After my last post (a book review of The Unlikely Disciple) I had a chat conversation with a friend from my hometown about my take on rules imposed on some college students. First, I’ll quote myself (the only time I’ll ever get quoted) from my previous article.
I understand from first hand experience that the rules can sometimes be bothersome. My response to that is tough. People who attend Christian colleges that have these rules in place can either live with it, or move on. You choose to attend, you choose to follow the rules. Don’t get upset when you get caught breaking those rules intentionally, and don’t get angry that you get punished for it.
I want to expand on that a bit. The rules that are typically in place are about things that we should be doing anyway. No, there is nothing in the Bible about having a curfew, but if we’re honest with each other, not much good comes from being out that late. As for the rules about drinking, smoking, etc., it’s their university. If those are the rules that they choose to institute, that is their decision.
Maybe I’m too hardline about it, but students who attend Liberty, SAGU, or any other university know the rules going in and sign a statement saying they will follow them. If you don’t agree with them, attend a different school. I’ve had someone say to me before “what if that is where their parents are forcing them to go, and if they leave then their parents won’t pay for it anymore?” My answer to that is suck it up. If doing the things that are verboten in the rules are more important to you than your parents paying for your education, attend a different school and pay for it yourself.
My friend who I was chatting with said that he felt that the rules contributed to legalism. I disagree, if only for the reason that I never looked at those rules as a big deal. Yes, I had to wear collared shirts and long pants to class every day. I had to attend chapel every day (which, by the way, Liberty students have it easy, having convocation three days a week), had to attend church somewhere, and had to go to dorm devotionals on Thursday. How are these things bad for me?
I couldn’t let my hair grow out long, grow facial hair during the semester, or dye it pink. I couldn’t drink, smoke, have sex, swear, or show lots of affection to someone I wasn’t married to. Tell me again why, as a Christian, I need to do these things?
I would love to discuss this more. Those of you who have attended colleges like Liberty or SAGU, what do you think? Those of you who haven’t, I want your opinion too. Are the rules unnecessary, outdated, and wrong?
This is part of a larger article at Dr. Voddie Baucham’s blog. You should really read the whole thing, but this video is pretty funny. It seems the British understand how the system works better than we do.
While you’re at Dr. Baucham’s site, read some of his other stuff. He’s really good. His writing is excellent, but his live teaching goes way beyond that. He’s a wonderful speaker and a really genuinely nice man.
Since the events of Batman Begins, Gotham has experienced a resurgence. Crime has become less rampant, the mob is losing power, and citizens are treating Batman as a hero, even to the point of attempting to emulate his methods. On the horizon lies a new threat to the city, one that will touch every citizen of Gotham, from those in the highest halls of power to the powerless children. The Dark Knight tells the story of a group of men fighting to either keep the city together or to cause it to fly apart. Gazillionaire Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale), who moonlights as the hooded vigilante Batman, is hoping to set up newly elected district attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) as the heir to Batman’s “hero of the people” throne. Those plans are put in jeopardy by a maniacal villian, the Joker (Heath Ledger), who terrorizes all of Gotham, even the mobsters and jailed criminals. Dent is aided by his paramour and assistant D.A. Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal), a former flame of Wayne’s. Lt. James Gordon (Gary Oldman), Alfred Pennyworth (Michael Caine), and Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) all lend a hand to Batman.
This movie is dark. The lighting is dark. The tone is dark. The humor is dark. The Knight is Dark. Directed by Christopher Nolan, who also directed Batman Begins, The Dark Knight continues down the path so many recent comic book and science fiction movies have taken over the last few years. It is a gritty, no-hold-barred attack on your senses, your ears, and sometimes your stomach. Where Iron Man was sometimes comical and light-hearted, The Dark Knight is equally heavy and serious. Each of the actors eat up the screen, giving almost no downtime to the viewer. There are surprising twists and turns, including the death of a major character. The dichotomy of good versus evil and the gray areas that must sometimes be breached to defeat evil are well portrayed in this film.
Heath Ledger proves that someone can do a better Joker than Jack Nicholson. As the Clown Prince of Crime, Ledger descends into the lowest circle of hell to bring out one of the most evil, sadistic, and brilliant characters put into a superhero movie. The Joker has no rules, no sense of self-preservation, no fear of the Batman. He is anarchy in it’s purest human form, and he hands out passes to view that anarchy to everyone he comes into contact with. Ledger plays the Joker as one who enjoys making everyone (including the audience) squirm. For me, one of the most uncomfortable things about Ledger’s performance is his constant need to lick his lower lip and the sometimes watery quality of his voice. Those touches bring out more of the manic psychotic in the Joker. Ledger is far and away the star of this film, his penultimate role due to his death in January 2008. Heath Ledger has been receiving some Oscar buzz for his role, and deservedly so.
In playing the dual role of Bruce Wayne and Batman, Christian Bale offers a well-rounded performance. He is engagingly witty and smooth while playing the millionaire playboy, but gruff and course when dressed as Batman, including a low, gravelly voice. Micheal Caine and Morgan Freeman bring playfulness and presence to their roles as butler and CEO, respectively. Aaron Eckhart portrays Harvey Dent as the upright, noble D.A., willing to take on the worst of criminals to clean up the city, something that backfires on him dramatically. Gary Oldman, given much more screen time as compared to the near cameo role he had in Batman Begins, brings a mix of strength and insecurity to the police lieutenant. In the part of Rachel Dawes, Maggie Gyllenhaal has more presence and poise than Katie Holmes, who portrayed Dawes in the previous Batman film. She effectively demonstrates the tug from both her current love and her former, and her character remains relevant throughout the story. She’s not just the damsel in distress, she is one of the turning points of the film.
Though the environment is understandably dark, there are times when it is too dark. Action scenes are shot so close to the actors and with such sparse lighting, that it is sometimes difficult to make out what is going on. Granted, all you are really missing is somebody getting another butt-whooping, but it would be nice to see the moves Batman uses to administer said butt-whooping. The music is quite over the top, occasionally venturing into a long, drawn out screech that slowly crescendos upwards during scenes of intense drama. It’s a long film, and does leave some things unresolved, most likely setting up the next film in the Batman series.
The Dark Knight is rated a heavy PG-13 for a great deal of violence and threatening situations. This is not a kids movie, and may not even be a tweens movie. There are times when it seems close to stepping into R territory, but it was probably given a pass due to the nearly complete lack of swearing and sexual situations. It is also showing in IMAX theaters nationwide, which could be an interesting show with the plethora of tall buildings and swooping flight scenes. Overall though, it is an excellent film and well worth seeing.
I read two stories today that, as a parent, really made me crazy.
First, from Ottawa, Canada. A judge overturned the grounding (yes, read the article) of a 12-year-old girl. The girl was grounded by her father because she was told to stay off the Internet and she refused. Therefore, she was not allowed to go on a school trip and was grounded as punishment. Now, I’m no expert on Canadian law, but this seems to be a gross imposition on the rights of the parent. If I choose to not allow my child to play video games (and it’s happened), they don’t get to play video games. When they are on their own they can make up their own rules, but until then, I’ll do it for them. If I were a parent in Canada, I’d be concerned that this might become a ruling that other courts may use against them.
Secondly, we have this story from Gloucester, Massachusetts. The high school in Gloucester has experienced a baby boom, having 17 girls become pregnant. Out of a 1,200 student population, they typically average four. While there are larger issues with the pregnancies that I’ll let you get from the article, I wanted to focus on one particular aspect of it.
But by May, after nurse practitioner Kim Daly had administered some 150 pregnancy tests at Gloucester High’s student clinic, she and the clinic’s medical director, Dr. Brian Orr, a local pediatrician, began to advocate prescribing contraceptives regardless of parental consent, a practice at about 15 public high schools in Massachusetts.
…
The pair resigned in protest on May 30.
I’m sure that the district has some type of privacy policy for the children, so that they can expect to come in and take a pregnancy test without their parents finding out about it. However, if you start noticing some frequent fliers in there, don’t you think it’s time to let the parents know that their children are obviously engaging in some risky behavior? It’s not time to start handing out the pill to them without parental consent, it’s time to bring them in, tell their parents, and let the parents decide what they want the child to do. My children will have a reasonable expectation of privacy when they are older, but they will know that whatever they do is subject to my supervision at any time.
I’m sure that the underlying reason for most of these girls to become pregnant is because they don’t get enough love at home. That falls directly on the parents, and they will have to one day answer for that. The girls need to know that there are consequences to getting pregnant. As the older girl in the article says, “…it’s hard to feel loved when an infant is screaming to be fed at 3 a.m.” Believe me, we know around here.
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