Becoming Theologically Aware

The purpose of this paper is to help you become sensitive
to the presence of theology and theological judgments when they are not
necessarily explicit. You will watch one of the movies listed below and write
an 4-5 page paper engaging ideas in
the movie that relate to our understanding of God, of creation, of the
relationship between reason and faith, salvation, and/or of human beings and
human happiness. Some of the questions you might ask yourself when you watch
the movie are: what is being said about God or what is being implied about God in the movie? How does
the movie depict human nature, and how does this line up with the Christian
understanding of human beings in the image of God? As sinful? What seems to be
the source of human happiness for this movie, and how does this relate to
Christianity’s understanding of human flourishing? What is being said about
“faith,” and how does it relate to reason? (You don’t need to use these questions. I placed them here to give you
an idea of what to ask yourself when you watch the movie.)

It’s up to you how you structure your paper. That’s part
of the creativity. But make sure to engage concrete parts of the movie; do not
talk in generalities, and do not—whatever you do, do not—simply describe what
goes on in the movie. Engage the judgments in the movie. It’s like a movie
review, except you are reviewing the movie’s theology (even if that theology is
not explicit).

You are not required to use secondary sources, but that
will help your paper. Also, use Chicago Manuel of Style to guide the writing of
the paper.

Movies: Tree of
Life (2011); Les Misérables (2012
or 1998 versions); The Village (2004)

No cover page is needed. Place your full name (and only
your full name) at the upper right of the paper. The paper should be
double-spaced, 12 pt Times New Roman font, 1” margins left and right, and page
numbers on upper right.