Mickey, Winnie & Maleficent
Steamboat Willie has come out of copyright protection and already it has a horror movie like that of Winnie the Pooh from last year. I find it interesting how people just can't wait to deconstruct pure characters to show how even the best has an evil side. (Now I have to admit I have not seen either movie but the promotional images and the subsequent discussions are enough to make me avoid wasting 180 minutes of my life on them.)
But have you noticed how in the same vein they destroy Mickey's and Winnie's good image, people have been showing how traditionally fictional evil characters are simply misunderstood, have some good in them, or can make a turnaround? Think Maleficent, the Wicked Witch of the West, and Black Adam. To paraphrase Isaiah 5:20, people have been making over good characters evil, and vice versa.
Of course, I realize that these characters are simply that---characters. They're not real and when they enter public domain, everybody is free to make a go for it and create their own narrative. But that's in the world of fiction. In the real world, no one is good. Not the nicest, kindest, and the most helpful people you know, even if it's that you.
As it is written:
“There is no one righteous, not even one;
there is no one who understands;
there is no one who seeks God.
All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.”
(Romans 3:10-12, NIV)
"As it is written." The apostle Paul wasn't the first to say it; he was only repeating what has been written before. Jesus Himself said in Mark 10:18 how there is no one good.
When God uses the word, "good," He is referring to a holy nature. Not even Mother Theresa had a holy nature. According to God, we all have fallen short of what God considers good because we all have sinned (Romans 3:23). No amount of hijacking of narratives where people nowadays scoff at what is holy and justify what is evil, can change what the immutable God has declared---we are all sinners. Not one of us is good. We are all destined for eternal punishment. No amount of our good works will reroute our destination because they are made with filthy hands.
But God in His infinite and strange love for us, has provided a way for us to be good in His sight by sending His and THE one and only GOOD Son to die in our place. Jesus resurrected on the third day, just as He Himself prophesied, showing how He has overcome evil with His Holy life and power. All we have to do is ask for forgiveness and accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Make 2024 a good year for you by being good in the eyes of a good and loving God.
Steamboat Willie has come out of copyright protection and already it has a horror movie like that of Winnie the Pooh from last year. I find it interesting how people just can't wait to deconstruct pure characters to show how even the best has an evil side. (Now I have to admit I have not seen either movie but the promotional images and the subsequent discussions are enough to make me avoid wasting 180 minutes of my life on them.)
But have you noticed how in the same vein they destroy Mickey's and Winnie's good image, people have been showing how traditionally fictional evil characters are simply misunderstood, have some good in them, or can make a turnaround? Think Maleficent, the Wicked Witch of the West, and Black Adam. To paraphrase Isaiah 5:20, people have been making over good characters evil, and vice versa.
Of course, I realize that these characters are simply that---characters. They're not real and when they enter public domain, everybody is free to make a go for it and create their own narrative. But that's in the world of fiction. In the real world, no one is good. Not the nicest, kindest, and the most helpful people you know, even if it's that you.
As it is written:
“There is no one righteous, not even one;
there is no one who understands;
there is no one who seeks God.
All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.”
(Romans 3:10-12, NIV)
"As it is written." The apostle Paul wasn't the first to say it; he was only repeating what has been written before. Jesus Himself said in Mark 10:18 how there is no one good.
When God uses the word, "good," He is referring to a holy nature. Not even Mother Theresa had a holy nature. According to God, we all have fallen short of what God considers good because we all have sinned (Romans 3:23). No amount of hijacking of narratives where people nowadays scoff at what is holy and justify what is evil, can change what the immutable God has declared---we are all sinners. Not one of us is good. We are all destined for eternal punishment. No amount of our good works will reroute our destination because they are made with filthy hands.
But God in His infinite and strange love for us, has provided a way for us to be good in His sight by sending His and THE one and only GOOD Son to die in our place. Jesus resurrected on the third day, just as He Himself prophesied, showing how He has overcome evil with His Holy life and power. All we have to do is ask for forgiveness and accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Make 2024 a good year for you by being good in the eyes of a good and loving God.