Phantom.
I saw the Phantom of the Opera today. I thought it was pretty good...and it left me thinking about some issues. After watching it, my friend asked me if I felt sorry for the phantom. I think I did...right from the scene which showed he was a young boy being beaten in a cage just because of his scarred face. That was horrific. I feel just awful for the fact that he was shunned and unmercifully treated due to his appearance.
Of course, he did many horrible things to harm people; and even killed. I am not saying that these things can be easily forgiven or dismissed. However, I think it is unfair to judge his actions of killing just based on 'madness.' An action taken by a person cannot be judged just at that time period that it happened, as I am sure there are reasons as to why he acted the way he did. People do not simply kill. There must be a reason, or reasons. For the phantom, it was his background which led him to become who he was. He was mistreated, and unloved due to his physical aberration. He never did experience a human's touch and love. This isolation of human's love led him to crave for love, and when he did find love in Christine, he was obsessed with her due to this need to be loved and to love. Certainly this background of his does not justify his wrong behaviour, however, I think whenever we do 'judge,' we have to take into account the life and background of a person, and try to understand why they did what they did.
I was talking to a long time friend yesterday. We were discussing about 'stupid things that people do.' Of course, we have different reservations about it. However, I feel so strongly that we should not brush away people who does 'stupid things' ; alcoholics, rapist, murderers, liars, people who do not conform to the norms in the society. They do not simply do those things for fun. There must be reasons as to why they did those things. I think it is so important to look at the person's background and try to feel for them, to understand things that led to their behaviour. Here in Edmonton, many people regard homeless people as 'lazy bums who saps off taxpayer's money.' I do not think that is entirely true. To judge them based on the appearance of it all can be deceiving. How sure are we that they did not try to get a job? Not everything can be judged by the looks of it. There could be many reasons as to why they just could not hold or find a job; mental illness, social problems, stresses in life, and so many other reasons. It is so important to try to understand those reasons, and feel for the people.
I think a lot of these deals with the notion of grace. Grace is when we are forgiven and shown mercy when we least deserve it. Come on, I am sure each one of us have done at least one 'bad' thing in life. And, should we just be judged by what we did, and be shunned away by others? If it were so, I think life would be meaningless. We do "sin and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) And did God shun us out because of our sins? No...He chose to send His beloved son Jesus to save us by dying on the cross, so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:16). I always think of this as the greatest grace I have experienced.
And in the phantom of the opera, the phantom received this 'grace,' when Christine asked God to give her the strength and courage to love him. She then kissed him. I think this kiss really symbolized the grace which she shown him...in wanting to love him despite his evil deeds. And, by receiving this grace, the phantom experienced a sense of love and human touch that rocked him to come to his senses, that what he was doing was wrong. With this, he let Christine and Ralph go.
I think in so many ways, as when we have experienced this grace, of being in a sinful state yet having the joy of experiencing love and forgiveness, we should extend this grace to others. Love your neighbours as yourself is God's command to all of us. Be it a murderer or a rapist, or our irritating young brother who does 'stupid' things, I hope we will all extend grace. And if you have not experienced grace, I hope you will come to know the meaning of grace.
Of course, he did many horrible things to harm people; and even killed. I am not saying that these things can be easily forgiven or dismissed. However, I think it is unfair to judge his actions of killing just based on 'madness.' An action taken by a person cannot be judged just at that time period that it happened, as I am sure there are reasons as to why he acted the way he did. People do not simply kill. There must be a reason, or reasons. For the phantom, it was his background which led him to become who he was. He was mistreated, and unloved due to his physical aberration. He never did experience a human's touch and love. This isolation of human's love led him to crave for love, and when he did find love in Christine, he was obsessed with her due to this need to be loved and to love. Certainly this background of his does not justify his wrong behaviour, however, I think whenever we do 'judge,' we have to take into account the life and background of a person, and try to understand why they did what they did.
I was talking to a long time friend yesterday. We were discussing about 'stupid things that people do.' Of course, we have different reservations about it. However, I feel so strongly that we should not brush away people who does 'stupid things' ; alcoholics, rapist, murderers, liars, people who do not conform to the norms in the society. They do not simply do those things for fun. There must be reasons as to why they did those things. I think it is so important to look at the person's background and try to feel for them, to understand things that led to their behaviour. Here in Edmonton, many people regard homeless people as 'lazy bums who saps off taxpayer's money.' I do not think that is entirely true. To judge them based on the appearance of it all can be deceiving. How sure are we that they did not try to get a job? Not everything can be judged by the looks of it. There could be many reasons as to why they just could not hold or find a job; mental illness, social problems, stresses in life, and so many other reasons. It is so important to try to understand those reasons, and feel for the people.
I think a lot of these deals with the notion of grace. Grace is when we are forgiven and shown mercy when we least deserve it. Come on, I am sure each one of us have done at least one 'bad' thing in life. And, should we just be judged by what we did, and be shunned away by others? If it were so, I think life would be meaningless. We do "sin and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) And did God shun us out because of our sins? No...He chose to send His beloved son Jesus to save us by dying on the cross, so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:16). I always think of this as the greatest grace I have experienced.
And in the phantom of the opera, the phantom received this 'grace,' when Christine asked God to give her the strength and courage to love him. She then kissed him. I think this kiss really symbolized the grace which she shown him...in wanting to love him despite his evil deeds. And, by receiving this grace, the phantom experienced a sense of love and human touch that rocked him to come to his senses, that what he was doing was wrong. With this, he let Christine and Ralph go.
I think in so many ways, as when we have experienced this grace, of being in a sinful state yet having the joy of experiencing love and forgiveness, we should extend this grace to others. Love your neighbours as yourself is God's command to all of us. Be it a murderer or a rapist, or our irritating young brother who does 'stupid' things, I hope we will all extend grace. And if you have not experienced grace, I hope you will come to know the meaning of grace.
posted by Grace at 1/05/2005 11:55:00 PM
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