Last week, when I saw the new movie of "Get Smart," I was immediately struck by Maxwell Smart's theory that CONTROL needed to see their enemies as people before they would ever make any real progress in defeating them. It's a theory that he later puts into practice in the film when he "converts" a KAOS member by talking to him about his family - on a human level. It's the easiest lesson of the film to catch, and I am not the only one who got it, I am sure. But, it bears repeating. The personal level of the heart is where true conversion, true forgiveness, and true peace come from. Our Christian faith, and all of the truths and ways of living that arise from it, are matters of the heart and not of the mind. Those who rebel against the Faith do so based on contrivances of their intellects, which, if truth be told, often have been clouded by something or another. This was something that Cardinal John Henry Newman knew when he once said, "The rejection of Christianity is to arise from a fault of the heart, not of the intellect." Our relationship with the Lord -our life of faith - is a matter of the heart. Those who do not see that have missed something - missed it, perhaps, by that much? (Sorry - couldn't resist!)
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Get Smart - And Love Your Enemies
Last week, when I saw the new movie of "Get Smart," I was immediately struck by Maxwell Smart's theory that CONTROL needed to see their enemies as people before they would ever make any real progress in defeating them. It's a theory that he later puts into practice in the film when he "converts" a KAOS member by talking to him about his family - on a human level. It's the easiest lesson of the film to catch, and I am not the only one who got it, I am sure. But, it bears repeating. The personal level of the heart is where true conversion, true forgiveness, and true peace come from. Our Christian faith, and all of the truths and ways of living that arise from it, are matters of the heart and not of the mind. Those who rebel against the Faith do so based on contrivances of their intellects, which, if truth be told, often have been clouded by something or another. This was something that Cardinal John Henry Newman knew when he once said, "The rejection of Christianity is to arise from a fault of the heart, not of the intellect." Our relationship with the Lord -our life of faith - is a matter of the heart. Those who do not see that have missed something - missed it, perhaps, by that much? (Sorry - couldn't resist!)
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1 comments:
I haven't seen the movie yet, but I like your point. It reminds me of an srtivle years ago in the Sunday Sun. The KKK had been increasing in Maryland, and an African-American decided to be a one man mission to end the KKK. He knocked on the door of the KKK Supreme wizard in Annapolis and introduced himself. He said "I an a black man and a person. I want you to get to know me." He kept coming back and meeting with the wizard until the man resigned from the KKK. Then he went on the the next in command. He felt that meeting his enemies one-on-one, as a person, would disarm their hatred. I was very impressed.
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