V For Vendetta

I saw V For Vendetta today. I am the inquisitive sort. Even though I knew what the film would be about, I wanted to see the world through the eyes of others. The film was entertaining and thought-provoking, but at the same time it was a thinly veiled yet obvious attack on the current Government, conservatives, and Christianity. As the suave protagonist by the name of "V" states: "Artists use lies to tell the truth; politicians use lies to cover it up."

Exiting the theatre, thoughts different from what the writers and producers probably had in mind flooded through mine. The movie greatly saddened me because of its strong portrayal of Christians and conservatives as "evil". This view, to me, seems so opposite of what I have known and seen as a Christian among Christians since childhood.

I know that Jesus said: "All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved." (Matthew 10:22;13:13) What I did not realize is that "men" / "the world" would believe that I and my beliefs were "evil". It is a tough thing to realize that you and your faith are being portrayed by others as "evil".

When I got home, I looked up those verses spoken by Jesus and ran across the following in Luke 6:22: "Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you and insult you and reject you as evil {πονηρον} on account of the Son of Man!"

It is unnerving to me to actually see this manifested in modern media. Their message is supposedly one of love and concern for our fellow man, but so was Jesus' message.

The only thing I can think after seeing such views expressed is to follow Jesus' injunction to the best of my very human abilities: "But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you." (Luke 6:27)

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