No man an island...

"If one falls down,
his friend can help him up.
But pity the man who falls
and has no one to help him up!"

-Ecclesiastes 4:10, NIV.

More than anything, we men love to believe that we can be an island unto ourselves, independent and self-reliant, but maybe that isn't so good a thing as it sounds:

"Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment" (Prov18:1).

We buy into the illusion, or perhaps the delusion, of our own independence, as if it is within our power to plan for every calamity and disaster. When we are relying on ourselves to succeed, then so often we fail to avail ourselves of the help God intended and purposed for us. Pride makes accepting help so difficult, but then pride precedes the fall does it not?

"Before his downfall a man's heart is proud, but humility comes before honor" (Prov 18:12, NIV).

We are living in a day when the pride of men is constantly being dashed by economic hardship, unemployment, depression, and failure. It is an awful feeling to fail at something, especially when you are trying so hard to be an island, refusing help from anyone or from anywhere that is offered.

It is foolish pride, though, to refuse the help the Lord sends our way. "Pity the man who falls and has no man to help him," the Bible tells us. Why do men have no one to help them when they fall? It seems pride is at least one major reason.

The best way to apply this truth is to consider yourself blessed when others

genuinely offer assistance. Sometimes assistance comes in the most obvious form: money. Other times, a man falls not from financial hardship but due to his own ignorance or foolishness, in which case his assistance may come in the form of wise advice/counsel or even a supportive ear. Sometimes reproof is the assistance we most need, but when it comes, do we cherish it or rebuke it?

You will most quickly find yourself standing again, following calamity, when you accept the help the Lord provides rather than looking for solutions from within yourself. Watch for genuine offers of assistance, and try to make the most of them. You can't do it alone, and, as a believer, you don't have to anymore. The Lord gave us each other, and the Lord gave us the Holy Spirit. Don't send them away then they arrive with your life line.

Movie Review: The Last of the Mohicans

SCORE: 5/5.

CAST:

• Hawkeye: Daniel Day-Lewis;
• Cora: Madeleine Stowe;
• Chingachgook: Russell Means;
• Uncas: Eric Schweig;
• Directed by Michael Mann.

BACKGROUND:

This film is a very loose adaptation of the somewhat boring novel of the same name by James Fenimore Cooper. To say that I have read the novel would be a lie, because every effort to do so is met with inevitable boredom and disbelief at how horribly written this "classic" is. However, it is a genuine classic, because it tells a story from a period in US history that gets very little attention. The 7 Years, or "French & Indian," War is a most fascinating part of our nation's background that just doesn't seem to have the appeal to writers and movie makers that WW2, the Civil War, or even Vietnam has. Perhaps it has something to do with the weaponry: there are guns, but they are not so advanced yet to replace swords, axes, and war clubs. War movies are defined by the underlying history, which is largely interesting because of its effect on subsequent history. What has had a greater impact on history, particularly military history, than the weapons?

This film did not receive a lot of critical acclaim. It is, perhaps, best remembered for its musical score, which if rated separately would achieve 5/5 (it's not derivative of anything). However, I am more than happy to say that this film is the best example of war movies. Some war movies attempt to be documentaries with stories (see the "Longest Day" as the best example of this niche within the genre), while others attempt to be mostly drama (see "Braveheart," similarly). "Pearl Harbor" betrayed the genre utterly by taking one of America's most solemn moments in history and using it as backdrop for jealous romance.

The Last of the Mohicans has some jealous romance too: Major Duncan Heyward is in love Alice Monroe, the daughter of the famous Colonel Monroe, who in real life was actually an officer in the British army, which for a Scot, was quite an achievement in those days. Cora, however, falls in love with her rescuer, the enigmatic Hawkeye: the adopted white son of Chingachgook, who alongside his blood son Uncas, is one of the last of the Mohican people.

This film, however, is neither about the jealous romance nor the extermination of the Mohican people (the historical accuracy of which is debatable). Unlike "Pearl Harbor," these themes are not center stage, and they serve only as the backdrop or consequences of a much greater story based on historical events involving the struggle of the British colonials and American natives who were swept up in the war between England and France. Some sided with the French, others the British, while our protagonists desperately struggle not to get involved. The prejudices of Colonel Monroe and Major Heyward, stoked by the forbidden romance between Cora and Hawkeye, blinds them to the plight of the colonials, whose families have been left to fend for themselves while there husbands fight for the British at Fort William Henry.

At times, the romance between Hawkeye and Cora Monroe serves primarily as a device to advance the plot: it causes Major Heyward to act in ways most unbecoming a British officer, and it affects the politics driving the war. This can be seen in the film. Other times, their moves to the forefront, but it never consumes the movie entirely as I felt was the case with Pearl Harbor, and creates an interesting context for the story.

To say that the cinematography perfectly captures every moment of this film, especially those where are heroes and heroines are trapped inside the fort, would be a gross understatement. This is one of the most beautifully shot films that I have ever seen. I could go on about the little complexities of the story, but suffice it to say that, while there is romance, revenge, redemption, action, and history aplenty, the real story belongs to the events that we see reflected in the characters' faces, expressions, and dialogue. The horror of every scalp taken, for instance, is captured perfectly in the eyes of Alice Monroe, Cora's younger sister who has never before seen the brutal face of war.

The events of the film, historical and imagined, are like an uncredited character that serves as the antagonist for all involved. There is no side of right or "good" side to the conflict in this movie: the French commander, Montcalm, does not want to butcher the British troops that oppose him. Neither does Colonel Monroe seem to take joy in the death of so many French. This war, historically speaking, may have been the death of the last "gentleman's war," as both sides adopted guerrilla tactics that previously would have been considered dishonorable but continued to be used thereafter.

Possibly the only example of evil in this film would be found in the heart of a Huron-turned-Mohawk Indian played by Wes Studi, but even he is just reacting to the death and pain this story visits upon all its characters. It compells them to act in incredible yet all-too-realistic ways. In the words of one of the characters, "It feels like the world is on fire," both to the characters and the audience, yet they do hope, and they do go on, as all people must, grappling with an ending to events that is bittersweet at best. I suspect that any viewer will feel athat hopelessness, but unlike most films with that effect, somehow the Last of the Mohicans descends to the level of being depressing. Of course, that might be becuase we viewers recongize this conflict as the beginning of a new world, setting the stage for American freedom.

PROS:

This film is based on historical events. Watching it is informative, even if a few parts are more fiction than fact, and it covers an area of history few Americans are familiar with. It entertains, regardless, and brings across many moral themes. Specifically, the film subtly deals with genocide, prejudice, and uplifts the concepts of sacrificial love and honor. Hawkeye, Chingachgook, and Uncas sacrifice the future of the entire Mohican people to love and protect those who cannot protect themselves. In the end, even the most selfish protagonist sacrifices everything that he has to protect those he loves. The film, from that perspective, is very uplifting and inspiring.

CONS:

There is a lot of violence in this movie. I would not say that the violence is unnecessary given the subject/material of the film. However, it is graphic and gruesome in places. This movie is not one for young children (though your high school students may end up seeing it in US history class, as I once did). The language is mild, but sometimes the characters speak calmly about topics such as revenge and murder. This movie is a good example of what an "R" movie should be. There is no nudity, and the language is mild, but the violence and themes, similarly to the Passion of the Christ, are something children could be spared for a few years at least. One of the most disappointing scenes, from a Christian perspective, shows 2 characters in the throws of extramarital passion and implies (without explicitly showing) that they slept together.

FINAL THOUGHT:

This is my favorite movie. It does not fail to provide any element of excellent story-telling and also draws upon actual historical events that rarely get screen time. In the end, this film does a number of things that no other film in the genre or at large does, and it does them very well: the score and cinematography are beyond reproach; the characters are compelling; and the film remembers the dead Mohican people not for their weakness and suffering, but for their courage and capacity to love selflessly. Is this an accurate representation of the Mohicans? Who can say - there are none left to ask or observe, or are there? The debate is irrelevant. Either way, I love to imagine a people whose unfailing courage and hasty flight to the defend the cause of the weak brought them to extinction. There were so many lives taken during the 7 Years War between Britain and France, and there are so many holes in our knowledge from that time period. Who is to say that the answers imagined by the Last of the Mohicans are not accurate?

I admit a certain bias for this film. To me, the Last of the Mohicans is the movie that reminds me why I bother watching movies at all. Michael Mann is also one of my favorite directors. More than any other, he can capture a specific mood onscreen and deliver it to the audience. In the Last of the Mohicans, he delivers a mood and an emotion that I have no words to describe.

BOTTOM LINE: 5/5 (it also receives my unoffical, honorary 6/5 for being my favorite movie).

What is "truth," and where does it come from?

"What is truth?" That's the question. Believe it or not, this is an easy question for any Christian believer to answer. For those interested in more than is written below, however, I highly recommend looking into Focus on the Family's "The Truth Project." That series, hosted by Dr. Del Tackett, has been a true inspiration to me, and, more importantly, a real eye-opener.

I have said that the truth is God's and that he has revealed it to man in the Bible. If one believes that God is the Creator of all things, as I believe, then what greater authority can there be on the issue of truth? Who knows more about the truth than the Lord who created all things, including the very concept of truth.

John 18:32-38, cited below in the English Standard Version ("ESV") and copy/pasted from biblegateway.com, contains a starting revelation for many believers:

"33(AN) So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him,(AO) 'Are you the King of the Jews?' 34Jesus answered, 'Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?' 35Pilate answered, 'Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?' 36Jesus answered, (AP) 'My kingdom(AQ) is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world,(AR) my servants would have been fighting, that(AS) I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.' 37Then Pilate said to him, 'So you are a king?' Jesus answered, (AT) 'You say that I am a king.(AU) For this purpose I was born and for this purpose(AV) I have come into the world—(AW) to bear witness to the truth.(AX) Everyone who is(AY) of the truth(AZ) listens to my voice.' 38Pilate said to him, 'What is truth?' After he had said this,(BA) he went back outside to the Jews and told them,(BB) 'I find no guilt in him' [emphasis supplied].

It is important for all believers to know that the saving grace they enjoy and are so eager to share is but a part of Christ's purpose, which was to testify to the truth. The most important thing we can realize about Christ is that he had an absolute grasp of the truth, and he came to this Earth as God-made-flesh to share it with us. This is so important because, for those of us who follow Christ and accept his testimony (to the truth), Christ said (to those present at the Mount of Olives) that the truth will set them free (John 8:31).

Of course, many Jews questioned this at first. They reminded Christ that they, themselves, had never been slaves to anyone. They also reminded Christ that they were Jews, the heirs of Abraham. Christ replied to them in the excerpt from John 8 below:

"34Jesus answered them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you,(BF) everyone who commits sin is a slave[b] to sin. 35(BG) The slave does not remain in the house forever;(BH) the son remains forever. 36So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet(BI) you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. 38(BJ) I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard(BK) from your father,'" [emphasis supplied].

We are all in bondage, whether we realize it or not. Christ said that those who commit sin are slaves to it. He told them that the truth he testifies to shall set them free. When Christ told Pilate this, Pilate may have said "What is truth," but when he addressed the crowd after confronting Christ about the Jews' accusations, Pilate told them that he could find no fault in Jesus and offered to free him.

Those Jews at the Mount of Olives, having heard this same message about the truth, continued to question their bondage to sin. Like many Jews today, they believed that their inheritance from Abraham made them true, free sons of God. They argued this point with Jesus - that they were born of God, not of sexual immorality or sin. Again, Christ replied to their contentions in John 8:

"42Jesus said to them, (BR) 'If God were your Father, you would love me, for(BS) I came from God and(BT) I am here.(BU) I came not of my own accord, but(BV) he sent me. 43(BW) Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot(BX) bear to hear my word. 44(BY) You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires.(BZ) He was a murderer from the beginning, and(CA) has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him.(CB) When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. 46Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? 47(CC) Whoever is of God hears the words of God.(CD) The reason why you do not hear them is that(CE) you are not of God.'"

We are not born into this world of God with an automatic instinct to do His will and works. Rather, Christ revealed to those at the Mount of Olives that they were born into this world with an instinct to sin. Reading carefully, Jesus made the point that Satan is the "father of lies" who "has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him." Why is that so important?

Because Satan keeps us in bondage to sin with lies. That is Satan's greatest tool against mankind: Satan uses lies that distort God's truth. Satan's deceptions have twisted God's truth to where our post-modern culture abhors it, and it causes even believers to sin.

Look at the issue of marriage: the Bible says that a wife should submit to her husband as to the Lord (Eph 5:22), but Satan has sold the world and some believers the lie that submission is a negative action, resulting in injustice and prejudice.

Go back to John 8 and see for yourself in verse 42 (cited above). Did Christ choose to come to Earth of his own desire? No - he did so because that was the will of God the Father who sent him! Just as Christ submitted his entire life to God, the apostle Paul told wives, "Submit to your own husbands as to the Lord" (Eph 5:22). He also wrote, "Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands" (Eph 5:24).

Is submission to God's plan a negative thing? Christ didn't think so, yet so many believers gloss over Paul's words or, worse still, attempt to explain them away. Rather than reconciling the world to Word, so many believers attempt to reconcile the Word to the world. The process of interpreting the Bible to make sense in light of our supposedly enlightened culture plays right into Satan's plans. To make the submission of a wife to her husband a negative, unjust concept, requires the believer to buy into Satan's lies. Remember what Christ said to the Jews at the Mount of Olives? He told them that they were of their father the devil and that was why they could not hear his words to them.

This is why the truth is so important. While we are listening to Satan's lies, we will sin, and while we sin, we will be a slave to it. Wives will attempt to rule over their husbands, which husbands will cease to abide by their command to love their wives as Christ loved the Church (Eph 5:25), and with that discontent between parents, soon their children will cease to respect and obey as commanded (Eph 6:1). After all, children tend to follow the example of their parents, and what example does a wife rebelling against her husband set for their children? What does a child learn from a father who has lost all love and respect for their mother?

If just one of Satan's lies can undo an entire family, then how many are we willing to believe before we see that Christ was right - it is the truth that sets us free from sin! Faith and obedience to Christ is not forced upon mankind. Choosing to submit our lives to Christ is a voluntary and very positive act. Christ does not ensnare men with lies and traps - Satan does. Those accepting Christ's testimony of truth realize that the only true freedom is in voluntarily submitting their lives to Jesus Christ. That is truth.

No one can serve 2 masters, for s/he will love one and despise the other (Matt 6:24). So choose this day whom you will serve (Josh 24:15), but remember that there is but one true God (Deut 4:35). Ignoring God's truth, or trying to explain it away, can result only in bondage to sin and Satan, the father of all sin. When that happens, you have already bought the lies.

So, I choose the truth, and I believe Christ is God, made flesh, who died for our sins. Like Joshua, I say to all of you that, as for me and my house, we choose to serve the Lord, for there is no other like him to be found.