Christ- likeness in action through the life of a saint: A faith- based look at 'Santa Claus is Comin' to Town.'

Hi everyone, and merry Christmas from the Nightcrawler Experience!
Last year, I looked at a then- brand- new Christmas special (The 'Loud House' Christmas special), but this year, as the conclusion of my two- part Christmas edition, I'll look at an older one.
I really enjoy the old Rankin- Bass Christmas specials. For those not familiar with that title, they're the guys who did such classic stop- motion Christmas specials as 'Rudolph the Red- Nosed Reindeer,' 'The Year Without a Santa Claus,' 'The Little Drummer Boy' and its sequel, and many others. They're always so much fun, so heartwarming, and invoke such a great sense of nostalgia. They have a really timeless feel to them, which is why I'm glad that Freeform always airs them as part of their annual '25 Days of Christmas' lineup, so that the younger generations can be introduced to them and the older generations can be reminded of how great they were.
While my absolute favorite of these specials is 'The Year Without a Santa Claus' (Snow Miser and Heat Miser rule!), for the sake of this edition, I will be looking at my second favorite: Their 1970 special, 'Santa Claus is Comin' to Town.' So, pull up a seat, pour yourself some eggnog, and let's take a look:


In this special, an admittedly rather creepy- looking mailman voiced by Fred Astaire is telling Santa's backstory as a way of answering some of the questions kids have about Santa, such as why he goes down chimneys, why he leaves presents in stockings, why he has a beard, and so on.
It all begins when an abandoned baby wearing a little gold tag that says "Claus" winds up at the doorstep of the Kringles, a family of friendly toymaking elves. They take the baby in, name him Kris, and raise him as their own, teaching him the toymaking trade.
Some years pass, and as a young man, Kris (Voiced by the late, great Mickey Rooney, who would reprise this role as Santa in many later Rankin- Bass productions) decides to try and deliver the toys they have made to a city called Sombertown so that the children there can all play with them and feel happy.
Sombertown's kids are pretty miserable, mainly because the town's heartless mayor, Burgermeister Meisterburger (Gotta love that name), has completely outlawed all toys in the town and orders kids to instead fill their days by doing extra chores. Kris sets out to change all that by bringing both toys and happiness back into the children's lives while dodging the Burgermeister's attempts to stop or capture him.
Along the way, Kris makes quite a few new allies in his struggle to bring joy to the children of Sombertown. First, he befriends a lost penguin named Topper who helps him out of a couple jams and ends up being the reason why Santa goes down chimneys. Then, he runs into the seemingly vicious and cruel Winter Warlock, but through a kind gift and an uplifting song, Kris quickly convinces Winter to change his ways, and with his power he becomes quite an asset to Kris. Next, Sombertown's schoolteacher Jessica, while initially mistrustful of Kris, soon not only comes to see the good he does and aid him in his efforts, but eventually falls in love with him and marries him, becoming Mrs. Claus.
Eventually, of course, Kris overcomes the odds, and becomes the figure we all know and love today.

Ever since I first saw 'Santa Claus is Comin' to Town' as a kid, I have truly loved it!
The story is so much fun to watch, and offers good explanations as to the origins of the ways Santa works. The characters are all really likable (Other than the Burgermeister, of course, and even he's rather funny to watch with what a blustering windbag he is and some of the toy- related mishaps he suffers), especially Kris. Through a combination of how he's written and Mickey Rooney's performance as his voice, he shows such warmth, gentleness, compassion, cheer, and goodwill, just like how you'd imagine Santa as a young man being. Even the Internet series host the Nostalgia Critic, who doesn't normally like the Rankin- Bass specials, liked the way Kris was portrayed so much he included him on his Top 11 list of favorite Santa performances. Another character who really sticks out for me is Winter Warlock. They make him extremely developed with all the changes he goes through over the course of the special. Keenan Wynn does a wonderful job with his voice, making it gruff and scary when he's evil at the start, then noticeably soften after Kris helps melt his heart. You can feel sad along with him when he tearfully reveals later on that he's lost nearly all of his magic, then rejoice along with him when he finds out he still has some of it left and can still put it to good use.
The songs in the special are mostly very good (Though one of them, "A Kiss for a Toy," gives off kind of an awkward feel listening to it today), with my favorite of them definitely being "Put One Foot in Front of the Other," the song that Kris uses to help Winter Warlock learn he can turn his life around and become good. That song is so unbelievably catchy and sends such a great message. More than a few times, I find myself randomly humming it!

I can think of quite a few good Scriptural messages that can be found in 'Santa Claus is Comin' to Town.' One that sticks out right away is on persevering in righteous work, even when it gets tough. Even when Kris was hounded by the Burgermeister and viewed as a criminal for bringing toys to the children of Sombertown, he refused to let that stop him from doing what he knew was right; He kept on pushing, finding new and better ways to go about doing it. There are several Bible verses about the importance of this kind of endurance in righteous and holy acts. In James 1:2-3, it points out "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance." Furthermore, Romans 2:7 says that "To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality, He will give eternal life." In doing good and actively pursuing our faith, we will encounter trials and opposition. It may be from despotic rulers like the Burgermeister in the special or from real- life tyrants throughout history who've tried stamping out the Gospel (From Nero to Stalin to modern Sharia and Communist rulers), or it may be from more mundane things like our schedules, technical problems, or other setbacks. What's important is to keep going, keeping in mind the good you are doing for God's Kingdom, and that you are doing it as an act of service to Him.
A second message that can be found is on the nature of grace and redemption. This is shown well by Winter Warlock's redemption and the message in the song "Put One Foot in Front of the Other." Kris starts it by telling Winter that "Changing from bad to good is as easy as taking your first step." The song points out that all it takes to change your ways is having the courage to start, then it gets easier as it goes along. This very much ties into the Biblical view of salvation found through God's grace, right down to the fact that Winter at one point in the song refers to it as "The chance to be reborn." Romans 10:9-10 has the apostle Paul pointing out that "If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess and are saved." Through God's amazing grace and love, being saved and reborn really is as simple as that, and the Holy Spirit will help guide you from there.
A final, amazing theological message that can be taken from 'Santa Claus is Comin' to Town' is in its very end; As the mailman is finishing his story, he brings up that there are still people to this day who are opposed to Santa and Christmas, including taking the view that we shouldn't even talk about Santa in a world with so many problems and so much unhappiness in it. The mailman replies to this with an amazing monologue:
 "Lots of unhappiness? Maybe so. But doesn't Santa take a little bit of that unhappiness away? Doesn't a smile on Christmas morning scratch out a tear cried on a Saturday? Not much, maybe. But, what would happen if we all tried to be like Santa, and learned to give as only he can give, of ourselves, our love, our talents, and our hearts? Maybe if we could all learn Santa's beautiful lesson, maybe there would finally be peace on Earth, and goodwill toward man."
That monologue was such a theological slam- dunk in my eyes. Basically replace "Santa" with "Jesus," and it all applies perfectly. Kris in this special gives a great picture of how Christians should live out their faith; He sets out to meet people's needs when he finds them (Bringing toys to Sombertown's kids), helps people gain a positive new outlook on things (Helping to open Jessica's eyes to the world around her), shows kindness to those who've fallen and gives them hope for redemption (As he did for Winter Warlock and tried to do for the Burgermeister), and shows reverence to the Lord in what he does (i.e. Why, when he got to the point that he could only do toy deliveries once a year, he decided that Christmas Eve would be the best time to do it). This goes along with 1 John 2:6's point that "The one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked." Also, it goes along with Ephesians 5:1-2's instruction for us to "Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; And walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma."
So, there we have 'Santa Claus is Comin' to Town'; A timeless Christmas classic which helps to teach even more timeless Scriptural lessons on endurance, God's grace and salvation, and putting Christ- likeness into action.
That's it for this edition of the Nightcrawler Experience. I should hopefully have my 'Top 11 Movie Characters of 2017' entry up before too long. Until then, merry Christmas, and may God bless you all!

Faith vs. Cynicism: A Devotional Look at 'Miracle on 34th Street.'

Hi everyone, welcome back to the Nightcrawler Experience!
This entry will be both the first part of what will hopefully be a two- part Christmas- related set of entries over the next couple days, and the final entry in this year's partnership with St. John's United Methodist Church in writing devotionals to go along with their monthly Movie Night. They'll probably restart it next summer, but for now, we've decided we can give it a rest for a bit.
Now then, for this, I'll be looking at this month's movie du jour, the Christmas classic 'Miracle on 34th Street' (The 1947 original, not the 1994 remake; No offense to that remake, as it was pretty good too).
In it, Christmas is coming, and a number of people begin suspecting that Kris (Edmund Gwenn), the jolly and kind- hearted man that the Macy's flagship store in New York City have hired to be their Santa Claus, may in fact be the real St. Nick. Among them are the good- hearted attorney Fred (John Payne), the sadly jaded and cynical Doris (Maureen O'Hara), and her equally skeptical little daughter Susan (Natalie Wood). This discovery proves to be a particular shock for Susan, who has such a lack of imagination for her young age that she has never even read or heard a fairy tale before.
Eventually, it leads to many unsympathetic types viewing Kris as insane and seeking to have him permanently committed to a mental hospital. So, Fred decides to defend Kris in a trial hearing for his mental state, with the very existence of Santa Claus now on trial.
'Miracle on 34th St.' is an amazing movie, well- worthy of its status as a Christmas classic. All the performances are great, ESPECIALLY Edmund Gwenn as Kris, who won an Oscar for this performance. He brings all the warmth, kindness, joy, and commitment to what's right that you would expect from Santa Claus. Another standout performance was young Natalie Wood as Susan. She brings such maturity for her young age, perfectly fitting her character, who seems to be on tap for growing up too fast. Seeing her become friends with Kris and coming out of her shell more as the movie progresses is such a joy.The story, the way it plays out, and the way the court case is eventually won are all really well- written. It would be hard NOT to root for Kris and Fred, both in seeking to win the case, and in helping to open the hearts of Doris and Susan.
I can think of quite a few great Scriptural messages that can be taken from 'Miracle on 34th Street.' The first and foremost is on the nature of faith. The main issue most characters struggle with is faith, both in believing that Kris is who he says he is, and just generally in humanity and goodness. People might have a trouble with faith and believing in what they can't see due to feeling it's irrational, due to feeling let down by the world (i.e. One of the main reasons why Doris is so skeptical and has so little room for imagination in her life, and has taught Susan to be the same way, is because of the way her worldview was shattered by her divorce), or many other means. Still, true faith, of the Biblical sort, is stronger than this. As it says in Hebrews 11:1, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Faith means that, while you shouldn't just blindly accept everything you hear, at the same time you shouldn't need to have it practically shoved in your face in order to believe in it. This is what is at stake in 'Miracle on 34th Street.' Fred sums it up in one scene by saying, "Faith is believing even when common sense tells you not to. Don't you see? It's not just Kris that's on trial, it's everything he stands for. It's kindness and joy and love and all the other intangibles." Trusting in and serving the Lord through faith, even when you may have doubts or others may look down on you for it, is what being a Christian is all about.
Believing can also be hard at times when some of the things we seek and pray to the Lord for are not granted. I know firsthand how disheartening this can be. However, a couple important considerations should be made; First, God is not a genie who is required to grant our every request. Second, as I believe I've mentioned in previous entries of this blog, God has a much better sense of the "Big picture" than we do, and a much better knowledge of what's best for us than we do because of this. At times, He may refuse to grant our requests because they are things which could be bad for us in the long run, or because He may have much better things in store for us down the road. Kris touches on this at one point in the movie when Susan asks him if he can provide her and her mother with a better house for Christmas, and says that if he can't, it must mean he's just a nice man with a white beard. He responds, "Now wait a minute, Susie. Just because every child can't get his wish, that doesn't mean there isn't a Santa Claus.....Some children wish for things they couldn't possibly use, like real locomotives or B-29s." For a personal example of this, when I was in college, I (Who have never been much of a ladies' man) began getting closer to a young woman who I'll call "Sandi." As we grew closer, I began thinking we could officially become a couple (Partly because "Sandi" had a rather flirtatious nature, and I kind of misinterpreted that as signaling real interest in me). I prayed to God so many times that this would happen, that He would guide "Sandi" and I together and bless our relationship. When it did not work out that way and "Sandi" and I's friendship ended rather badly, I cannot express how depressed I was and how let down I felt. However, looking back on it now, I can see that God did not give me what I had prayed to Him for because He knew it was not what was best for me. I can see that "Sandi" was wrong for me, and had things gone the way I had hoped back then, it would likely have led to a lot of pain and hardship for both of us. Indeed, God had much better things in mind for me, as I am now in an extremely happy relationship with a girlfriend I adore, and who feels the same for me. Just a little something to keep in mind if you ever get frustrated that something you pray for might not come to pass.
An additional Scriptural message to be taken from 'Miracle on 34th Street.' is on the nature of Christmas, and life in general. In explaining why he's been so active in her life, Susan's, and the lives of so many others, Kris at one point tells Doris that "For the past fifty years or so, I've been getting more and more worried about Christmas. Seems we're all so busy trying to beat the other fellow in making things go faster and look shinier and cost less that Christmas and I are sort of getting lost in the shuffle." He also points out that "Christmas isn't just a day, it's a frame of mind... and that's what's been changing. That's why I'm glad I'm here, maybe I can do something about it." Kris's remark about the nature of Christmas and how it has been changing is, if anything, even truer now than it was when the movie was released. The Christmas season is becoming steadily more and more about commercialism, consumerism, competition (Be it among business owners trying to make more than their competitors, or everyday citizens going to ridiculous lengths to ensure their house is the best decorated in the neighborhood), and simple greed than about the spirits of giving, compassion, and celebrating the birth of Jesus that are its true core. There is actually a website dedicated to documenting all the lethal and nonlethal injuries associated with Black Friday each year. Last year, at least three people were killed on Black Friday, including a Wal- Mart shopper in Nevada who was fatally shot in a fight over a PARKING SPACE, of all things! When kicking off the Christmas season leads to a person being killed over not just an item for sale, but just for a simple parking space to eventually get to said item, you know something is definitely wrong. Christians have always known that they should be more concerned with heavenly matters than with material things. Colossians 3:2 instructs believers to "Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things." While shopping, decorating, and the usual festivities are nice and should not necessarily be discouraged, we must not let them overshadow the true spirit of Christmas or keep us from living out our devotion to the One whose birth that day celebrates.
Keeping faith and not letting holiday bustle hinder how we act and focus our priorities are imperative to make our Christmas truly a merry one.
That's it for this edition of the Nightcrawler Experience. I should hopefully have the second part of my Christmas entry up by the big day, so keep your eyes peeled. Until then, God bless you all!

Truly Valuing Life: A Faith- Based Look at 'The Ultimate Gift.'

Hi everyone, welcome back to the Nightcrawler Experience!
This is the third entry in my current collaboration with St. John's United Methodist Church for their "Movie Night" series. In this one, the focus is on the Christian film 'The Ultimate Gift.'
This film centers around Jason Stevens, a spoiled and selfish young playboy who learns that his billionaire grandfather has left him an inheritance, but that in order to inherit it, Jason must complete twelve tasks within a year. Each task involves him learning to appreciate a "Gift" of some kind, such as the "Gift of Work," "Gift of Learning," "Gift of Money," and "Gift of Friendship," among others. Along the way, he befriends a woman named Alexia and her terminally ill daughter Emily. They, along with his tasks, help him gain a new appreciation for life and all of its many gifts, and he ends up helping Emily make the most of her life while it lasts.
Although it had been years since I last saw it, I always greatly enjoyed 'The Ultimate Gift.' The performances are strong, especially from Drew Fuller as Jason and Abigail Breslin as Emily, as well as veteran actor Bill Cobb's performance as the grandfather's attorney, Mr. Hamilton. It teaches great messages about making the most of our lives, however long they may be, keeping God at the center of things, and indeed of appreciating the basic gifts of life the way Jason learns to do.
It eventually got a sequel called 'The Ultimate Life,' which was pretty good, too.
As my devotional which will be passed out at the screening points out, I point out a major devotional message to be taken from 'The Ultimate Gift' is the way that each of the "Gifts" associated with the tasks Jason does are closely associated with Christian virtues, with each frequently spoken of in Scripture. In particular, I point out the Gift of Friendship challenge, and how Alexia and Emily show Jason what true, Godly friendship looks like, as described in Proverbs 6:4-11.

Another Scriptural message I can find in 'The Ultimate Gift' is on the nature of good stewardship and using what we've been given wisely, which is shown near the climax of the film.
SPOILERS!

After Jason completes all the tasks that he has been given, he is next given $100 million from his grandfather's estate, to use however he pleases. He decides to use this inheritance  to build a new hospital called "Emily's Home," specifically designed for patients with terminal illnesses, and makes a point of including a chapel in it. By the end of the film, once ground has broken on Emily's Home, he is called back to meet again with his grandfather's attorneys. It turns out that what he decided to use that $100 million inheritance for was a kind of final test for him, and as a reward for using it so selflessly, he is awarded over $2 billion from his grandfather's estate as his true inheritance.

This most calls to mind the two faithful servants in Jesus's parable of the Servants and the Talents in  Matthew 25:14- 30.; As their master points out, they were faithful with small things (The relatively small amounts of money they were entrusted with), so they will now be entrusted with larger things (Higher positions of control and authority).
Indeed, in our walk with Jesus, if we prove to handle well the tasks that are given to us to serve Him and build His Kingdom and aren't content to just play it safe with the gifts and skills He has given us but actively seek to bring as much fruit from them as possible, He will often find ways to entrust us with even greater responsibilities. If we remain faithful, it can lead to rewards here on Earth, and immeasurably greater rewards waiting for us in Heaven.
As that parable teaches us, and as Jason, Emily, and the other characters in the film further show, the true "Ultimate Gift" comes from a life lived faithfully in service to God.
That's all for this edition of the Nightcrawler Experience. I'm already excited for what I have planned for this blog's entries nearing Christmas, so stay tuned for them. Until then, God bless you all!

Righteous Courage, and a Lost Faith Regained: A Faith- Based Look at 'Pete and Pete''s Halloween Special

Hi everyone, happy Halloween from the Nightcrawler Experience!
This is the concluding installment of this year's Halloween special for this blog, in which I will be examining one of the best TV Halloween specials I've ever seen. Much like when I looked at an episode of 'Are You Afraid of the Dark?' last October, it'll involve a look at something that Nickelodeon produced in its Golden Age of the early- mid 1990's, examining it as both a pop- culture fan and a Christian.
What's widely considered one of the best shows Nickelodeon has ever produced, certainly in that time period, was a comedy series called 'The Adventures of Pete and Pete.'

(Pete and Pete, from a pic I had autographed by its two stars last December, as I'll talk about below)

This was a very strange sort of show, a kind of surreal twist on family sitcoms. It started as a set of minute- long shorts that Nick would air during their commercial breaks at random points of the day, but eventually became a full- length TV series. It centers around two brothers, one about fifteen and the other about eleven, who happen to have the exact same name (They're often told apart by being referred to as "Big Pete" and "Little Pete," respectively), and the various odd adventures and coming- of- age experiences they have with the other quirky residents of their suburban town of Wellsville.
The show has so many bizarre touches to it (i.e. Little Pete has a tattoo of a Flamenco dancer girl on his arm which he names "Petunia" and can have appear to do various dances by flexing his arm in various ways, the boys' mom has a metal plate in her head that can pick up radio waves, Little Pete has a personal superhero friend in the form of a strange man who calls himself "Artie, the Strongest Man in the World," etc.), yet the way these touches are pulled off is honestly brilliant. It's extremely funny, can be very heartwarming when it wants to be, and it holds up amazingly well today. It also gets points for how they used the two brothers and their respective ages, dealing with issues that teens face (i.e. dating, learning to drive), issues that younger kids face (i.e. Being underestimated by adults, rebelling against early bedtimes), and issues that both age ranges face (i.e. Bullies, long road trips, the loss of a pet).
Furthermore, it had a lot of amusing surprise cameos by celebrities, especially "Hipster- friendly" celebs like LL Cool J, Steve Buscemi, and former 'REM' frontman Michael Stipe. In fact, the episode I will be looking at in this edition has rocker Iggy Pop appearing as the father of one of Little Pete's friends.
To this day, its opening theme song, 'Hey Sandy' by the indie rock band Polaris (Whose other songs frequently appear throughout the series), never fails to bring a smile to my face.
I met its two main stars, Michael Maronna and Danny Tamberelli, at a comic convention last December, and they were both unbelievably cool, friendly guys who I had a nice conversation with.

(Here the two of them are. They even let me have a free button for their podcast, 'The Adventures of Danny and Mike,' to add to my gigantic collection of pins and buttons on my travel backpack)

One of the topics we talked about was the show's Halloween special, "Halloweenie," and it is that episode which I will be looking at in this edition.
SPOILERS!

In this special, it's almost Halloween in Wellsville, and we learn through the opening narration that while Big Pete once loved Halloween, he now despises it as a dorky holiday. A part of him, though, wonders if the spirit/ love of Halloween, once lost, can ever be found again. It is that question which is at the heart of this special.
In contrast to Big Pete's attitude, Little Pete adores Halloween, and is determined this year to break the trick- or- treating world record for most houses hit in one night. Since such a mission would require at least two people to hold so much collected candy, Big Pete decides to come with him and help him.
He does so with reservation, however, out of fear of falling victim to "The Pumpkin Eaters," a gang of Halloween- hating bullies wearing oversized jack o lanterns as masks. Every year, the Pumpkin Eaters wreak havoc in the neighborhoods, terrorize trick- or- treaters, smash every pumpkin they see, and generally set out to ruin Halloween for everyone. The previous year, they caught a teenage boy trick- or- treating and made an example of him, so thoroughly humiliating and disgracing him that nobody would come near him after that, even in the school's yearbook (His photo was on a page all its own)!

(Beware the Pumpkin Eaters! Credit for this pic goes to Marah Eakin's review of this episode @ https://tv.avclub.com/the-adventures-of-pete-and-pete-halloweenie-1798171026)

What's worse, the brothers learn from an incompetent but good- hearted crossing guard (Apparently the closest thing to a police presence that their normally peaceful neighborhood has) that if the Pumpkin Eaters aren't caught, Halloween will have to be permanently cancelled in that town. This, of course, makes it all the more imperative for Little Pete to try and break the trick- or- treating record while he still can.

Halloween night, while things initially go well for the record attempt (In tribute to the monumental feat the brothers are attempting to undertake, they go dressed as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin), Big Pete eventually chickens out when he realizes they're the last trick- or- treaters out that night and thus prime targets for the Pumpkin Eaters, and leaves a thoroughly angry and disappointed Little Pete to continue pursuing the record alone. Eventually, though, after an intense chase and moral crossroads, Big Pete regains his courage as well as his past love of Halloween, the two brothers together stand up to the Pumpkin Eaters with help from the crossing guard, and Halloween is saved.

"Halloweenie" remains one of my favorite episodes of the series, and as I explained earlier, it is also one of my all- time favorite TV Halloween specials in general. I make a point of watching it every Halloween. The brothers' relationship with each other is as enjoyable to watch as it always is in the show, with both actors doing a wonderful job of demonstrating the conflicts the brothers are going through (Little Pete's determination to break the record, and Big Pete feeling torn between loyalty to his brother and seeking his own safety). The Pumpkin Eaters are great villains that can be genuinely creepy and threatening at times, especially near the end, yet also have some comedic moments. The episode's entire atmosphere practically screams "Halloween," between the costumes, the music, the scenery, the falling autumn leaves and pumpkins everywhere, the climax taking place in a closed Halloween Haunted House, and so on. It also has loads of funny lines and moments (i.e. Learning of a gross yet handy extra feature Little Pete built into their spacesuit costumes, and a scene where the crossing guard is being pelted with eggs and angrily shouts "YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME! I'M A CIVIL SERVANT!").
The only real flaw I can find with it is that we learn who the leader of the Pumpkin Eaters is pretty early on in the episode when he briefly removes his mask (It turns out to be a recurring antagonist on the show), I think it would have been better if that part was cut and we didn't learn who he was until Big Pete stands up to him in the climax.
Here's the link to a Youtube video of the episode, if any of you would like to see it. The quality isn't the best, but it'll work:

I can think of a couple good Scriptural messages in "Halloweenie." The first and foremost is on losing and regaining faith, as seen through Big Pete's inner struggle over having lost his Halloween spirit and wondering if it can ever be regained. That can be a genuinely thorny issue for Christians, especially those who feel they have fallen short, wrestled with doubts, or no longer enjoy the good relationship with Jesus they once had. I personally have struggled with that issue many times in the past. However, no matter how badly we may have drifted from God, it is always possible to return to Him, and He is waiting with open arms to welcome us back. The best proof of this is in the story of the Prodigal Son. The Son departed from his home, but when he came into a right mind and returned, his father was waiting, came running to him, and joyously welcomed him back to the fold with celebration. See, God loves us so much that He will always provide us with a way back, no matter how far we may drift from Him. We know this from Romans 8:38-39, which says that "For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." God's love can bring back ANY who have fallen astray.  As Big Pete discovered in "Halloweenie," just because we may lose passion or faith doesn't mean by any means that we can't regain it, especially with such a powerful, kind, and loving God so eager to have us back with Him.

Another important message I found in "Halloweenie" ties into the themes of cowardice and courage. In spite of how scary the Pumpkin Eaters seem to be to everyone in town, it becomes clear by the end of the episode that their true defining character trait is ultimately what cowards they are deep down. They hide their identities behind pumpkin masks, torment defenseless children that are often no more than half their ages (The phrase "Pick on someone your own size" definitely comes to mind), and in the end when confronted by the heroes together, they almost immediately try to run away. Being nothing but bullies, that is ultimately all we can expect from them. This makes a great contrast to the physical and moral courage that Big Pete eventually shows by refusing to join them, and that Little Pete shows by helping to defend his brother from them even though it meant sacrificing his shot at the record. It calls to mind Proverbs 28:1, which states that "The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion." If we are genuinely standing for what is right and true in God's eyes, and doing so in the proper way, that can be an incredible source of courage for us as believers, while the cruel and wicked are dominated and ultimately undone by their own fear.

So, that's my look at "Halloweenie," a great Halloween special which drives home both the vital truth that those who struggle with their faith can always find their way back, and of the kind of amazing courage that righteous devotion to the Lord can bring, all from the POV of, as the special's closing monologue puts it, "Two brothers who will always believe."
That's all for this edition of the Nightcrawler Experience. Have a safe and happy Halloween, and I'll see you here again soon. Until then, God bless you all!

Responsibility and True Beauty: A Faith- Based Look at 'Hocus Pocus.'

Hi everyone, and welcome back to the Nightcrawler Experience!
This post acts as both a continuation of this blog's collaboration with St. John's United Methodist Church on their 'Movie Night' series, and as part one of this blog's two- part Halloween- related entry.
The movie screened at the church this evening was 'Hocus Pocus.' Incidentally, our second choice for tonight would have been Tim Burton's 2012 stopmotion film 'Frankenweenie,' another awesome film with a great message to it.
This 1993 film, while it did not initially succeed either commercially or with critics, has since achieved cult classic status and become traditional Halloween viewing for many people, myself included.
In it, teenage boy Max isn't adjusting well to his move to Salem. He misses his home in California, is picked on by a pair of boorish bullies, and is resentful of having to take his little sister Dani out trick or treating. On Halloween night, he, along with Dani and his crush Allison, unwittingly reawaken the Sanderson sisters, three evil witches who seek to drain the life out of Salem's children in order to obtain immortality and eternal youth/ beauty. Our heroes, with help from the magical cat Binx (Once a colonial boy who centuries earlier had to watch as his sister was drained of her life force by the Sandersons before being turned into a cat and given immortality to always reflect on his failure) must then do what they can to undo his mistake and stop the Sandersons in order to save everyone in Salem.
 I did not see this movie for the first time until a few years after it premiered, and didn't see it again for decades after that. That being said, I've always found it an enjoyable movie, and pretty much perfectly fits the bill if you're looking for more family- friendly Halloween fare. It's got action, light scares, humor, and pretty good character development. It also holds up pretty well today, about the only dated things about it are some of the 90's slang terms the bullies use and when we briefly see a trick or treater dressed as Mrs. Potts from Disney's "Beauty and the Beast." The child actors are all great, and all make for pretty likable characters, especially Binx. The Sanderson sisters make for incredibly entertaining villains. It's rather strange, while we obviously don't want their despicable plan to succeed, at the same time they're so fun to watch that it feels like we shouldn't really want them to die either (It's similar to how I felt about the Penguin in 'Batman Returns'). You can tell Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy must have been having a blast playing them. Their zombie henchman Billy is a pretty cool character too, especially near the end when he regains the ability to speak. The movie's appeal is further shown by the fact that, for the last several years, the Disney theme parks have had a live show of it as a key part of their "Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party" Halloween celebration.

In my devotional to be passed out at the screening, I talk about how 'Hocus Pocus' helps to explore the theme of true beauty. I used the examples of Proverbs 31:30 and 1 Peter 3:3-4 to show how, while the unbelieving world, much like the Sanderson sisters in the movie, focuses too much on outer beauty and vanity, true beauty in God's eyes is found in instead demonstrating kindness, gentleness, and holiness.

I think another Biblical theme that can be found in 'Hocus Pocus' is on demonstrating responsibility, especially towards family. In the first half of the movie, Max is trying to pretend to be something he's not and shirk his responsibility to Dani in order to impress Allison. This drive to superficially impress her leads him to light the magic candle which reawakens the Sanderson sisters, nearly killing all three of them as well as all the children in town. By the climax of the movie, though, Max has better realized his responsibility to his sister (Largely through learning from Binx's sad example), as he is willing to sacrifice himself to save Dani's life, by arranging it so that the Sandersons will need to drain the life out of him rather than do so to Dani.
This calls to mind 1 Timothy 5:8: "Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever."
We all have responsibilities to our families. They are the ones we see the most in life (Or, at least that we SHOULD see the most in life), and thus the way we treat them is one of the most important ways of putting our faith as Christians into action. Whether it be our spouses, our siblings, our children, or others, we must always seek to do what is right by our families, putting their needs ahead of our own, as Jesus put our needs ahead of His comfort by coming down to Earth and dying to save us. We shouldn't let life keep us too busy to find time to stay in touch with those of them who are not nearby (I admittedly can be guilty of falling short in this regard), and help meet the emotional and spiritual needs of our immediate, close families at home, as an act of service to them and to God.
By doing these, seeking true and lasting beauty and accepting our responsibilities to look after and properly care for our families, we can follow God's will and better shine His light to areas shrouded with evil and darkness.
That's it for this edition of the Nightcrawler Experience. Part 2 of my Halloween special will be up by the big day in question so stay tuned. Until then, God bless you all!

Loving Enemies, and Standing Against Hate: A Faith- Based Look at a Great 'Teen Titans' episode.

Hello, and welcome back to the Nightcrawler Experience!
For this installment, I'll be looking at an episode from an older show I've rediscovered, examining it as both a fan and a Christian.
One show that I was a big fan of in the 2000's was the Cartoon Network series 'Teen Titans.'

It was an animated show that ran from 2003 through 2006, about the adventures and trials of a team of teenage superheroes: Stoic team leader Robin, bubbly yet powerful alien princess Starfire, exuberant half- robotic hero Cyborg, fan- favorite Gothic sorceress Raven, and the fun- loving animal shapeshifter Beast Boy.

(Meet the Titans: From left, Beast Boy, Starfire, Robin, Cyborg, and Raven. Credit for this image goes to the user Teentitansfan1234 at http://teentitans.wikia.com/wiki/File:Teen_titans.png)
It was a genuinely good show, a perfect blend of action, humor, and surprisingly great moments of drama and character development that could appeal to adults just as easily as to kids.
It could have silly, light- hearted episodes (i.e. 'Fractured,' 'Bunny Raven,' and any of the episodes involving the amusingly psychedelic villain Mad Mod), and but then also have dead- serious, intense episodes (i.e. The deeply moving 'How Long is Forever?', the honestly magnificent 'X,' and any episodes featuring the Titans' pure- evil main nemesis Slade), and handle both styles perfectly.
It did an awesome job portraying both established characters from the comic books, and also original characters created for the show (i.e. The hilarious movie- geek villain Control Freak was created for the show, and became so popular among fans that there was a lot of talk about officially bringing him into the larger comics' main canon).
Its opening theme song by Japanese pop rock band Puffy AmiYumi is incredibly catchy, too.
It was sadly cancelled in 2006, apparently the result of Cartoon Network coming under new management. Starting in 2013, a new version of it called 'Teen Titans Go' premiered, but I honestly find that show abysmal and a disgrace to the 'Teen Titans' legacy in a lot of different ways that I won't go into here, so that's all I'll say about it.

Fortunately, about a month or two ago, Cartoon Network began reshowing episodes of the original 'Teen Titans' at 6-7 am. So, as a good way to help wake up and get psyched for the day, I'd watch those hour blocks while having my morning coffee or tea, and am pleased to say the show still holds up remarkably well after all these years.

My favorite of the Titans was/ is Starfire. One would rarely use the word "Adorable" to describe a superheroine, but it fits Starfire like a glove. She's cheerful, brave, kind- hearted, fiercely loyal to her friends, quite often funny with how naive she can be and how unaccustomed to Earth she is (i.e. She fumbles with the meanings of certain words and phrases, and her beverage of choice is mustard), and yet also much smarter and more insightful than she seems. The relationship she gradually develops with Robin over the course of the series is awkward but very sweet, the kind of pairing that fans like me could easily cheer on. In addition, her voice actress Hynden Walch does a consistently great performance as her.
If any of you are interested, here's a pretty neat Starfire tribute video I found on Youtube. The song fits her well, in the chorus when it goes "Sharada, Sharada," I imagine it saying "Starfire, Starfire" instead!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1ZvLW0vkkA
I bring all this up because, during the current re- showing of 'Teen Titans' episodes, I rediscovered an episode centering around Starfire that I love as a fan, and can also derive some great lessons from on how to live as a servant of Jesus. It was a Season 4 episode known as "Troq."

In this episode, the Titans meet an intergalactic hero named Val- Yor, who recruits them to help him defeat a hostile alien race called the Locrix before they can invade Earth. They all set out on a space mission to the Locrix's base planet in order to shut them down for good.
As their journey progresses, Val- Yor quickly wins over most of the Titans with his friendly, mentor- ish nature, but remains rather cold towards Starfire. Things come to a head when Val- Yor, angry at Starfire for making a potentially dangerous mistake, calls her a "Troq," which makes her gasp in shock. After this, he begins regularly calling her that. At first, the the other Titans think nothing of it, on the grounds that Val- Yor has nicknames for each of them (i.e. He calls Robin "Spike" and sarcastically calls Raven "Sunshine"), but Starfire sadly reveals to Cyborg that "Troq" is in fact a particularly hateful slur term for her alien race. It specifically means "Nothing," implying that she is worthless due to her race, and she knows that punching him out for saying it will just confirm his prejudices. Cyborg tells Robin about it, who furiously promises to make Val- Yor apologize to her for it, but Starfire tells him to let it go on the grounds that their mission is more important than her feelings. Things ultimately come to a head when they arrive at the Locrix planet, set out to accomplish their mission, and in the process cause a few characters to reveal their true natures.

While 'Troq' is usually not found on many "Favorite episode" lists by the show's fans, it's one that I've always loved. First up, as a Starfire fan, episodes centering around her tend to get my attention well, and this one does not disappoint, as it helps us learn a lot about her. Also, the action sequences are solid (Especially some of the 'Titans and Val- Yor vs. Locrix' battles and a tense scene when Starfire has to clear a path for their ship through a treacherous space minefield). The voice acting is quite good too, I still to this day can't believe that was Stephen Root (Best known for playing the odd coworker Milton in the movie 'Office Space' and voicing the dopey neighbor Bill on 'King of the Hill') as the voice of Val- Yor. It can have some good comedic moments, as well (Cyborg's reaction to Val- Yor letting him get behind the wheel of his spaceship is priceless), and as you will see, a great message.

I think there are quite a few Scriptural lessons that can be taken from this episode. An obvious one is on the dangers of prejudice and hate, but as I have already covered that lesson pretty thoroughly on this blog in the past through my looks at 'Zootopia,' I'll pass over that one. Rather, I think an EXTREMELY important lesson that can be taken from this episode that I haven't yet dealt with involves how we as Christians should respond to hate and prejudice that we see, especially when we ourselves are the victims of it.
What most sums this up is a critical scene in the episode's climax; During the battle on the Locrix's home planet, Val- Yor and Starfire together enter the Locrix's base and plant the device which will shut the Locrix down forever. In the process, though, Val- Yor is wounded and trapped within a force field as the base is about to explode. Starfire immediately uses her immense strength (She is much stronger than her slender build would suggest) to press through the force field and tells Val- Yor to take her hand. Val- Yor refuses, snarling at her "Keep your filthy hands off me, Troq!" Starfire then shouts, "You may not value my life, but I STILL VALUE YOURS!" She seizes Val- Yor and flies him out of the base before it blows, saving his life. I'd say this is pretty much a perfect depiction of Jesus's calling in Matthew 5:44 to "Love your enemies, bless them who curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you, and persecute you."
Afterwards, when Val- Yor and the Titans are all back on Earth, Val- Yor thanks Starfire for saving him, but does so in a way which clearly shows he hasn't learned a thing from what happened, and remains as prejudiced as he was before. The other Titans, all of whom have been completely disenchanted from Val- Yor now that they know how horribly he treated their friend, tell him to just leave, and he does so. Starfire then gives a quite beautiful closing monologue, pointing out that "There will always be people who say mean words because you are different, and sometimes their minds cannot be changed. But there are many more people who do not judge others based on how they look, or where they are from. Those are the people whose words truly matter."
That verse, in turn, reminds me of Philippians 4:8: "Finally, brethren, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things."

I'd say both of those are extremely valuable lessons for us to learn and model as servants of Jesus Christ, especially in our current political/ social climate. The tragedy in Charlottesville a few weeks ago shows the kind of destruction that can be caused by hatred and prejudice, as well as by an improper response to it. Do not take this as a political statement because that is not my intent, but I personally believe that President Trump was kind of right when, in response to what happened in Charlottesville, he pointed out that plenty of blame for what happened can be cast at both sides of the conflict, rather than just at one side or the other. Both sides had their lunatic- fringe, violent extremist elements out in full force during that period (Virulent white supremacists on one side who deliberately try to provoke others and stir things up, and lawless "Antifa" types on the other side who go to such events with the specific intent of starting fights and riots), and both sides believed themselves to be in the right by taking the stands they did, but when that much hate from both sides gets together, the end result is never pretty. When confronted with or victimized by the hatred and prejudices of someone else, the temptation to strike back and/ or respond in kind, through word or action, is very strong. That's how the secular world teaches us to respond to it. However, the funny thing is, most of Jesus's teachings involved the importance of going AGAINST what the secular world would have us do.
Jesus wanted His servants to live in such a way that all who saw them would know they are different from the world, that they put their love of the Lord above all else. His teaching on the importance of loving our enemies is a perfect example of this. The world teaches us to love our friends and hate our enemies, but Jesus teaches us to even love our enemies and those who mistreat us. Even when it comes to being active in causes which are important to you and standing against something you know in your heart is wrong, we must resist the temptation to feel hate towards those on the other side of the issue. We must attempt to see them the way God Himself sees them: As His beloved children just as much as we are, and whom He died for just as much as He did for us.
To help us with this, we must seek out those who are good influences for us, as both Starfire's closing monologue and the verse from Philippians 4:8 show. We need to be with those who can guide us to better live in ways that model Jesus and what He did for us, so we can know how to properly react when confronted with prejudice or injustice.
We cannot stop hatred with more hatred. We must show Godly love and mercy every day, even towards those who do not deserve it, as Starfire did to Val- Yor in the episode and as Jesus did for all of us on the cross. Through doing that, we can help to bring at least a little of Jesus's peace and renewal to a world desperately in need of it.
So, that's it for this edition of the Nightcrawler Experience. Stay tuned over the course of October, I should have a two- part Halloween edition up over that month, as I did last year. Until then, God bless you all!

Unlikely Help and Inclusion: A Devotional Look at the 'The Lego Batman Movie.'

Hello everyone, and welcome back to another installment of the Nightcrawler Experience!
Well, my closing words in my last installment thankfully proved true: The Movie Night event held at St. John's United Methodist Church over the summer which I collaborated with them on was popular enough that they wanted it to continue, so once a month for at least the next few months, they will again be airing a film at the church on a Friday night, and I will again be writing devotionals to be passed out at them and follow- up entries here on the Nightcrawler Experience!
For this first installment of the new series, we were initially going to be showing the classic 80's film 'Adventures in Babysitting,' but upon watching the film for the first time in years, I realized that, while it is a good, fun film, it has a lot of objectionable comment that make it inappropriate for showing in a church setting (Especially language, such as a scene in which not one but two "F"- bombs are dropped). So, instead, we'll be looking at a much more recent and MUCH more family- friendly film, 'The Lego Batman Movie.'
In it, Batman is on the one hand riding high due to defeating and capturing all of his enemies in one attack, but on the other hand it becomes clear that he is a really lonely guy, and although he's too proud to admit it, he deeply fears being part of a family again. He is also angry upon learning that new police commissioner Barbara Gordon plans to restructure the Gotham police force to lessen how much they need him.
Amidst this, he has to contend with both a plan by the Joker, who is extremely angry and bitter upon learning that Batman does not regard him as his greatest enemy, to recruit some of the greatest villains from all pop culture (And they are a very diverse, very entertaining bunch, from Lord Voldemort to the Wicked Witch of the West to "Doctor Who"'s Daleks and many more) to try and destroy Gotham City, and the stress of having to care for an orphaned boy named Dick Grayson who he accidentally adopted. He eventually swallows his pride, realizes he needs to make some changes in his life, saves the world again, and finds the new family he's secretly always wanted.

I must say, I ADORE this movie! I consider it a great epitome of a "For the whole family" movie; There's simple jokes and entertainment for kids, more complex jokes and themes for adults (Not to mention LOADS of funny and at times quite subtle nods to all of the different incarnations of Batman, from the comics to the various movies to the TV shows, aimed at the hardcore Bat- Fans), and plenty of material that can appeal to both groups. I was laughing and geeking out all through it, and consider it probably the best Batman- related film I've seen since 2008's 'The Dark Knight.'

In the devotional I wrote that will be passed out at the movie screening, I pointed out that probably the main Scriptural message that can be taken from 'The Lego Batman Movie' is on the nature of family, and the different forms that family can take. I use the verses Ephesians 1:5 and Ephesians 2:19 to help show how we all become a part of God's family when we accept Jesus as our Savior. Though, that's not the only Godly lesson that can be taken from it.
SPOILER WARNING!


A couple other great lessons I've found in 'The Lego Batman Movie' are on inclusion, and finding help in ways you didn't expect.
I cannot tell you how much I was moved by the scene in the film's climax in which Batman turns on separate, "Bat- Signal"- esque beacons for his former enemies (i.e. Two- Face, the Penguin, Scarecrow, Catwoman, etc.), to summon them to help him battle the Joker and his army of ultra- villains in order to save Gotham City. Sure enough, by working together, this group of crooks and misfits whom the Joker had dismissed as incompetent "Human farts" earlier in the movie are able to tilt the battle in Batman's favor enough that he ends up prevailing.
 One area of Batman lore that it has always succeeded at is how well- developed and often quite sympathetic most of Batman's major villains are. In many cases, they became evil due to circumstances largely outside of their control. For instance, some of his villains became that way due to bitterness over being shunned and rejected as outcasts by society purely due to their outer physical appearance, such as the Penguin and Killer Croc. Some of Batman's other villains were once good men who were led astray in response to others' cruel actions against them, such as Two- Face (Once Gotham City's district attorney and a force for good and justice, before being disfigured both physically and psychologically in a mafia attack) and Mr. Freeze (His backstory is flat- out heartbreaking; I have a future entry of the Nightcrawler Experience in mind in which I look at it in more depth). So, I found the act of Batman reaching out to them, and not just humbling himself enough to ask for their help, but actually making them honorary members of the "Bat- Family" and giving them the opportunity to be heroes for once and gain a sense of the acceptance they've always wanted was so heartwarming.
Finding unlikely help and inclusion for outcasts are messages that resonate deeply in Scripture. One Bible story I've remembered well from when I was a kid (Partly because I participated in a play in church about it in those days) was the story of King Jehoshaphat found in 2 Chronicles 20: The good, God- fearing King Jehoshaphat was faced with the threat of his kingdom of Judah being attacked by three different armies together. Through prayer and fasting, Jehoshaphat and his people were given insight by God into a very strange and unlikely but ultimately very effective form of help; He was told that, when sending his kingdom's army out to fight the invaders, to put a choir of singers at the very head of his army, singing praises to God. This drove the invading armies to turn against each other and ultimately destroy each other, leading to a landslide victory for Judah's army.
Of course, themes of inclusion for the outcasts, including those who've sinned and fallen short, are all throughout the Bible. Rahab in the book of Joshua was a prostitute who lived with a corrupt and evil society, yet she ended up being welcomed among the Israelites and becoming an ancestor of Jesus. Speaking of whom, Jesus Himself welcomed corrupt tax collectors like Matthew and Zacchaeus, political extremists like Simon the zealot, and many others seen as "Undesirables." A big part of the reason why the early church grew so quickly in spite of its persecution was because its people reached out to and showed kindness and inclusion to a lot of people treated as outcasts by society in those days, such as women and children. The early church showed them the love and acceptance that society denied them, demonstrating a taste of God's amazing love for them. That led them to find Christ and help the church grow even more! We as current Christians are similarly called to reach out to the outcasts, those who've struggled with sin and regrets, and all others in need of Jesus in their lives.
There you have my thoughts on 'The Lego Batman Movie': a great family movie, a real treat for all Bat-fans, and a great parable on family, unlikely help, and inclusion of all.
Keep your eyes peeled, because I have another entry of the Nightcrawler Experience nearly done, and it should be posted in the next week or so. Until then, God bless you all!

A Time for All Things: A Devotional Look at 'Inside Out.'

Hi everyone, and welcome back to the Nightcrawler Experience!
This is the final installment in my collaboration with St. John's United Methodist Church for their "Summer movies" series. We will be looking at the amazing 2015 Pixar film 'Inside Out.'
I have always loved this movie, and consider it the single most intelligently- written movie Pixar has made up to this point. It deals with the sorts of advanced, heady concepts that I would never have imagined a kids' film would tackle. It also has some brilliant in- jokes throughout it, such as a scene in which a character has a nightmare which features subtle nods to three different past Pixar films as well as the 'Haunted Mansion' ride in the Disney parks.

For those who haven't seen it before, much of the action in 'Inside Out' takes place inside the mind of an eleven- year- old girl named Riley. Her mind is run by her emotions: Joy, Anger, Fear, Disgust, and Sadness. They are responsible for guiding her through every day and helping her to be as happy and well- adjusted as possible. These emotions are all thrown into turmoil when Riley's family moves to San Francisco, and things seem to just get worse and worse for the poor girl with each day. Through this, Joy and Sadness become separated from the Command Central along with Riley's "Core Memories," and must make their way back and get Riley's mental/ emotional state back under control before she ends up making the biggest mistake of her young life.

In the devotional I wrote which will be passed out at the screening, I point out that one Scriptural message can be drawn from the movie by comparing the movie's concept of "Core Memories" (Special, defining memories which helped shape Riley's personality and define who she is as a person in various ways) with the Fruits of the Spirit as seen in Galatians 5:22-26 (Which help to form our spiritual identities and define who we are in Christ). Another lesson from it concerns using Psalm 17. The way the emotions in 'Inside Out' direct and guide Riley's steps in various ways can be seen as similar to the way the first seven verses of Psalm 17 discuss how the Lord's presence within us can direct our steps as Christians.

Once again, though, I think a few more Scriptural messages can be derived from 'Inside Out' than just those.

The first directly concerns the character Sadness. As some of you who have followed this blog may recall, I included Sadness on my list of my Favorite Movie Characters from 2015. I pointed out that while Sadness is seen as useless by the other emotions and as having nothing worthwhile to contribute to Riley's mental and emotional well- being, we come to find as the movie goes on that she does serve an extremely useful purpose: Through her, others in Riley's life  can see when she is hurting or in trouble, and thus be able to reach out to her and help her. When she was simply bottling up how upset she was over the move and the poor transition to their new city and house, Riley was preventing her parents and others around her from realizing just how in need of help she was. It was through her at last expressing her sadness in the film's climax that she was able to get the help she desperately needed. In much the same way, we may question why sad times come to us, and why God would put us through them. The fact is, our times of sadness are often used by God to help bring us closer to Him. When we are doing well, it can at times cause us to become too proud or oblivious to God's presence in our lives. It's when we go through sad times and need help through it that we realize how desperately we need God and pursue Him most fervently. Then, through Him, we gain the strength and faith to endure in those sad times, and can carry that strength and faith through our everyday lives after getting out of those periods. That has certainly been the case for me during the many sad and trying times I've faced in my life. It calls to mind Psalm 34:18, which says "The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit." If it weren't for times of sadness in our lives, we would likely never have that kind of closeness to God.
In fact, in general, seeing the way that the various different emotions help with different parts of Riley's life (i.e. Fear keeps Riley from endangering herself, Anger helps her express when things are unfair, and so on) reminds me of Ecclesiastes 3, which points out that there is a time and a season for every activity under Heaven. There is a time when laughter is the right thing to do, and a time when weeping is more fitting. There's a time to be silent, and a time to speak up. God created us the way we are, and enabled us to go through so many feelings and experiences in order to help us grow and live abundantly.
Lastly, the way the vastly different emotions work together to help with different parts of Riley's life also reminds me of the way we as the body of Christ are all called to use our different spiritual gifts together to help build God's Kingdom and serve Him, and not look down on those whose gifts are different from ours or underestimate our own gifts. It calls to mind 1 Corinthians 12:12-30, which points out that the Christ's body has many different parts, no one of which is necessarily better or worse than another (Verse 22 even points out that "Those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable"), but all together contributing to the whole.
In conclusion, through seeing the strength that can come from our times of sadness, knowing that all things in our lives have their own times and seasons, and knowing that all of us who belong to Jesus have important gifts to contribute to the work God wants to do in the world, we can truly walk with Jesus, keep His joy and peace within us, and spread them around to others. That way, this sadly fallen world can be turned "Inside Out" for God.

So, that's the last installment of the Nightcrawler Experience's collab with St. John's United Methodist Church for this summer. It's been a great experience, I'm so happy to have been a part of it, and I look forward to hopefully working alongside them again in the future.
I'm working on new entries of the Nightcrawler Experience that'll be up soon. Until then, God bless you all!

Compassion and perseverance: A return to 'Zootopia.'

Hi everyone, welcome back to the Nightcrawler Experience!
We're now on part 3 of my collaboration with St. John's United Methodist Church, helping to examine and find Scriptural messages in movies that they will be screening for the church. For this entry, I will be returning to last year's Disney gem of 'Zootopia.'
I know, I've talked about this movie a couple times already on this blog, between my full- length review of it shortly after it premiered and including its heroine Judy Hopps on my '10 Favorite Movie Characters of 2016' list (Feel free to check out either of those on this blog if you want). However, for the sake of continuing this awesome collaboration with St. John's and spreading the message for those who haven't seen those entries yet, I'll talk about it one more time.
'Zootopia' is a great entry in the Disney library, centering around a young rabbit named Judy Hopps who desires to move to the large city of Zootopia and become a police officer. However, nobody takes her seriously compared to the larger and more intimidating animals on the force, and she is put on meter maid duty. Eventually, she finds herself tackling a major case involving an otter who is one of several predatory animals that have recently gone missing. While investigating this, Judy allies herself with a fox con artist named Nick Wilde, who is one of her leads in the case. Eventually, they learn it is much deeper than a simple missing otter, and it is a case in which the fates of everyone in Zootopia can hang in the balance.
As the devotional flier I wrote for the church screening shows, one message taken from 'Zootopia' involves changing the way we look at others as a result of becoming followers of Jesus, as shown in 2 Corinthians 5:16-21. Judy comes to realize that she too needs to change the way she looks at things and at other creatures. Also, Psalm 105:1-11's call to remember the Lord and all He's done and seek Him always can be seen as similar to Judy remembering the great principles Zootopia was first founded on and tirelessly pursuing justice and what's right in everything she does.
Once again, though, I think more Scriptural messages can be found in 'Zootopia' than just those, so I'll be discussing them here.
The main message of 'Zootopia' deals with the subject of tolerance, animals needing to overcome their petty differences (In the case of the movie, mainly between "Predator" animals and "Prey" animals). Over the course of the film, Judy discovers both how subtle and how destructive prejudice and hate can be, and the different forms it can take. She sees that she must confront it, starting with overcoming her own inner prejudices, in order to return Zootopia to the place of inclusion and togetherness it was meant to be. Tolerance for others is most definitely a Christian virtue. Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25- 37 to show the importance of being a good, compassionate neighbor to those who are different from you. Even just the fact that He told such a story with a Samaritan hero to a group of Jews (Who had been taught to hate Samaritans) further demonstrated His point about compassion overcoming prejudice. Acts 10 has the apostle Peter sharing what he learned about tolerance to a group of listeners. In verse 28, it says "He said to them: You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile. But God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean." Then, in verses 34 and 35, it goes on to say "Then Peter began to speak: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears Him and does what is right."

I think another very important message to 'Zootopia' deals with Judy demonstrating the Biblical virtue of perseverance. In Judy's goal of becoming a police officer, she hits one obstacle after another, from seemingly insurmountable challenges in her Police Academy training to fellow officers and superiors who underestimate her due to the fact that she's a rabbit, and so on. Nevertheless, she refuses to stop or even slow down amidst these obstacles. She keeps going and perseveres. In much the same way, we as Christians face obstacles and challenges in our lives and our walks with Jesus every day. We must keep going, however, persevering in our faith and remaining true to our Lord and Savior. Galatians 6:9 says "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." 2 Thessalonians 3:13 drives this home further by saying "And as for you, brothers and sisters, never tire of doing what is good." Lastly, James 1:12 observes "Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love Him."
So, 'Zootopia helps to teach us that by looking past each other's differences to see that God loves us all, and remaining patient and persevering even when tested, we will be truly doing what the Lord calls of us. At the end of the day, we are all God's creatures.
That wraps up this edition of the Nightcrawler Experience. Come back next week when I conclude this series. Until then, God bless you all!

Dealing with loss and being good stewards; A devotional look at 'Big Hero 6.'

Hi everyone, welcome back to the Nightcrawler Experience!
For this, part two of my collaboration with St. John's United Methodist Church on their Movie Night series, I will be taking a look at faith- based messages in the 2014 Disney film 'Big Hero 6.'
This was quite a good movie, the first time Disney has really taken full advantage of their ownership of Marvel Comics. It is also being made into an animated TV series for Disney XD, due to premiere this fall.
'Big Hero 6' centers around a boy named Hiro Hamada, a brilliant but rather unfocused teen boy living with his brother Tadashi and their aunt in the fascinating city of San Fransokyo (Yes, you read that right). Hiro is a robotics prodigy, but puts that gift largely to waste by using it to win money in illegal back- alley robot fights. With a little prodding, Tadashi convinces Hiro to join up with a technical college and find a way to use his gift for the good of all. Sadly, not long after this, Tadashi dies in an accident, and Hiro has a bit of a downward spiral. Eventually, he's roused out of it by Tadashi's last great creation, a delightful inflatable healthcare robot named Baymax. The two of them eventually discover that a mysterious figure wearing a Kabuki mask has stolen the idea for a groundbreaking bit of "Microbot" tech Hiro designed and is planning to use it for nefarious purposes. Together with a few of Tadashi's friends from the technical college, they refine their respective inventions enough to become a kind of superhero group and unravel this mystery before it's too late.

In the devotional I wrote to go along with the screening of 'Big Hero 6' this evening, I brought up two lessons that can be taken from it: First, that Hiro's turning from his rather wasteful lifestyle and striving to act for the good of all ties into Psalm 34:14's call to "Turn from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it." Second, that Hiro's newfound devotion to aiding others and following Tadashi's good example tie into what the Psalmist prays for in Psalm 86:11- 17.

However, as with 'Up' last week, I'd say that's just scratching the surface on Scriptural messages that can be found in 'Big Hero 6.'

I think the core message of 'Big Hero 6' concerns how to deal with loss. We quickly see how devastated Hiro is over the death of his brother, and how for quite a while, he basically gives up on life himself because of it. Eventually, though, he learns how to deal with this through Baymax and his new friends. We all have lost people we love, some in senseless and untimely ways. I most certainly have. I currently have only one grandparent still alive, I have lost very many older friends of mine (In fact, in the very first edition of the Nightcrawler Experience, you see I dedicated this blog to one of them, and just a few months later did an entry in memory of my grandmother "Mimi"), and in 2006, a younger friend of mine nicknamed "Chip" who had everything going for him was killed in a botched carjacking less than three weeks before he would have graduated from high school. The key to ensuring that those we've lost never truly leave us is to always remember them, do the good things they taught us, and follow the noble principles they believed in. Hiro realizes this in the movie, especially through Baymax, who was Tadashi's master work and the embodiment of the great principles Tadashi lived by to do as much good as you can in the world.
 More to the point for us as Christians, we know that for those who are in Christ Jesus, death is not the end, but a new beginning. We know that those who die in Christ Jesus will dwell with Him in Heaven forever, and the day will come when we will be reunited with them. An important verse in Scripture that deals with this is 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14: "Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who has no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him." Jesus Himself said in John 11:25-26 that "I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives in me by believing will never die. Do you believe this?" I have derived so much comfort from verses such as those, knowing that I'll see Chip, my grandparents, and others I've lost again in Heaven some day. I'd say the rest of you who've lost those you've loved can also be strengthened by those verses.

Another very important Scriptural message that can be taken from 'Big Hero 6' is on the importance of being good stewards of the gifts we are given, using them the way God intended them to be used. One moment of the movie in which Hiro is severely tempted to give in to sin in this way is when he discovers the identity of the Kabuki- masked villain, and learns he was also connected to the accident that killed Tadashi. In fury over this, Hiro removes Baymax's healthcare chip (The chip which contains all the personality traits and other such things that enable Baymax to respect life and devote itself to providing people with medical care) and orders Baymax to kill the guy.
Baymax later points out that Hiro doing this, removing the healthcare chip and turning Baymax into a weapon rather than a healer, is definitely not what Tadashi intended when he built Baymax. In fact, we see through a video recording that once Tadashi had perfected Baymax and was happily celebrating this victory, one of the first things he says to the robot is "You're gonna help SO many people, buddy! SO many!" What's more, Hiro's perverting Baymax in such a way by trying to turn it from a healer into a killer, would be no different from the way that the film's villain perverts and weaponizes Hiro's microbot invention. Upon realizing this, Hiro repents of his mistake, and from then on uses Baymax in a way much more in keeping with what Tadashi wanted.
 In much the same way, God gives each of us great gifts that He intends us to use to help serve Him and build His Kingdom. We need to resist temptations to use those gifts in sinful or short- sighted ways. A Bible passage that particularly pertains to this is 1 Peter 4:10-11, which says that "Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory and power forever and ever. Amen." Also, Ephesians 2:10 tells us "For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
The reason for this is because through each of us working together and using our gifts and strengths the right way as God intended, people will see the good we do, see God's hand in it, and praise Him. Jesus Himself drove this point home in Matthew 5:14- 16: "You are the light of the world; A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on a stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven."
And so, there you have my look at 'Big Hero 6,' a great superhero movie with great messages about handling loss and using our gifts the way God intended.
That's it for this edition of the Nightcrawler Experience. Come back next week as I look at the next film on St. Johns's list. Until then, God bless you all!

Selflessness and putting the past in its place: A devotional look at 'Up'...

Hello everyone, and welcome back to the Nightcrawler Experience!
This will be the first part of a hopefully four- part series which I am doing kind of in partnership with St. John's United Methodist Church. The pastor there, Rev. David Averill (A dear old friend of mine from our seminary days), is doing a series in which he screens an animated movie at the church on a Friday night and then gives a sermon tying into it on Sunday mornings. He asked me to help him with this, writing devotionals to go along with each movie and be passed out at the screenings, and then go a little more in depth on other possible Scriptural messages in the film here on the Nightcrawler Experience.
For the first installment in this series, I will be looking at the beloved 2009 Pixar film 'Up.'
I'm sure most if not all of you (Certainly those at today's screening of it at the church) have already seen this great, heartwarming movie:
Carl Fredricksen, a widower who's let bitterness take over after his wife died, gets the idea to use tens of thousands of balloons to fly the house he and his wife shared over to the beautiful jungle of Paradise Falls, where he and his late wife had always dreamed of one day going. He unwittingly picks up a stowaway in the form of an enthusiastic little boy named Russell, and while making his way there, also finds himself saddled with a strange bird that Russell takes in and names "Kevin," and a lovable dog named Dug. These four have an incredible adventure while trying to get the house where Carl wants it to go.
In my devotional I wrote to be passed out at the screening, I pointed out how Carl's crazy and seemingly impossible yet brilliant plan ties into Jesus's point in Matthew 19:26 that "With God, all things are possible." I also pointed out that key to this, achieving our dreams through trusting in Jesus, includes us actively following after Him and making sure that we're doing what He knows is best for us, using the Psalmist's example in Psalm 119:5-12.

However, I think a couple more Scriptural messages can be found in 'Up,' as well.

For instance, one major faith- based message I saw in 'Up' concerned living selflessly, putting others' needs ahead of your own. Carl Fredricksen started his journey only concerned with his own goal of getting his house to the location on Paradise Falls where he wanted it. In fact, later in the movie, Carl's self- centered devotion to this goal led to him allowing the bird Kevin to be captured when it came to a choice between helping Kevin escape or putting out a fire that had been set on his house. By the movie's climax, however, Carl learns to start caring more about the needs of others, as he finds himself willing to sacrifice his goal in order to save the life of young Russell. This is a perfect example of what is taught in Philippians 2:3-4: "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others." Overcoming selfishness can be a major hurdle, especially in our current Western society, but it's one we need to overcome in order to be fruitful for the Lord. Jesus selflessly allowed Himself to die on the cross to pay for our sins, so the least we can do is kind of pay it forward by being kind and selfless to others.

Another Scriptural message to be taken from 'Up' involves letting go of the past. Carl's relationship and marriage to his late wife Ellie (Which the house kind of represents) was wonderful, but as we see through Carl's reading of the final note of Ellie's adventure book, she did not want him to hang on to their past so tightly, regardless of how great it was. As her final note in it explains, her last wishes were for him to move on and live abundantly in the next chapters of his life. Carl then lives this out, first by emptying the house of all the material things that are weighing it down and keeping it from flying (Similar to how we all have unnecessary baggage from our past that weighs us down and we should let go of), then finally by letting go of the house itself after he saves Russell. While we shouldn't forget our past experiences, good or bad, as they have helped to shape who we are, if we hold onto them too tightly like Carl does for much of the film, it can keep our eyes off of the here and now and rob us of any hope of living well in the future. Scripture is pretty clear on the point of moving forward in life rather than constantly looking back, especially due to the saving effect of accepting Jesus changing our lives and priorities. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says that "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; Behold, the new has come." Furthermore, Philippians 3:13- 14 says that "Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." By not letting ourselves be too closely tied to our pasts (Whether it be good experiences or bad ones), we can move ahead and better serve and honor the Lord now and build a better tomorrow for His Kingdom.

Both of these points, and the potential consequences of not following them, can be further seen in 'Up' by contrasting good old Carl with the film's villain, Charles Muntz. Some of my favorite kinds of movie villains are those who represent the hero's darker nature, or the sort of person the hero could have ended up becoming like if they had made different choices or had different circumstances, and I'd say Muntz fits the bill perfectly. A couple other examples of this are Gaston from 'Beauty and the Beast' (He represents the sort of person that the Prince would have almost certainly ended up becoming like if he had never met the Enchantress and been transformed into the Beast), and Justin Hammer from 'Iron Man 2' (He represents the sort of person that Tony Stark would have likely ended up becoming if he had never been kidnapped by terrorists in the first film and forced to re- evaluate his life).
 In 'Up,' Charles Muntz shows what Carl could have ended up becoming like if he continued obsessively focusing on the past and on his own selfish desires. Muntz had become so obsessed with reclaiming his past glory and position by capturing the bird that he was willing to flat- out murder anyone that he even just believed might have been planning to capture the bird and bring it to civilization before he could. That he would stoop to such depths further shows that Muntz was not motivated by decent goals such as contributing to a scientific discovery and helping to teach people about the world, but that he was only doing it because he wanted the personal glory and status that would come with such a discovery. Muntz's selfishness and fixation on the past drive him mad and eventually destroy him, while Carl's learning to move on and put others ahead of himself are what enable him to prevail, become a father- figure to a young boy in desperate need for one, and set about living the rest of his life to the fullest.
So, that's my look at 'Up,' one of Pixar's best films with loads of great messages about living for Christ.
That's it for this installment of the Nightcrawler Experience. I should have a similar devotional entry up next week looking at the next film in the lineup, 'Big Hero 6.' Until then, God bless you all!

Faith, courage, and action: A faith- based review of my latest encounter with 'It.'

Hi, and welcome back to the Nightcrawler Experience!

For this entry, I will be re- examining as both a pop- culture fan and a follower of Christ  something from my boyhood that I felt the need to return to: Stephen King's famous 1986 novel 'It.'

DISCLAIMER! This book is very explicit in many different ways, with a lot, and I mean A LOT, of content not suitable at all for kids and sensitive audiences. Exercise extreme caution before reading it yourselves.
Also, SPOILER WARNING! There will be a few spoilers in this article.

The story of 'It,' boiled down to its core, can be best summed up as this: An ancient, pure- evil being has taken up residence beneath a small Maine town called Derry (Inspired by King's real- life hometown of Bangor). Every twenty- seven years or so, It emerges from hibernation to kill and eat children and teens for a year or two before then settling back into hibernation in Its lair in the town's labyrinthine sewer system. It most often appears to them in the form of a clown named Pennywise, but is capable of taking the form of whatever scares its would- be prey the most (Over the course of the story, we see It taking on the forms of a movie werewolf, a hideous leper, a mummy, a swarm of grotesque flying leeches, the town's tacky giant Paul Bunyan statue come to life, and many others). During one of these periods, a group of outcast neighborhood kids who come to call themselves "The Losers' Club" fight and defeat It, vowing to return and finish the job if It ever came back. Sure enough, twenty- seven years later, It does indeed come back and resumes killing kids, and the Losers' Club, almost all of whom have become rich and successful adults who have almost completely forgotten what had happened to them as kids, return to Derry determined to destroy It once and for all.

I read the original book for the first time nineteen years ago when I was about 14 years old (I had seen the 1990 TV miniseries a few years earlier), and was blown away with it! It's truly King in his prime, long before he jumped the shark in the mid- 90's, as I mentioned in my comparison between him and Dean Koontz a couple years ago.

The story goes into magnificent detail in describing the town of Derry, the characters, and all the various moments that help to shape the plot. The "Past" segments and the "Present" segments transition into each other perfectly.
'It' also obviously has a lot of extremely scary moments. Many of the scenes involving Pennywise and the other forms It takes are genuinely frightening and unsettling, the sorts of things that'll stick with you for quite a while afterwards. In addition, good scares can also be found in a lot of the more natural/ human threats that our heroes have to contend with, such as demented school bully Henry Bowers (He gets my vote for being the best/ most threatening "bully" character in all of fiction), abusive father Al Marsh, and neighborhood sociopath Patrick Hockstetter (The chapter in which we learn more about him and witness his death is, to me, easily one of the scariest and most disturbing segments of the entire book; A gruesome fate for a gruesome character).

In contrast, the seven members of the Losers' Club make for a great, very likable group of heroes that are quite easy to root for. My favorite of them is Ben Hanscom, a lonely, overweight boy who starts out shy and afraid, but finds his courage that summer when he makes his new friends (Implied to be the first friends he's ever had), shows it through standing up to first Henry and then It, and keeps up that courage as an adult. Ben's a marvelous example of a "From Zero to Hero" character, and this transition fits perfectly.
All of this is not to say that 'It' is a perfect book, by any means. First and foremost, it's a VERY long book, over 1,000 pages in length. So, it obviously requires a huge investment of time. Also, some of the segments (Especially the "Interlude" segments in which we learn through interviews about some of the tragedies and horrors that Derry has been through) tend to drag on at times, they would have benefited from being trimmed a bit, in my opinion. Also, in the book's climax, I felt things got a little hard to follow at times, with some of the bizarre imagery and actions in that segment.
Still, these flaws were easy to get past, considering how great the rest of the book was.

 In anticipation of the upcoming new movie of 'It' they are doing, I decided to re-read the book. Problem was, my copy of 'It' was so old and battered that it wouldn't be very good for in- depth reading. Fortunately, I had heard of a very well- received audiobook version of 'It,' read by the actor Steven Weber (Best known for playing Brian Hackett on the old sitcom 'Wings'), and even more fortunately, a library near me had a copy of that audiobook. I checked it out, and over the course of two weeks (Due to the length of the book, the audio drama was about 42 hours long), I rediscovered 'It.' Now that I think about it, it's actually rather funny; I was sort of in a sense following in the Losers' footsteps, experiencing a horror as a kid, and then returning to it as an adult.

(Here's what the library copy of the audiobook looked like; I understand the more widely- seen cover for it looks a lot different)

I actually got more enjoyment out of it now than I did back then. I believe this is for two reasons:

The first is my own enhanced level of understanding. As an adult, I can understand the references, subplots, themes, and so on that were present in 'It' a lot better than I could when I was 14. The second reason is the wonderful work that the audiobook's narrator did.

Steven Weber's performance in this audiobook, both his voice- acting for the characters and his general narration, are absolutely brilliant! He injected all the right emotions into all the right moments, and helped certain scenes become even more intense than I remember feeling they were when I first read them. I'd say the character that Weber was probably best at voicing would be Richie Tozier, the bespectacled comedian of the Losers' Club. Right off the bat, I knew that an actor like Steven Weber who's mainly known for his comedic roles would be able to nail a frequently- comedic character like Richie, but it's more than that: What makes his work as Richie's voice especially good is that one of Richie's trademarks in the story was how often he does different funny voices, accents, and impressions, and Weber makes each of them sound amazing. I was genuinely surprised that he could have such a gift for voices. This was especially prominent for me during a scene in which the Losers have a brief conversation with Mr. Nell, a friendly Irish cop in town. During the scene, Richie at times thinks it's funny to try out his "Irish cop" voice on Mr. Nell, though nobody is terribly amused by it. When narrating this scene, Weber provides a wonderful contrast between Richie's over- the- top "Irish cop" voice and Mr. Nell's actual Irish accent.

Another particularly great scene handled by him involves when our heroes are adults, and the one female member of the Losers' Club, Beverly, pays a visit to her old childhood apartment, which let's just say doesn't go as she expected. Through Weber's narration and voice acting (Especially his performance as the voice of Mrs. Kersh, the apartment's current occupant), he takes a scene which was rather scary and disturbing for me when I read it in the book as a teen, and turns it into truly the stuff of nightmares.

Of course, I would be remiss if I didn't mention how Weber did as the voice of Pennywise the Clown in this audiobook. He was AMAZING! He makes Pennywise sound jolly, charming, and yet unbelievably creepy at the same time (In other words, like how a "Scary clown" character should sound). An online review of the audiobook I read at the website into-the-dark.com said that his version of Pennywise sounded like "A hellish take on Richard Nixon," and I suppose I can hear a little of that, but it most reminds me personally of the voice of the classic Disney/ Mickey Mouse villain Pete. Weber makes It's other forms sound quite scary and distinctive as well (i.e. the voice he uses for when the Paul Bunyan statue apparently comes to life has an awesome "Evil fairy- tale giant" feel to it).

So,  I'd say the Steven Weber audiobook of 'It' ranks up with the likes of Gary Sinise's take on 'Of Mice and Men' and the Focus on the Family audio drama of C.S. Lewis's 'The Screwtape Letters' as among the best audiobooks I've ever come across, which got me even more excited for the movie due to be released this September. If you're interested in discovering 'It' for the first time (Keeping in mind the disclaimer I posted in the beginning) or revisiting it like I did, check it out.

Of course, now that I've examined 'It' as a pop culture fanboy, I must also examine it as a Christian. Believe it or not, there are actually quite a few Scriptural messages that I was able to find in 'It' (Made easier by the fact that 'It' is one of King's works in which he DOESN'T rely on his vile trope of insulting and stereotyping Christians that I noted in my 'King vs. Koontz' article), once you get past the graphic content.

One message I noticed is on the nature of aging, on looking at things as a child and as an adult, and retaining the best parts of both. It's of course important to grow up, mature, and lose the short- sightedness and irresponsibility we tend to have as children, but it's also important to maintain the humility, imagination and sense of wonder at the world that we gain in childhood. The character in 'It' who best sums this up is the Losers' Club leader, "Stuttering" Bill Denbrough. Even as he grows up, he maintains that balance between childhood and adulthood, and puts it to good use in his career as a writer. In the end of the book, when Bill's wife Audra is kidnapped by It and put into a catatonic state, Bill's reconnecting with his childlike wonder is what saves her, as he takes her on a wild ride through Derry's streets on his beloved childhood bike, Silver, which snaps her out of it. Scripture is equally clear on the importance of both learning to grow up and retaining a bit of childhood. On the one hand, 1 Corinthians 13:11 says "When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things." On the other hand, Jesus Himself said in Matthew 18:3-4 that "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the Kingdom of Heaven." The key is finding a balance between the two, gaining the best elements of both, and using them to become the most effective, most fruitful servant of Christ you can be.

Another Scriptural message is on the power of faith. One character who sums this up is Losers' Club member Eddie Kaspbrak. He's a scrawny hypochondriac boy (Largely due to the influence of his unbearably overprotective mother) with severe asthma, but we eventually learn his asthma is in fact psychosomatic. His pharmacist in one scene rather bluntly tells him that his aspirator, which he inhales from multiple times a day to clear his throat and keep his asthma under control, is really just water. While Eddie soon comes to accept this hard fact, he still finds that even if his aspirator is just a placebo, it still does help him largely for the simple reason that he believes it does, so for the rest of his life he uses it as regularly as he did before. In fact, in a couple of the Losers' encounters with It, Eddie even uses his aspirator as a weapon by believing it's spraying acid, and it works! Jesus, of course, had plenty to say about faith. In Matthew 17:14-20, Jesus is asked to drive a demon out of a man's son that His disciples had tried and failed to drive out. After He does so, the disciples ask why they weren't able to drive it out, and Jesus responds, "Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." Faith, demonstrated through coming to God with your requests in prayer and trusting in Him throughout your everyday lives, is a cornerstone of walking with Christ.

Another message to 'It' I found was on the subject of divine providence. Several times when the Losers are kids, we find them getting unseen yet obvious help in ways that could only be described as miraculous. For instance, when It attempts to subtly influence Eddie's overprotective mom to split up the Losers after Eddie's arm is broken, the normally quite timid Eddie seemingly out of nowhere finds the strength to respectfully yet assertively stand up to her and make it clear that he's done letting her baby him and keep him from living his life. Later, when It attacks Beverly in the town dump in one of Its most horrifying forms (A form It had just minutes earlier used to kill a kid), she shoots at It with her slingshot. The shot clearly misses, yet then out of nowhere it just as clearly curves back in midair and hits It, saving Bev's life. Near the book's climax, Bill eventually realizes that, as ancient and powerful as It is, there is another infinitely more powerful being, a Creator of the world, who was guiding him and his friends in their struggle against It and miraculously helping them when needed. I'd say the theological connection to that is pretty obvious. The Lord Jesus Christ is always there to lead and guide His children, and has at times done so in pretty miraculous ways. God's providence was what led Joseph through all his various trials in the book of Genesis, such as being sold into slavery and thrown into prison, so he could eventually be put into the position to help save Egypt from being wiped out by famine. Then, of course, there's all the wonders and miracles that the Lord did in Exodus to free the Jews from slavery.  I've also personally witnessed examples of God's miraculous deliverance a few times in my life.Through trusting in Jesus to lead our path, He can guide and protect us, at times in truly amazing ways.

A final theological message I found in 'It' dealt with responding to evil. See, the character Mike Hanlon, the only member of the Loser's Club who continued to live in Derry even as an adult, has done a lot of research into the town's history, and learned that It has been involved in a behind- the- scenes sort of way in a wide variety of awful tragedies and acts of death and destruction that have hit the town over decades if not centuries. The strange thing is, the people of Derry have a tendency to kind of subtly ignore these tragedies, or at least pay them the minimum amount of attention without acknowledging the "Elephant in the room," that It is involved in each one of them in some way. Not all of them do, though. The Losers' Club know they can't turn a blind eye to what's happening, that they must stand up to It to save themselves and the other kids in town. As adults, they all (All but one, that is) return to Derry for the same reason. Refusing to do what's right and turning a blind eye to evil are, quite frankly, sinful. In the early chapters of the book of Samuel, the high priest Eli learns he will die soon because he knew his own sons, fellow priests, were unbelievably corrupt and abused their positions, and yet he did little if anything to try and stop them. James 4:17 says that "So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin." Furthermore, in Romans 2:6-8, it says that "He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury." This passage is especially relevant because, in the climax and ending of 'It,' what eventually happens to Derry and much of its people can indeed be easily seen as divine "Wrath and fury" upon a town whose people largely sought after themselves and did nothing about the evil lurking under their streets. I'd say this is an especially relevant point now, considering that in the last few weeks, we've seen terrorist attacks, the attempted assassination of a congressman, and countless other acts of evil in the world. We cannot ignore evil, it must be confronted.

So, through balancing our child natures and adult natures, keeping our strong faith in God, trusting in His providence, and courageously standing against evil in everyday ways, we'll have nothing to fear from whatever forms the Devil might take, be it lurking in the sewers or right out in broad daylight.

That's all for this edition of the Nightcrawler Experience. Hopefully I'll have a new entry up soon. Until then, God bless you all!