God at the Oscars
- Mark Shaw
- 6 days ago
- 1 min read
My thanks to Betsy Shirley for the creative ideas in her recent Sojomail, "Faith and Justice at the Movies."
One of my personal favorite movies this year was "Song Sung Blue," a true story about the tragedy and triumphs of two musicians who cover Neil Diamond songs. Kate Hudson was nominated for Best Actress for her remarkable performance.
"Hamnet" tells the story of Will Shakespeare and his wife, Agnes (her historical name is actually Anne), as they weather the death of their son. It is a remarkable re-imagining of the personal story behind "Hamlet."
"Nuremberg" is a powerful case study of the banality of evil in the person of Herman Goering.
Rian Johnson's "Wake up Dead Man: A Knife's Out Mystery" is my favorite of the Benoit Blanc Trilogy. Its portrayal of Christian nationalism is alarming, but what really grabbed my attention was the believable way it presented a grace-centered faith in the young priest's life. Some see his faith as merely a woke distortion of true Christianity, but for me, it is a serious portrait of someone searching the depths of both sin and redemption.
As with any cultural engagement, one should never violate one's conscience nor impose one's conscience on another (Romans 14). Spiritual discretion is advised in keeping with the ideals of Philippians 4:8.
This blog post reflects the personal opinions of the author and not necessarily those of Peninsula Community Chapel.