Chad's spot for various thoughts, musings, poetry, ideas and whatnot

Thursday, December 18, 2003

Purpose

After watching all of the movies in the Matrix trilogy I have begun to consider the idea of purpose with a good deal of interest. Why, you might ask? Well it seems that one of the big movements within the evangelical/fundamentalist portion of American Christianity is that of the "purpose-driven" something or another, i.e.-church, life, faith, etc. Lots of churches are reading Rick Warren's books and holding "forty days of purpose" things that, to me, look an awful lot like Lenten or Advent periods of focusing on one's calling as a Christian and an evaluation of one's faith. I see nothing wrong with this other than treating it like it's a new or inventive idea when traditional, ecumenical Christianity (and other faiths to be sure) have been doing this for literally millenia.

What is both intriguing and concerning me is the idea of "purpose". In Warren's book you have a set of things both inate and given by God upon your receipt of the Holy Spirit that he calls your "SHAPE" (an anacronym that is supposed to help to remind you of this). This combination has been given to you to be used to further God's kingdom in some way. From my studies of the New Testament, especially Paul's writings to the church in Corinth, there do seem to be people whom God has gifted so that they might have specific purposes within the Body of Christ and fulfill certain roles.

So, where does The Matrix Trilogy and its various philosophical examinations come in? In the second movie, when Neo finally meets the now unplugged Agent Smith we are treated to a wonderful monologue about purpose from Smith's eyes. According to Smith we are all created with a purpose and if we are not able to fulfil this purpose we are to be removed from the system. This idea is further developed and expanded upon by another agent during the freeway fight scene and by the Merovengian. It is a very mechanistic view of purpose. In the third movie, Neo meets a little girl/program that has been created by her parents and who has no purpose according to the machine view. She is scheduled for deletion and is thus smuggled into the matrix to be hidden and protected.

What this brings me to wonder is what we are saying about people with this focus on being "purpose driven". Does God really give everyone gifts to further His kingdom is highly tangible and measurable ways? What about those whose gifts are not clearly defined (such as with the little girl in the matrix who seems to be able to "only" create beauty, something unnecessary to the machines)? Are we to dinigrate the gifts God has given them? What about those who have not been gifted because they haven't found God? Are we to write them off has having nothing to offer in the way of wisdom or insight on matters of faith and living?

I'm still working this through in my own mind. Tied up in all of this are the ideas of free will and determinism. Once we choose Christ, receive the Holy Spirit and, presumably, are gifted; do we receive static gifts that cannot change or develop or mature? Do we now have the obligation to develop what our choice has given us or is there some flexibility? Lots and lots of questions in this line of thought but they seem to be good ones. What I can say is that I believe those of us Christians who are looking towards the idea of purpose had best be careful in where we go with this idea. On one extreme lies Christian utilitarianism and the serious philosophical and practical problems that ideology holds. On the other lies a form of "cheap grace" wherein one's faith amounts to little more than belief and their is no burden of the saved.

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