A few months ago I read a scary
story. Except it wasn’t just a story—an idea
turned into a novel, a book with a plot, a problem and a solution and
interesting twists and turns along the way. This was a non-fiction book, by a
respected author, written after much research. It was about how world-views are
changing, and in the process much of society has adopted the position that
personhood is more valuable than humanness.
One of
the things that stood out was all persons are humans, but not all humans are persons.
Yeah, it seems that not all humans have the necessary qualifications of
personhood. As such abortion and euthanasia are not only accepted, but often
encouraged. A fetus is not a functioning member of society, so doesn’t enjoy
personhood. Children, as cute and engaging as they may be can’t really make informed
decisions about what’s best for them, and so are not really persons. And disabled
or handicapped humans—since they can’t fully participate in what some people
consider a ‘normal, fulfilling life” really aren’t persons either, even though
we do consider them to be human.
There
were other things addressed in this book, and by the way, the author was
reporting on the phenomenon of personhood, not advocating it, that if widely
embraced would definitely be taking society down a slippery path. Many of the ‘solutions’
considered acceptable within this world view fly directly in the face of a
basic Christian worldview. For example
abortion is widely accepted, early, late, or very late term. If an embryo or
fetus is inconvenient, head for the clinic. But it goes even further, since a
child hasn’t reached personhood, if he or she becomes inconvenient, there’s no
reason to let ‘it”—human but not a person—continue to disrupt your life. Post-partum
abortion.
With that
worldview still gnawing at me, I was eager to blog about a movie that will be
released on Blue-ray/DVD and several VOD platforms on Tuesday May 8. It address
evil, not the evil of abortion, as you might expect, but a supernatural evil
(remember this is a movie) that invades a family when decisions need to be made
about an unexpected pregnancy. It’s an older couple that finds they’re
expecting, and all options are on the table as they discuss the medical risks,
the financial burden, and how a baby will impact the family dynamics since they
have a teenaged daughter. Evil comes
into the house, strange things happen to the daughter, and the family can’t
imagine why.
I’m all
too familiar with the scenario. I had recently retired after an Air Force
career, we had been married a few years and had no children. Both of us were a
little older, (my younger brother already had an adult child), and we were
thinking that retirement on a beach in Mexico would be an option, but a routine
visit to the clinic changed everything. One comment before getting a
prescription led to a pregnancy test. And suddenly we were making different
plans. We struggled with some of the suggestions, and finally decided that even
though this was a high-risk pregnancy because of our ages, that we were going
to refuse the genetic testing.
Invasive
procedures involve risk, and we had no intention of aborting, regardless of
what the test showed. Some of those tests early on show an abnormality, but don’t
tell you the extent of the problem. We made the decision to have a baby and
love him or her regardless of issues. There were a couple of problems near the
end of the pregnancy, but we have a healthy son who is the joy of my heart.
Wraith
tells the story, and makes a point about which the writer-director feels very
strongly. Human life is sacred. We’re created in the image of God, and as such
should love like God loves. Michael O. Sajbel (director of One Night with the King (the story of Esther)) wanted to be a voice
for those who do not yet have a voice, but he wanted to add an interesting plot
twist rather than film a documentary about how we should view all life. The result
is Wraith.
OFFICIAL
SYNOPSIS:
Wraith (rāth) noun: a ghost or
ghostlike image of someone, especially one seen after, or shortly before, their
death
Something’s very wrong in the Lukens’
house.
After living uneventfully for years in their
historic home, the Lukens family have somehow awakened a ghostly presence. Who
is this frightening spirit and why won’t it leave their 14 year-old daughter,
Lucy, alone?
Everything changed when Dennis and
Katie Lukens discovered they were pregnant again. Expecting in your 40’s is
always high-risk and dangerous, so when the Lukens decide all options are on
the table - including termination - the unexpected starts to happen. Sinister
forces are now conspiring against the family. But is this eerie, wraith-like
spirit actually trying to haunt them...or help them?
Wraith is available on all VOD
platforms and Blu-ray/DVD May 8th.
watch the trailer here
No comments:
Post a Comment