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CCT: Monday & Wednesday, January 15-17, 2007 »

Jasper

January 14th, 2007

“Everything is a battle between faith and chance.”

I’ve seen “Children of Men” twice this weekend. The second time through, I noticed some trivial details - background imagery, small quotes from individuals, even the meaning behind things that are said by main characters - that I missed the first time.

A good bit into the movie, Jasper (Micheal Caine) is talking about how Theo (Clive Owen) and Julie (Juliane Taylor) met. He says, “Everything is a battle between faith and chance.” I’ve been digesting this quote since he said it, partially distracting me from the rest of the movie.

Everything is a battle between faith and chance. This quote goes far deeper than a movie about the year 2027 and the fight for fertility. Maybe this quote has a more powerful meaning - one that challenges the thoughts of Christians and non-Christians alike. This quote claims three things. Firstly, nothing is based completely on faith. Secondly, and conversely, the quote claims that nothing is based completely on chance. Finally, the quote combines the two previous assertions by saying that everything is a combination of the two.

Nothing is based completely on faith. You can believe something in the deepest pits of your heart, but without the chance of it ever happening, it cannot happen. It requires the opportunity for said outcome to be plausible.

Nothing is based completely on chance. You can have the best odds and if you don’t believe something will happen, the reflected contingency is less. By firmly believing the plausibility of an event increases the odds said event will occur, because your actions will reflect what you believe. This has long been the a thought by philosophers and theorists, that simply believing something makes it more likely to happen.

So, how does all of this bundled up challenge our Christian thought process? Does this quote remove power from God and put it in the hands of people?

I think we can interpret this quote as saying, if you have faith IN God, and a chance is given BY God, a desirable outcome to any situation can be attained.

Men wiser than myself have prayed:

Lord forgive me for not being religious,
I’ve been out in the world making myself look prestigious.

Men wiser than myself have said:

Never lose hope in your dreams -Thomas

INTERESTING LINKS FOR 01.14.02007
RedBox, netflix meets groceries
Digg, swarm the news
Unflinching Triumph, the Phillip Rockhammer Story

3 Responses to “Jasper”

  1. e Says:
    January 14th, 2007 at 10:03 pm

    Awesome movie.

  2. andy Says:
    January 15th, 2007 at 9:46 am

    For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
    Faith alone, leaves everything to chance.

  3. Erica Todd Says:
    January 15th, 2007 at 12:26 pm

    I was looking at facebook sites and came across yours. I read a little piece that you wrote about your thoughts that branched from the movie “Children of Men.”

    1. Initially I felt bitter feelings toward you because I have yet to have the time to see that and it is on the top of my movies I would like to see… you, however, have seen it twice (in one weekend!)… my feelings of bitterness have since passed, though :-)
    2. I am amazed at your prolific thoughts that came out of this movie and it causes me to have even more anticipation to view the film!
    3. I appreciate your thoughtfulness and it encourages me to think through some of your statements as well as be more aware of underlying meanings in the movies that I choose to view.

    I say all of that to simply ask… Andy, would you mind if I print that page off so that I can continue to mull through Jasper’s statement, “Everything is a battle between faith and chance.” I believe that it might sharpen me as well as assist as I begin to brainstorm about this semester’s day of worship. I would like to keep your snippet in the back of my mind if you don’t have any qualms about that. Please let me know.

    Thanks boy!

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