Wandering Elder

  In the movie “Avengers: Infinity War,” the on-screen villain of Thanos is depicted, remarkably, as a sympathetic character who is at once a father and a being under utter conviction of the righteousness of his cause: the annihilation of half of the universe.   It is a departure in many cases from the Thanos depicted in the Infinity Gauntlet/Infinity War comic series from Marvel Comics.   Nevertheless, it is a compelling narrative and not without a striking biblical parallel in the patriarch Abraham – in particular the troubling pericope of the intended sacrifice of Isaac. In the book of Genesis, Abraham (originally named Abram) is called by God to “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.” [i]   Abraham is depicted as a devotee of God who will argue with God on behalf of Sodom, [ii] become the promised father of multitudes, [iii] and have children in his advanced age.   In particular, Abraham will...

I have been an admirer of Star Trek for a long time.  I am not as big a fan as some of my friends - I tended to prefer Star Wars, but I wouldn't argue one is better than the other.  They both are wonderful and imaginative worlds in which I enjoyed playing as a child.  When I was young, Star Trek (the original series) was being played in re-runs on Sunday afternoons.  My dad watched it pretty frequently and, therefore, so did I (usually while playing with Star Wars toys - you have to admit, Star Wars did  beat Star Trek on the toy front).  I enjoyed the shows and the special effects were great (remember, I was a kid and easily impressed), as I would also think when I saw some Dr. Who shows from the 70s.  It wouldn't be until later that I began to realize that the effects were not as good as I remembered.  I have no problem with that.  Movies and television shows are always a product of their time, both in their use of technology on and off...