SUNSHINE (2007)

Directed by: Danny Boyle
Written by: Alex Garland
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Starring: Chris Evans, Rose Byrnes, Michelle Yeoh
Rated: R

About the film:
When the sun beings to burn out, Earth’s scientists send a team armed with a massive nuclear device and the hopes to detonate it within the heart of the star and thus reignite it. The journey is rife with problems which lead to moral and ethical dilemmas.

Movie Quote:
“You and the darkness are distinct from each other because darkness is an absence of something, it's a vacuum. But total light envelops you. It becomes you.”
Dr. Searle (Cliff Curtis) in Sunshine (2007)

Bible Quote:
“And the Light shines on in the darkness, for the darkness has never overpowered it [put it out or absorbed it or appropriated it, and is unreceptive to it].”
John 1:5 (Amplified)


Commentary:
Dr. Searle’s fascination with the light of sun is completely understandable. For those who have been long immersed in darkness, the introduction of light equates to deliverance and salvation. His observation is also astute. Darkness is nothing more than the absence of light. They cannot co-mingle. Once light is introduced, the darkness must immediately cease to be.

Because this is so evidently true in the physical world, is it no wonder that God uses light as a figurative means to describe spiritual awareness or understanding? People who live without knowledge of God and the spiritual truths He has set in place are said to be living in darkness. It is His Word, set in the stars, handed down through generations, recorded in the Bible, or taught and witnessed through the life of Jesus Christ that has reached into the darkness and illuminated the hearts of men.

We can never be at one with the darkness for darkness blinds us and keeps us in ignorance. We can however be at one with light. We can allow it to infuse our being and continue to shine forth through our words and action. We can be… indeed we are in God’s mind… the lights of this world.

Questions to consider while watching the film:
1. What are some of the ethical questions that face the crew of the Icarus II and how biblically sound are their responses?
2. When one of the characters in the film states that he has spoken to God, is he speaking truth or a lie? How do we know?

Michael Elliott
http://screensermon.blogspot.com