Movies remind us to enjoy gift of life

by Nadja Leffler

Life is a gift from God so it’s OK to play and to cry – living in this way would help Australian Anglicans better connect with the humanity around us, said a leading US theologian in Sydney recently.

Dr Robert Johnston, President of the American Theological Society and Professor of Theology and Culture at Fuller Theological Seminar, LA, (the world’s largest non-denominational theological institution) was speaking after his first Australian address.

He was the keynote speaker at the first Macquarie Christian Studies Institute (MCSI)/Zadok conference, Spirituality Under the Sun; one of three international speakers who, paradoxically, found hope for today’s busy Christians in the bleak Ecclesiastes and in popular films focusing on death.

During the opening address, Dr Johnston explored the idea that our life was a gift with its own intrinsic meaning from its Creator. His analysis showed how we could miss out on the best of this gift by working too hard at creating our own meaning.

Dr Johnston said he compared the academy award winning black comedy American Beauty and Ecclesiastes, because both texts helped us make sense of life in a world where the Twin Towers fell and virtue often goes unrewarded.

“We need to learn to both face the terror and find the fragile, useless beauty around us,” he said; useless beauty such as the plastic bag dancing in the wind in the movie American Beauty. By doing so, we could tap into “a fugitive energy, divinely given, which propels life forward even in the darkest of days.”

Asked afterwards if there was a special message he hoped Australian Anglicans would take away from the conference, he said it was not to shy away from honestly embracing the pain of life.

“We have somehow thought that if we cannot have a smile on our face or if we cannot at least pretend that all is well, somehow we are an immature Christian or somehow we have failed in our Christian life,” Dr Johnston said.

He said Ecclesiastes reminded us that it was futile to try to explain away life’s mysteries and paradoxes. Bad things do happen even to good people and death is the great leveler. “However, it also gives us great hope in recognising that life has been created by God and therefore it is precious and wonder-filled – too beautiful for words.”

Modern humanity, and even our own children, recognised the futility and pain of life. “To connect with them, we need to be honest about the life we live and the world around us and see how we can find God in the midst of it,” Dr Johnston said.

“Remember that life is a gift – this allows us to relax and accept both the challenge in our work and the pleasure of our play without trying to make it more than it is, without assuming that it is ‘all there is to life’, he said.

“We don’t have to produce anything in order for our life to be meaningful, it comes with the territory, it is part of our createdness. God created us and said that it is good.”

Dr Rikk E Watts, Associate Professor of New Testament, Regent College, Vancouver, challenged the participants to explore what was really driving them. Humbly facing reality, accepting our differences and being open to learning from each other could help us recapture what it means to be the humans God created us to be.

“If our theological discussions are not surrounded by eating, drinking and being merry, then we have lost something of what it means to be human,” he challenged with a smile.

The new Director and Dean of MCSI Gordon Preece said the conference achieved its goal of providing a challenging yet enjoyable discussion forum for Christians interested in applying the Bible to work and everyday life. MCSI’s mission is to provide such opportunities particularly through workshops. The Zadok Institute promotes informed theological reflection on contemporary issues via its publications and events. Both organisations are not-for-profit and non-denominational.

<i> Attendees at the conference included students, business people, professionals and academics from a variety of denominations. For a copy of the tapes or for more information on MCSI visit www.msci.edu.au or call 02 9850 6133. </i>

Nadja Leffler is a freelance journalist, a member of Macquarie Chapel, Eastwood; and is currently on leave from MCSI.

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