(this is an old facebook note i decided to transfer for the sake of ease)
Everything in the movie was spectacular. The Dark Knight might be the best movie I’ve ever seen, and easily top five. The special effects were breathtaking. The Bat-cycle was BA. The acting was superb, and Ledger left his mark by producing probably the best villain performance ever. I said it, ever. Character development, which I’m a fan of, was spot on too. Then there is the plot, which was by far the best quality of the movie.
I got really emotional at the end, the part in which Batman becomes the sacrifice by taking the blame to redeem Gotham city. He does so by taking the punishment (being hunted, hated, pain) of a criminal when he clearly doesn’t deserve it. Batman, at the end of the movie, is a savior. There is another story of a savior that closely mirrors the plot of The Dark Knight, and that is the narrative of the bible (or vice versa in my opinion).
Check this out. In the beginning of the bible narrative there is God (Batman in the form of Bruce Wayne), then the fall of Satan (the Joker). Satan is the embodiment of evil. His prideful self seeks rule over the universe. He seeks pain and destruction of whatever brings God satisfaction. God is most satisfied with his relationships with people (Burce’s relationship with Rachel Dawes). The first action against Satan was the construction of a chosen nation/people (Harvey Dent). The disease of sin, facilitated by Satan and a selfish will, causes this to fail. In this time of failure, we still see God as faithful and often interceding (Bruce hiding Harvey from the Joker during the party, Bruce’s financial funding, Batman grabbing the coin to stop Two Face from shooting). Nevertheless, time after time, the chosen people forsake God, and tricked by Satan, they turn from God and pursue matters other than redeeming the world. (Harvey Dent’s transformation to Two-Face) Now God, filled with love, decides to take matters into His own hands, he changes forms in order to interact with the world (Bruce to Batman). He came to this world as Jesus. Just like there are laws governing nature, such as physics, the bible puts forth spiritual laws. A major paradigm is the notion of justice. The bible explains that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” It also explains that because of these sins, we’re unable to have a relationship with God (think Bruce can’t have a relationship with Rachel Dawes not necessarily because of Batman’s existence, but because of the evil that is surrounding them).
Out of God’s mercy, he creates a way in which to get rid of these sins (Batman fighting evil). Within the spiritual laws, and upholding justice, God finds everyone guilty, but in a wonderful act of love, he takes upon the punishment Himself. God makes a relationship with him possible by taking a sinners death on the cross while he did not deserve it. (Batman taking the blame for things he did not do, if Rachel Dawes didn’t die in the explosion, a relationship would have been possible between Bruce and her; hey, it is not a perfect analogy). In this act, Satan was defeated, but not destroyed. (Joker’s plan in releasing all of the mob by discrediting is foiled by Batman taking the blame; justice is served by treating Batman as a criminal, as he is running in pain from the police at the end). This is when the Biblical narrative overlaps with the current times.
(this was originally an old note on facebook. I thought I'd compile everything on one site)
Christians, I would define, are people who believe in Jesus as their lord and savior. Savior means that they believe that Jesus was sinless and perfect and paid for their punishment. Lord means that they follow Jesus’ instructions and try to emulate his life. Christians are also commanded to tell others the news of Jesus. In line of the analogy, Christians would be the people who know and believe that Batman did not have to take the blame, but did so to save everyone. Christians would be the people following Batman, and doing all that they could to further his cause. (think Gordon and his selflessness). Christians would be the ones who would explain to everyone that Joker’s plan has been defeated by the loving act of Batman. Christians would be the ones in opposition to those who follow the Joker.
Now the biblical narrative continues into the future, but states that we currently live in a time of great patience. The bible states that God, “is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”
It states that there is an end, a promise. A promise in which evil and Satan will be gone and all will be perfect. It states that those opposed to the Kingdom of God, opposition of His lordship and His outstretched hand of salvation, will be banished and destroyed forever. In line with the analogy, Batman chooses to use less than lethal force because he doesn’t want people to perish. He wants people to know that he has made a way for people to have a relationship with Bruce/Batman and to live with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. He wants people to follow his ways. But there will be a day when Batman decides to use lethal force and kill the Joker and those who follow him, as he has proven that he has the ability…
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