Background & Thesis The movie The Village directed by Shyamalan was released in 2004. The storyline creates a setting placed in the middle of the woods during the 19th century. To give some background to the plot—there is a community of people, hence the name The Village, that have formed their own government and way of living. In this town there is evident fear and angst regarding creatures that attack the village resulting in bloodshed. This fear drives them to not go near the woods that surround the perimeter of their town but to stay put. The movie as a whole addresses theological implications regarding the church. Human nature is being depicted in certain ways that drive the understanding of their engagement with the rest of the world.
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Within and Beyond the Building When most people refer to the church, people often think of the building. There is emphasis on location and space of where people gather in worship. Too often people can limit the church to just that—a building. However, the church is way more than that. It is not bound by time or space, but united to a connection to Christ. It is a depiction of Christ’s body. Ecclesia is Greek for church. It means the assembly of the called out. To be a part of the church is to be to be set a part—in the world but not of it. This reflects the passage in Matthew 5:14, “You are the light of the world; a city set on a hill cannot be hidden.” However, this is exactly the opposite of what the village wants to accomplish. They are intentionally enclosed by the perimeter of the woods to secure safety. Furthermore, they are guarded from having to engage with the culture around them, secluded to their own ways of living. The church can often do this. When driven by fear, the body of Christ easily becomes constrained to Christianity within four walls. Christians are directly commissioned to break past the walls of the …show more content…
Misguidedly the people honestly believe this is how their generations will flourish, so they will always “Risk everything for a just and right cause.” Now there is value in sacrifice for a just and right cause—that is what the Kingdom is about. To die to oneself so that Christ may be full in them to participate in the Spirit’s work. However, the elders were willing to sacrifice a part of themselves that made them cringe for what they believe is the good of the people, but what they believe was good could be debated. They love what they have created so much that they sacrifice a part of their community and themselves in order to continue in this tainted reality. Nevertheless, “one love to sacrifice another love is not right.” Within Christianity there is a new covenant believers live in. Christ is the final sacrifice as it describes in Hebrews 10:12, “But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.” Sometimes the Church can try to take Christ’s place by trying to be the savior, and acting on their own power for the good of the people, but it is not by their power. Christ was the last and the only sacrifice that can save people from the depths of their fallen human nature. No one in the church can take the place of Jesus, because He is the way the truth and the life and no one can come to the
Within and Beyond the Building When most people refer to the church, people often think of the building. There is emphasis on location and space of where people gather in worship. Too often people can limit the church to just that—a building. However, the church is way more than that. It is not bound by time or space, but united to a connection to Christ. It is a depiction of Christ’s body. Ecclesia is Greek for church. It means the assembly of the called out. To be a part of the church is to be to be set a part—in the world but not of it. This reflects the passage in Matthew 5:14, “You are the light of the world; a city set on a hill cannot be hidden.” However, this is exactly the opposite of what the village wants to accomplish. They are intentionally enclosed by the perimeter of the woods to secure safety. Furthermore, they are guarded from having to engage with the culture around them, secluded to their own ways of living. The church can often do this. When driven by fear, the body of Christ easily becomes constrained to Christianity within four walls. Christians are directly commissioned to break past the walls of the …show more content…
Misguidedly the people honestly believe this is how their generations will flourish, so they will always “Risk everything for a just and right cause.” Now there is value in sacrifice for a just and right cause—that is what the Kingdom is about. To die to oneself so that Christ may be full in them to participate in the Spirit’s work. However, the elders were willing to sacrifice a part of themselves that made them cringe for what they believe is the good of the people, but what they believe was good could be debated. They love what they have created so much that they sacrifice a part of their community and themselves in order to continue in this tainted reality. Nevertheless, “one love to sacrifice another love is not right.” Within Christianity there is a new covenant believers live in. Christ is the final sacrifice as it describes in Hebrews 10:12, “But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.” Sometimes the Church can try to take Christ’s place by trying to be the savior, and acting on their own power for the good of the people, but it is not by their power. Christ was the last and the only sacrifice that can save people from the depths of their fallen human nature. No one in the church can take the place of Jesus, because He is the way the truth and the life and no one can come to the