actual moral teachings of Christ, they have ended up accepting the pronouncements of Ayn Rand, Alan Greenspan, Newt Gingrich, Rush Limbaugh, and Glen Beck. These, rather than Christ or the biblical prophets and apostles, have become their "spiritual guides," whether they recognize it or not.