The Libertine Post

I watched the movie The Rite, starring Anthony Hopkins, a few days ago. What’s scarier, Hannibal Lecter or the devil? How about Anthony Hopkins playing the devil?! *shudder*

Anyway, what else about the brilliance of Anthony Hopkins is there left to say? Throughout the movie, i was spellbound, scared shitless and mesmerised all at the same time by his performance as the unorthodox Welsh exorcist who teaches the lead character, a God-doubter, about the existence of the devil.

For the record, I LOVE movies that revolve around Christian mythology, the mysticism and dogma that lead to the inevitable conspiracy theories involving the Vatican, etc. Movies like Exorcist, Stigmata, Exorcism of Emily Rose, even Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code. It’s just something about the ongoing battle between God and devil that somehow appeals to me.

First off, I absolutely believe in the devil. And it goes further than just equating the devil with the evil that exists within humanity. I actually believe in the entity that is the devil. I believe in the physical manifestation of the devil because this belief stems from my belief in God. Yes folks, despite my flippant attitude to religion, my faith in the existence of God is unshakable. And while I also believe that good triumphs over evil, I know it doesn’t always seem like it on Earth when bad things seem to happen to good people.

The thing is, over the years I have distilled my thoughts on the subject to a point where I think that ultimately, good always win because even if you die fighting evil, passage into heaven or a higher form of reincarnation is the purest form of the victory of good. The catch is of course that this victory involves dying. Which is unpalatable to us but remains a certainty of life. I lost my Dad to a car accident at the age of 9 but I believe that he’s in a better place and as unscientific as it sounds, I have on occasion felt like he even watches over me.

Coming back to the movie which involves demonic possession, it raises the question on how the average soul can expect to protect themselves against something as scary as demonic possession? The truth is that I believe that you can’t always do that. However, I do believe that if ever you are, then God will come to your aid, be it in the form of Anthony Hopkins the exorcist or maybe even death, or anything in between. Either way, the devil cannot win. Fear the devil, but believe that he will never win.

In this post I used the word ‘believe’ 6 times. Which is the essence of faith ain’t it? Anyway, great movie even if the reviewers have panned it. Watch it if you don’t believe in the devil, watch it if you believe in the devil, or just watch it for Anthony Hopkins.