The Dark Knight with Paul McDonald and Britt Mooney
In this episode of the Men at the Movies podcast, Paul McDonald and Britt Mooney get ready to celebrate Easter with the story of The Dark Knight (2008) starring Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, and Aaron Eckhart. They discuss the frustration and discomfort of our inability to save ourselves, the presence and activity of evil in our lives, and the power of Jesus, our white knight. He isn't the hero we deserve, but he is the one we need.
Join us as we discover God's truth in this movie.
Quotes
The incarnation is an invasion.
The Joker’s only goal is to create havoc and chaos. The devil just wants to sow chaos and inflict pain. The enemy’s entire purpose is to watch us burn.
At some point, we’re just rebels against God. At our core, there is something we don’t understand that is evil, rebellious, and selfish, and it makes us uncomfortable because we can’t fix it. We’re helpless against this darkness.
We take evil, and especially spiritual warfare, lightly in today’s world.
The gospel is a switch to the internal, and we are uncomfortable because we can’t do it, it is something God does for us.
The law isn’t evil, but there’s no room for kindness, compassion, or grace.
Jesus saves us from the tyranny of ourselves.
The enemy’s attacks are personal and intentional.
The enemy puts us through a wringer to get us to the point where we do things we never thought we’d do.
Chaos looks like fear.
The fallen angels want to watch the world burn because they know their time is short, and they want to take out as many of the sons and daughters of God as they can.
The devil wants to get us to quit. Our job is to endure. With God, the only way to fail is to quit. “Often I go out on my back porch and tell God I can’t do this anymore. Then I go back inside and keep going.”
We think we’ve been invited with God on a cruise ship. But we’ve been recruited on a battleship. So don’t be surprised when we get on board and God tells us to start swabbing the decks and shows us the cannons and guns.
The gift of the gospel is we no longer have to be desperate. Our time isn’t short. Our time is eternal.
If we can endure the pain, there is something worth it on the other side.
If we give God our sin and our story (and pain), He redeems both.
Themes
The enemy is at the gates.
Joker is about chaos and inflicting pain—this is the enemy we are fighting and the reason we need Jesus.
The enemy we face does not bargain and does not deal, but wages war on the children of God (Revelation 12).
We take evil, sin, spiritual warfare, and the reality of darkness too lightly. There are millions of fallen angels whose entire intent is to watch the world burn.
Joker as a mirror for Satan—his attacks have a long-range plan, are deeply personal and intentional. He knows our patterns and habits. His attacks are targeted at our weak spots as well as the places where God can most be glorified, intended to bring out the darkness in people and challenge our identity. He uses the chaos to create fear and isolation. He targets the leaders who should be inspiring us and guiding us. He will hit us hardest when we are at our weakest. In the Bible, he is known as a liar, a thief, a snake, a dragon, an accuser.
The discomfort and offense of the gospel- We were born in sin, and it’s not something we can fix. Transformation occurs from within and is not something we can control. We don’t want to need it. We want to blame others, but we get to a place where we must admit that it’s our fault.
The law can’t save us and breaks down in the presence of evil and grace.
Jesus is not the hero we deserve, but he’s the one we need. He is the white knight who came to save us, who didn’t look like what they expected. He wasn’t the hero they wanted, but he’s the one they needed.
With God, the only way to fail is to quit. When it’s hard, when it doesn’t make sense, when it sucks, when it hurts too much, we’ve got to keep going.
Exposing the secrets of the enemy to the light removes his power of shame, doubt, and condemnation.
When we enforce, pursue, and experience the Kingdom of God, the enemy increases his focus and attacks. The thoughts in our heads aren’t always our own.
When pain takes us to our knees, like Jesus, prayer and communion with our Father is the only way to endure the cup. Remember the joy before us. We know how the story ends.
The solution to the darkness in and around us isn’t in a system, but in the person of Jesus.
Resources
Chaos Can’t: Overcome What Comes Against You in This Shaken World, by Allen Arnold
Questions
Once you know evil is out there, how will you respond? Can you pretend it doesn’t exist?
Paul says in Romans 7 that what he wants to do, he doesn’t do; and what he doesn’t want to do, those things he actually does. Where do you experience this frustration and helplessness?
Do you have a category for evil? Spiritual warfare? Satan? What is your experience with this?
How do you respond to pain, to situations outside of your control? How would you like to respond?
Have you experienced the transforming power of Jesus? If not, and you would like to know more, please contact us at menatthemoviespodcast@gmail.com. We would love to help you.