The Hunger Games Trilogy

I know this post will probably be controversial and so if absolutely nobody has any comments on it, I will know that nobody read it all the way through...:)

The Hunger Games Trilogy

This series has been talked about a great deal recently, as The Hunger Games is coming out in theaters in March.  Hearing the main character, Katniss Everdeen, praised, and the trilogy generally acclaimed, I thought I’d get the series from the library and see what I thought of it.

  I have to say, Suzanne Collins is a talented writer.  The books held my attention from beginning to end, were fast paced, and well-written.  They are written so well that they make you want to like them.  The fact that I wanted to like them shows a lot of talent on the part of the author, as I never want to like a book I disagree with.

  I don’t usually write book reviews, but in this case I thought I ought to, as The Hunger Games Trilogy has been very widely praised, even in Christian circles.

  The Hunger Games, set in a futuristic society, under the dictatorship of President Snow, presents a world where there is no God, no higher power than that of the government.  “May the odds be ever in your favor.”  The books leave no room for doubt the way The Lord of the Ring Trilogy does, allowing for a case to be made on either side.  There is no God, no higher power, and there is no question about it.  We all make our own destiny—if fate allows us the chance.  Keep in mind that a writer can make things however they want them to be.  In the real world, because there truly is a God, an atheistic society can pretend there is no God as much as they want, but it doesn’t change the fact that He exists.  However, in Panem, there is no God, and it is not a pretense, because it is an imaginary world, operating under the author’s directives.

  In this world in which there can be no hope, we meet Katniss Everdeen, a girl who we connect with emotionally over the tragedies which have already occurred in her life, and who seems to display some strength of character, despite some minor flaws.  Her love for her sister is made evident, and we see the grandest display of her sacrificial love in volunteering to be a tribute in place of her sister Primrose.  The tributes are sent into an arena, which is basically a survival of the fittest contest.  Kill your friends before they kill you.  The tribute with the least mercy and compassion has a better chance of winning.

  At the end, with only Katniss and her friend Peeta left alive, after a great deal too much kissing, which is made light of, the two of them resolve to commit suicide by eating poisonous berries rather than have to kill each other.  At this they are hastily extracted and sent home victorious.  Thus ends book one, which also had a strange, and almost toddlerish, slight obsession with nakedness.

  In book two, Catching Fire, the rebellious action of pulling out the berries has ignited a revolution against President Snow and his government, and when the Quarter Quell comes around, a more grand version of the Hunger Games which comes around every 25 years, tributes are selected from among former victors.  Upon receiving the news, Katniss gets drunk, one of several times in the series in which she quenches her pain with drugs or alcohol.  She and Peeta are once again sent into the arena, and they team up with some other tributes, who are in on a plot to protect her and break them out of the game.  They are able to accomplish this, although Peeta is captured by the capitol.

  Book three, Mockingjay, begins with Katniss’ reluctance to become “The Mockingjay”, or the poster child for the rebellion against the capitol.  The rebellion is commanded by President Coin, a slightly less depraved and female version of President Snow.   Peeta, held captive by the capitol, is being brainwashed by President Snow into believing what the capitol wants him to believe.  Katniss eventually agrees to be the Mockingjay on several conditions, including immunity for Peeta.  After the deaths of many people, including Katniss’ sister Prim, the rebels win the war.  Katniss is personally responsible for the deaths of both President Snow and President Coin, as well as several others.  By the end of the third book,  Katniss has become brutal and cruel, and her vote helps ensure a final Hunger Game, orchestrated specifically for and played by the children of Capitol officials, including President Snow’s granddaughter.  By the end of the series, Katniss has become the epitome of what the Hunger Games was created to produce: an unfeeling, uncompassionate person who feels no compunction at murdering her enemies, or taking her own life, if the going gets too tough.  This demise of her character is a good illustration of how, without God, all our righteousness is as filthy rags.

  The Hunger Games Trilogy, though well written, is morbid and hopeless.  Without a God, orchestrating the events for the good of His people, despair is the only option possible.  A few too many of the main characters are killed off for good, without having actually been alive and reappearing at the end, but this fits in perfectly with the worldview of the book.  Without a God, the odds are never in your favor, the world is a morbid place, life is hopeless, and all that is left to do is despair, while numbing the pain with whatever is in your reach.

  Good books usually have two key elements: redemption, or one person sacrificing them self for another, and the intervention of a higher power when all seems lost.  The Hunger Games Trilogy did well on the first in many instances.  Katniss volunteers as a tribute in her sister’s place and repeatedly risks her life for Peeta, while Peeta and many others risk their lives to protect her.  However as Panem is a godless world, there is never any miraculous intervention.

  Without God, there is no faith in God, and without faith in God and obedience to Him, there can be no successful government.  This is well illustrated in the rigid rebel government of District 13, which is hardly better than the dictatorship of the capitol.  Because there is no God to take vengeance, revenge falls to the people of Panem, resulting in heavy bloodshed and anarchy throughout the trilogy.

  Prim’s death is really the climax of the worldview being perpetrated in the books.  Despite all Katniss has done to protect her, Prim still dies anyway.  It was all to no avail.  At the end of the last book, the author tries to pull together a happy ending, which cannot help but be unconvincing in a godless world.  Without God, there are no happy endings.

  The Hunger Games trilogy is built on a worldview of despair, and perpetrates a message of hopelessness.  The world around us may be fascinated by this, but how can we, who have hope, allow ourselves to do the same?

True Beauty

True Beauty

“Seriously, you could be a model!”

Meant as a compliment, this phrase or one similar is often used to express that the one to whom it is addressed is beautiful.  However there are some underlying problems with this statement.

1.       Models are the epitome of beauty.

To the contrary.  To be a model is a difficult process, involving the value of beauty over character; of the end over the means. One must be willing to do anything under the sun if they wish to be a model.  A model can only get the job by removing all moral compunctions from their mind and hardening their heart. 
   After one has secured the job,  further demoralization is required—not just their own, but of the world in general.  Now not only in their own mind is “beauty” the highest endeavor, but now that message is perpetrated to the world.  With even only provocative eyes or smile, they are able to spread their worldview to the world.  Computer adjustments are made to achieve a kind of “super-beauty” not achievable by humans.  And since beauty is all that matters, women will do anything to achieve it, from makeup and exercize to starving themselves and surgical alterations.  Cosmetic surgeons can do anything from replacing or expanding parts to sucking out excess fat to lengthening legs.  But you will probably be in debt to them for the rest of your life, made miserable by the fact that you have seriously damaged your body in pursuit of an unachievable and worthless goal.
   “Being a model” and making it for a Christian girl would require the sacrifice of one’s faith upon the altar of pride and pagan ideas of beauty.  

2.       Every girl wants to look like a model.

I would sincerely hope, that as Christian girls we strive to forsake the pagan ideas of beauty and hold to the direction God’s word gives us on true beauty.

   “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes.  Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.  For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful…”  1 Peter 3:3-5a

  “Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.  Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.”  Proverbs 31:30-31

Character is to be valued high above outward beauty.  A model only has a job while she is young and pretty.  But a girl who fears God and trusts in Jesus for her salvation will have eternal life.

3.      Outward Beauty is a thing to be praised.

When the Proverbs 31 woman’s husband praises her, note what it is he is praising:

  “Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.  Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.”  Proverbs 31:30-31

  He is not praising her beauty.  He is praising her fear of the Lord and her character and encouraging others to do the same.  Character is to be praised, not outward appearance.  And so rather than telling them they could be a model, praise their diligence in dressing in a God-honoring way.  Praise their modesty of dress which brings glory to God rather than themselves.  Praise their vigilance in not allowing the lies of the world to affect their dress.  Praise their commitment to dressing and acting as a child of God.

By Right of Conquest, or, With Cortez in Mexico

I've been thinking about my life and how many unplanned turns I've been taking in the last few years, and G. A. Henty's book By Right of Conquest, or, With Cortez in Mexico came to mind.  Roger was living in England and had his life planned out. He was taking a short trip to the New World, at which point he would return and settle down in England with the girl he had picked out.  However when he got to the New World he ended up in a lot of unexpected adventures that tossed him about and spun him around until he could hardly remember the life he had planned out.  And he began to wonder if maybe he had made his plans, but God was directing his ways.  While in the New World for much longer than he had planned, Roger met another girl in Mexico whom he admired.  And after a great many years longer than was his original intent, Roger and his wife returned to England, where the English girl as well had married someone else, causing everything to work out in the end.  And of course it is a Henty book, so they end up with a nice piece of land, Roger's wife get some jewels, and they have lots of children and grandchildren to whom Roger likes to relate his adventures.

I've been feeling a bit like Roger.

Those of you who know me well know that I have always had my entire life planned out to the smallest details twenty years in advance, although I'm not that good at planning the immediate future.  In the past few years, with none of my plans working out the way I'd planned, I have been asking God what He would have me do while feeling strangely lost without my 20 year plans. 

Sometimes the things that are meant to be temorary, God chooses to make not so temporary.

I recently took a very temporary, as I thought, break from my plans, which I have continued to modify to my situation regardless of how difficult or ridiculous that may be.  However it seems like God is really leading me in a complete opposite direction right now, which is incredibly confusing to me, because it is not at all where I thought God wanted me.

I don't know how coherent that last paragraph was, but it results from my personal confusion over the turn of events.  I don't understand how this fits into my plans, or how it fits into God's plans.  I think maybe I was mistaken about God's plans.  I just really hope that He makes it clear soon, because I would like to have a plan.

And maybe, just maybe, I'll end up with a nice piece of land, some jewels, and lots of children and grandchildren to relate my adventures and God's providence to someday soon. :)

Lights have always been my favorite kind of decoration!

On Life

John 1:4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men.

John 6: 35 Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty."

John 8:12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.

John 11:25-26 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?

John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Psalm 36:9 For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.

Many times throughout the gospels, Jesus preached that He is life.  He is life, in Him is life, and He alone can give life.  Life as evidenced here on earth, in no matter what form, is a symbol of Him and a manifestation of His glory.  Only God can create life.  Only God can give life, and only by believing in Jesus can we receive eternal life.

This is why life is so precious.

Life is not something that you and the next guy can create.  Not even scientists can just up and breathe life into an inanimate object. Life is something that only God can produce.

God has given each and every one of us life to some degree.  We are all breathing and our hearts are beating.  Plants also are alive, and animals, and yet we have souls, which differentiate us from them.  It is because of the immortal soul that God has given to man that a human being in a coma, is very, very different than a vegetable.  It is insulting to God and the human race to make such a base comparison.  And yet although we as humans have souls that will exist forever, not all humans have received the gift of eternal life, which again, God alone can bestow.

1 John 5:11-13 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.

God alone can give us life--here on earth as well as eternal.  Life, therefore, is an attribute peculiar to God alone.  This is why Satan hates life.  It reminds him of God, the only one who can create life.  When we see the Mona Lisa, we think of Leonardo da Vinci.  When we hear the Messiah, we think of Handel.  And when we see life, we should think of God, the creator of it. 

Satan does all in his power to destroy life--as much life as he can--and especially human life, because it is the most precious, for it contains an immortal soul.  In this way he attacks God, by destroying His best creation. 

John 10:10 The thief comes only to kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

And many have died over the years of history as a result of Satan and his servants.  Take for example abortion, or the many holocausts.  Death is Satan's trademark, and his way of twisting and distorting the beautiful thing God created called life.  However Satan can kill the body, but he cannot kill the soul.  The martyrs are a beautiful example of this.   Men who did not fear God (and any who do not fear God serve Satan) rose up with a mind of hatred towards the children of God.  They sought to murder and destroy all they could.   They killed many, many innocent people.  And yet the blood of the martyrs is seed for the cause of Jesus Christ.  The martyrs gave their earthly lives for Christ, and went to live with him forever.  In doing such they were a thundering witness to the world around them.  Many more came to know Christ, and to accept the gift of eternal life because of them.

It is because Jesus is life that life is the most precious thing on earth.  And it is because life is the most precious gift, that the giving of one's life for others, which is called redemption, is the most noble, beautiful, amazing thing there is.

Mathew 20:28 Just as the son of man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Jesus set the example for us in nobility.  He gave His life that all those who believe in Him might not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:16) rather than an eternal death in hell.  Life is the most anyone can give, and the most precious.  This is why we honor and respect our soldiers and veterans--because they were willing to give their lives.  This is why we honor those who died for our freedoms.  This is why most every great book has an element of redemption in it, even if it be only so little.  This is the case in books such as The Chronicles of Narnia, Lord of the Rings, Pride and Prejudice, The Scarlet Pimpernel, A Tale of Two Cities, Pilgrim's Progress, The Celestial Railroad, and of course, the greatest redemption story ever, and a true one at that, the Bible.  Giving your life to save others is to follow the highest call of nobility, the greatest example ever set, that of Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

Colossians 3:1-4 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.  For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

And it is because Jesus is life, and God alone can create life, that life is the most beautiful, majestic, holy, sacred, precious evidence that there is a God ever created.  And it is because life is so incredible that any form of life is not to be thrown away or taken carelessly.  And human life--life to whom God has granted the gift of a soul that will last forever, through all eternity--that human life must be preserved and protected at all costs.  But this alone is not enough.  We must share the good news--the gospel of Jesus Christ--with all, that God might use us and cause the Holy Spirit to work in their hearts, that their ever-existing soul may not go to die an eternal death, but to live an eternal life, in communion with God.