The Christian Imagination

So, I participated in The Rescue with some friends, a nationwide rally in support of the Invisible Children of Uganda. On a cold and overcast day, a crowd primarily consisting of teens and young adults gathered at Cheesman Park in Downtown Denver. Most of them had just walked 2 miles from Civic Center Park, to symbolically be abducted for the evening, like the child soldiers of Uganda. We spent time writing letters to our senators, calling the media and our government representatives, and meeting one another. The primary goal of the evening was to get a politician or celebrity to stop by and pledge support to do something about the LRA and free the child soldiers. A representative from Mark Udall’s office stopped by. You can see most of their words on the video I took below.

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There’s so much wrong that needs to be made right in this world, and it can feel overwhelming to try to do anything. Some may question whether anything with the LRA will change even now. You know what though, anytime you get 1000 young people together to rally about something that matters, that’s significant. And writing letters and attracting media attention for important issues is significant too. As I said to a friend, “It’s more than I did for the world last week.”

I watched The Dark Knight for the second time last night. This is an action-packed, well-acted, complicated, mature, dark movie. Finding all those qualities in the same movie is quite rare. I like dark movies. Somehow they seem more real to me. The Dark Knight reminds me of Munich in some ways, as it explores choices, consequences, and the question of why. Yet, these movies, by being dark, make the underlying theme of hope shine brighter. In The Dark Knight, there is cosmos amidst the chaos.

A lot of us live fairly ordered lives, and though give lip service to faith, a little chaos often shows the depth of our faith. The character of the Joker, written by the directors Nolan, and played by the late Heath Ledger, likes to turn the tables and see what happens when we are faced with the unexpected. He enjoys disrupting the social order. He enjoys showing how little control we really have.

I’m an idealist, so I relate to the character of Harvey Dent. There’s always a question of cost. How much are we really willing to give up for our ideals? What cost are we willing to pay? Is there a point where we grow disillusioned? Is there a point where we just fall in line and become like everyone else, or worse?

What does it take to ‘be pushed’ over the edge? Harvey Dent, along with Batman, fought the mob, pushed them into a corner, caused desperation, and there was a price to pay. People died. Loved ones died. Dent and Batman’s souls were scorched.

We like to have clear lines between us and them. In the boat scenario, this was all the more apparent. How do we value human life? How willing our we to sacrifice those we view as ‘less than us’ for the greater good? Yet, does killing lesser human beings then take away some of our humanity, and in essence, make us less human? There are evil people in the world. The Joker, in this story, is sadistic. Yet, Dent and Batman, while heroic, aren’t as good as we’d like them to be. All the heroes in the movie are very human, and at times, lose their nobility.

Batman is a vigilante, an outlaw. While good people did nothing, organized crime took over. People got comfortable. They lost hope, and stopped trying. They went with the flow…because it’s easier. This was very clearly expressed in the movie, and very true of the world we live in. Batman’s methods are harsh. But he has his limits, and his own ethical code. He’s willing to put himself on the line, though only in a mask.

A lot of us talk about ethics and morality and justice, but when it comes down to it, we prefer to talk about what others should be doing rather than get involved ourselves. Because if we get involved, it will not only take effort, it may negatively affect us or our loves ones. While Gotham is fictional, corruption exists in our country. I know of a city mayor who people said was using his position for illegal financial gain. When he was indicted, it validated that this was true. In the end, he was fined, but got what amounted to a slap on the wrist. A guy like Batman is outside the law, and his methods are violent, but at times, don’t we just want to see justice?

In an effort so save lives and catch the Joker, Batman resorted to a type of surveillance that is both unethical and illegal. A question that haunts our country right now is: At what cost do we want security? If the government, in order to protect us, tracks us and knows everything about us, do we trust them not to abuse this power, and even if they don’t, are we okay with this? Is is worth giving up our privacy and other rights to be secure? Is it worth torture to save lives?

And what of truth? Batman and Commissioner Gordon conspire in the end to hide the truth for the greater good. They don’t want the Joker to win by people seeing Dent fall. But Batman and Gordon lie on more than one occassion, so the Joker finds ways to push them past their ethical code. They decide what truth people can handle. I don’t like that, I prefer truth. And I’ve even known churches who decide what truth their congregation should know. Truth hurts.

Truth is lost so false hope can be gained. In a city of apathy, perhaps false hope can be as real. Hope is a powerful, yet fragile idea. For all those that fall in The Dark Knight, normal people choose to retain their humanity in the end. They choose not to be manipulated. They choose to hope. And because we don’t know what the future will bring, there is always hope.

It can be easy to either romanticize or dismiss a person like Chris McCandless. People have done both. In this post, I’m going to focus on why his choices are not as easy to dismiss as we might think.

As a Christian, I could talk about Hebrews 10:25 and the need for community. Christianity is meant to be lived in a context of community. I believe that, but even then, it’s not so easy, because evangelicalism stresses individualism so much, our personal relationship with God, and such. How much do we really deal with conflict, commit to each other, seek the best for others? We could chastise McCandless’ parents for a lack of transparency, yet how often do we fail to be transparent? How often do Christian leaders not admit mistakes or fail to be authentic? Does our Christian culture provide a context where people can be real, and work out their issues?

In studying the spiritual disciplines, there disciplines of simplicity and solitude. We have the example of the desert fathers, for example, who spent time alone in the desert, to be with God, to be away from people. Some of them returned to civilation at times and served. Some of their writings were influencial long after their lives ended.

We are often so caught up in other people’s expectations, and a variety of addictions and idols relating to people and culture. God commanded us to rest once a week from our normal routine. And in the life of Jesus, there was solitude, as he spent time alone at times, to pray, to be refreshed. Those who desired to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, like St. Francis of Assisi, lived very simple lives, and his Canticle of the Sun is a wonderful poem shows his love of nature and the God who created the world. People dismissed St. Francis in his time. Sometimes the way to be the greatest influence is to be the servant of all.

Rich Mullins is a more modern example of someone who loved to spend time in nature, live simply, and walk his own path. Rich didn’t do the things a Christian musician is supposed to do to be successful. He didn’t take advise to lose weight and learn dance moves. He moved away from Nashville, went back to college, and moved to an Indian reservation. Many loved him. Some, no doubt, questioned the way he did things, and the wisdom behind them.

My point is not to endorse monasticism, ascetism, or any other -ism. It’s too say that we sometimes too easily dismiss those who walk a different path and fail to see the truth in parts of their lives, if not he whole. We, as Christians, sometimes get too caught up in the common sense of our culture. Sometimes we create our own equally false frameworks of what a Christian is supposed to look like in contrast to the culture.

McCandless had a disdain for the facades and materialism of our culture. By his actions, he showed a desire to among the poor. There are examples of him serving the poor on the streets, and he gave his money to the poor. Now, maybe, by being a lawyer, he could have served them in a greater capacity, possibly, or maybe he, like many people, would get caught up in the business and lose sight of his vision once he arrived. McCandless, though, pulled away from community and commitment to people. St. Francis and Rich Mullins not only identified with the poor and hurting, they were committed to friends, and they were rooted themselves in community. It’s one thing to be among the poor, another to be committed to the poor as one of them in an ongoing basis. Therein lies the challenge…to not only serve…but to commit to those we serve, so that is is no longer US/THEM, but WE.

I first heard the story of Chris McCandless and the story told in Into the Wild in Pittsburgh when I first heard the folk duo, Harrod and Funck, and their song, Walk into the Wild. By far the best song on the subject, in my opinion.

Recently, I decided to see the movie, and having seen the movie, thought I should read the book. The book provided some good detail, but I actually thought the movie told the story better, helping us to better understand Chris. I’m going to be commenting on the story from here on out, so be aware there are spoilers ahead. This is my interpretation…

In 1990, after Chris finished college, he dropped out of sight and out of contact with everyone he knew, including his family. He gave his life savings to OXFAM, abandoned his car, burned the rest of his money, and hitchhiked around the country, working as necessary, even changed his name. Ultimately, he ventured to Alaska to live in the wild, and while he did do his research, his lack of actual wilderness experience coupled with a few key mistakes were his undoing. He was disenchanted with facades he unearthed about his parents and with much of the materialistic society, and this coming from an affluent family near DC. He was someone who distrusted what came easily, and found meaning in going beyond what was comfortable.

“Long captivated by the writings of Leo Tolstoy, McCandless particularly admired how the great novelist had forsaken a life of wealth and privilege to wander among the destitute. In college McCandless began emulating Tolstoy’s asceticism and moral rigor to a degree that first astonished, and then alarmed, those who were close to him.” (Krakauer, Author’s Note)

Some admire him, some think him an idiot. I think that cutting himself off entirely from his family and everybody he knew was selfish, running, taking the easy way out. Yet, I relate to him too. I’m idealistic myself, and there is a lot of modern society that can be disenchanting. And let me tell you, it’s a lonely road being an idealistic. Chris was very intelligent, and could likely see through a lot of people’s facades. It’s the kind of thing that can make you more easily cynical.

Chris had a keen sense of adventure, loved a good challenge, and took his fair share of risks. We sometimes let society hold us back when, really, it’s our choice to go with the flow. Chris went so far as to spurn society, though he seemed to enjoy the people he met in his journey. He loved nature, and the idea of surviving in the Alaskan wild had a romance to it. It was also a way to escape the pressures of society for awhlie, perhaps a retreat of sorts.

At one point on his journey, he wrote a man he had connected with a letter that included the following:
“You are wrong if you think Joy emanates only or principally from human relationships. God has placed it all around us. It is in everything and anything we might experience. We just have to have the courage to turn our habitual lifestyle and engage in unconventional living.” (Krakauer, 57)

As a Christian, I can say that Joy emanates from God. As for what can make us happy, the two commandments, intertwined, are love God and neighbor. In that sense, Joy is more the result of giving of our lives to God and others, rather than what we get from life. The Bible is very much about community. Faith is lived out in community, we shape each other, are encouraged by each other. I really like God’s world, it itself speaks, but I am reminded of a statement by Freeman Miller, an Amish man who moved to Philadelphia, who said that when he really started thinking about it, he realized God’s most beautiful creation is people.

Before Chris died, he was reading a passage of one of his books, and wrote, “Happiness only real when shared.”

He seems, to me, to have been a seeker. Perhaps he would have found his way, had he made it out of the wild.

Krakauer, Jon. Into the Wild. New York: Anchor Books. 1996.