THE WIND AND THE LION (1975)

Directed by: John Milius
Written by: John Milius
Studio: MGM
Starring: Sean Connery, Candice Bergen, John Huston
Rated: PG

About the film:
An American woman and her two children are kidnapped by a Berber chieftain and used as pawns in an attempt to force a political resolution to the unrest taking place in Morocco. President Teddy Roosevelt seizes upon this event as an opportunity to boost his popularity during an election year by forcibly securing the woman’s release.

Movie Quote:
“Ignorance is like a steep hill with perilous rocks at the bottom.”
Mulay El Raisuli (Sean Connery) in The Wind and the Lion (1975)

Bible Quote:
“My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children."
Hosea 4:6 (NIV)

Commentary:
To be called ignorant is not necessarily something of which we need be ashamed. Everyone is ignorant of something. A Rhodes Scholar who can’t cook may be called ignorant of the culinary arts. Ignorance occurs when the opportunity for knowledge is available to us but we choose to willingly ignore it and make the free will choice to refuse to learn it.

God has given mankind many avenues by which to reach an understanding of the truth He would have us know. He set His truth in the heaven’s very firmament, via the alignment of the stars and planets. He exhorted parents to teach and re-teach their children verbally. He set His truth down in writing – establishing it for all time. He set His only begotten son to preach and teach His truth to all who had ears to hear.

The reason God has been so painstakingly patient in trying to reach us with His Word is because He knows that living our lives ignorant of His truth would be like trying to climb a steep hill with perilous rocks at the bottom. It may be doable but, more likely than not, it won’t be enjoyable and it will end in disaster.

“Now about spiritual gifts (or matters), brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant.” 1 Corinthians 12:1 (NIV)

Questions to consider while watching the film:
1. How do Raisuli’s actions mirror what is happening in the Middle East today? Is he a terrorist or a freedom fighter? Why or why not?
2. What do Raisuli and Eden learn from the time they spend with each other?

Michael Elliott
www.screensermon.blogspot.com