Truly Knowing Jesus, and Showing Wisdom: A Faith- Based Look at 'Fright Night.'

Hi everyone, happy Halloween from the Nightcrawler Experience!
Here is the final installment in the three- part Halloween special I'll be doing for this blog, looking at something that'll provide scary fun and yet also some valid lessons on what it means to walk with Jesus.
In this case, I'll be looking at the movie 'Fright Night,' the 1985 original and especially the 2011 remake.

(Credit for this goes to the user XD1 on the Fright Night Wiki).

Disclaimer! Both versions of this movie have a noticeable amount of objectionable content, they are rated R. They are also very scary at times. So, use discretion before personally watching either of them or letting young ones watch them.

Generally, horror remakes are regarded as garbage, at times rightfully so (Anyone remember the 'Nightmare on Elm Street' remake they tried to do?). However, I consider the 'Fright Night' remake quite possibly the single best horror remake I can ever recall seeing.
 In fact, I consider it one of the few horror remakes that actually NEEDED to be made. While the original is still great, it has not aged very well. Its 80's setting is VERY heavily apparent throughout it, so it doesn't translate quite as well for modern audiences. The remake manages to modernize it without giving off too dated of a feel.

In both the original version of 'Fright Night' and the remake, the basic story is similar: A teenage boy named Charley Brewster comes to strongly suspect that his new neighbor Jerry Dandridge is in fact a vampire (I know it sounds similar to the 'Are You Afraid of the Dark' episode "The Tale of the Nightly Neighbors," which I looked at on this blog a couple years ago, but the similarities end there), who is responsible for a rash of disappearances and deaths in the area. He seeks out an apparent vampire expert named Peter Vincent for help in dealing with this, but Peter refuses to help and admits to being a fraud and a coward. Still, Charley pushes on in order to protect his mother and his girlfriend Amy from becoming Jerry's next victims, and even inspires Peter to find his courage and become the hero everyone believes him to be, and the two of them prepare for a final showdown with Jerry.

However, the remake differs from the original in a number of ways, all of which I think work well. Rather than being set in a suburban Anytown USA as the original was, the remake takes place in Las Vegas, specifically in one of the residential communities on the outskirts of the city. This actually makes a LOT of sense, and I can indeed imagine a vampire living in one of those communities; Most of the people there sleep during the day and work jobs on the Strip at night, so a vampire could easily blend in among them, and those communities tend to have a lot of abandoned houses that would make perfect nesting areas for a vampire.

 Another major change is in the way the character Peter Vincent is portrayed; In the original version, Peter (Played by the late Roddy Mcdowell) is a has- been movie star who in his prime played a Van Helsing- esque horror film hero called "Peter Vincent, the Great Vampire Killer" but who's now reduced to hosting a monster- movie- marathon TV show, and gives off a rather pompous, thespian- esque personality. In the remake, in contrast, Peter (Now played by David Tennant) is a Las Vegas stage magician whose act uses a lot of occultic/ vampire- esque imagery and theming, and his personality comes across as more like a British rock star. While both portrayals are awesome in their own ways, I can see why they changed it for the remake; As cool as those old monster- movie- marathon- type shows were, they are sadly a thing of the past now. David Tennant's portrayal of Peter is so much fun to watch, he'd make an excellent spinoff movie! He delivers loads of humor, and also proves to be a surprisingly well- developed character, as we learn more of his backstory.

Another major departure that I approved of is in terms of the portrayals of a supporting character in the film, Charlie's sort- of friend "Evil" Ed. In the original, "Evil" Ed is hyper and loud, alternately supporting Charlie and making fun of him. Many fans of the original film really liked him, but I personally viewed him a lot like how most 'Star Wars' fans viewed JarJar Binks: A character meant to be comedic, but who is often much more annoying than funny. His shrieking laugh is like nails on a chalkboard to me. In the remake, in contrast, "Evil" Ed is much more subtle and quiet. In it, we see that he was once Charlie's best friend and the two engaged in all kinds of "Nerd- friendly" fun, but that when Charlie became part of the "Popular" crowd at school as he began dating Amy, he abandoned all aspects of his geeky former life, including his friendship with Ed. As you can guess, Ed is noticeably bitter towards Charlie over this, which factors a ton into their interactions with each other in the movie. This version of Ed has a lot of funny moments, but also some genuinely heartfelt moments as you really feel bad for him between Charley having kicked him to the curb for the sake of popularity and all kinds of other hardships befalling him.

A final change the remake made that I definitely feel is an improvement is that Charley (Played in the original by William Ragsdale, and in the remake by the late Anton Yelchin) is MUCH more intelligent and tactful than he was in the original. An example is when Charley makes the decision to try and get the police involved. In the original, Charley personally brings a police officer to Jerry's house, and ends up loudly proclaiming that Jerry's a vampire, causing the cop to see him as either a liar or a moron. In the remake, in contrast, Charley makes the much wiser decision to instead try and notify the police through an anonymous phone call; While it still doesn't work well (The cops go to Jerry's house, but Jerry provides a convincing explanation and even sort of befriends the officers), at least it didn't leave Charley looking like an idiot the way the original did.

The action sequences in 'Fright Night' are pretty solid, including an escape from a burning house that leads to a car chase, and numerous battles between the various protagonists and the vampires.
While I somewhat miss the practical effects used in the original 'Fright Night,' the CGI used in the remake is pretty good, especially the ways it shows vampires disintegrating into ash when slain.
So, the 2011 'Fright Night' remake is all in all a surprisingly good film that I definitely recommend to fans of the original and anyone else in the mood for a little scary fun.



I can think of at least a couple theological lessons that can be taken from 'Fright Night.'
In the original and to a lesser extent the remake, we see an interesting new aspect of vampire lore: While vampires can be harmed and driven back by crosses, it only works if the person holding the cross has faith, otherwise it doesn't do a thing. A couple times in those movies, a character will try and drive back a vampire using a cross, yet it has no effect because the person wielding it didn't have the faith for it. What truly repelled the vampires was, in a sense, not actually the cross itself, but rather, the person's faith channeled through the cross. This very much ties into a Biblical theme on the difference between knowing about Jesus, and truly knowing Him and trusting in Him. It calls to mind a story from Acts 19:11-17, when a group of Jewish exorcists find out that the apostle Paul was able to cast out demons by calling on the name of Jesus. Thinking they could turn this knowledge into a lucrative business venture, they find a different person possessed by a demon, and say, "We cast you out in the name of the Jesus that Paul preaches." The demon in the man responds, "Jesus we know, and Paul we know, but who are you?" The demon in the man then beats up the would- be exorcists and sends them out naked and wounded. Those guys thought they could use the name and power of Jesus, even though they didn't even truly believe in Him themselves. That clearly didn't have any effect on the demon. Similarly, just knowing about Jesus without having actual faith in Him is pretty worthless. We need to actually believe and trust that Jesus is who He said He is.

Another important theological lesson that I think can be derived from the 'Fright Night' remake is on the importance of showing wisdom in how we act. As I said earlier, I found the remake's version of Charley much smarter and more tactful than he was in the original. As a matter of fact, considering that the horror film genre tends to be filled with characters who aren't exactly the sharpest knives in the drawer, Charley in the 'Fright Night' remake comes across as easily one of the smartest protagonists in all of horror, right up there with Sidney Prescott from the 'Scream' series and most portrayals of Dracula's nemesis Van Helsing. In addition to the example I listed earlier of how tactful he was when he tried to get the police involved, there are lots of other examples of him proving to be incredibly clever and resourceful. He first meets with Peter Vincent by posing as a journalist with the aid of a phony press pass he made on the fly. When he has to leave his injured mother in a hospital room, he first leaves the room decked out in crosses to ensure that Jerry will not be able to go after her. When he sets out for the final showdown with Jerry, he first goes to an outdoor- supply store and buys all the weapons and supplies that he legally can, he goes to Jerry's house during the morning when Jerry will be either asleep or weak, and as soon as he enters the house he immediately breaks all of the black- tainted windows in sight to get as much sunlight pouring into the house as possible. In short, Charley's one smart cookie in this, and that's why he prevails. Scripture is littered with commands to act with wisdom and planning, in much the way that Charley does throughout the film. An example is Proverbs 14:8, which states that "The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways, but the folly of fools is deception." It's showing that wisdom comes from thinking things through and proceeding in what we come to then believe is the best way of proceeding through a situation. When confronted with life's problems and threats, we are to trust in God's deliverance, but also to be wise and careful in how we proceed.

Through keeping a strong and earnest faith in Jesus, and also thinking things through and exercising wisdom and discernment in how we act and what we do, we can triumph over evil like how Charley did in 'Fright Night' and live victoriously knowing we follow the King of Kings.

That's it for this edition of the Nightcrawler Experience. I have a few ideas for entries to bring out in the next couple months, so keep an eye out for them. Until then, happy Halloween, and may God bless you all!

Avoiding what God Hates, and Remaining Responsible: How to Avoid Being 'Trolled.'

Hi everyone, and welcome back to the Nightcrawler Experience!
This is part two in what I'm hoping will be a three- part Halloween- related installment.
The inspiration for this particular entry just came to me on the fly a week or so ago.
As I said in the previous entry, I recently finished a monthlong free subscription to Netflix, which enabled me to get caught up on 'Stranger Things.' In addition, it helped me watch a lot of other shows I was behind on, and it helped me discover another show I'd never even heard of before, called 'Creeped Out.'
SLIGHT DISCLAIMER: While this show is for kids, it can have its creepy moments.
This is a British/ Canadian horror anthology show for kids, similar to what 'Are You Afraid of the Dark' was like. Its sort of host/ Cryptkeeper- type character is "The Curious," a mysterious, silent, childlike figure wearing a strange mask. The Curious is apparently harmless, yet is always around when something spooky happens, and at the end of each episode, takes a little memento from that tale while whistling the show's eerie theme music. Here's the opening to one of the episodes, which shows you a little of what the Curious is like:

There were a lot of very good episodes of this show, such as 'Marti' (The episode that the above clip was taken from, which deals with our society's addiction to smart phones), 'Bravery Badge' (A genuinely frightening and yet encouraging tale in which a kind of Girl Scout troop on a camping trip discovers that mosquitoes and poison ivy aren't the only things to look out for in the woods), and the quite moving two- part episode 'Sideshow.'

However, if I had to pick one episode that was my favorite so far, one that sticks out for me is an episode called "Trolled."

SPOILERS!

This episode revolves around a British teen named Sam, who is enrolled in a prestigious boarding school for choral students. He is outwardly active and well- liked, but we soon learn he is leading a double life: He is secretly "NoFace," a vicious Internet troll and cyberbully who anonymously posts malicious insults and gossip on the school's Web forum and various social media outlets.
 He has now set his sights on his roommate Fitzy, who has begun dating Sam's crush, Naini. As NoFace, Sam spreads a nasty rumor about Fitzy on the Web forum to try and break them up, and also posts an insulting picture of Naini on her Facebook page (Keep in mind that Sam outwardly professes close friendship with both of them). After he does so, though, he gets a message from an ominous- seeming user named "Billygoat356," warning him to stop doing this or "Pay the price." Sam of course ignores this.

The next day, we learn that Sam may have to leave the school, as his working- class mother (A decent woman who ironically comes across as a much more sympathetic character than her son) can no longer afford to pay his tuition and various other school- related expenses. Sam, however, learns of a solution: If he can successfully perform an extremely difficult solo at a big choral recital the next day, he'll get a full scholarship.

Later that evening, Sam is back to trolling as NoFace, now posting an insulting (Though admittedly rather funny) edited picture of the school's headmaster on the faculty section of the web forum. Just then, he gets another message from Billygoat356, basically telling him "I warned you," followed by a string of phrases written in Norwegian.
The next morning, Sam begins experiencing some very bizarre changes: He grows a thick unibrow seemingly overnight, his gut becomes bloated and grotesque, his hands and feet turn misshapen and gnarled, and so on.
As you can probably guess, as punishment for his trolling ways, Sam is transforming into an ACTUAL troll! The string of Norwegian words Billygoat356 sent to him, when translated, are revealed to have been a curse which began this transformation.

Billygoat356 contacts Sam again, and tells him that there are two ways for him to break the curse and turn back to normal, but neither are very desirable for him: Either stay hidden from everyone until sunset (In which case he'd miss the recital, lose his shot at the scholarship, and have to leave the school), or go to the recital and openly admit to everyone there that he is NoFace (In which case he'd lose all his friends and be expelled from the school).

Sam shows up to the recital, wearing a hood to keep from revealing that the transformation has now spread to most of his face (Though he tells the headmaster he's wearing it due to stage fright), and attempts to perform the solo. Midway through it, however, Sam's voice changes to a troll's growl.
Suspecting that something's amiss, the headmaster orders Sam to remove the hood, and when he does so, everyone is of course horrified at his appearance. In a touch that is simultaneously funny, fitting, and yet also an incredibly sad commentary on the current state of society, one of the first reactions to this we see from the recital's audience is one of the parents there whipping out his phone to snap a picture of it.

Sam hears the online voice of Billygoat356 telling him one last time to confess he's NoFace and break the curse, and he seems to think about it for a few seconds, but then says "I can't." He runs out of the performance hall in shame, but as soon as he steps out of the building, exposure to sunlight (A mortal weakness for trolls, as anyone familiar with 'The Hobbit' could tell you) instantly turns him to stone, preserving him in troll form forever.

The stone troll statue that used to be Sam is then hoisted to the top of the school's roof and mounted up there like a gargoyle, and the school explains his disappearance by saying that the spectacle he caused at the recital was a prank that got him expelled. The school seizes his computer and thus discovers and reveals to everyone that he was NoFace all along, and Fitzy and Naini get back together when they realize how much Sam had been deceiving and manipulating them. We learn that Billygoat356 was apparently the school's maintenance man, the show's narrator gives a sober warning about how bullying people online is just as destructive as doing so in person and "You never know who's gonna be your Billygoat," and the Curious takes a souvenir of Sam's tale (A chalk rubbing of the school's brickwork that he/she was seen making at the start of the episode), and walks away as the episode ends.

As I said, "Trolled" stands out as being my favorite episode of 'Creeped Out.' The story right away was quite interesting. A tale of an Internet troll (Among the most loathsome kinds of people that most of us would be likely to personally encounter) getting what's coming to him is of course quite satisfying to watch, and the twist of him becoming a literal troll because of it was quite clever. Speaking of clever, having an internet troll's destruction brought about by a user with the screenname of "Billygoat356" is a VERY amusing nod to a certain classic fairy tale, all that was missing was for a bridge to somehow be involved. Most of the characters are quite likable, you find yourself really feeling bad for Fitzy and Naini being so deeply hurt by Sam's actions and the wedge he tries to drive between them, as well as for Sam's mother who you can tell works herself to the bone and sacrifices a lot for her son who clearly doesn't deserve any of it. The acting from everyone in the cast is pretty solid, too.
 Sam's transformation into a troll is handled amazingly well, with very good use of makeup effects and prosthetics for a show that you can tell probably doesn't have the highest of budgets. The whole episode also has a fascinating Gothic mood to it, between the use of cinematography and shadows, the ways Sam's transformation is shown, the use of orchestral and choral music throughout, and the austere and rather foreboding environment that the school itself presents. It's just a real treat of an episode from start to finish. If any of you have Netflix and are in the mood for light scares, check it out.


I was inspired to do an entry on the Nightcrawler Experience about "Trolled" because, in addition to it obviously being a cautionary tale about the dangers of cyberbullying, I believe it also conveys a couple warnings that are quite Scriptural in nature.

The first concerns what Sam actually did, and what God's Word says about it. An important consideration is that Sam's actions weren't just cruel, two- faced and cowardly; They were also incredibly sinful. In Proverbs 6:16- 19, it talks about seven things that God hates, and views as abominations. The last four of those things include "A heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, a false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren." Sam, through his trolling as NoFace, was most definitely guilty of those. He spread lies about people, was quick to deliberately cause trouble, and sowed disharmony and unhappiness between Fitzy and Naini, and you know he had to have done all that to a LOT of others in the school before that point through his trolling. What's worse, he spewed all that hatred and venom about them, all the while outwardly pretending to be a close friend to both of them.
While obviously Internet trolls are particularly likely to commit those sins these days, I've seen plenty of people commit those sins in real life as well.
Gossiping about people and being two- faced with them are incredibly destructive sins, and it pains me to say that one of the places that can be the worst haven for gossip is within a church. The people who commit those sins might try and justify them by saying things like "I'm just speaking out of concern," "I'm just venting my frustrations about them," or "They really need our prayers," but that doesn't change that it's' a sin. It turns people against each other, divides families, destroys friendships, and damages their walks with God.

Another Scriptural warning to be taken from 'Trolled' is on the importance of taking responsibility, not trying to hide your sins. In the end, while Sam's trolling and gossiping were horrible, what truly condemned Sam was his refusal to then take responsibility for what he did. Even when his transformation was exposed to all the school, even when he was reminded that confessing what he had been doing as NoFace was the only way to change back and avoid his awful fate, he STILL couldn't bring himself to reveal his secret, and THAT was what destroyed him. In a sense, Sam's transformation can be seen as his rotten hidden sin manifesting itself in an outer way for all to see, causing the formerly rather handsome young man to turn into a monster as ugly on the outside as he clearly was on the inside, and be preserved that way forever. On top of all that, his foul secret ended up being revealed anyway when the school seized his computer.
We, likewise, might think that when we sin, nobody is watching and nobody will ever find out about it, but God sees all, and will bring all of it to light in time. 1 Corinthians 4:5 points out that a time will come when God "Will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart." Jesus said in John 3:20 that "Everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works be exposed."
The Devil loves when people try to keep their sins and struggles a secret, so they don't set out to get any help for it. That way, the guilt and pain over it can just keep growing within them and overtaking them, just like Sam's transformation in 'Trolled' did for him. It is through openly admitting our sins and inner struggles to God and to people we know we can trust that we can overcome them and live in the victory and peace that Christ offers. 1 John 1:9 says that "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."
Through avoiding such toxic sins as gossip and through being honest and open when we do stumble, we can persevere in our walks with God and not allow Satan to "Troll" us anymore.
That's all for this edition of the Nightcrawler Experience. Hope you liked it, and stay tuned, as I should hopefully have the final entry in this Halloween series of entries up by the night in question. Until then, may God bless you all!

The Deaths of God's Saints: A tribute to Bob from 'Stranger Things.'

Hello again everyone, and welcome back to the Nightcrawler Experience!
This will be the first part of what I'm hoping will be a three- part Halloween installment for this blog. In this entry, I'll be looking at a hit sci- fi/ horror series and an observation I was recently given about it:
 A couple times over the last year or so, I've been given month- long free memberships to Netflix. I've used them to, among other things, introduce myself to the popular Netflix series known as 'Stranger Things.'


This series has really put Netflix on the map; It's got an enormous, dedicated fanbase, and this October even has a haunted house/ maze based around it at Universal Studios' Halloween Horror Nights event (A friend of mine from church is one of the "Scareactors" in it). Watching it for myself, I can see why: It is a great, intriguing show with solid writing and wonderful acting, particularly from the child actors. The effects are top- notch too, and it can have both scares and humor, and some good dramatic moments as well.
DISCLAIMER: While some of this show's main characters are kids, the show is assuredly NOT for kids. It has a lot of language, and also significant amounts of violence and scary imagery at some points. Exercise caution before seeing it yourself if you're sensitive to such material, or letting kids see it.
SPOILERS!
For those unfamiliar with it, the show takes place in a town called Hawkins, Indiana in the early 1980s. In the first episode, a middle- school- aged boy named Will Byers disappears under very mysterious circumstances, yet both his dedicated mother Joyce and his geeky but loyal friends Mike, Dustin and Lucas are convinced he's still alive. In their quest to prove this and eventually save him, they uncover top secret experiments being conducted in their town, a hidden dimension nicknamed "The Upside- Down," a nasty- looking monster, and a mysterious girl known as "Eleven," or "Elle" for short, with several fascinating abilities.

Now that I've brought you up to speed on it, I'll get more to my point. An interesting thing about the 'Stranger Things' fanbase is that many of them greatly loved and mourned the passing of a fairly minor character from Season 1, named Barb.  She's a character who was only seen in a few episodes before being abruptly killed off, and we consequently know very little about her, yet a massive fan- following was built around her. There was even a hashtag created, #JusticeForBarb, and a book put out about her.

As sad as Barb's death was, though, I was far more affected by another ill- fated character from the show: A man named Bob Newby who is first introduced during the show's most recent season, Season 2.


(Meet Bob. Credit for this image goes to the user ZeroZeroEight on the 'Stranger Things' wiki)

Some of you may recognize his actor as Sean Astin, the actor best known for playing Mikey Walsh in 'The Goonies' (One of my all- time favorite movies) and Samwise "Sam" Gamgee in the 'Lord of the Rings' films (All of which are ALSO among my favorite movies), and Bob is as likable of a character as both of them were.

Season 2 picks up about a year after Season 1. Will's back, and things seem to have mostly gone back to normal in Hawkins. This of course doesn't last long, though, and a lot of new developments happen, such as Will experiencing strange visions, a new girl coming to town and causing some friction among the main boys, the crude school bully Steve very gradually becoming one of the good guys, and Elle learning more about her identity and her past.

This season is also when Bob first comes into play. Bob runs a Radio Shack in town, and has begun dating Will's mom Joyce some time between the two seasons. He's trying to win over Will and his older brother Jonathan, and he and Will do indeed begin bonding well. Bob is revealed to be quite a clever guy, with a love of puzzles and brain- teasers, as well as a kind heart and an earnest desire to help Joyce and her sons in any way he can. Midway through the season, he brilliantly manages to decipher a kind of map relating to the Upside Down, and in so doing saves the life of another major character on the show, Chief Hopper.

Sadly, things take a tragic turn in the second- to- last episode of Season 2, 'The Mind- Flayer.' Bob and a number of other characters, including Will and Joyce, are trapped inside of a research lab which has been besieged by horrible monsters from the Upside- Down, which a character nicknames "Demodogs." The heroes can't get out, because the facility's power is out and thus the entire place is on lockdown, and they know it's only a matter of time before the Demodogs discover what room they're hiding in and make a meal out of them.

Bob makes the incredibly brave decision to go down into the lab's breaker room (Which could potentially make himself a prime target for the Demodogs), because he's the only one of them with the computer skills needed to get the power back on and reset the locks so they can escape. Joyce pleads with him to reconsider, knowing this is just shy of a suicide mission, but he responds with a smile, "It's gonna be okay. Remember, Bob Newby, superhero."
Bob manages to successfully get the power back on, so Joyce and the others are able to get out safely. Heart- breakingly, just as Bob has made it to the facility's lobby and is about to escape along with them, a Demodog out of nowhere tackles him to the ground and kills him.

When the others have made it back to  one of their houses, many of them are of course mourning the loss of good old Bob. In this scene, the boy Mike reveals to his buddies that, when Bob was attending Hawkins Middle School as a boy, HE was the one who first founded the school's A.V. club that they're all members of, and even organized a fundraiser to get all of its equipment.

As sad as I already was at Bob's death, hearing that made it all the more moving for me. That revelation helped confirm that, as a kid, Bob was a lot like the four main boys on the show. He ended up being sort of like a precursor to them.

 It kind of ties into Sean Astin's performance as Mikey in 'The Goonies,' as it reminds me of the scene when Mikey is talking to the skeleton of the pirate leader One- Eyed Willie and tells him, "You're the first Goonie."

In the end of the season, of course, the heroes manage to save the town, and in the season finale's epilogue, we see that Will's fridge is now decorated with a new picture he drew, depicting Bob as a superhero.


(A fitting tribute to a hero; Credit for this image goes to the user "AquaTerra7" on the 'Stranger Things' wiki)

I was guided to write this entry partly because a fair number of good, righteous people I've known have died this year. You may recall I dedicated my review of 'Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade' to the memory of two of them, John Knapp and Joseph "Teak" Black. Well, more have passed as well this year, such as Megan (An old church friend of mine who, like Teak, accompanied me on several Cat Island missions trips, but sadly succumbed to cancer this summer) and Perry (An old family friend). I've mourned every one of them deeply.
In thinking of those losses, and Bob's death on 'Stranger Things,' a verse from Scripture popped into my head: Psalm 116:15, which says that "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints."
Now, on the surface, that doesn't seem to make a lot of sense: You'd think that God would mourn or condemn when good, righteous people who've served Him die.
However, that's where things get tricky: One way of looking at it is that it's showing God honors their service to Him throughout their lives. Another which I read somewhere was that those who are redeemed by the blood of Jesus are thus regarded as so precious and beloved by God that even their deaths are seen as precious to Him. There's also the matter of how to define the word "Precious." It suggests that they are of great value to God, and also that their deaths are very important to God and of great value, not something to be taken lightly. In 'Stranger Things,' it is clear almost immediately that the show's heroes will never take Bob's noble death lightly, and they will remember both that and the good life he led. Similarly, in real life, when we lose those we love, we must not treat their deaths lightly, or fail to properly honor them.

Another issue I feel I should bring up to help convey my point is the way that verse uses the term "Saints." As a United Methodist, I do not have the same view of saints that Roman Catholics do, that they have been canonized and have official feast days during the year and whatnot.
Rather, when I personally think of that term, it calls to mind a sermon I once heard while in seminary: It involved us seeing "Saints" as those people in our own lives who helped shape us into who we are, and influenced our walks with God. It then led to us thinking about who some of the "Saints" in our lives are.
In that sense, on 'Stranger Things,' Bob can be seen as someone who was a "Saint" in the lives of Joyce and the four main boys. He provided them with strength, courage, comfort, and inspiration. He had helped found the club that the four main boys were all members of. Last, but certainly not least, he was willing to perform a mission that he had to have known he probably wouldn't return from in one piece, because he knew it was the only way to save all of their lives.
Likewise, in real life, John, Teak, Meg, and Perry were a few of the MANY "Saints" in my life. Each of them, in their own ways, impacted my life and helped shape my own knowledge of who I am in Christ. For that reason, I will always remember them and honor the legacies they left behind, in my life and the lives of others.
So, I leave you with a question: Who are the saints in YOUR life, the people who helped shape your walk with God? If they are those who've passed on and entered God's Kingdom, ensure that their memory endures forever through following the good examples they've set. If they're people that are still alive, find a way to let them know what an impact they had on you, and how much it means to you.
That's all for this edition of the Nightcrawler Experience. Keep an eye out the next few days as I do the other Halloween- related entry/ entries. Until then, God bless you all!