Book of Eli

The description of "post apocalyptic" usually steers me far, far away from a movie. Blade Runner? Ick. I Am Legend? No thanks. Mad Max? The PostMan? Omega Man? No, No, NO!!

But one of my Facebook friends (Hi Julio!) posted that he had gone to see The Book Eli, and that it was good. "And by the way," he said, "The Book of Eli is the Bible, and its the last one on earth".

OK, then. I'm in.

This..ahem.."post apocalyptic" tale stars Denzel, as Eli, a lone stranger, traveling westward, protecting a sacred book. He's survived for 30 years by hunting small animals and finding supplies and water wherever he can. When he reaches a small town run by powerful mobster, Carnegie (Gary Oldman), he is offered a job to stay and work for the mob boss. And when Carnegie sends Solara, (Mila Kunis) a young girl, to spend the night with Eli to "convince" him to stay, she sees the book. This happens to be THE book that Carnegie has desperately been looking for. But he wants it in order to gain control of people. Eli, on the other hand, has been "told", by a voice in his head, to take the book and go west. So he leaves, and the pursuit of The Book begins.

The Book of Eli was filmed in a dark, ashy, color, which really enhanced the idea of a dismal earth. It was also quite a violent. Unfortunately, telling you any more will only spoil the story. But if you can hang on through the darkness and violence...it is a beautiful story with a beautiful end. You could say the journey will be worth it for the destination. This movie is a must see.

KNOWING

Are things preordained in our universe, or do things happen by chance? And what if we knew what laid ahead? Could we...or would we change things? These are the questions that the movie KNOWING asks.

We start in 1959, as elementary school children are about to fill a time-capsule with drawings of what they imagine 2009 might look like. One of the little girls, Lucinda, fills a sheet of paper with seemingly random numbers instead of drawing a picture. Later, after the ceremonial burying of the time-capsule, Lucinda disappears. Eventually, she is found in a closet in the school basement, scratching numbers into a doorway, afraid and talking about the "whisper people" that she hears.

Flash forward to present day. Nicolas Cage plays John, the widowed father of a young boy, Caleb. Caleb attends the very same elementary school at which the time capsule was buried. Since it is now 2009, the time-capsule is being dug up. Once its opened, the students are each given the drawings that the 1959 children created. Caleb gets Lucinda's paper. He is confused, but then suggests that it might be some sort of puzzle. He doesn't think too much about it though. However, one evening, after a few drinks, John starts to play with the numbers, and discovers that they are dates of major disasters, followed by the number of the death toll for each event. Disturbingly, there are three events listed that have yet to happen.

Up to this point in the movie, John has established himself as not believing in heaven, or life anywhere but on earth. His philosophy in life is that "____ happens", and that there is no meaning or predestination of events. But when the numbers fall into his hands, he begins to question whether or not that happened for a reason - especially after he finds himself at the exact spot of the next event. (this is the point where he realizes that the numbers also list the locations of each event) After that, he goes to the place of the next disaster to see if he can stop it from occurring.

Soon Caleb begins to hear the "whisper people", just as Lucinda had. They tell him that he can go with them if he wants. And these same mysterious strangers begin to show up at various places, watching and waiting. Meanwhile, John figures out that the last numbers written mean that the end of the world will soon arrive. So how do the numbers' predictions and the mysterious whisper people tie in with each other?

I don't want to ruin the whole movie for you if you're going to watch it, so suffice it to say that there is a lot of Christian symbolism here, but just inaccurate enough to make it weird. The movie was good - lots of action and suspense. The story was intriguing, but the ending was just strange enough to make you wonder if someone had read the bible, but wasn't really paying attention while they read.

THE BUCKET LIST

I was not prepared for what a touching movie this would be. I don't know why..I knew the subject matter. Two men meet in a hospital room, with terminal diagnoses. So they compile a list of things they want to do before they "kick the bucket". Their "bucket list".

Morgan Freeman plays Carter, and Jack Nicholson plays Edward. Carter is a family man. His kids are grown, but he's always been there for them - a loyal husband and father. He's worked 45 years as a mechanic to provide for his family. Edward, is a corporate billionare. He's been married four times, and he owns the hospital in which he is now a patient. His trusty assistant Thomas, is played by Sean Hayes. These two men are different as night and day, but they find themselves at the same place in their lives - in a hospital bed, facing death. After a few days as roommates, Edward finds Carter's bucket list in the trash, and begins to add to it. He offers Carter the opportunity to accomplish the things on his list. At first, Carter is hesitant, but Edward tells him that he's "got nothing but money" and wants to do this while they still feel good enough to do it. Much to the frustration of his wife, Carter accepts the offer. So they go off, around the world, slowly but surely crossing things off the list. (Thomas comes along with them to handle the details) But the fun comes to an end when Carter adds a particular item to the list - for Edward to reconcile with his estranged daughter before he dies. Edward throws a tantrum and leaves Thomas and Carter standing on the street as he drives away, furious.
They go back to their lives, but as we know their time is limited, the story takes the turn that we have been expecting all along. The death, the funeral - it was very heart wrenching, but it was the last scene that got me. Have your Kleenex ready.

As I mentioned, I didn't think this was gonna be as good of a movie as it was. I figured I'd enjoy it - after all, how can you go wrong with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman? But wow, it was a really really great movie. (note: there is bad language - especially from Edward) There was a lot of contemplating life and death. Carter was a man of faith and Edward just...was. But as their friendship grew and death lurked around the corner, Edward hoped he was wrong.

One of the lines in the movie is: You measure yourself by the people that measure themselves by you. So consider this: who aspires to live life the way you do? As a Christian, this is a very important question. We live in the land of the Christian Lifestyle - but is it enough to be happy and live a clean life? Paul said, Imitate me as I imitate Him (Jesus). A study of Paul and Jesus will tell us that there was more to their lives than just random acts of kindness. Both gave their lives to make sure that we were assured of what awaits us after this life is through. So do we imitate Paul as he imitated Jesus? Do we risk all to make sure that others know the way to be saved? Or do we live a good life and hope that someday, someone will ask us what it is that makes us happy? That doesn't seem to be the way Paul lived, or the way Jesus lived. They laid it out on the table in truth and love. I gotta tell you - I am not doing that. I'm failing miserably in that area. I am afraid, of what? I don't really know. The prayer of the believers in the Book of Acts was for boldness. They got persecuted, and instead of asking for safety, they asked for boldness. Ouch. Lord, give your children boldness to speak Your Word to those who are perishing in this world.

Whereas you do not know what [will happen] tomorrow. For what [is] your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.
James 4:14

THE FIFTH MOUNTAIN, By Paulo Coelho

This is a story about the biblical prophet Elijah. I've read about Elijah in the Bible at various times, and I would have guessed that I knew his story - but once I got into this novel, I found that I wasn't sure which parts of The Fifth Mountain were embellished details, and which were based on the biblical account. When I finished reading it, I went to the bible and read everything I could find about Elijah.

But this book takes place during the three years of Elijah's life that are not mentioned in the bible.

In the bible, Elijah is a prophet at the time where Ahab is king - the most evil king up to that point - and is married to Jezebel. She is big time into Baal worship, and stirs up her husband's heart to worship Baal and turn his back on God. Elijah goes to Ahab and declares that there will be a drought for years because of this. Then God tells Elijah to hide in the wilderness. There, God directs him to go to Zarepheth, (which, in the novel, is referred to as Abkar). God tells him that He has commanded a widow to care for him. The widow has a son, and after she takes Elijah in, the son gets sick and dies. But Elijah prays for him and he comes back to life. The bible then says that "in the third year" the word of the Lord comes to Elijah and tells him to go back to Ahab, and that He will send rain on the earth. So it appears that Elijah is in Zarepheth(Abkar) for three years. But it doesn't say anything about those three years.

This is where The Fifth Mountain begins.

In The Fifth Mountain, Elijah arrives at Zarephath and meets the widow. It does mention that the widow's son gets sick and dies, and it tells how Elijah prays him back to life. But in the course of the three years, much happens there. Elijah falls in love with the widow, and even though she returns his feelings, their love was not to be. There's also a lot of political turmoil in the city - with the high priest, the governor and the commander of the army. It seems that there was a new system of communication starting to emerge, called the "alphabet", and the high priest was threatened by it. Then the Assyrians attack and almost destroy the city. Elijah spends his time caring for the widow's son after her death, and he is instrumental in rebuilding the war-ravaged city. He struggles greatly with doubt, and fear, and wondering what God wants him to do. Also, from time to time, Elijah's "Angel" appears to him and speaks to him. Eventually, Elijah becomes governor of the city.

That's the synopsis of the book - now here's what I thought about it.

As I read it, I felt as if the story didn't "flow". It seemed the author was just listing facts, as opposed to storytelling. I didn't ever feel I was a part of the story, nor did I feel involved in the character's lives or their feelings. To be fair, I noticed that the author is from Brazil, and the book credits Clifford E. Landers as the "translator". It's possible the flow of the story got lost in the translation.

Another thing that I didn't really care for was that Elijah's "Angel" spoke to him in the King's English. So I found myself reading it, then re-reading it because I didn't quite get the gist of what was being said until I went through it more carefully.

Elijah doubted a lot, which is normal for a human. But he was really angry at God, and even decided to turn his back on Him. (Which, again, is not that far-fetched for a human) But here's a prayer that Elijah prayed to God on page 218:

"O Lord, today is the Day of Atonement, and my list of sins against Thee is long...I have been weak, for I have forgotten my strength. I have been compassionate when I should have been firm. I have failed to choose, for fear of making the wrong decision. I have yielded before the time to do so, and have blasphemed when I should have given thanks.

Still Lord, I have also a long list of Thy sins against me. Thou hast made me suffer more than was just, by taking from this world one that I loved. Thou hast destroyed the city that received me. Thou hast confounded my search. Thy harshness almost made me forget the love I have for Thee. For all that time I have struggled with Thee, yet thou dost not accept the worthiness of my combat.

If we compare the list of my sins with the list of Thy sins, thou shalt see that thou art in my debt. But, as today is the Day of Atonement, give me Thy forgiveness and I shall forgive thee, so that we may go on walking at each other's side."

Yikes.

After this prayer, Elijah's "Angel" appears to him and says:

"Thou hast done well, Elijah. God hath accepted thy combat".

Huh?

I know that Elijah was human. I know he must have doubted and feared. I know sometimes we feel anger towards God at stuff that happens. But I don't think that prayer would be pleasing to God. Let's just pretend for a moment that Elijah really did pray that - I find it hard to believe that God would say "Hey, good job!".

Now, it does seem that Elijah's faith in God is eventually restored. And the book tells us that King Ahab and put an end to the drought.

At the end, it tells the biblical story of Elijah calling the prophets of Baal to Mt. Carmel, and mentions the fact that Elijah never dies, but is "taken" to heaven in a chariot of fire.

To sum it up, I didn't think the writing was that good (which again, might have been the translation). The story was not that engaging - even though it was an interesting premise. I wasn't sold on the fact that Elijah would have been so boldly disrespectful to God when he knew Him as he did. Also, the last line in the book is:

"Maria conceived without sin, pray for us who call on Thee. Amen"

Ok, well, what does that mean? Is that an ending prayer to the writing? Or is it part of the story?

I guess I have to say that I wouldn't recommended this book. Maybe I should have read Coelho's more famous and highly praised book, The Alchemist first - but I can't say that I will. This book did accomplish a good thing, though. In discussing it with my friend, we sat and dissected the scriptures on everything they had to say about Elijah. There is a prophecy regarding Elijah the book of Malachi; He is mentioned in the gospels (John the Baptist had the spirit and power of Elijah); and it is believed that Elijah is one of the two witnesses that are mentioned in Chapter 11 of the Book of Revelation. (Fascinating - and a worthy study if you have the time!)

ENCOUNTERS OF THE HEART: THERE'S MORE TO THE STORY THAN MEETS THE EYE, By Cathy Heiliger

This book takes a few stories from the Gospels and gives a more intimate account of some people who had encounters with Jesus. The stories include:

• The woman with an issue of blood who touched the hem of Jesus' garment
• Jairus, who's daughter died and was healed by Jesus
• Mary, Martha and Lazarus
  
• Mary anointing Jesus' feet with oil.
• The leper who Jesus healed
  

The stories are told in first person, with the person telling their own story about their encounter with Jesus. I've enjoyed Christian fiction about biblical stories before, and in the Introduction, the author addresses the fact that she is very careful to not add to the scriptures, but simply "colorizes" the scriptural accounts. There were things about the book I loved, and also things I didn't love. If you can hang in there with me through the negative, I'll quickly get to the parts I loved, because I felt that those parts made the book worth reading. So here goes...

The first story was the woman with the issue of blood. This was my least favorite - one of the reasons being that it made me a little nervous to read "quotes" by Jesus that were not in the bible. The woman tells her story about suffering for many years. Then, she touches Jesus' hem and gets healed. When He asks who touched Him, she falls before Him, and begins to confess everything in her life, which included shameful things that were done to her in her past. It was interesting to consider that this woman could have had many more things that she suffered - it brought her story more to life. What I didn't like were things we were to imagine Jesus saying. He told her to go in peace. But then, he tells her, "Stop beating yourself up! Be made whole from the suffering plague of self hatred and shame for whatever you have done that has contributed to your condition." I'll just be up front and tell you that I don't think the current trend of feeling good about ourselves is what we should be focusing on as believers. The truth is, we are not good. I think a lack of self esteem is the least of our problems. So I guess I couldn't appreciate the "stop beating yourself up" line. However, I acknowledge that there are people who have been through abuse of many kinds that do need to be pulled out of that pit of despair, and they could benefit from this story.

Now, with that said, let me tell you about the good parts...

First, I loved how she tied the stories together. As I said, the woman with the issue of blood tells her story, and when she tells of seeing Jesus, she mentions that she saw Jairus with Jesus, and it was odd that he looked like he had just gotten out of bed! Then, in the following chapter, when Jairus is telling his story, he tells us that when he is leading Jesus to his daughter, Jesus all of sudden stops and wants to know who touched him! That was beautifully done - I loved it!

But the stories I loved most, were those about Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. First we hear from Martha's point of view when Mary sat at Jesus' feet while Martha did all the work. Then we hear about how Lazarus fell ill and died. We hear about how they were desperate for Jesus to come and heal him, but Jesus delayed His coming! They felt so confused and abandoned! It was a beautiful, moving story that gave me chills and choked me up a bit. They wondered how He could leave them alone when they needed Him the most. Also woven into their story, was the story of Simon, the leper who Jesus healed (the 1 of 10 who returned to thank Him!). I was really able to imagine the scene as it may have been!

The book is short - 111 pages. It's sort of a "workbook" since every chapter has a "Reflections" section at the end, with questions to ponder. (I didn't linger over the questions very long, as I was anxious to keep reading) Encounters of the Heart was good food for thought, and drove me to my bible to double check the actual stories! I enjoyed it!