Marc's Messages 3.0

Learning from history

VPRO television started a docu series based on Geert Mak's impressive journal 'In Europe', chronicling 100 years of European history, based on many highly interesting interviews with people that personify that history today. Tonight's program was about the year 1916, the Battle of the Somme, one of the bloodiest battles in human history with over one million casualties. A crazy war that drove many literally to madness, distruped hundreds of thousands of families, still impacting generations after.

It makes you wonder what the Dutchies are doing in Uruzgan - engaged in a so-called human mission, but in reality a guerilla war that's impossible to win. Same with the Americans in Iraq. Why aren't we learning from history... Btw, over the years VPRO has developed a comprehensive website with excellent historic documentaries, that links yesterday's stories to today's realities. Good stuff, worth to check out.

Sigur Ros returns home

Simon Turner pointed me Sigur Ros' new CD-DVD 'Heima' (at home, homeland), which is also their first road movie, in which the band after a two-year concert tour across the globe starts a journey through Iceland. Beautiful images of the most north-western part or Europe with the typical Sigur Ros sound. Ian Nicholson just reported on a trip to Reykjavik for 24-7prayer, where Eric & Katie St. Clair are starting a 'boilerroom', a place of non-stop prayer, and Petra Karilainen and Krister & Resa are currently preparing for a trip up there in December. At the beginning of 2007 I sensed God speak about Iceland and this nation's ministry to Europe, so these cold lands have my warm attention and I hope to make a trip up there myself.

Why Europe, Why Now?

A bit over two years ago a video team of The Caleb Project visited me for a long interview on the state of the Church in Europe and the missional challenges of our continent. It's always interesting to see that out of such a lengthy interview only a few spicy quotes make it to the ultimate DVD. But the good thing is that they did the same with the interviews of around fifty other pioneers all over Europe, generating a rich and inspiring picture of what's happening in our continent. The DVD covers both the huge transition/reformation the church in Europe is going through, and the real stories of real people praying and planting churches. This Fall we're distributing this unique DVD, and you can order your copy here.

The Lives of Others

Yesterday we watched the German movie 'Das Leben der Anderen' (The Lives of Others) in the Springhaver theatre in Utrecht. It describes in detail how the Stasi, the East German secret police, operated, how oppressing the communist dictatorial regime was and what it did to people, and how one Stasi officer went through an unexpected personal transformation. The Americans called 'Das Leben der Anderen' "the best foreign language movie", which is of course nice, but I would say Europe produces more excellent movies these days that could easily stand the competition with Hollywood if it were not for the marketing budget. Make sure you see this movie. I also watched Spielberg's 'Munich' on DVD this weekend, which is also an intriguing piece of work.

Babel the movie

A good illustration to Richard Rohr's claim that true change or transformation happens in a state liminality is the movie 'Babel' that we watched yesterday. Babel tells the unexpectedly interweaving story of a Moroccan, a Mexican, an American and a Japanese family. All of them are disconnected in communication and relationships, and it's a phase of liminality or crisis that reconnects them to their true self and each other.

The Shawshank Redemption

Two years ago in Finland I met a daring lutheran pastor who compared the routines of organized church with life in prison. A good illustration of his point is the movie 'The Shawshank Redemption' with Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman. Life in prison is so conditioning that when a prisoner is released after 40 years, he is more or less unable to cope with life outside the four walls. He either kills himself or considers committing another crime in order to be sent back to jail. As Morgan says: "I tell you, he's institutionalized." Tim is not buying into that and dreams of going to Mexico. "I guess it comes down to a simple choice: get busy living or get busy dying." His well-planned escape from prison is nothing less than spectacular.

The power of suggestion

Most people think they're quite immune for advertizing, swindling and other forms of subtle manipulation. But British psychological illusionist Derren Brown, who says he doesn't believe in the paranormal and supernatural, comes with some unsettling evidence that most people can be mind-controlled. In the clip below a guy (who looks a bit like David Orton) gets a birthday present he didn't ask for, but Brown makes him believe that this is what he has been desiring all the time.

If you have time, also check out how Brown subtly manipulates creative directors of an advertizing agency, plays a Russian scam on people in London, trains his photographic memory in the National Library, swaps persons without people noticing, sets up a cold reading experiment, beats nine master chess players simultaneouly, and converts atheists to Christianity (see also part 2). Makes you wonder about some Christian practices too - what is the Holy Spirit and what is suggestion when it comes to healing, prophecy, offerings...

Think I'll mail it to the editors of Goedgelovig.nl, as they're currently stirring the quiet Evangelical waters with a report on backwards masking in popular worship songs.

The Council of Elrond

Yesterday I showed this movie clip of the Council of Elrond (Lord of the Rings), that speaks about how community is being formed.

A liberating gospel

Yesterday we watched the Israeli movie 'Kadosh', the tragic story of two sisters raised and married in the orthodox quarter of Jerusalem. Every day the orthodox men pray: "Thank God I wasn't born a gentile, thank God I wasn't born a slave, thank God I wasn't born a woman." The women are predestined to have children (if possible every year), cook and clean, and earn money, so their husbands can study the Torah and Talmud. But what if you can't have kids? What if your husband rapes you because he's a fanatic and - apparently - never read the Song of Songs?

Often religion turns into an oppressive system that breeds pride in a few, and enslaves many. I can sympathize with Marx in this respect. How liberating that a Jewish man stood up to set the captives of legalistic religion free. In Him men and women, masters and slaves, Jews and gentiles are equal. What a revolutionary message, what a liberating gospel!