In July, Eve and I started our discussion on our retro-review of 1996’s Independence Day starring Will Smith & Jeff Goldblum. If you haven’t already listened, be sure to check out Are You Just Watching Episode 105 for Part 1!
In episode 105, Eve Franklin and I look at the four families of Independence Day —the Whitmores, the Hillers, the Levinsons, and the Casses. ID4 presents each of these four families, with different levels of love, marriage, and dysfunction, and encourages you to consider how each family deals with the incredible crises that accompany the Harvesters’ arrival on earth. Two things are very clear, though: family is “something special” and the heroes would not have been the people they were—or done the things they did—without the love and support of their families.
In part 2 of our discussion, we look at some of the other themes that Independence Day brings us, like how several of the characters turn to God for comfort during the invasion and resistance. We also compare how many of the people who could have acted on clear warnings did not, and how that reflects the nature of Christ and his warnings to us. Finally, we also talk about the importance of a protective force, even the use of violence in defense of others.
Join Eve and me as we dive into the additional themes of 1996’s Independence Day.
Looking for God
It’s interesting to note that Independence Day was released five years before the events of 9/11/2001. While not necessarily prescient, it does depict a tragedy the likes that the United States had not seen in decades. If you’ve lived through 9/11, you can easily see a lot in common between the movie and reality, including very diverse people coming together in shared humanity. It also highlights how in times of exceptional tragedy even the most jaded of people turn to God. When something terrible happens that defies explanation, you will often hear about “thoughts and prayers.”
According to the Independence Day fandom wiki, 108 of the world’s largest cities were completely destroyed. Such global destruction is beyond imagination. It makes Thanos’s snap seem inconsequential by comparison.
Every day, people of every level of faith will use God’s name, sometimes in vain, sometimes in earnest. A character in Independence Day says, “Thank God I took the subway today!” In text messages, we’ve made it EASY to take His name in vain through the ubiquity of “OMG.” But in Independence Day, the tragedy helps to turn people from meaningless references to honest consideration.
Do not misuse the name of the Lord your God, because the Lord will not leave anyone unpunished who misuses his name. (Exodus 20:7)
We see David give his father a Jewish prayer book, which he then uses to lead a prayer of intercession as the aliens were bearing down on the facility. Julius welcomes everyone into the prayer circle, even Gentiles, because, “Nobody’s perfect.” Prayer works, even when we think it doesn’t. Much like the widow in Luke 18, we can trust that God will provide what we need, be it justice, peace, healing, comfort, or subsistence. It may not happen on our timetable, but it will happen. We just have to keep asking.
Jesus assures us that prayers are answered:
“Again, truly I tell you, if two of you on earth agree about any matter that you pray for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there among them.” (Matthew 18:19-20)
James reiterates the importance—and power—of prayer:
Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone cheerful? He should sing praises. Is anyone among you sick? He should call for the The prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up; if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is very powerful in its effect. (James 5:13-16)
Unheeded Warnings
When the aliens first arrive, David quickly figures out that they are not there to “sit around a campfire and sing Kumbaya.” He warns his friend Marty several times to get out of the city, to get far away. But Marty keeps finding other stuff he needs to do before he can flee—he gets tied up in getting his affairs in order. In the end, that delay led to his demise. Jasmine’s friend Tiffany ignores her warning not to join “alien welcome parties.” The United States had ignored a clear warning of these aliens for decades—since the Roswell crash landing.
So often, we think we know better. The warning doesn’t apply to us. Or, we’ll act, but we have to do something first. We always come up with excuses:
The Parable of the Large Banquet
When one of those who reclined at the table with him heard these things, he said to him, “Blessed is the one who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!”
Then he told him, “A man was giving a large banquet and invited many. At the time of the banquet, he sent his servant to tell those who were invited, ‘Come, because everything is now ready.’
“But without exception they all began to make excuses. The first one said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. I ask you to excuse me.’
“Another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m going to try them out. I ask you to excuse me.’
“And another said, ‘I just got married, and therefore I’m unable to come.’
“So the servant came back and reported these things to his master. Then in anger, the master of the house told his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the city, and bring in here the poor, maimed, blind, and lame.’
“‘Master,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, and there’s still room.’
“Then the master told the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges and make them come in, so that my house may be filled. For I tell you, not one of those people who were invited will enjoy my banquet.’”
Likewise, we who are in the household of Christ are responsible for sharing this warning. If we do not, we are every bit as responsible as those who deny it:
Son of man, I have made you a watchman over the house of Israel. When you hear a word from my mouth, give them a warning from me. If I say to the wicked person, ‘You will surely die,’ but you do not warn him—you don’t speak out to warn him about his wicked way in order to save his life—that wicked person will die for his iniquity. Yet I will hold you responsible for his blood. But if you warn a wicked person and he does not turn from his wickedness or his wicked way, he will die for his iniquity, but you will have rescued yourself. (Ezekiel 3:17-19)
Necessity of Arms
At the time of our recording, the United States is being rocked by protests, both peaceful and violent. There have been multiple cases where a man or woman in law enforcement has taken some action—or inaction—that caused the death of men or women that should not have died. The battle cry has been taken up to “defund the police.” The entire Capitol Hill section of Seattle has been literally taken over by protestors who have kicked out the police.
Independence Day reminded me that there is a reason for our protective forces.
In every organization, there will be people who are selfish and sinful, who act not for the betterment of those around them, but for their own selfish reasons. In Independence Day, different people approach the aliens’ arrival differently. Tiffany wants to welcome the aliens with open arms. Secretary of Defense Nimziki wants to nuke them out of the sky.
Civilization cannot survive in a fallen world without forces dedicated to protecting the innocent from fallen mankind. It is God’s plan that we have these forces. He has used them, often in very violent ways, to execute His will on this earth. We may not understand why He does what He does, but we have to know that He has a plan.
There are two specific references o military might that comes to mind. In the first, the army is a show of strength and to lift up allies:
Then Elisha prayed, “Lord, please open his eyes and let him see.” So the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he saw that the mountain was covered with horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. (2 Kings 6:17)
In the second, the army is us—the followers of Christ:
Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens. For this reason take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand. Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest, and your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace. In every situation take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit—which is the word of God. (Ephesians 6:11-18)
I don’t know anyone who is not against police brutality. I also personally know several men and women in blue and know them to be people of exceptional character, and in many cases, also possessing great faith in our Savior. God is a God of perfect justice and blessed mercy. We should seek to live out those values in our daily lives. Police who abuse their authority should be held accountable for their actions. Police who make mistakes should also be held accountable, but might be deserving of mercy. We need to remember that, in everything we do, we seek to love God with all our hearts, souls, and minds. In doing so, we must also love our neighbors as ourselves.
Conclusion
Independence Day is a summer blockbuster that has explosions and aliens and witty banter and gut-wrenching moments. Twenty-four years later, it still delivers on nearly every level for a great popcorn-munching movie. It turns out, if you look at through the lens of Christian critical thinking and scripture, it delivers on some deeper levels than you might have realized. It talks of family and circumstance, of faith in tragedy, and willful inaction. Independence Day presents some very biblical themes and conclusions that we can use to discuss the Gospel. So go out and invite folks to the banquet. If they give an excuse, remind them that Marty had one too—right before he was destroyed by the very thing for which he was warned.
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