Legend with Paul McDonald and Bryan Timothy Mitchell
Coming up on the Men at the Movies podcast, we discuss the 80’s movie Legend. Many people walk through life thinking that walking with God prevents evil from harming them. When their world collapses, they run into hiding thinking it’s their fault. But we are beings of light, created in the image of God, and we can’t trust what the darkness tells us. Join us as we discover God’s truth in this movie.
Quotes
Many people walk through life with the idea that if they walk with Jesus, evil can never touch them.
Redemption starts when we realize we need forgiveness.
Light is light, and is totally separate from the darkness.
The stronger the light is, the more clearly we can see.
Themes
Allegory of the Fall
Eve was deceived, Adam was inactive
Lily didn’t think what she was doing was wrong, Jack allowed what he knew to be wrong to happen
The lie that evil can never harm the innocent
Jack and Lily believe they brought the curse on, when it was Darkness who killed the unicorn
We think when bad things happen to us, it’s because of something we did wrong. If we didn’t sin, we wouldn’t struggle.
It’s because we are children of God that evil will attack us more.
The struggles we face should send us to find God, but if we believe it’s our fault it happened, we are more likely to hide from Him.
The loss of innocence - Sometimes occurs through our own actions, but more often through the actions of others.
The relationship of light and dark
We are bioluminescent.
Jesus as the light
We can’t trust what the darkness tells us.
Resources
“Once long ago, before there was such a thing as time, the world was shrouded in darkness.
Then came the splendor of light, bringing life and love into the Universe, and the Lord of Darkness retreated deep into the shadows of the earth, plotting his return to power... by banishing light forever.
But precious light is protected, harbored in the souls of Unicorns, the most mystical of all creatures.
Unicorns are safe from the Lord of Darkness, they can only be found by the purest of mortals... Such a mortal is Jack, who lives in solitude with the animals of the forest.
A beautiful girl named Lili loves Jack with all her heart. In their innocence, they believe only goodness exists in the world.
Together they will learn there can be no good without evil... No love without hate... No heaven without hell... No light without darkness.
The harmony of the Universe depends upon an eternal balance. Out of the struggle to maintain this balance comes the birth of Legends.” - Opening crawl from Legend“The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”
“Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’”
“You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”
The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.
When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees.” - Genesis 3:1-8 (NLT)
“The Word gave life to everything that was created,
and his life brought light to everyone.
The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness can never extinguish it.” - John 1:4-5 (NLT)“Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” - John 8:12 (NLT)
“Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever?” - 2 Corinthians 6:14-15 (NLT)
Infernal Fall by Bryan Timothy Mitchell
Almost Paradise by Bryan Timothy Mitchell (releases Oct 24, 2023)
bryantimothymitchell.com-Join the launch team
Questions
In Genesis 3, how was Eve deceived? How are you often deceived by the enemy?
How was Adam inactive? How are you inactive when what is needed is action?
When you experience struggles and evil, where do you go? Does it send you into hiding, or do you run to the face of God?
Do you feel like the negative outcomes are a result of your sin (sickness, relational, etc.) or are the evidence of evil in the world?
What does it mean to be made in the image of God? How does that impact your approach to other people?
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Edited and mixed by Grayson Foster
Logo and episode templates by Ian Johnston
Audio quotes performed by Britt Mooney, Paul McDonald, and Tim Willard, taken from Epic (written by John Eldredge) and Song of Albion (written by Stephen Lawhead).
Southerly Change performed by Zane Dickinson, used under license from Shutterstock.
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