Did anyone see I Am Legend this Christmas? Maybe not a great movie, but certainly a good one. Now, I’ve been accused before of seeing Jesus in everything (I’m pretty sure it was meant as an insult) and seeing this movie was another example of my doing so. I’m not suggesting that it’s a deep exploration of the life of Christ or any such nonsense, but when I look at it, this is what I see: an incorruptible man in a hopelessly corrupted (fallen) world who redeems it through his own sacrifice and the power of blood. There’s no disputing the fact that that is both the story of the Gospel and the story in the film version of I Am Legend. Don’t worry, I’m not about to wax poetic about the Passion of Will Smith. I did think it would be fun though to see if other people are afflicted with my bizarre sense of what I shall call, Theolo-vision™ when it comes to watching movies and taking in other forms of art. Obviously, other examples are things like The Matrix, Superman, and Star Wars.
So let’s make this fun. How many bizarre ways can you interpret things to be about the Gospel, Christ, or Christianity in general? We’ll give it a week and whoever comes up with what I decide is the funniest, most obscure, most far-fetched, or plain bizarre Jesus-centric interpretation of a movie, book, or song gets a free CD from the Rabbit Room Store of my choosing, and an official title of Theolo-visonary™.
I’ll start (and prevent you from using the obvious):
Pan’s Labyrinth: young girl holds to her beliefs even when the world considers her foolish and when she’s ‘martyred’, she’s given a crown and a throne and welcomed home as the daughter of the King.
Harry Potter(SPOILERISH): young man of prophecy must accept his destiny to die for his friends and be resurrected to save the world from the Evil One.
Meat Loaf’s “For Cryin’ Out Loud”: This song has always sounded almost like a prayer to me:
(some excerpts)I was lost till you were found But I never knew how far down I was falling before I reached the bottomI was damned but you were saved And I never knew how enslaved I was kneeling in the chains of my masterI could laugh but you could cry And I never knew just how high I was flying with you right above meFor taking in the rain when I’m feeling so dry For giving me the answers when I’m asking you why My oh my, for that, I thank youFor taking in the sun when I’m feeling so cold For giving me a child when my body is old Don’t you know, for that, I need youFor coming to my room when you know I’m alone For finding me a highway, for driving me home You’ve got to know, for that, I serve youFor pulling me away when I’m starting to fall For revving me up when I’m starting to stall And all in all, for that, I want youFor taking and for giving and for playing the game For praying for my future in the days that remain Oh Lord, for that, I hold youBut most of all, for cryin’ out loud For that, I love you
That’s right, I just pulled out Meat Loaf. Beat that. Your turn.