It has taken a while to gather my thoughts concerning the movie that won the Best Picture Oscar this year. Naively thinking that it might be something interesting to watch, and since the movie theater was offering discounted tickets for certain showings, off I went. As my friend and I left the theater, another woman walking behind us heard our comments and joined our discussion about a movie that left us gob-smacked. Even now, we are still not entirely sure what the point was.
Initially I thought it might be a parody, since on display was the proverbial military wonks who, if they don’t understand a creature, want to kill it. Or even better, the Christian starched shirt that can quote scripture to quell the life out of any living thing. These are old and over used props for even Hollywood, hence my thinking this was a parody. But no.
We have a timid woman, who lives alone, and works the night shift at some sort of research facility. The creature that is brought there is worshiped in its home environment as a god. For the purposes of this movie, it is being investigated as a life form that can breath both under and above water. Why the military has control over this creature is anyone’s guess but there are scientists who want to study the creature in order to understand not just its breathing ability but its entire physiological system. To enhance to the 1962 setting, we have, of course, the Soviets who also want this creature…not to study but to destroy it just so the US cannot use it for whatever potential benefits the creature may offer.
Anyway, anyway, anyway…the point of this blog is not to critique the movie. That is well beyond my abilities as I have no clue as to where to begin, nor do I care to. What interests me is that we are moving significantly down the road toward the destruction of mankind. Given movies like Planet of the Apes, Star Wars, and now this one, the line between human beings and animals is blurring. If from a biblical perspective, we begin with man being made in the image of God, and then gradually deconstruct that notion, we arrive at a point where human beings are merely one more cog in the evolutionary wheel of life.
To piggyback on my previous post about Ecclesiastes, there is a verse the in chapter 3 that is a poke in the eye:
18 I said in my heart with regard to the children of man that God is testing them that they may see that they themselves are but beasts. 19 For what happens to the children of man and what happens to the beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts, for all is vanity. 20 All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust all return. 21 Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down into the earth?
And so it is…not much difference between us and the rest of the animal kingdom… when God the Creator is not in sight. Given this worldview, movies like the Shape of Water make sense and we should expect more like them. Don’t be surprised when the equality of man and animal spills over into reality. But sadly it already has. Those annoying posts where people post pictures of their children, i.e. their new puppy and then project onto their parents the moniker of grandma or grandpa. No thank you.
And this from an article on One Green Planet: “It is so important that we grant animals “personhood” because they can’t speak up, they can’t picket, make petitions or elect government officials who will It is so important that we grant animals “personhood” because they can’t speak up, they can’t picket, make petitions or elect government officials who will give them rights–they need US to qualify their worth and grant them rights.–they need US to qualify their worth and grant them rights.”
Does anyone see a problem here? “…they can’t speak up, they can’t picket, make petitions or elect government officials”…neither can unborn children and yet we rip them apart and call it “the right to choose”. The lines are getting awfully blurry.
Here in Australia there is a movement to stop the exportation of live animals to other countries. It is a noble cause, I think. Those animals we raise for food ought not be treated “inhumanely” but… they are not humans. They have not had stamped on their visage the image of God and as such are wholly different and yes, less than human. I had a man stop me in the shops not very long ago to ask if I wanted to donate money to stop the caging and baiting of bears (where this is done, I am not sure). I told him that as a Christian we are directed by God to take care of animals as well as all parts of our environment. But the best way I see to do that is to teach people about Christ and our God-given mandate as stewards of this world. Donating money may help one bear, but educating a populace helps many bears and changes the way we exercise dominion over all of the animal kingdom. He didn’t like my answer and proceeded to accost someone else.
26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
27 So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. Genesis 1:28-31
It was very, very good. God’s design for humanity and the world would have worked well, if only…
theologicalcudchewing 