Dorian Gray: Review

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Dorian Gray: Review

I really enjoyed Dorian Gray, which I saw at the cinema last night.  It pains me to admit it, but I have not actually read Oscar Wilde’s A Picture of Dorian Gray, on which the film was based, so I can’t comment on whether the film was an accurate reflection of the novel.  That’s neither here nor there really, though; the film was interesting, thought-provoking, and thoroughly engrossing.

The film opens with Dorian Gray, played by Ben Barnes, arriving in London, after some years away.  He has just inherited his grandfather’s large house, and has returned to settle into his new life.  He soon meets Lord Henry Wotton (Colin Firth) who introduces him to the London social scene.  Dorian meets artist Basil Hallwood (Ben Chaplin) who paints a portrait of him.  Dorian becomes transfixed with his own beauty as reflected in the portrait, and declares he would give his soul to remain as youthful as he is shown in the painting.

Dorian soon realises that his desire has been answered; he embarks on a hedonistic lifestyle of drugs, sex, sado-masochism, and drink, and, whilst he personally shows no ill effects from his pursuits, the painting ages and warps.  He hides the painting in his attic, and initially takes great joy in being able to do exactly what he wants, with no ill effects for himself.  Of course, his actions do have consequences for those around him; he upsets, hurts, causes suicides, and even kills in pursuit of his own happiness.  One observer remarks that it is unfair that such a monster should have such a perfect face.

A particularly tragic moment came when Dorian cruelly abandoned his girlfriend, Sybil.  Wotton, whose wife is pregnant, is discussing children with Sybil and Dorian.  Sybil remarks that she would like to have children, and Wotton remarks that having children effectively brings life to an end.  Sybil and Dorian have an argument, which results in Sybil killing herself.  It transpires that Sybil was carrying Dorian’s child.  Dorian is heart broken, but, following the advice from Wotton that experiences strengthen us, he quickly pulls himself together and plunges even deeper into his life of hedonism.

As the world grows old around him, Dorian begins to regret his fate.  He remarks that there is a great difference between pleasure and happiness, and that all he really wants is freedom.

Dorian pursues the life that many people long for – a life of pure hedonism which leaves no ill effects on the body, mind or soul.  Yet precisely because the painting absorbs the consequences of his actions, it becomes completely clear both to him, and us, the audience, the impact of what he is doing.  His actions are corrupting his soul.  Far from being a perfect, beautiful person, his soul is dark, foul and unpleasant.  Whilst his body remains youthful, the painting in the attic gurgles away as his soul rots.

Even in his physical form, Dorian’s pursuit of pleasure leaves him cold and empty; it is not the path to happiness that he initially thought it would be.  He finds himself remaining young as all around him are aging gracefully, and, far from making him happy, he feels more and more isolated and alone.  He begins to regret the path that his life has taken, especially his treatment of Sibyl, his one true love, to whom he was so cruel.

Youth is an obsession with our society.  Our population might be ageing, but barely a week goes by when there is not some allegation of ageism, normally connected with the media, and especially TV.  We all want, it seems, to see young people on the television, not old folk.  Those older people who remain in the limelight often turn to surgery in order to hold back the effects of time on their bodies.

Dorian Gray is about the quest for eternal youth, and the pursuit of hedonism.  It asks if these aspirations are really the path to true happiness, and concludes that no, they are not.  Dorian Gray learns to realise that what he really wants is freedom.  The question is – what is freedom?  Where does freedom come from?

What kept running through my mind as I dwelt on this is how many references there are to freedom in the Bible.  In Galatians, Paul writes “For freedom Christ has set us free” (Galatians 5:1).  It’s interesting in the film how when Dorian realises that his youth and pursuit of pleasure are not making him happy, he visits a Catholic church and confesses his sins to a priest.

I became so engrossed in the story Dorian Gray that, for once, I didn’t become obsessed with the quality of the acting, writing or film making.  The story and the implications of Dorian’s flippant remark upon seeing the painting totally captured my attention.  For this reason, I would thoroughly recommend seeing Dorian Gray.  

I now promise to read the original novel!

(Update 2nd April 2025: I still haven’t read the novel…)

The picking of kernels

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The picking of kernels

If you enter your neighbour’s grainfield, you may pick kernels with your hands, but you must not put a sickle to his standing grain.

Deuteronomy 23:25

I normally write these Daily Readings in my bed, last thing before I go to sleep.  I find it a positive and relaxing end to my waking hours.  Sometimes, though, I lie here, my laptop propped up on my pillow, praying like mad that God will give me some inspiration.  Today, though, when I read this verse, my mind was overflowing with stories I could use to help get into today’s scripture.  Unfortunately, most, if not all of these would mean owning up to one of my deepest, darkest secrets, and I’m not sure I’m prepared to do that.  But no.  The time has come to clear my conscience.  Here goes.

I used to go scrumping.

There – I said it.  Scrumping means taking produce that doesn’t belong to you.  Being brought up in the country, I had plenty of opportunity, and scrumped apples, pears, plums, potatoes, corn on the cob, figs, all kinds of things.  I would like to use Crossring now to apologise to my victims.

In our current Mark Marathon article, Jesus is criticized by the Pharisees for allowing his disciples to pick grain to eat.  The big issue for them is that he is doing so on the Sabbath, a theme we will pick up tomorrow.  Today, though, we see the justification for the actions of the disciples; they are not working, they are picking kernels with their hands to eat, because they are hungry.  If they were taking a sickle to the grain, they would be working – but then they would be in double trouble because that is also outlawed by this verse, and would constitute theft.

God’s word is the vital lifeblood running through the veins of a true believer, but when we pick up on specific ideas and legalistically impose these on other people, we have to be extremely careful.  It was not the Pharisees’ place to judge Jesus’ actions.  Neither is it our place to judge the actions of those around us.  Doing so can cause enormous divisions, which are helpful to no-one.  We all need to ensure that we have the very best understanding of God’s word, and can justify our own actions to God.

Be Prepared to Change

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“And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins.”

Mark 2:22

Sometimes I think that people are fundamentally conservative creatures; we don’t like change, and are keen to avoid it.  At work recently, an experienced and well-respected Head of Year retired, having been in the position for many years.  His replacement, a good friend of mine, was considerably younger.  She had lots of new ideas, and was keen to start making changes as soon as she started in her new role.  I was a member of the Year Team, and it was really exciting to have someone so vibrant and energetic leading our group of tutors.

There were many in the school, however, who were wary of this new person.  Things had always been done in a certain way, and they were happy with that.  Life had continued smoothly for twenty or more years, and there was no need for change.

When Jesus appeared on the scene, there were plenty who were wary of him.  The Jewish traditions had continued unchallenged for centuries, and now, here was someone who was telling them that things had to change – there was a new order.  Whilst this was exciting for many, and attracted plenty of new people, the traditionalists felt that it was not right to change things.

Jesus, in today’s verse, makes it clear that things are going to have to change.  He is like a new wine, he says.  You can’t put new wine into old skins, because they’ll simply burst.  In the same way, you can’t simply put Jesus’ teachings into the same old pigeon holes, because they are radical, exciting and new.  Those conservatives have to recognize that things are going to have to change, whether they like it or not.

Be excited by what you read in your Bible, especially as we continue to study Mark together.  Be prepared to be challenged, however.  Don’t try to fit Jesus’ message into your view of the world – it won’t fit.  Instead, you will need to build a new view of the world, based around Jesus’ words.

Death’s time

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Death’s time

By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken.

Isaiah 53:8

I consider myself very fortunate, because I’ve managed to build up a great crowd of friends over the years – from school, universities, work, holidays, neighbours etc.  I do struggle sometimes to be in contact with them all as much as I’d like, however.  One recent technology that has made it easier to stay in touch, though, is Facebook.  It’s so easy to see what friends are up to, send them an occasional message, or even just to “like” their status to show that you’re thinking of them.

Facebook has got a bit cluttered of late with various applications and adverts, however.  One application that seems to be doing the rounds at the moment is called ‘Death’s Time,’ and it supposedly tells you how and when you’re going to die.  I assume it’s not meant to be taken seriously, however, as it recently told a friend that he was going to die on April 21st 2044 at 11:47pm, at the age of 68, when he would be decapitated by a helicopter blade!  It subsequently updated its predication to say that he would, in fact, survive until February 27th 2058, when, at the age of 82, he would die of heat stroke at an American football practice – at 5:13 in the morning!

What would it be like if you actually did know how and when you were going to die?  What if you knew that you were going to die at a young age, by being crucified, one of the most degrading and painful ways of killing the world has ever devised?  In our current Mark Marathon passage, fairly near to the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, Jesus hints that he will be taken away from his friends when he says that “the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them.”  I wonder how Jesus felt about this.

Our verse today foretells Jesus’ death.  It states that he will be taken away by oppression and judgement – and we see exactly that happen when he is sentenced to death by a corrupt regime.  The people who killed Jesus had no idea what they were doing – they certainly weren’t thinking of his descendents.  Speaking through Isaiah, God also says that Jesus was stricken for the trangression of his people – that’s you and me.  Jesus was killed in order that you and I might live.  How many other people do you know who have done that for you?

The perfect marriage

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The perfect marriage

I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the LORD.

Hosea 2:19-20

In the three years or so after I left university, it seemed that every weekend in the summer months would be spent at the wedding of some friend or other.  For a few years after that, things settled down, but the next couple of years look like they’re going to get busy on the wedding front again, with some of my closest friends getting married – and even my little brother!

In our current Mark Marathon mile, Jesus uses the image of a wedding to explain his relationship with those who follow him.  He uses parables to describe himself as a bridegroom, and suggests that it would be inappropriate for his followers to fast whilst he is with them.  The time will come when fasting is appropriate, but now is not the time, he tells them.

Jesus here picks up a theme that appears in the Old Testament.  Here in Hosea, God uses the image of a marriage to describe his relationship with his people – a marriage that will last forever.  This marriage will be based on righteousness, justice, love, compassion and faithfulness.  These are all good qualities, and I’m sure that if anyone saw these qualities in someone, they would consider that they make a good candidate for marriage.  These qualities, however, in their perfect form, can only come from God.  He will freely give these to us, though, if we accept his betrothal.  Is there a long list of things he wants in return?  Not at all; he simply says that we must acknowledge the Lord.

God makes some amazing promises to us here, which are picked up by Christ in the New Testament.  Surely it’s right to acknowledge the Lord if we get all this back in return?

I’ll tell you what I want, what I really, really want!

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I’ll tell you what I want, what I really, really want!

For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

Hosea 6:6

Lots of families these days have video cameras to record important family moments and key events, especially in the lives of children.  My family was no exception.  There’s some classic footage of my brother unwrapping his presents one Christmas morning.  He’s excitedly opening up a parcel, then holds the gift up to the camera and simply says, “I told Granny I didn’t want the Beano annual!”  Luckily, when we played the video to my gran, she was out of the room making a cup of tea when that particular piece of footage came on!

Sometimes we give gifts to people without really thinking about it – we give them what we think they would like, when actually we don’t really know, or understand, exactly what it is they want. Sometimes, if we’re honest, we don’t even stop to give a gift much thought; I know that I have been guilty of simply buying someone something like Amazon vouchers, because I don’t really want to have to stop and think about what the recipient would really like.

Jesus is recorded quoting this passage twice in Matthew’s Gospel (in 9:13 and 12:7). On each occasion he uses it to challenge the religiosity of the Pharisees, who are carefully striving to adhere to the rules of their faith without genuinely seeking the heart of God. Jesus turns the view of the Pharisees on their head. They have misunderstood what God actually wants from them. Jesus told them that he did not come for the healthy but the sick; he has come to save sinners, not the righteous. Sometimes we fall into the same trap the Pharisees fell into, and misunderstand what it is that God wants from us.

It is clear from this verse in Hosea and from the contexts in which Jesus quoted it that God is not interested in ritual, traditions and heritage.  Instead he wants us to get to know him, and to love him.  He wants us to study his word and develop a better understanding of who he is.  He wants us to love him as our heavenly father.  Challenging, but considering how inadequate we are compared to him, quite reassuring too!

Originally published 19/9/2009; redrafted and slightly expanded 29/1/2015.

A case of the dreaded lurgi

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A case of the dreaded lurgi

“You must distinguish between the holy and the common, between the unclean and the clean.”

Leviticus 10:10

When I was very little and still at primary school, we had a bizarre tradition.  If someone should develop a cough, or sneeze, or have some kind of skin blemish, we would decry that they had the “dreaded lurgi.”  We would then spend the rest of the day avoiding the person, and running away from them if they should come near us.  With hindsight, it seems like a very mean thing to have done, but then I guess that sort of behaviour is normal for small children!  None of us knew what the lurgi was, or why we should treat a poor classmate in this way, but it just happened.  I guess it was just one of those playground traditions that continued down the generations, with no-one really sure why.

In our current article in our Mark Marathon, Jesus visits the home of a tax collector, Levi, who was regarded not just as a traitor, but also as someone who was ‘unclean’.  Jesus is castigated by the Pharisees for spending time with Levi, and makes matters worse himself by sharing a meal with other tax collectors.  According to the Pharisees, our verse today provided them with the justification for their attitude; they believed that the tax collectors were common and unclean, and that Jesus, as a good Jew, should have nothing to do with them, otherwise he might be tainted with their unclean-ness.  Unfortunately, this verse is not referring to people at all, but this attitude of the Pharisees seems to have been one of those traditions that was handed down over time, but no-one could really remember the reason for it.

Not only should we be careful about labeling people unclean, but Jesus tells us that the outcasts in our society are precisely those we should be helping.  So the next time you cross the road to avoid someone who looks slightly dodgy, the next time you walk past a Big Issue seller without buying a copy, the next time you blank someone because they are in some way different to you, just ask yourself this: what would Jesus do?

The Crowds Continue to Gather

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The Crowds Continue to Gather

Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them.

Mark 2:13

I love Coldplay.  I think their X&Y album is a masterpiece.  As I’m always saying to my friends, I think that this album works together as a coherent work of art, in a way that very few albums do these days.  My housemate and a few of my friends are off to Wembley this weekend to see Coldplay perform live, and I’m very jealous, because I’m not going.

Coldplay is one of those bands that continues to draw huge numbers of people to their gigs.  The capacity of Wembley stadium is 90,000, and I suspect that the crowd on Saturday will be close to that.  That’s just one evening!  Many of the people who go will no doubt be the die hard fans who go to see Coldplay whenever they can; they never tire of seeing their idols perform live.

In our verse today, Jesus has once again drawn a large crowd to him.  This seems to be becoming a bit of a theme; everywhere that Jesus goes, the crowds follow.  It doesn’t matter if these people have heard Jesus before, they continue to go and listen to him.

What does Jesus do when he gets this captive audience?  Once again, he teaches them.  Mark keeps stressing that Jesus teaches the crowd, and so I feel no shame in repeating this theme in our Daily Readings.  At every opportunity Jesus wants to share the gospel with those around him.

There are two ways of learning from this passage.  First of all, if we imagine ourselves in the crowd, are we going to listen carefully to all that Jesus says?  What are we going to do with these teachings?  And secondly, we can put ourselves in Christ’s shoes – are we taking every opportunity available to us to preach the gospel?

Arriving in style

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Arriving in style

“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.

Daniel 7:13-14

I think you can tell how important someone is from how they arrive at an event.  I usually turn up in my Golf, reflecting just how unimportant I am.  At the rather posh school I teach at in Sussex, our pupils often arrive in Bentleys, showing that they, or at least their parents, are far more important than me.  When Barack Obama visited London back in March, he arrived at the airport in his own Boeing 747, before transferring to his helicopter, then finally boarding his limousine, which was accompanied everywhere it went by a large motorcade of dozens of support vehicles, which contained over 200 security officers, political aides, personal chefs, and doctors.  Barack Obama is clearly even more important than the parents of my pupils!

Important Obama might be, he has nothing on the son of man described in today’s passage.  Not for him personal limousines or jumbo jets; he came with the clouds of heaven.

So who is this “son of man?”  Well, it is the title which Jesus most commonly refers to himself.  Indeed, he does so in our current passage from Mark.  If Jesus is the same son of man as the one in this passage, that makes him rather special.  In Daniel, he approached the Ancient of Days – a name given to God himself.  Not just that, but he was given authority, glory and sovereign power.  He was given an everlasting dominion and a kingdom that will never be destroyed.  Barack Obama has four years, possibly eight if he’s lucky; this character’s reign will last for ever.

So can Jesus really be this ‘son of man’?  He certainly seems to think he is.  What are the practical implications for us if he is?  Well, if he has authority, glory and sovereign power; if he has a never-ending kingdom, perhaps we should pay attention to him.  Perhaps we should worship him.

I pray today that we would gain a better understanding of who Jesus is, and that we would consider what an appropriate response should be.

Is this blasphemy?

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Is this blasphemy?

Say to the Israelites: ‘If anyone curses his God, he will be held responsible; anyone who blasphemes the name of the LORD must be put to death. The entire assembly must stone him. Whether an alien or native-born, when he blasphemes the Name, he must be put to death.

Leviticus 24:15-16

If, like me, you enjoy listening to Terry Wogan in the morning whilst you’re getting ready for the day, you will surely have been saddened by his news last week that he is to retire from the Breakfast Show.  Chris Evans will do a good job when he takes over, and I’m already looking forward to Terry’s weekend show, but mornings will not be the same.  Some years ago, though, people were saying that about evenings.  Prior to rejoining Radio 2, Terry used to present a chat show on BBC 1.  One of his most famous guests on the show was David Icke.  In 1991, on Wogan, as the show was called, David Icke announced to the world that he was the son of God.  His claim was met with laughter by the studio audience, and he has been ridiculed ever since.

Had David Icke made this comment in Old Testament times, he would not have been able to repeat his claim.  He would have been taken outside the camp and stoned to death; this is the punishment that God tells Moses he must impose in our passage today.

The reason for highlighting this passage today is to show what the consequences of Jesus’ actions in Mark 2, the focus of our current article, could be.  By claiming that he had the right to forgive sins, he was blaspheming, since in the eyes of the Pharisees, only God has the right to forgive sins.  Jesus is here laying claim to his divinity; he is showing that he is God.  This is quite some claim, and clearly has greatly angered the leaders of the Jews.

But what if Jesus is speaking the truth?  What if he does have the right to forgive sins?  What if he is the Son of God?  Where does that leave the Pharisees?  Where does that leave us?