Tag Archives: humanity

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

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Shmuel is the name of the boy in the striped pajamas. He is an eight year old Jewish boy in a Nazi concentration camp. Bruno, the eight-year old son of the camp commandant meets Shmuel across the electric barbed wire fence. The film, based upon the book by John Boyne, uses this powerful story to explore issues of innocence, friendship, good, evil and what it means to be human.

As Catherine Barsotti and Robert Johnston say in their helpful book, Finding God in the Movies: 33 Films of Reel Faith,“ Successful movies do not merely transplant us somewhere new; they inspire us to become one with one of the characters.” And this film certainly does that. We look at the Holocaust through the eyes of an 8-year-old whose country and family would have him believe that the Jews were enemies and were getting what they deserved. But Bruno’s childlike identification with Shmuel tells him otherwise. — Breakpoint.org

This is a very powerful, emotionally gripping story with implications for our current culture and world situation. I encourage any adult who reads this blog post to go see the film, or read the book (it is not for children!)… then sit down over coffee with some friends and have an open discussion about it. There is a discussion guide available below to help.

Watch the movie trailer (above)

Book: Boy In the Striped Pajamas (Movie Tie-in Edition)

Discussion Guide: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

May we never forget.

9/11

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We just passed the 7th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks this past week. I had a few thoughts to share as I have reflected on that day and the changes in the years since then.

  • The world changed on that day. We can never go back to thinking about the world as we did before.
  • There really is such a thing as Evil. It was demonstrated on that day, and there was worldwide consensus on that fact.
  • Humans are capable of incredible acts of heroism, sacrifice and courage. We are also capable of despicable acts of cowardice, evil and violence. We are angels and demons.
  • Human nature tends to not change very much. 7 years after 9/11, it is hard to imagine or remember the non-partisan unity, sacrifice, care and pulling together we experienced as a nation. Sadly, it’s as if it never happened. Some of us can’t even bring ourselves to say the attacks were wrong or even tragic. Some say we got what we deserved.
  • Someday I fully expect there will be a term needed in our vocabulary to describe a belief held by many: “9/11 denial.”
  • The lessons of history are indeed easily forgotten, and as has been wisely observed, “Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”
  • The fact that we have not experienced additional attacks on our soil in 7 years is truly amazing and I think miraculous.
  • There are some things so valuable that they must be preserved at all cost. Freedom is a part of the human spirit placed in us by our Creator. That imago deo is what makes it an inalienable right. We must fight to preserve it at all costs.
  • If I had been younger on 9/11, I well may have joined the many who saw evil and wanted to do something about it by joining our armed forces.
  • I would rather die defending the freedom that God intended for us all, knowing that my life kept freedom alive for others… than to die preserving my own comfort and self interests.
  • There is no honor or courage in allowing one’s self to become slowly lulled back into a life of ease, contentedness and self-gratification, when there is a world dying at the hands of tyrants, vicious oppressors, demented cowards and fanatics.
  • Justice is a deeply embedded concept within the human spirit. We all live our lives as if it was obvious what is right and wrong, and on that basis what should be done so that justice is served… especially when the injustice is toward us. Yet we so easily deny that there are moral standards for knowing right and wrong. We end up going down the road where everyone does what is right in their own eyes. When we do this, we are cutting off the limb we are sitting on.