Righteous children of men

I really only made one New Years resolution this year, to read more widely outside the Christian genre. I love to read and am determined to gain further insight into our Christian world as seen from a non-Christians perspective.

I guess you could say I am enjoying "Righteous, dispatches from the evangelical youth movement." by Lauren Sandler. She has travled the county spending time with many well known churches and Christian movements that are appealing to those primarily under 35. I have to admit, she's got some poignant observations, especially when she talks about a prosperity gospel mindset among hip hop minitries and churches. Hmm, can't seem to find a "prosperity gospel" mindset in the Bible that I read.

I was however, pleasently surprised by the movie "Children of men." You don't have to look too deep to observe many of the easily deciphered Biblicaly parallels. The character of Theo (Greek name for God) is a Christ-like figure set out to help ensure the survival and future of the human race. Kee is the young woman who is literally the key to the future of mankind. She is pregnant with the only new baby to come along in 18 years and somewhat of a Mary figure. The religious imagery is there for the taking throughout the movie. This movie in not unlike "The Matrix" in that you can pull all kinds of religious analogies from the movie, you just need to know what to look for.

These are the kinds of movies that make "Christian" movies look silly. I've found that most often it's the movies that aren't trying to be Christian that have some of the best Christian messages. You have to dig for those messages, but I believe there is a much greater chance at a wider audience getting that message then when a Christian film company tries to sell its Christian movie. I'll probably see the movie again and head into it with a treasure hunter mentality, looking for those hidden gems.

I'd love to hear further comment from any of you who have seen this movie. Meanwhile, we are all dealing with the pain of that ridiculous loss the the Patriots on Sunday. Please God, let the Colts thump them good this Sunday.