I went with my wife and son the other night to see the movie, “Mission: Impossible – Final Reckoning”. By and large, the movie did not disappoint. I enjoyed the wild ride of thrills and adventure with absolute impossibilities at every turn – the very nature of each of the eight MI films (and TV shows for that matter). What makes these movies engaging is the filmmakers include enough familiar facts, geography and technology to lend some believability to the story.
The one let down for me was the “final message” at the end of the film – a short philosophical ramble with all the qualities of the MI films themselves. It is a string of truisms laced with exaggerations and impossibilities which formulate an untenable worldview. I hope that viewers’ sense of incredulity is intact when they hear this, and are able to discern truth from imagination. Unfortunately, this little homily comes at the viewer so quickly there is little opportunity to process its content before everyone is ushered out of the theater. So, let me break it down for you – the message is in italics [no spoilers alerts required]:
Hello, brother. If you’re listening to this, the world is still here and so are you. For the record, I never had a moment of doubt. I knew you’d find a way. You always do.
I am not giving anything away here. This is true of every MI film. It is never a question whether the good guys win, it is just a matter of how.
I hope, in time, you can see this life is not some quirk of fate. This was your calling. Your destiny. A destiny that touches every living thing.
He starts off well here. While there are some things in life that seem to occur by chance or are odd coincidences, on the whole we have a sense there is some purpose and meaning in our lives. A “calling” or a “destiny” are aspects of life which we feel are “meant to be” – aspects which tie us to something transcendent, something which confers purpose and meaning on our lives. His sentiment, though, comes with exaggeration. While we all do things which affect the lives of others, to think they impact “every living thing” would be overstating the case. Yes, there can be ripple effects, but ripples eventually fade away. The only one who can have this broad of an impact is God himself, of whom Job said, “In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind”[1].
Like it or not, we are masters of our fate. Nothing is written.
This claim takes a high view of free will and rejects determinism – an important theme of the movie. While most people have some sense of having a free will, the nature of free will is not something about which all agree. To the strict materialist, free will is an illusion and fate is a meaningless term – everything we do is determined by chemistry, and when we die the lights just go out. Within most of the world’s religions, free will is complex – it is constrained in some way by past lives or limited to some degree by a deity or deities.
In the Christian world view it is clear people are expected to make choices: “choose this day whom you will serve”[2]. The choices we do make are not without consequences, and those consequences are not always under our control. Additionally, the Bible is full of examples about how God intervened and redirected the course of history. The apostle Paul even intimates that God in some way influences when and where people come to exist[3]. This MI statement is at odds with most faith traditions and appears to be a baseless claim.
And our cause, however righteous, pales in comparison to the impact of our effect.
I cannot disagree here. History is littered with events initiated by noble causes which end up going south. All the good intentions do little to assuage criticism or condemnation when things go bad. People are inclined to remember what happened much more than why it happened.
Any hope for a better future comes from willing that future into being.
Future thinking is a uniquely human activity adjured by many world views, but not all. The Greeks thought life was more about finding perfection in forms than influencing the future, and, like eastern religions, saw life occurring in cycles. While Judeo-Christian scripture affirms efforts to plan for the future, we are reminded that we are not the sole shapers of the future – we are not “masters of our fate”. Proverbs says, “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.” Similarly, King Solomon wrote, “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.” The prophet Jerimiah countered the hubris of mankind when he wrote, “Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it?” In the New Testament, James warns, “you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.’” [4] While we ought to have a mind to the future, what kind of future should we hope for?
A future reflecting the measure of good within ourselves. And all that is good inside us is measured by the good we do for others.
This statement is central to all the others in this homily. All courses of action hinge on our understanding of what “good” is and where that comes from. The speaker seems to suggest goodness comes from within, but can we really be “good” without the existence of God? Good cannot simply be a matter of opinion – something that is determined by internal reflection. If it is, then “good” is a meaningless term – nobody can have a correct idea of what a “better future” would be. Moral relativism is fatal to any hopeful future[5], but we can have a hope in a better future if it is grounded in a transcendent God who defines goodness.[6] So, how do good works impact our future and our fate?
God followers are indeed tasked with doing good for others. Jesus commanded his followers to love their neighbor as themselves (with a very broad view of who our neighbor might be) and even to love our enemies. The apostle Paul tells us, “We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them”[7]. While we seem to be designed for doing good works, scripture is clear that our good works do not determine our ultimate fate. From the Christian viewpoint, the fate of mankind is not based on good works, but comes through faith/trust (or the lack thereof) in Christ who bore our sins on the cross[8].
We all share the same fate — the same future. The sum of our infinite choices.
This statement seems to be at odds with what was said previously. If our collective future is determined by the infinite choices made by all mankind, how is any one individual able to will some future reality into being? If the life I lead falls into the sea of “infinite choices”, then no one person should think they can make a noticeable difference in the world. The speaker has constructed a worldview which is both inconsistent and incoherent.
From a Christian perspective, everyone does not have the same fate or future. Our ability to make a difference for the future in this world is tied to joining God in what He is doing. The future is not just a sum of our choices, but is determined by God’s purposes. I will never fully know in this life all the ways in which God uses me, but I can be confident that he does. Thankfully, a day will come when we will see things as they really are[9]. Until then, what should direct the choices we do make?
One such future is built on kindness, trust, and mutual understanding, should we choose to accept it. Driving without question towards a light we cannot see.
The virtues invoked by the speaker are not consonant with all cultures or world views – they are not simply derived from the “good within ourselves”. This admonition does resonate strongly, though, with the Christian worldview, but the admonitions in scripture take it even further: “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” and, “brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things”[10].
Striving in these virtues does take us in a particular direction – toward the Light which is not seen, but can be known – it is the One of whom the psalmist wrote, “For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light.”[11] We need not pursue these virtues blindly. God has revealed himself through scripture and in the God-man Jesus of Nazareth. There is no good reason to question the rightness of these virtues because they have been commended to us by the creator and sustainer of the universe. Who else would you trust?
Not just for those we hold close, but for those we’ll never meet.
I like this sentiment, but it should be made clear that the particular virtue of altruism is also one which cannot be derived internally. In evolutionary biology, evidence of altruism does not extend beyond the kin group. It seems to be a uniquely human attribute, but not one shared equally among all human cultures. Such attitudes are affirmed, however, within the Christian worldview. For example, Jesus urged his followers to do good, not just for friends, but even for enemies. The apostle Paul commended the Christians in Asia Minor for the financial contributions they made to help the Christians in Jerusalem[12] – people whom they never knew nor would ever likely meet.
I hope you know I’ll always love you, brother. And I will see you again, though I hope it’s not too soon. The world still needs you. Of course, they’ll never know it, but we do. We, who live and die in the shadows. This message will self-destruct in five seconds. Good luck, Ethan.
In the close of this message, it is clear these are the last words of the speaker. The hopeful reunion referred to is the one which occurs after death. Unfortunately, there is nothing the speaker has offered up here which would give us confidence for a hope of such a reunion. That this would happen because we follow the good within us is simply wishful thinking – an impossible mission. Jesus, on the other hand, has given his followers confidence that those who trust in him will be reunited in a New Heaven and a New Earth. We can be confident in this because Jesus was God in the flesh who died on a cross and rose again from the dead. Our real mission in life – if we choose to accept it – is to seek and follow the One who made us.
[1] Job 12:10
[2] Joshua 24:15,
[3] Acts 17:24-27
[4] Proverbs 16:8-10; Psalm 127:1; Lamentations 3:37; James 4:14-15
[5] Much has been written on moral relativism. A good overview of this topic can be found in Relativism: Feet Firmly Planted in Mid-air by Francis J. Beckwith and Gregory Koukl.
[6] Mark 10:18 and Luke 18:19
[7] Ephesians 2:10
[8] John 3:16; Ephesians 2:8-9
[9] To grasp how we cooperate with God in his purposes, consider Romans 8:28, Philippians 2:12-15, and Corinthians 13:12
[10] Galatians 5:22-23 and Philippians 4:8
[11] Psalm 36:9
[12] See Luke 6:27-36, Romans 15:25-29; 1 Corinthians 16:1-4; 2 Corinthians 9:1-5
Cicada Song 