To End All Wars with Paul McDonald and Britt Mooney
Coming up on the Men at the Movies podcast, Britt and I discuss the movie To End All Wars. The POW camp represents the places in our lives where we feel helpless, where injustice occurs. When that happens, we can respond by our human nature, or empowered by the grace of the gospel. When we experience tragedy, injustice, helplessness and loss, we find out if the words of Jesus are hyperbole or the true way to find life. Join us as we discover God’s truth in this movie.
Quotes
Part of the gift of the gospel is to see what God is doing in every situation.
The words of Jesus aren’t nice platitudes, or things difficult to do. They are impossible to follow without my life being supernaturally charged.
Our lives are the crucible for the testing and proving of our faith.
Every injustice was done to Jesus.
The Law did not turn sinful people into righteous ones, it just tried to manage sinful behavior.
The only way to experience the authenticity of a person is seeing their response to injustice.
God’s idea of justice is returning all of creation back to the way He created it to be. He’s not out to punish bad people, but to redeem them.
You can’t fix injustice with more injustice, brokenness with more brokenness, lies with more lies. You need the truth.
The POW camps represent a place where we feel powerless. And in so many areas of life, we feel powerless.
Powerlessness can lead to helplessness which can lead to hopelessness.
At what point do you become the monster to destroy the monster you’re fighting?
Themes
Are the words of Jesus hyperbole, or did they mean something?
Can you love your neighbor and what does that mean?
If God is real and the Bible is real, what impact should that have on how I interact with others?
The words of Jesus are nice things to do. They are impossible to do without the grace of God empowering us to do the work.
How do we deal with the hopelessness we see and face in the world around us?
How do we have hope in a world that attacks it and wants us to turn towards hopelessness and striving?
Four reactions to tragedy/injustice of the world, feelings of hopelessness and being powerless.
Either reacting with our human nature (Bard, Major, Yanker) or supernatural nature (Dusty)
Bard: Giving up, with no hope, resigned to their fate. Dead eyes. Apathy. Want to numb the pain.
The Major: Fighting, a wrench in the works, overcome with hate and payback. Angry all the time. Make people pay. Marked by defiance. Doesn’t care about freedom, only wants to antagonize his captor. Wants to change who has control.
Yanker: Tries to take advantage of the situation, profit from the injustice. Manipulation and accumulation.
Dusty: People aren’t my enemy. Turns the words of Jesus from hyperbole to a way of life. We can’t do this in our own strength but only through the empowering transformational grace of God.
Definition of justice
The world: Eye for an eye. Punishment and constraint. Retribution. Exchange. Transactional.
God: Not punishment, but redemption. Transformation. Takes grace, generosity, power, love.
Resources
To End All Wars by Ernest Gordon
Studies in the Sermon on the Mount by Martyn Lloyd-Jones
“To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” - Colossians 1:27 (NIV)
The Republic by Plato
“The only way to test righteousness is to inflict every injustice the world can inflict.” - Plato
Jordan Peterson on The Joe Rogan Experience
“The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. As the Scriptures say, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.” So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish. Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe. It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense. But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength.” - 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 (NLT)
“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and self-indulgence! You blind Pharisee! First wash the inside of the cup and the dish, and then the outside will become clean, too.” - Matthew 23: 25-26 (NLT)
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” - Hebrews 4:15-16 (NIV)
Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien
“The tragedy of life is what dies inside a man while he lives.” - Albert Schweitzer
“Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will grant you his blessing.” - 1 Peter 3:9 (NLT)
“Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” - Matthew 10: 28 (NLT)
Questions
How have you been each of these characters in different points? The Bard-Resigned and given up? The Major-Defiant and fighting back? Yanker-Manipulative and controlling? Dusty-Loving and forgiving?
When have you been the closest to losing hope?
What situations make you feel powerless and helpless?
Who has encouraged you in your lowest, most helpless moments?
What does forgiveness look like?
How do justice and forgiveness conflict with each other? How do they align?
How do we act like Jesus’ words are mere hyperbole, platitudes, nice to hear but impossible to live?
What would it look like to live by Jesus’ words and actions?
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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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