Glen Penner over at Voice of the Martyrs Persecuted Church Weblog is not impressed with the premise of the new Rambo movie.
In the latest and most violent of his onscreen adventures, John Rambo, living in northern Thailand and running a longboat business on the Salween River, is approached by a group of Christian human rights missionaries requiring transportation for delivering humanitarian aid to the persecuted Karen people in Burma. This he reluctantly does. Less than two weeks later, the minister in charge of the mission finds Rambo and tells him that the aid workers have not returned and the embassies have not helped locate them. He tells Rambo that he has mortgaged his home and raised money from his congregation to hire mercenaries to rescue the missionaries, who are being held captive by the brutal Burmese army. Rambo is grudgingly convinced by his mentor to take on the mission, despite his having turned from his prior violent life. What follows is the most violent Rambo film yet, as Rambo shots and stabs the missionaries to freedom.
I sincerely hope that no one (and least of all those who persecute Christians) believes that any reputable Christian mission organization would ever engage in such actions.
When Chuck Norris can follow a presidential candidate around the election stump, Hollywood workers can be excused for thinking glorification of violence is acceptable to rescue the ‘ Christian good guys.’ Korea paid a lot of money to have it’s middle class short term missionaries released in a war zone. It’s perfectly acceptable for a candidate for the US Presidency to tell people who don’t like a flag where they can put the flagpole. He is just a Baptist minister, and hey, it’s just a joke, why would Hollywood script writers see things differently? Churches hold Halo 3 and game nights, but it’s all just imaginary game violence and it’s about reaching ‘lost’ kids for Jesus Christ. So adolescents play war games in a church for awhile and sit through the obigatory kick ass for Jesus Christ sermon.
Big whoop eh? After all you do what you have to do in a culture war don’t you?
Blackwater mercenaries are headed by a fundamentalist.
That’s his day job, the rest of the time he goes on about the gospel.
That’s not a surprise to anyone.
Pretend heroes can be powerful desensitizers.
Penner is correct, no reputable agency would act the way a Rambo writer imagines.
Unreputable agencies couldn’t care less, lines are blurring as they have blurred throughout history.
When the gospel (good news) is protected or spread with a nudge and wink toward violence, it is not the gospel.
Even in pretend.
Published 11 months, 3 weeks agoBut I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you. Luke 6: 27:31 NIV
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Interesting post. I agree with you about HALO nights at church being an ethical disaster.
I’m not sure I understand your point about Chuck Norris and Korea. How exactly are those bad ideas?
Since when is the leader of Blackwater a fundie? Could you source this for me? I’m not being contentious, I’d just like to see it for myself. If so, that is really interesting.
Keep up the good posts.
I don’t see your questions as contentious at all Brooks - I’ll do my best.
Chuck Norris.
Actors are certainly free to endorse, help and promote any candidate of their choice. That isn’t the disconnect for me.
I have seen him behind Huckabee on news clips from the US and my question is why?
It would be like seeing Donald Sutherland, Christopher Plummer etc. sitting behind or beside a candidate in our election cycle during a news conference or photo op.
Silly.
Like collecting celebrities to help yourself get elected.
Norris promotes David Barton’s revisionist history.
Barton is a Christian Nationalist and founder of Wallbuilders.
The movement justifies Old Testament violence to ‘restore’ the US as a Christian nation.
This should get you started.
http://www.talk2action.org/story/2007/3/24/113936/894
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=David_Barton
http://www.beliefnet.com/story/154/story_15469_1.html
Korea’s missionaries.
Korea Christians feel they owe a debt to US missionaries and wish to be world leaders in mission work. Many churches in competition with each other send people ill-prepared into the field (such as Afghanistan) even through it is forbidden by their government and the Afghan government. I’ve written about it here:
http://www.benedictionblogson.com/index.php?s=Korea
Korean churches do not train their missionaries to be culturally sensitive.
The government did not disclose the amount of money paid to tribal leaders and Taliban warlords for the release of hostages.
I have no problem with Korean Christians desire to evangelize.
I have a problem when they do so with motives to be ‘top’ in the the world and without regard for longer term consequences in their own country, with their missionaries and with countries in turmoil that short term mission trips are not going to make a dent in.
I have a problem when the motive is to beat the US as out of country evangelists, Christianity isn’t a numbers race. Korean churches set up a front group to pass as aid workers, when one of the the real intents was the numbers game.
The BBC ran an excellent piece on Korean pastors facing a huge backlash in their own country to the hostage crisis, realizing they have to rethink motive and methods.
Blackwater.
Blackwater’s founder is Eric Prince.
This should get you started.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erik_Prince
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackwater_USA
Here is an interview with Jeremy Scahill who wrote: Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army
Prince has moved religiously far more right than his Calvinist roots and his Catholic conversion.
http://tinyurl.com/384pcg
These Guns for Hire by Chris Barsanti is a review of Scahill’s book and gives a glimpse into the religious beliefs driving Blackwater’s founder and many of it’s executives.
He briefly touches on some of the dominionist/neo-pentecostal and reconstructionist ties.
You can find more online quite easily.
http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3184/these_guns_for_hire/
Benediction,
Thanks for the response. I see what you were trying to say now.
Fascinating stuff about Eric Prince. I had no idea. The extent to which the U.S. is privatizing the military has got to be real unnerving to the American military.
Cheers.