Mel Gibson vs. C.S. Lewis: The Problem of Good Friday

Some time ago, a Jewish friend told me about her discomfort at being taken to watch The Passion of the Christ. She said, “It’s just too painful to watch God being killed.” I replied, “As Christians, we are so familiar with the story that it doesn’t shock us.” If we observe Good Friday at all, it is a quiet service with somber, reverent music. Because we know the ending, we do not experience the terror or the soul-sucking despair felt by the disciples. More importantly, because we know that Good Friday will be followed shortly by chocolate bunnies and Easter dresses and shouts of “He is risen indeed,” we do not dwell overly much on the meaning of Good Friday: it is a passing inconvenience.

If, like my Jewish friend, we approach the story with fresh eyes, the story is truly shocking. Man kills God. Of course, we have a ready answer to this. Man kills God because God allows it to happen. The more disturbing question is why. We don’t like to dwell on why because there are two different why stories, both disturbing in their own way.

On the one hand, you have the Mel Gibson version of Good Friday. In the Passion of the Christ, the God man Jesus doesn’t just die, he is tortured beyond our ability to watch. It is the story of a raging, out of control God who must have satisfaction. Jesus is like the older sibling who takes a beating from the alcoholic father in order to protect the younger, vulnerable one. As Christians, we are grateful that Jesus took the beating instead of us. When He returns like a conquering superhero, we know that we will never have to fear God the Father again.

Admittedly, my analogy is exaggerated. God the Father is not an out of control monster who must be satisfied. Instead, God the Father is just. The penalty for sin is death and that price must be paid. The fact that His Son pays the price for us does not change the fact that God the Father demands that the price be paid. In the world of Mel Gibson, God the Father is very much of an eye for an eye, a life for a life kind of God.

C.S. Lewis excellently captures another answer to why in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. When Aslan, the Jesus analogue, returns from being killed by the White Witch, Susan asks what it means. Aslan replies:

It means that although the Witch knew the Deep Magic, there is a magic deeper still which she did not know. Her knowledge goes back only to the dawn of time. But if she could have looked a little further back, into the stillness and the darkness before Time dawned, she would have read there a different incantation. She would have known that when a willing victim who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitor’s stead, the Table would crack and Death itself would start working backward.

In this version, Jesus is not a pathetic victim, but a brave and loving friend, who sacrifices Himself so that we might be saved. While God the Father cedes some of his power to Death, he also provides the means to conquer Death.

In the Bible, “for God so loved the world” and “greater love has no man than to lay down his life for his friends” support the Jesus as Aslan view of God. What is disturbing here is that God limits Himself. He establishes rules which even He must abide. However, as a loving God, He provides an override to those rules, a “deeper magic” in the words of C.S. Lewis. This really begs the question of why God couldn’t have just invoked the deeper magic to begin with and spared us the pain of sin. If God will grant us a blissful afterlife, why couldn’t He have just skipped to the good part? I don’t know. However, I would much rather prefer a limited but loving God to one who is angry and omnipotent.

The Good Girls of Disney and Nickelodeon

Lindsay Lohan is in the news again. Like so many of the alumni of the Disney and Nickelodeon starlet factory, she has failed to make the transition from teen sensation to responsible adult. However, rather than focusing on her troubles (or those of Britney, Jamie Lynn, Miley or Mary-Kate), this post will focus on some girls who are actually good role models. Unfortunately, the bar is rather low. To make this list, the actress must be at least twenty years old, have had a successful second act as an adult and not been arrested or pregnant outside of marriage.

Hilary Duff. Hilary Duff, age 23, is the queen of the good girls. As Lizzie McGuire, she played a middle school every-girl complete with a cartoon alter ego to act out her insecurities. The show concluded when she gave guy friend Gordo a chaste kiss on the cheek. Since then, she has had a successful career as a singer, actress, writer, fashion designer and philanthropist. She has recorded three albums, including the appropriately titled Dignity, appeared on the TV show Gossip Girl and has written a young adult book titled Elixir. She serves on the Board of Kids with a Cause and donated $250,000 for Hurricane Katrina Relief. She dated singer Nick Carter and Good Charlotte rocker Joel Madden without incident and is now married to Canadian hockey player Mike Comrie. She has accomplished a lot in 23 years and is a great role model.

Raven Symone. Raven Symone, age 25, began her acting career on the Cosby Show when she was only three. She appeared as the star of That's So Raven, Disney's highest rated and longest running show. Since then, she has recorded four albums, provided the voice of Tinker Bell in a Disney movie and has acted in several movies. Her ABC Family movie Revenge of the Bridesmaids attracted 2.5 million viewers in its premiere making it the number one movie on basic cable among women 18-34. She will be returning to TV with the upcoming ABC Family show The Great State of Georgia. Two additional factors qualify her for a high place on the good girls list. First, she had to dispel rumors that she was pregnant or had a child. The important thing is that the rumors were absolutely false. Second, she has been very comfortable with her size. While she has been somewhat heavy at times, she maintained a positive self image throughout and eventually lost the weight without resorting to fad diets or surgery.

Amanda Bynes. Amanda Bynes, age 24, was the star of Nickelodeon's The Amanda Show. I loved her Judge Trudy segment which always ended with "send in the dancing lobsters." She has acted in several successful movies including Big Fat Liar, She's the Man, Hairspray and Easy A. While she has appeared in Maxim, she also said, "I think I’ll go out as much as I’ve ever gone out... which is not a lot. I like to dance and stuff, but drinking isn’t good for you in every way. It’s not good for your skin; it makes you feel horrible. So, drinking-wise, no."

Alyson Michalka. Alyson Michalka, age 21, was the co-star of Disney's Phil of the Future. She played the BFF and love interest of Ricky Ullman's stranded time traveler Phil. She also has had a successful recording career with her sister in the pop duo Aly and AJ, now known as 78violet. She has successfully made the transition to adult actress with a supporting role in the movie Easy A and appears in the cheerleader series Hellcats on CW. While her pictures in men's magazine Maxim were a reminder that she does possess an adult body, they were still on the tasteful side of sexy.

Alison Scagliotti. Allison Scagliotti, age 20, had a small role in Nickelodeon's Drake & Josh as Mindy Crenshaw, an ultra competitive know it all. However, she has really blossomed as ultra cool computer hacker Claudia Donovan on Sy Fy's series Warehouse 13. The lead characters of Warehouse 13, Pete and Myka, share a similar vibe to the X-Files Scully and Mulder. However, what really makes the show work is its quirky supporting cast and no one is quirkier than Alison Scagliotti. She will also be appearing in the upcoming indie movie Losers Take All.

You may notice that except for Hilary Duff, I haven't mentioned much about their personal life. That is because they have been successful in keeping their private life private. And that's a good thing.