"The Prince of Egypt" gave me a shock that no other movie has. This shock comes from the beauty of religion. Any magnificent scene, spectacular scene, will be eclipsed in front of this theological picture. There were religions in ancient China, but the level is far from comparable to that of Israel. I have read some of the "Bible" before, but I don't understand it very well. I only feel some flat moral lessons. But the movie shows this kind of religious life: It turns out that there is such a group of people in the world living under the envelope of God, faithfully believing in God, praying and blessing every day, the fire of sulfur will come down from the sky, and the judgment will come to the world. Burn all the evil on the ground. People are saved by faith and go to the "land flowing with milk and honey." This kind of worldview gave me an unprecedented impact.
However, many comments on the Internet disagree, accusing God of using violence to control violence. Or violate human rights. I think this accusation is partly reasonable, but I made a mistake of not putting the incident in the historical and religious context. We look at the early history of mankind with modern values and judge God with human eyes. Someone told me that Jehovah created man and originally loved him, but mankind is full of sins and did everything that hurts the world. Adam and Eve ate the fruit and were driven out of the Garden of Eden by God; their children continued to do evil, Cain Killed his brother Abel so that he could not meet with God. During Noah's time, there were sins everywhere, and God brought disasters and destroyed all people except Noah's family. God’s destruction of man is a question of human destiny, a question of "To Be or not to Be", not a question of violence against violence, or a question of human rights and sovereignty. Modern literature and art like to describe people who acted as saviors and judges of him. These people often end up ridiculously falling from power. Although these stories are reasonable, in my opinion they do not constitute a blow to religion, because these literature and art describe people, and " The Bible speaks of God. No one has seen the time of Moses, which gave people the freedom to imagine and fabricate. When Americans make movies, they always like to promote their set of values in the film. Different peoples French kiss on the silver screen, speak fatty American English, and open their mouths for freedom. Moses said freedom several times in the film, but Moses in the "Bible" didn't seem to say this word. He just implemented God's will.
Later, God changed his way from destroying people to saving people. This approach is to send his beloved son Jesus Christ to the world. Jesus used his crucifixion to bear the suffering and sins of the world with his innocent body, thus completing the salvation of mankind. This is a religious statement.
It is said that the tragedy of ancient Greece is: everyone in the play did nothing wrong, but the final result is tragic. "Prince of Egypt" also meets this condition. Moses and Pharaoh grew up together and had a deep relationship with each other. When they met again many years later, Pharaoh was still convicting Moses. However, Pharaoh represented Egypt's royal power and slavery. He wanted to protect the inheritance that his father king gave him, and Moses was called by God to come and take away his people. So tragedy inevitably happened, ten plagues fell from heaven, and Pharaoh finally succumbed. Some would say that if Pharaoh had released the slave long ago, the matter would be resolved. This argument still adds the values of the 21st century to the ancients. People are always very limited. Even Moses, his actions are to know that he is an Israeli. After a painful struggle, he has suffered. Made after God's call. The Pharaoh hadn't experienced all of this, and his identity was different, so he was inevitably hardened and refused to give in. So this story is actually a tragedy caused by human finitude.
When Moses was the prince of Egypt, his eyes were young, mad, innocent, and innocent. Later, when he was holding the staff given to him by God, he was already a middle-aged man, and his eyes turned into commitment and compassion. . When Moses was first called by God, he was full of fear and doubt, but with faith and courage, he went to see Pharaoh alone in a humble capacity, fought against the kingship of Egypt and many (false) gods, and saved his people from suffering. , This is his greatness. The essence of this movie is clearly stated in the theme song "When You Believe". I believe in such a statement, and do not believe that "Moses is just a tool of God" as some people say.
I have read the "Bible" at home these days and read some chapters of the "New Testament", but I haven't read much of the "Old Testament" yet. Sometimes I get lost in life and I can't find what I want. It seems that neither interpersonal relationships nor fame and achievements can satisfy one's heart. But if you want to ask me what I want, I can't answer it myself. We are born in a place where there is no religious belief. People don't know what to believe, and the soul cannot find its support. If the vacancy in people's hearts can only be filled by God, then the path we have traveled left an unimaginable gap.
2009.02.10
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