"The Man"

Have you seen "V for Vendetta" ?

"Remember, remember, the Fifth of November, the Gunpowder Treason and Plot. I know of no reason why the Gunpowder Treason should ever be forgot...

But what of the man? I know his name was Guy Fawkes and I know, in 1605, he attempted to blow up the Houses of Parliament.

But who was he really? What was he like?

We are told to remember the idea, not the man, because a man can fail. He can be caught, he can be killed and forgotten, but 400 years later, an idea can still change the world.

I've witnessed first hand the power of ideas, I've seen people kill in the name of them, and die defending them... but you cannot kiss an idea, cannot touch it, or hold it... ideas do not bleed, they do not feel pain, they do not love...

And it is not an idea that I miss, it is a man... A man that made me remember the Fifth of November. A man that I will never forget."

~Evey Hammond

I would like to compare this opening scene of the movie with another pretty awesome story...

"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin." Hebrews 4:15

Evey Hammond talks about ideas, and how influential they can be. I'm sure we can see this in our own world - political ideas, economic ideas, and even religious ideas move people to do extraordinary things. She's right...even after 400 years, an idea can still change the world.

But what impacted her personally? A man.

That's the awesome, amazing thing about Christianity. It is not about an IDEA or a practice or a habit or a theory or believing in the future or the past or the potential of humanity or anything else... It's all about a man. Or more specifically, God who became a man. God could have sat in heaven and fixed everything without touching us dirty, filthy humans, but he chose to walk among us, and even to die for us.

It's crazy. And it's everything we've always needed.

The other cool thing is that the images in V for Vendetta even suggest a Christ figure...

I wish I could post the pictures, but I can't find them. However, next time you watch it, keep your eyes open. When Guy Fawkes is getting hanged in the first minute of the movie, he looks strikingly like Jesus Christ up on the cross, and there is a woman in the crowd below looking up at him who looks strikingly like historical religious images of Mary looking up at him. I wonder if the movie makers planned that.

Soli Deo Gloria.

Megan