How do you describe the struggle between the conflicting desires in the heart to do good and to do evil?
If you're Paul, the Johnny-come-lately apostle, you write this to your friends in Rome: "For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing." We all understand those words. We experience daily the same battle Paul did. "For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do." Who doesn't live that?! "What a wretched man I am!" we scream with Paul. "Who will rescue me from this body of death?" And then we fall on our faces before God in worship: "Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (See Romans 7 for more.)
But if you're Ted Dekker, you don't lay it out quite so neatly. You write Thr3e, a psychological thriller that graphically depicts man's fight to do what's right when evil tempts and the sin nature begs to be set free to wreck havoc. Thr3e is full of twists and turns and a climax that will blow you away. (My wife couldn't sleep for Thr3e weeks after she read it.) And truth shines out through dozens of not-too-cumbersome theological conversations between Kevin Parsons and his seminary professor. As they discuss the fight against sin's rule, we're given ample opportunity to ponder our own inward bent toward evil.
And now for the movie! I saw an ad yesterday, got excited and went to see the celluloid version of Dekker's tale tonight. It was well-paced, suspenseful (even for those who've read the book and know the ending) and kept much of the original storyline intact. (It might be a bit too intense for some. I'm warning you. It is a thriller and it deserves its PG-13 rating.) I have but one gripe. Something was missing - and desperately needed in my humble opinion. It was those long theological conversations. Readers of the book will long for the interplay of student and instructor. The film's professor makes a couple of profound statements at the very beginning, has a brief conversation with Kevin after class and then doesn't show up again until after the movie's climax. As he talks with Jennifer, a police profiler, while walking the grounds of a mental hospital, he corrects her erroneous conclusion (can't say more without ruining the final twist) saying, "No, we need God." A true statement to be sure. We do need God's help to overcome sin. We cannot do it on our own. But on screen, without the deep conversations the book provides - I hate to say this - his words sound empty. And God certainly did not show up in the two hours of action I watched to help Kevin.
I don't know what to say. I'd like to recommend the movie. It was well done. But...read the book!
If you're Paul, the Johnny-come-lately apostle, you write this to your friends in Rome: "For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing." We all understand those words. We experience daily the same battle Paul did. "For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do." Who doesn't live that?! "What a wretched man I am!" we scream with Paul. "Who will rescue me from this body of death?" And then we fall on our faces before God in worship: "Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (See Romans 7 for more.)
But if you're Ted Dekker, you don't lay it out quite so neatly. You write Thr3e, a psychological thriller that graphically depicts man's fight to do what's right when evil tempts and the sin nature begs to be set free to wreck havoc. Thr3e is full of twists and turns and a climax that will blow you away. (My wife couldn't sleep for Thr3e weeks after she read it.) And truth shines out through dozens of not-too-cumbersome theological conversations between Kevin Parsons and his seminary professor. As they discuss the fight against sin's rule, we're given ample opportunity to ponder our own inward bent toward evil.
And now for the movie! I saw an ad yesterday, got excited and went to see the celluloid version of Dekker's tale tonight. It was well-paced, suspenseful (even for those who've read the book and know the ending) and kept much of the original storyline intact. (It might be a bit too intense for some. I'm warning you. It is a thriller and it deserves its PG-13 rating.) I have but one gripe. Something was missing - and desperately needed in my humble opinion. It was those long theological conversations. Readers of the book will long for the interplay of student and instructor. The film's professor makes a couple of profound statements at the very beginning, has a brief conversation with Kevin after class and then doesn't show up again until after the movie's climax. As he talks with Jennifer, a police profiler, while walking the grounds of a mental hospital, he corrects her erroneous conclusion (can't say more without ruining the final twist) saying, "No, we need God." A true statement to be sure. We do need God's help to overcome sin. We cannot do it on our own. But on screen, without the deep conversations the book provides - I hate to say this - his words sound empty. And God certainly did not show up in the two hours of action I watched to help Kevin.
I don't know what to say. I'd like to recommend the movie. It was well done. But...read the book!
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