fight the break of dawn.....

I went to watch "Saved" tonight with Rosalie. It was an entertaining movie and I can look past the fact that the director didn't intend for it to be a Christian bash, although outwardly it certainly fit into the category. I actually found the movie refreshing. Here's a review I found for the movie:


Its About Acceptance, May 28, 2004
Reviewer: vickivsn
I had the pleasure of seeing Saved! at the Seattle International Film Festival. What a treat it was, I had no idea. Saved! uses dark, quirky comedy to promote acceptance. While the movie is promoted as being about Mary trying to “save” her boyfriend, Dean, from homosexuality; acceptance of gays is only one example of the movie’s message. Cassandra needs to be accepted in light of her religion, Mary needs to be accepted despite a very unchristian-like mistake, and Roland needs to be accepted as an equal given his disability. But you can’t have a successful dark comedy without an instigator. Mandy Moore does a marvelous job of portraying religious zealot Hillary Fay who acts as the well-intentioned primary judge and jury of those not like her or who have made mistakes. What may look like a poke of fun at Jesus freaks, I believe is the filmmaker’s attempt at adversity with comedy to help set the scene for the need of acceptance. This film is also about friendship with a look at the difference between cliques where popularity rules and true friendship where you can count on each other through thick and thin. The “save the homosexual” storyline takes a back seat to allow for the development of the other characters and situations. In that respect it is not a “gay” movie although it does come full-circle in the end. I give this movie an A+ for the characters, message, and acting.

I like that review. Especially since the need for acceptance is so prevailant in our culture. Although extreme at times, the movie does speak of how Christianity is a belief of acceptance. All the "even you" comments from Hillary Fay towards Casandra were very harsh, but very true. Men are poor judges of character when it comes to the qualifications of who should enter heaven, first of all....who are we to judge anyways? A man loved us enough, despite our shamefulness, to die so that we could be accepted into a relationship we can bet our lives on. The thing about Christian relationships is that they can be genuine. In such relationships there's always a sense of community, accountability and trust. Despite the fact that i cringed at seeing the intense satire of the movie, there is no shame in being a Christian. Not every faith gives you the opportunity to spend an eternity in peace without having done any deeds.

It seems that I've gone on a sudden religious rant these past couple of days. But I guess it's just like when you like someone...everyone can tell because you talk about them all the time, and you wanna talk about them all the time. It's like that with God.

"Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
Do no repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath..." Romans 12:16-19