God In Film

On an alternative Earth, superheroes are real and are used by the American government to help win the Vietnam war. After the war, two of the superheroes, the non-powered Edward Blake, and the near-omnipotent Dr. Manhattan, are still in Vietnam when Blake is confronted by his pregnant Vietnamese lover. After an angry altercation, Blake shoots the woman and kills her while Dr. Manhattan looks on. Dr. Manhattan: She was pregnant. And you gunned her down. Edward Blake: That's right. And you know what, you watched me. You could've turned the gun into steam, the bullets into mercury, the bottle into goddamned snowflakes but you didn't, did you? You really don't give a damn about human beings.

In the early 20th century, the Russian Czar Nicholas II and his wife Alexandra take the monk Rasputin into their household, believing he has miraculous powers that can cure their son of his haemophilia. Not all of the Czar's acquaintances, however, are convinced of Rasputin's spiritual gifts, including the court physician, Dr Botkin. Grigori Rasputin: You'll always fail because your soul is dead. Dr. Botkin: I have performed many autopsies in my time, but I've never located a soul. Grigori Rasputin: How many memories or emotions have you found?

In Terrence Malick's 2011 film, a man called Jack remembers his troubled childhood and his parents' reactions to the loss of their oldest son. During the film a quote is spoken from the Book of Job, recalling Gods' response to Job's loss of his family and livelihood, while the universe is created before the viewer's eyes. "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the Earth, when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?" Job 38:4,7

Ridley Scott's 2012 film opens with the enigmatic, alien Engineers seeding a barren planet with life. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters." (Genesis 1:1,2)

War veteran Jacob Singer is troubled by visits from monsters which may or may not be in his imagination. After one particularly hellish ordeal, Jacob shares his experiences with his chiropractor, Louis. Louis, one of the few points of light in a very dark story, offers the following words of comfort from Meister Eckhart, the German mystic: Louis: Eckhart saw Hell too. He said: The only thing that burns in Hell is the part of you that won't let go of life, your memories, your attachments. They burn them all away. But they're not punishing you, he said. They're freeing your soul. So the way he sees it, if you're frightened of dying and... and you're holding on, you'll see devils tearing your life away. But if you've made your peace, then the devils are really angels, freeing you from the earth. It's just a matter of how you look at it, that's all. So don't worry, okay? Okay?