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Ephesians 3:17-18 - "I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ."
Review: Dr. Strange
Dr. Strange seems different than your typical superhero movie. I did not know much about the Marvel comic book character, Dr. Stephen Strange, before I saw this movie. There was certainly plenty of action and fight scenes in this movie, but there were also some deeper philosophical conversations woven into the plot. The dialogue and character choices gave me plenty to think about on the drive home. Here are a few thoughts:
Mysticism/Buddhism
One of the major aspects that sets Dr. Strange apart from other comic book movies is the abundance of magic, or mysticism, throughout the movie. We are accustomed to our superheroes acquiring supernatural powers through accidents (Spiderman), constructing their own special armor (Batman, Iron Man), or being aliens from another planet (Superman). Dr. Strange is the first major protagonist I can remember whose power comes entirely from spells and magic.
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The major conflict in this movie revolves around the decision to use magic for good or evil, for selflessness or selfishness. The magic in Dr. Strange seems to be influenced by Buddhist concepts. There is an emphasis on meditation as a way to unlock access to the power contained by other worlds. Dr. Strange ends up in a type of monastery filled with students who dress like Buddhist monks. An actual Buddhist monk was on set to help the actors with concepts involving the mind and concentration.
Reliance on magic would clash with a biblical worldview, which emphasizes reliance on God alone for our future. There are several points in the Bible where supernatural arts are strongly condemned by God. On one occasion King Saul goes to see a witch at Endor and is sharply rebuked for this practice. The appeal of magic often seems to be the power that the user can then wield over others. A biblical worldview involves seeing ourselves as servants of everyone else, as Christ came not to be served, but to serve.
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Buddhism is a religion organized around works righteousness. The path to what Buddhists consider salvation centers on karma and the amount of good things a person does. You can see that concept in Dr. Strange, as heavy emphasis is placed upon the transformation of the main character from a nasty human being to a good one.
Pride/Humility
The battle between pride and humility also takes center stage in Dr. Strange. When the movie begins, Stephen Strange is an arrogant and self-centered surgeon, who talks down to those around him. His love for costly things is evidenced by his collection of high-priced watches and the luxury car he crashes. Dr. Strange’s love interest is a fellow doctor, Christine Palmer. After Dr. Strange’s car accident, she patiently supports him. Ultimately Dr. Strange casts her aside one of the movie’s more painful scenes.
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Over the course of the movie, Dr. Strange is humbled by his circumstances. His identity had been entirely wrapped up in his outstanding surgical ability. Once robbed of that gift, he must come to terms with who he is as a person. This is a good conversation for us to have in a world that really wrestles with identity.
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What gives you value? Is it the things you own? Is it the abilities you have? Is it your popularity? Like Dr. Strange, we often have our identity wrapped up in hopelessly temporary things. The Bible shows us a much better way. Our identity comes entirely from what God has done for us in Christ. Our Baptism makes us a child of God; that’s who we are. This gives us a proper sense of humility, since we know that nothing good lives in us. All we have and are is what God gives to us through faith.
The Concept of Sacrifice
Like many superhero movies, Dr. Strange deals with the concept of sacrifice. It is revealed during the movie that a paralyzed man was able to make use of his mystical power in order to walk again. As a result, he leaves the monastery and goes back to his old life. He chooses to serve himself rather than defend the world from danger. Dr. Strange eventually must make the same choice. Does he use his power to fix his damaged hands and return to his old life? Or does he choose to sacrifice all he knew in exchange for the opportunity to help others?
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We recognize this as a sacrifice we make as Christians. As God’s redeemed people, we sacrifice the sinful ways of darkness, our old live. We put off the old self, or Old Adam, and instead live a new life of faith, which is created in us by the Holy Spirit through God’s Word and sacrament. We strive to help others rather than serve our own needs.
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At the climax of the movie Dr. Strange recognizes that he must sacrifice himself in order to save the world. In a very interesting scene, Dr. Strange allows himself to be killed over and over again in a time loop, something that seems distantly similar to the biblical concept of hell. It made me think about Jesus on the cross, experiencing the full brunt of hell in our place. As Christians, the heart of our faith is the once for all sacrifice Jesus made for the entire world. He who had no sin became sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
