We went to go see the movie "Bruce Almighty" last night, and I was pleasantly surprised at the major messages and minor incidents in the movie...the girl Grace (played by Jennifer Aniston), prayed meaningfully in one scene; the idea that God is God and I am not and that submission to His will usually happens when you come to the "end" of yourself; the question Bruce asked of God on how to get someone to love you when you can't tamper with free will; the scene where Bruce almost falls to temptation (did anyone else notice he was leaning on a Golden Calf right before he did?)...I could go on and on. Typical silly Jim Carrey moments (which, hey, let's face it, ain't all bad either) but much more provocative than most things Hollywood is cranking out these days.

Before we left the States, there was minor discussion among the local churches of whether or not a boycott of such a movie should take place. These discussions happen often in the Christian church (re: Harry Potter, The Last Temptation of Christ, Eminem, Disney, etc.) but I'm reminded of Francis Schaeffer's thought in the book "True Spirituality" (from memory, but I don't think I'll be too far off: "If the Christian Church is to be effective in the last half of this century, we must speak boldly and with authority to those areas in which the Bible speaks boldly and with authority. We must remain silent where it is silent." Amen, Dr. Schaeffer. Amen.