Thursday, July 26, 2007

Premonition

I'm not turning into a movie reviewer, but I thought I'd comment on this title-linked film. My wife and I were unimpressed, as the timeline jumping was never explained. However, I made a very intriguing observation mid-way through, and found the end to confirm my thoughts. As in the film DejaVu, with Denzel Washington, Sandra Bullock's every move was intended to keep the known-future from coming to pass. But just like with DejaVu, her every move proved to actually bring the future into the present.

Theologically, this principle fits with divine sovereignty and human freedom. Folks often get caught up in the predestination / free will debate, but there's nothing to debate. Both are true, as both of the aforementioned films confirm, in the sense that God has indeed ordained whatsoever comes to pass and that man's decisions are uncoerced by God. The Westminster divines understood this principle long ago (from chapter 3 of The Confession):

I. God from all eternity did by the most and holy counsel of His own will, freely and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass; yet so as thereby neither is God the author of sin; nor is violence offered to the will of the creatures, nor is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established.

II. Although God knows whatsoever may or can come to pass, upon all supposed conditions; yet hath He not decreed any thing because He foresaw it as future, as that which would come to pass, upon such conditions.

VI. As God hath appointed the elect unto glory, so hath He, by the eternal and most free purpose of His will, foreordained all the means thereunto.

I find in interesting that Hollywood has begun to dabble in this "mystery" with these and other films (The Matrix Reloaded, for example). Again, the Westminster divines had this "mystery" pegged:

VIII. The doctrine of this high mystery of predestination is to be handled with special prudence and care, that men attending to the will of God revealed in His Word, and yielding obedience thereunto, may, from the certainty of their effectual vocation, be assured of their eternal election. So shall this doctrine afford matter of praise, reverence, and admiration of God; and of humility, diligence, and abundant consolation to all that sincerely obey the gospel.

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