Deus ex Machina

Deus ex machina... what a cool phrase. It wasn't until recently that I truly learned what the phrase meant. Prior to my learning the true definition of the phrase, I always thought that that deus ex machina referred to some really cool machine, like a massive robot with guns for hands that could fly through space and take over planets. "I'd like two deus ex machinas, please. Oh, and a large coke."

The true meaning of the phrase, however, stems from ancient Greek mythology and epic tragedies. Literally translated, it means "god from a machine;" perhaps a better translation is "god on a machine." The way it works, see, is that the characters are painted into some sort of corner, some sort of inescapable situation, and then an actor portraying one of the myriad of Greek gods are trotted out and lowered, literally, from a crane onto the stage to deliver the characters from their impending doom. More recently, the phrase involves some trigger, or perhaps even an item, that delivers characters in a story from their impending doom. An example is, in the movie The Fifth Element with Milla Jovovich and Bruce Willis (one of my faves), the entire universe is about to be destroyed by an otherworldly entity. The only thing standing between utter annihilation and life is Milla Jovovich's character, whose name is "Leeloo" and goes by the official title of "the Fifth Element;" she is billed as the 'perfect weapon,' and the only thing that can stop the destruction of Earth. However, by the end of the movie, she is unwilling to "activate" herself. Just when it seems as though there is no hope, the deus ex machina kicks in: Love. Bruce Willis' character, "Korben Dallas," expresses his love for Leeloo, thus 'activating' her and saving the universe.

Improbable? Yes. Handy? Of course!

In writing fiction-length novels and short stories, it seems really easy to sprinkle all sorts of "deus ex machinas" all over the place. Handy weapons here, characters there, and the occasional prod of Divine Intervention. In real life, though, is there really a Deus Ex Machina?

Think about the history of mankind. I'm going to ignore the evolutionists' theory of how life began (I will comment on evolution on a later blog, I'm sure), and focus solely on reality as I perceive it to be. Humor me.

Five to seven thousand years ago, God spoke the world into being. In six days, He created the heavens, the earth, the water and the sky, the stars and the sun, all of the beasts of the field and all of the birds of the air; the culminating act of His handiwork was the creation of Mankind.

However, at what I believe is the second most pivotal moment in history, the moment that defines Humanity, Adam and Eve failed.

Their sin was not that they ate a fruit. The fruit itself was not sinful, nor was it, I believe, in and of itself bad. It was a symbol, it was the linchpin, upon which the entire balance of Humanity would swing (on a side note, don't be mistaken; God was not surprised when Adam and Eve defied Him; He wasn't dismayed, the Trinity wasn't having an emergency meeting in Heaven trying to figure out what to do. Whether we can understand it or not, God knew that Adam and Eve would defy Him). See, it was the disobedience behind the act itself. All the other commands were not taxing to Adam and Eve, because they were commands that were good in their own eyes, as well. But the command to not eat the fruit, that was a command that would prove their love and obedience to God; would they obey Him, even though it was difficult and not eat the fruit, or would they disobey and do what was right in their own eyes?

Anybody who knows even the slightest bit of Christianity knows that Adam and Eve failed the one test, the one taxing commandment, and ate the fruit, thus plunging Man into a period of Darkness and Sin that has lasted even until this day, and for an unknown distance into the future.

Every evil, every sin, every bad thing that happens, has happened because of the Original Sin. Every war ever fought, throughout the history of Man, has been fought because of Sin. (Yes, even my war, the Iraq war, was fought because of Sin) Every murder, every sexual perversion, anything that is considered 'bad' and much more, all because of Sin.

If one had the ability to remove themselves from our time stream and look upon humanity as we were, prior to Christ's birth, they would see that there was absolutely no hope for Mankind. There was nothing to rescue us from the pit of our own design.

I wonder; had Christ never been born, would Man have self-destructed a long time ago? Even since His birth, wars have been fought in His name. I do not think that Jesus would ever have wanted any war fought in His name. Perhaps (and I'm just musing here, there's no real theology to back this up) Christ's birth, life, subsequent torture, death, and His resurrection, has only delayed our own self destruction.

Either way, as we read the news today, it is quite obvious that there is no hope for humanity. Political squabbles, interminable wars (and those are just the ones America is involved in, not to mention the other wars happening around the world as we speak), abortion, genocide, the manipulation of our genetic structure (I read the other day about how scientists had created a human/bovine embryo...!), the daily struggle to wipe out Free Thought and Reason and replace it with Forced Thought and Propaganda, the financial crises of the globe, the insane weather patterns (no believer in Global Warming here, but one must admit to the impending droughts of Southeastern and Western USA, as well as in other parts of the globe), the shortages of basic food, water, and housing in places such as Ghana, Kenya, Somalia, Haiti and in other places throughout the globe; all of these things, and no end in sight.

Is there any human being who will be able to rescue us from ourselves? Is there a single human soul, anywhere, that has The Perfect Solution to all of the world's problems? What about a combination of humans? Could a body of imperfect beings save any other body of imperfect beings? Perhaps the U.N.? Maybe America?

I'm a firm believer in a dystopian future. A Dystopia is the opposite of a Utopia. Should Man actually be able to last for another hundred or two hundred years, not much will have changed. Sure, technology will have continued to evolve (think: ipods in our heads!) but there will be no real solutions. The problems of today were the problems of yesterday, and shall be the problems of tomorrow, unless something changes.

I believe that there is, for lack of a better term, a deus ex machina looming on the horizon.

This "plot twist" defies all imagination, has no basis in the "reality" as we pathetic Humans seem to insist is true, and it will come at the moment when Humanity needs it most and expects it least.

This is a REAL God, not some actor with a mask, Whose only 'machine' was the Cross, and instead of being lowered down onto the stage of Humanity, He was lifted up as a sacrifice to appease His Father for all the sins of the entire world, of every single human being that has ever existed and will exist in futures to come. The bible says that one day, He will come, at the time that He is needed most, and rescue Humanity from itself. At that time, there will be a great reconciliation, and the bible says that "every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord." Will every person be saved? No, unfortunately, not every person will be saved. But they will, eventually, have to admit that there is a God, and that His name is Jesus Christ.

After He has separated the sheep from the goats, there will be, for the first time since Adam and Eve ate of the fruit, Peace on Earth.

Don't you see, reader? We can write all the fiction we want, and place all sorts of improbable deus ex machina into the plot; we can create heroes who perform spectacular deeds, and invent weapons or tools of incredible power and usefulness, but none of them will ever measure up to the incredible "plot twist" that is God.

There is a plot twist coming, reader. Humanity cannot continue on the path that we are traveling upon for much longer. Somebody greater than ourselves must rescue us from this plot of endless doom and self-destruction that we are traveling upon, else there will be nothing left to save. We live in volatile times, with every headline bringing more and more doom and gloom into our homes. There is only one way to be saved; through Jesus Christ, the One and the Only, my King.


(Edit: My wife pointed out to me that my comments regarding the fruit could be taken out of context. Yes, I believe that there was a fruit; I believe in the literal translation and interpretation of the bible. If the bible had said that it was an airplane, I would believe it; that's just they way it has to be! My point about the fruit, however, is this: it could have been any item, any stipulation, or location, that God had put the commandment on. For example, He may have forbidden them to enter into a pond, or to not pet a certain animal. It wasn't the item that mattered, but the command.)