Frankenstein and Politics

0:02 Looking at our world from a theological perspective. This is the Theology Central podcast making Theology Central. Good morning everyone. It is Friday, November the first, twenty twenty four. It is currently ten thirty eight am Central Time, and I am coming to you live from the Theology Central studio located right here in Abilene, Texas. Now, yesterday was Halloween. I don't know what you were doing for Halloween. I don't know if you celebrated, if you don't celebrate it, if you think it's good, if you think it's bad, whatever your opinion is. I don't know what you were doing.

0:43 But I'm going to open the door and let you know what was going on inside of my brain on Halloween twenty twenty four. Right because on Halloween twenty twenty four, my mind started thinking about three specific dates. Threat specific dates, two in the past, one in the future, three specific dates. The first one was January the first eighteen eighteen. January the first eighteen eighteen. My mind started thinking about, oh Man, January the first eighteen eighteen. I wonder how people first reacted, right, That's what I was thinking. Then I jumped from January the first eighteen eighteen to November the twenty first, nineteen thirty one. January the twenty first, nineteen thirty one. I don't know if any of those dates have any significance to you. The first one January the first, eighteen eighteen.

1:42 The second one November the twenty first, nineteen thirty one. Obviously I wasn't alive for any of that, all right, but my mind was thinking about those dates, specifically what was released on those days. So what was released? What was published on January the first, eighteen eighteen, What was released to the public on November the twenty first, nineteen thirty one. Do you know? Now, if you've seen the title for this episode, you have an idea. If you're listening live, depending on which platform, you may not see the title, so you may not know for sure, but those two dates. Write those dates down. January the first, eighteen eighteen, November the twenty first, nineteen thirty one, and then the third date, November the fifth, twenty twenty four.

2:33 Now you know, November the fifth, twenty twenty four. I'm pretty sure you know what that is referring to. But three dates came to my mind on Halloween twenty twenty four. October thirty first, twenty twenty four. My mind was thinking about January the first, eighteen eighteen, November the twenty first, nineteen thirty one, and November the fifth, twenty twenty four. So what what is significant about these dates. Well, on January the first, eighteen eighteen, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein was first published. This initial edition was published anonymously, right, so nobody knew who the author was. They definitely didn't know it was a woman. There was a preface to the original edition that was written by her husband, So there was a preface written by her husband, but the author was anonymous.

3:27 It led some readers to assume that while her husband was the author. A revised and more widely read edition was later published in eighteen thirty one, with Mary Shelley's name on it, along with a new introduction in which she described the inspiration and process behind the novel. And remember when the novel was first written and people started reading it, there was some shock, There was some there was a little bit of controversy. Many people were felt very uncomfortable with many of its themes. They didn't necessarily like it. They felt it was a little sacrilegious. Maybe some felt it was a little blasphemous, but they basically handled it by publishing very negative reviews, very critical of it. Now, some people loved it and thought it was amazing and great, obviously, but there was obviously criticism of it now, which isn't surprising because it doesn't matter what you do. It doesn't matter if you're a musician. It doesn't matter if you're a podcast or it doesn't matter if you're a preacher, doesn't matter if you're an author. You do anything, there's always going to be someone like, it's no good, it's no good. There's always going to be critics, But there were critics. Now. What's interesting is on January the first, eighteen eighteen, when the book was published, there wasn't any major calls for banning the book, censoring the book, silencing the book, burning the book. There really wasn't anything like that.

4:54 So there was some criticism of it, but most people found it somewhat fascinat intriguing because of its its of its great philosophical questions that were being asked in it a whole. But things would change because when you go from January the first to eighteen eighteen and we go to November the twenty first, nineteen thirty one. Oh boy, things were going to change because it was on that date, November the twenty first, nineteen thirty one, that the original Frankenstein Frankenstein movie that was released to the public January the first, nineteen thirty one. I was going to go into the name of the director and the main actors, but I'm not going to go into all of that.

5:37 You get the idea. November the twenty first, nineteen thirty one and movie theaters, the original Frankenstein movie was released in the United States. This film adaptation became a landmark in horror cinema and helped establish Frankenstein as an enduring cultural icon. But the movie sparked some very strong reactions. Many and the audience got up and walked out. There was even reports of some fainting. There was like there was there was, I mean, the response was strong, and many conservatives and religious leaders said it was blasphemous and they wanted parts of it censored, and they didn't want it distributed, and it was like, we have to stop this, it's horrible. So we go from the novel, which sparked much more debate and conversation. We go to the movie, and immediately some people wanted it silence and wanted it to be like just wiped off the face of the earth.

6:46 And that leads us to November the fifth, twenty twenty four, which is election day in the United States of America. So, how did my brain and on Halloween twenty twenty four, how did it go to January one, eighteen eight, November the twenty first, nineteen thirty one, all the way to November the fifth, twenty twenty four, an election day. What was the correlation? What is wrong with my brain? Well, I think my brain was doing this. I started thinking because it was Halloween. I just started thinking about some of the classic, you know, horror movies, and just started thinking around those things. In my mind was just kind of wandering, and I was thinking about the original Frankenstein novel, which I've always found greatly profound and that everyone should read it. And I started thinking about some of the themes within the movie and the book, and I was like, man, some of this really reminds me of politics in the United States in twenty twenty four. In fact, I feel like I feel like in some ways the Frankenstein novel and movie was kind of a symbol, a symbolic foretelling of what politics would look like in the United States of America, at least for the you know, for a very long time, for a very long time we could figure out where in it all started. But in fact, maybe maybe much longer than I would even care to guess.

8:11 It's just I think it's what politics is. Politics is a lot like things that are put forth in the novel and the movie Frankenstein. So what we're going to do is we're going to take a little journey through the novel, through the movie, and then we're going to connect it all to politics, and then we're going to step back and see how theology should be. Let me stress this, theology and the Bible and Christianity should be a counterpoint to American politics, politics, which is very much like what we see in the book and the movie Frankenstein. Now here's what I would challenge you to do. If you've never done this, Please find a good edition of the original Frankenstein novel. You should read it. You really should.

8:59 It's themes, philosophies, there's so many layers to it. It's very much worth your time. Right, just dedicate yourself to reading the original Frankenstein novel and then watch the nineteen thirty one movie. If you have a subscription to the Peacock streaming service, or get a subscription to the Peacock streaming service, it's not that much. You can watch the original Frankenstein movie. It's right there. You can watch it. You will note, obviously, the ending to the movie and the book. I won't give any spoilers. Let's just say they're very different. They're very, very, very different. So you definitely you'll be able to compare you and you'll see that the movie obviously doesn't go into the same depth, the philosophical depth. Even though you can see the hints of the themes, there's no real expounding upon them. And the movie's relatively short. I think it's just maybe I'm just going from memory. I think it's just a little over an hour. You can look a little over an hour.

10:01 I don't even think it's a full hour and thirty minutes. I think it's maybe an hour, five hour, ten. It's not very long. But you should read the book, you should watch the movie, and then you should well consider maybe what it teaches us about American politics. So are you ready to kind of look at kind of what some of these themes that are in the book and in the movie. Here we go. If we consider both Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein and the nineteen thirty one film, you will see that it addresses society, mob mentality, and fear, though they do so in distinct ways and they offer a slightly different emphasis. All right, So I just want you to when you consider the movie and you consider the novel, they address society, how society is, It makes, it gives you, It tries to capture certain elements of society, tries to put a mirror up to our face so that we see society, maybe in a way we don't want to see. Sometimes we don't want to look in the mirror, right, And it shows this idea of mob mentality, which has always fascinated me and frightened me in some ways.

11:16 And then the idea of fear itself and what people can do with fear. Right fear. Look, you put you hand the right people fear they can utilize it and manipulate you by it. And we will talk more about that as we move forward. So let's kind of outline the messages and how each version conveys certain themes. All right, so let's start with the novel, all right, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. The novel critiques society's treatment of those who are different and explores how fear and prejudice leads to rejection, violence, and tragedy. I want you to hear that again. The novel critiques society's treatment of those who are different. So within the novel itself, she's critiquing society in many ways. Right.

12:16 You may say, oh, it's about the monster, right, or it's about doctor Frankenstein and his creation of this monster, or it's something much deeper than that. And so many times people are very bad about doing this. They can do it with books, they can do it with movies. They sometimes miss the entire point. They just see the surface, and there's always so much beyond it. But the novel critiques society's treatment of those who are different and explores how fear and prejudice leads to rejection, violence, and tragedy. Shelley's monster and the novel is deeply sympathetic character who suffers not because he is in inherently evil, but because society rejects him based on appearance and fear. See, he's rejected not because of an inherent evil, but because of society rejects him out of there, because of an appearance and because of fear. Just think of that fear concept, fear fear. Now, if you watch the movie, there is a kind of a well, when I get to the movie, I'll mention it. I'll mention it there. I don't want to jump ahead. So in the book, the monster is deeply sympathetic, a sympathetic character, I guess would be the right way to state that. And he suffers not because of any inherent evil, but because society rejects him based

13:48 simply on an appearance and because of their own fear and their own fear leads to well, some things. The novel suggests that society creates monsters by failing to show compassion and understanding. So the novel seems to say, society creates the monsters because we show that we show no compassion, we show no understanding, we allow our fear to just take control, which leads to a mob mentality. Within the book, societies will will Will break it down into really three parts within the book, within the novel, and there's far more to the novel than what I'm breaking down here, I'm I'm limiting my focus on things that obviously are going to relate to politics. All right, there, There's much more in it, and I could probably even expand the themes, but but I'm just trying, you know, I don't want to turn this into, you know, a six month series.

14:45 So let's consider society's judgment. Society within the novel is betrayed as an unforgiving and quick to judge the monster that they are. The society has seen as being very unforgiven and very quick to judge the monster, whom they view as a threat solely because of his appearance. This judgment isolates the monster and leads him towards violence out of pain and desperation. So within the novel, here's society, and it's unforgiving, it's judgmental, it's condemning, it's hateful, and well this then has well very horrible, unintended consequences. So society is seen as being judgmental, unforgiving in the novel.

15:36 The mob mentality in the novel, although there isn't a literal mob scene like we see in the nineteen thirty one film, right, but there are multiple instances of collective hostility, such as villagers attacking the monster with stones. They show how groups can act violently and irrationally when influenced by fear. All you got to do is you give them a little bit of fear. They lose their rationality, they lose they become violent. That you people will think and say and do some of the most crazy things. All you got to do is give them a little bit of fear, just a little bit of fear, and then just let irrationality let And since society can already be unforgiving and judgmental, you add a little fear to it, and they become well violent, they become they just lose all rationality. So the book shows society's judgmental nature, It shows mob mentality and what leads to mob mentality. And then the book definitely shows us the fear of the unknown. The monster's existence and Victor's creation challenge natural boundaries which frighten people and push them towards hatred and aggression. Rather than understanding Shelley's critiques, Shelley critiques humanity's instinct to ostracize what it does not understand the fear of the unknown. I'm going

17:09 to read that again, because I think that's a good summary the monster's existence, just his mere existence and Victor's creation, challenging natural boundaries which frighten people. They're frightened by it, and it pushes them towards hatred and aggression rather than understanding, instead of seeking understanding, instead of trying to show find rationality, logic, thinking, no, they just turn to aggression, judgment, fear. Shelley, obviously in the book, critiques humanity's instinct. Here's humanity's instinct to ostracize, to condemn, to destroy what it does not understand. It doesn't seek understanding, it seeks well, I guess, feeling comfortable.

18:06 So there's the outline of the book, and we see these themes mob mentality, fear, ostracizing, condemning, judging, All right, there in the eighteen eighteen novel. All right, So there we have it. So there's the novel. Now let's go to the movie. Let's go to the movie, the nineteen thirty one film adaptation of Frankenstein. Let's consider the movie right now. The film simplifies Shelley's themes into a more straightforward tale of fear and social response to danger or to a dangerous and I like this, putting in quote a dangerous other. How does society respond to a other, something other, something different? How does it respond? Well, we know how society responds to other because if you can create the other other, then you add a little bit of fear, and the next thing you know, you're gonna get judgment, you're gonna get condemnation, you're gonna get ostris, ostracizing it, pushing it, judge. It's just gonna lead well to a very irrational, unloving, a lack of compassionate response.

19:27 And the movie simplifies these themes. It's a very straightforward tell the movie. If you look at the movie, it's a very straightforward tale of fear and social response to a dangerous other. I like the You can put those other and quotations the other, the other. It's not us, it's them. It's not us, it's them, the others, the others. They're a danger, they're a threat. Be warned, be scared. They're out to get us, they're gonna to destroy us. The others. Look at this point, if you're not hearing American politics, then you're not catching on yet. But I will make it more clear as we move forward now within the movie, the nineteen thirty one movie, the villagers collective fear. As the villagers theirselves, there's a collective fear of the monster drives them to violent action, culminating in the dramatic finale with the monster's supposed death. The film emphasizes society's urged to purge the threat it perceives, reflecting how fear can lead to morally questionable actions in the name of safety. The villagers lose their mind. And it's really bizarre because the villagers just like they just immediately I mean, now, there is a death that leads to their fear. So there is something bad that happens, but

20:58 they don't seek understanding. I don't even really like the movie doesn't even really explain much. It's just like there's the death and the next thing, you know, they're like, get the torches and let's go. I mean like they just lose their minds. There's no pause to go let's get more information. No, they just go crazy and it happens quickly. It's almost like from a storytelling perspective, you're kind of like, wait, I'm missing something here. It's like someone cut out a scene, but I think it's supposed to just well, first they're moving it along really quick in the pacing of the film. But I think the it's just shows how quickly a mob, a town, the villagers can go from joy, happiness, celebration, music, food, dancing to get the torches and let's kill something like. It's so quick it's almost unsettling how quick it changes in the movie. You know, I will say something about the movie here that I think is important. In the movie, there are just remember this, if you watch a movie, there are two jars, right, one has a normal brain in it, and the other one has an abnormal brain.

22:09 The normal brain is like normal everyday person. The abnormal brain is supposedly from someone who is violent, who a criminal, criminally insane evil, right, And you'll notice which brain the monster receives. And you'll also notice that, well, the monster demonstrates that it's not that. So then the movie then is making an argument about inherent evil, which from a thiological perspective we may have some problems with. But you may notice that the movie doesn't it doesn't expound upon it. It doesn't expand it. It just kind of it's there. And then you're it's it's up to the viewer to do something with it. But it is interesting. We can have a long discussion about the what the movie it demonstrates there, but I just want you to see the film simplifies the themes into a more straightforward tell of fear and social response to a dangerous other, and the villa villagers collective fear of the monster drives them to violent action, culminating in a dramatic finale with the monster's supposed death. The film emphasizes society's urge to purge. I want you to hear that society hasn't urge to purge anything any threat it perceives, whether the threat is real or whether the threat is imaginary. We want to purge it, we want to destroy it. And we love to state everything is us versus them. They are the others, and they are a danger, and they are a threat, and

23:41 we must get rid of them. Now, in some ways, it sounds like I'm not talking about Frankenstein, the novel or the movie. It sounds like I'm talking about American politics, Which that's my whole point here. You'll see how we put all of this together. So let's outline sense those same three concepts society's judgment, judgment mentality, its mob mentality, and its fear leading to destruction. Let's outline it as this is demonstrated in the movie Did we outlined this and saw? It was demonstrated in the novel? Let's demonstrate it from the movie when it comes to society's quick judgments. Within the movie, the villagers react swiftly to the news of Maria's death. Now that's the little girl who dies.

24:28 Who's you could say? Was she's murdered or was she accidentally killed? You can watch the scene for yourself. The scene was shocking in nineteen thirty one, right, you look at it. By today's standard, you're kind of like whatever. But in nineteen thirty one, the reaction was like, oh, and there are at least reports of some people fainting like they were shocked. They could not believe the Maria, the little girl dies. It was pretty shocking. But the villagers, they react swiftly to the news of Maria's death, assuming the monster's guilt without any evidence. This illustrates society's inclination to judge based on fear and appearance. They didn't care about getting any information. They didn't care about it because there was no one who witnessed what happened. She's dead, and they just immediately assume this is the culprit. And they don't care about facts, they don't care about truth, They just want action. Oh and again, does that not sound like American politics? Who cares about truth? Who cares lie? Misinformation, disinformation, misunderstanding?

25:34 Nobody wants facts, and so they just they're ready to judge. Which this leads to a mob mentality. The iconic mob with torches represent the collective aggression of people who, who influenced by each other's fear and anger, become capable of violence that they might not condone individually. See, the villagers start acting in a way that they may never condone on an individual basis. But now the fear is all all consuming, and now they just rise up as a mob and they do that which any rational person should condemn. But no, no, no, no, no no. Now the mob mentality takes over. So guess what all you need in politics is you have a little bit of fear, point to the others, create a mob mentality, and well, the people can be manipulated, not only to maybe do things that they should never do, but they can also be manipulated to then put certain people in power that they will do what they feel needs to be done because of their fear of the others. And well, then all of the things it leads to. How about fear leading to destruction? So we have society's quick judgment in the nineteen thirty one film, we have mob mentality and action in the nineteen thirty one film. How about fear leading to destruction in the nineteen thirty one film, Well, the villager's fear of the monster, who represents the unknown and unknow natural justifies their pursuit to destroy him. The fire at the end symbolizes society's need to cleanse what it

27:07 cannot understand or control, even if it means destroying a being who might not have been inherently evil. Once people decide, oh, we got to get rid of that, then it's just destroy, purge, burn, get rid of Now. If we put the two together, we take the eighteen eighteen novel the nineteen thirty one movie, we put them together, what do we take away from comparing them together? Here are the shared themes. Both the novel and the film highlight society's tendency to ostracize what it fears, demonstrating how fear can transform into aggression and violence.

27:55 And when we compare the novel to the movie, we see the novel's death in the film's simplicity. Shelley's novel dives into complex ideas about humanity, sympathy, and social responsibility, suggesting that society itself plays a role in creating the monster. The film, while much less nuanced, focuses on the danger of mom mentality and the consequences of unchecked fear. Together the novel in the film present a cautionary message about the need for compassion and understanding. Where the novel offers a critique of societal flaws that lead to tragedy, the film illustrates the immediate dangers of mob violence and irrational fear in a visually compelling way. Both worn of the destructive potential of humanity. When fear replaces empathy, when we get rid of empathy, then fear rules and rings. And what is bizarre? Do you remember a few years ago there was like this, There was at least a certain elements of Christianity. This almost the condemning of empathy, that we should not have empathy. Well, when you get rid of empathy, you end up creating fear. And when you have fear, you have irrationality. And when you have irrationality, you get a mob rules mentality, and you create well, they are the others, and you start acting well in a way that is completely not even remotely close to Christianity. Now,

29:30 when you take the eighteen eighteen novel and you take its nineteen thirty one film adaptation, they resonate deeply with American politics. You take, I don't know how you can read the novel and watch the movie and not go American politics. It is literally American politics. Especially if you look I'm just gonna consider American politics. Really, if we go to twenty fourteen to twenty twenty four, that time period, right, just that time, because everyone can remember that, right, that's all within everyone's memory. If I go further back, many of us wouldn't even be alive for some of us, So twenty fourteen to the present, if you just take that period of time, and if you look at this particularly concerning fear, the demonization of groups, and a mob mentality, if you take American politics twenty fourteen to twenty twenty four, you know what we get. We have fear, we have the demonization of certain groups, and we have a mob mentality that is frightening. During this period of time, fear has been a pervasive tool in American politics. You cannot deny that It's often used to galvanize support, vilify opposition, and polarize society. We become more divisive, more condemning, more unloving,

31:02 no empathy, hate, fear. It's insane what has happened? So how can we apply these lessons from the eighteen eighteen novel the nineteen thirty one film to American politics? Well, let's break this down, ready, how can we We're going to so we've walked through the eighteen eighteen novel, We've walked through the nineteen thirty one film, just looking at a few basic concepts in both. The book goes way beyond the wall even the movie that there are far broader themes that we could discuss. We could have great conversations about it. I mean, I'm telling you, read the book, watch the movie. Okay, I'm telling you all right, But let's start here. The fear of the and you can put it in quotes other or the way I would state it. The fear of the others, the others the others are here, and social division. So we're going to put those two together. Fear of the others in social division and Frankenstein and the novel Frankenstein. Society's fear and rejection of the monster based on his appearance and perceived threat reflect a human tendency to marginalize those who are different or misunderstood. The novel suggests that the fear driven exclusion can turn individuals or groups into monsters in the

32:35 public's mind, leading to tragic outcomes. I think this is very important. Who's the real monster in the novel? Who's the real monster? In the film? Is it the monster or is it society? Who's the real monster? And in many cases when it comes into politics, waly because of fear and rejection of what is different or what we may misunderstand or don't understand. While we condemn it, while we act crazy and say crazy things, we in many cases become the very monster, and we become the very evil that we are condemning, or we become even more evil than the evil we are condemning. In the novel, society's fear and rejection of the monster based on appearance and perceived threat reflect a human tendency to marginalize those who are different or misunderstood. The novel suggests that this fear driven exclusion can turn individuals or groups into monsters in the public mind, leading to tragic outcomes. Now, how do we apply this to politics? So there there is the fear of the other in the novel, the fear of the other social division in the novel. Now let's apply it to politics. Fear of the other has become increasingly prominent and American politics, with parties, politicians, and media

34:08 outlets often framing specific groups, whether based on race, immigration, status, religion, or political ideology, as threats to traditional values or national security. This results in an intensified US versus Them mentality, which fuels polarization and widespread social divides. Politicians and media on both sides have used these tactics to mobilize their bases, but this also fosters misunderstanding, resentment, and hostility among Americans. The fear of the other drives American politics. I'm just going to go through this again. I want you to listen carefully. The fear of the other has become increasingly prominent and American politics with parties, politicians, and the media.

35:08 And I'm going to even argue the church framing specific groups, whether based on race, immigration, status, religion, or political ideology, as threats to traditional values or national security. The result is an intensified us versus them mentality. If you go to the Christianpost dot com today, oh, Mark driscoll has now declared if you vote basically democrat, if you if you're pro choice, you're going to hell. And look at the sum of the comments underneath it. Oh wait, so now salvation even in the Christian mind, it's us versus them. You, if you're going to be a Christian, you got to believe what I believe, and you got to vote the way I vote, because if you don't vote the way I vote, you go to hell. Where is that? How is that? Christian Ritianity? Christianity? Salvation is based on my faith in Jesus Christ, not who I vote for. But see, we can't we can't just have Christians. We already separate Christians into philological groups. Okay, we already do that, and we marginalize and we demonize and we condemn others. Okay, we know we already do that philologically but now we got to add politics into it. And Christians constantly talk about us versus them, Us, Us, we're the good guys in the story and they're the bad guys. Who are they?

36:35 Doesn't matter, it's anyone who's not like us? Can we marginalize and we demonize the Fear of the other has become increasingly prominent and American politics, with parties, politicians, and media outlets often framing specific groups, whether based on race, immigration, status, religion, or political ideology, as threats to traditional values or national security. The result has an intensified US versus them mentality, which fuels polarization and widen social divide. Politicians and media on both sides have used these tactics to mobilize their basis. But they but this fosters a misunderstanding, It fosters resentment, and it fosters hostility among one another. The fear of the other, them them, them on. Once you have fear of the other, then that guess what that leads to.

37:32 Then now, because of your fear, you can be manipulated, and now you are a useful tool, a tool for what to get a certain party elected so that they'll fight the other supposedly for you. The novel shows this, and it's very applicable to American politics. So there's the fear of the other in the novel. How about the mob mentality? Are group thin now? In the film? In the nineteen thirty one film, it illustrates how a group or groups, I should say, or group can quickly descend into mob mentality, acting out of collective fear rather than individual reason or compassion. The villagers pursuit of the monster with torches represent a rush to violent action without understanding or evidence. That's very clearly illustrated in the nineteen thirty one film. It is clearly illustrated they act out of collective fear rather than individual reason or compassion. Forget compassion, forget understanding, forget reason, burn it down now? How do we apply this to American politics? American politics today often

39:03 operates in an echo chamber, where like minded individuals amplify each other's beliefs and stoke each other's fears. Social media, in particular, has intensified groupthink, making it easier for political factions to rally around demonizing narratives from protests turning violent to online harassment campaigns. People in groups sometimes abandon critical thought in favor of collective rage, often aimed at those perceived they perceive as monsters or the enemies. And you hear this even in preaching. How we talk about people Christian radio, How them, them, They're the monster, They're the enemy them, it's us versus them. And then all you do is listen to the same voices, and you begin to eliminate any voice that would be critical of your perspective, and you're like, they're all liars. We have the truth.

39:55 Everything we say is true. Everything's to say anything they say no, not true, not true, fake news. You know, it leads to this group think, this mob mentality. And if anyone tries to even raise a hand a hand and say wait, wait, wait wait, I don't think you're immediately told to shut up, be quiet, and go away because you will not question us. If you watch the nineteen thirty one film and you see all of those villagers running up the hillside with their torches, ready to destroy, ready to purge. When you see them, well, I won't give it all the way you when they descend upon the building and they set it ablaze. How do you don't see American politics? I have no way. I don't know.

40:47 I don't know why you're not seeing it. Maybe because you're so in it. Mob mentality and group think. How about demonizing and the demonization of opposing views. Let's go back to the novel. Right, So we looked at the fear of others. How that's talked about in the novel. Then we talked about mob mentality. How that's talked about in the nineteen thirty one film. Now, let's go back to the novel for the demonization of opposing views. Shelley's Frankenstein critiques society's impulse to judge harshly and hastily, rejecting the monster without considering his true nature intentions. This can be seen as a metaphor for how society can create enemies by refusing to understand those who are different. Yeah, you think, well, how does this apply to American politics? Well, political rhetoric and the US has often focused on vilifying opposing groups rather than fostering understanding or compassion. Terms like the enemy of the people, deplorables, are radical left or radical right are used to de legitimize and de humanize opposition.

42:01 We dehumanize other people, we dehumanize them we dehumanize them based off what we put them in a group. We dehumanize the group, and then we say it's us versus them, and then we create a mob mentality, and then it's fear and we must destroy them, and then we forget anything about compassion, empathy. Empathy is actually seen as bad by some Christians. Now that I mean, it's very clear. I mean, I don't know how else to describe this. This reflects the lesson of Frankenstein by showing how the demonization of political opponents can lead to a fractured society where collaboration and empathy are sacrificed for the sake of conflict.

42:54 It's not about empathy, it's not about understanding, it's not about collaborating. It's about conflict. And what do we see in politics. It's about fighting and dehumanizing and attacking and destroying. Now, let's look at that. So we've looked at the fear of others and social division. We've looked at that, how that's in the how that's in the novel, and how that shows up in American politics. We looked at the mob mentality and group think, how that appears in the nineteen thirty one film. How that shows up in American politics.

43:38 We've looked at the demonization of opposing views. How that shows up in the novel? How that shows up in American politics. How about the consequences of a fear driven society? What are the consequences of a fear driven society? Well, in this case, we're going to take the novel and the movie and we're going to put them together, because if you take both the novel and the film, they warn of the tragic consequence when society acts on fear rather than understanding. In the novel, the monster becomes violent after repeated rejection, a tragic outcome of society's inability to see him as more than a threat. The film's dramatic ending reinforces how mob action driven by fear can lead to destruction without achieving true justice or peace. Now, how do we apply this to politics. Well, in recent years, fear has been used to justify significant political and social decisions, from immigration policies to civil rights rollbacks to censorship efforts.

44:38 These policies and actions, driven by a desire to protect from perceived threats, often result in the loss of rights and freedoms, impacting both targeted and broader populations. Frankenstein cautions that acting on fear rather than empathy or reason not only harms those feared, but can ultimately destroy the fabric of society itself. We saw this after September of the eleventh, two thousand and one, where you had many Christians calling for the removal of Islamic mosque or forbidding them to be built in their neighborhood or their city because of fear. Absolutely, because of what happened. Oh no, now they are the perceived right. It's us versus m not seeking understanding, but destruction, purge, and guess what if you remove their rights, you're removing your rights. The rights you take from the rights you withhold are rights you take and withhold from yourself. That's basic reason and logic. No, no, no, it did not matter because a fear. Now, sometimes there can be a certain level of fear that is justifiable, but what you do with that fear can then go to irrational levels.

46:03 Both frank consign the novel and the film suggest that fear based politics is ultimately destructive, leading society to misjudge and alienate others. Applied to American politics, these lessons warn of the consequences of demonizing political opponents, embracing mob mentality, and allowing fear to dictate policy. Just as Shelley's society created a monster by rejecting a vilifying and misunderstood being, modern political culture risk creating monsters out of people and groups who may not truly be threats but are perceived as such. By recognizing these lessons, there is potential to foster a more empathetic understanding approach that values dialogue over demonization and healing over hostility. Well, yeah, that's too optimistic.

46:51 I don't think that will ever happen, but it would be great if we could reach that level. But we're not going to reach that level. Things are only going to get worse and worse and worse. From mind, that's my you know, more, my eschatology coming into play there. So there's the movie or there's the book. There's the movie, and there's American politics. Now, how do we step back and provide a thoughtful and biblical philological perspective that would offer a counterpoint to the themes of fear, mob mentality, and demonization in both Frankenstein and modern politics. How can we offer a philological I mean this is called theology central.

47:37 If we make theology central, can we offer a truly biblical philological counterpoint to these major problems? If we have that, if it's rooted in Biblical principles of law, of compassion, humility, and reconciliation, I believe a Biblical view can provide distinct insights that challenge the instinct to fear and reject those who are different or perceived as threat. Yes, here's some just basic concepts. How about we do this. How about we begin to see people as a Christian and I'm speaking to Christians now, if you are a Christian, how about you do this when you see other people. I don't care if they're democrats, I don't care if they're homosexual, transgender, I don't care. I don't care what. I don't care what they are. I don't care if they're a different religion, a different race, a different anything. How about you see people in the image of God. Scripture teaches that all people are created in the image of God, affirming the inherent dignity, worth, and value of every individual, regardless of how they look, where they're from, are what they believe.

48:57 How about we start realizing when we speak about people, we see them in the image of God. How about instead of seeing their race, their country of origin, their political beliefs, their religion, before we see their sexual preference. They're sexual before we see any of that. How about we see that as a person created in the image of God. Instead of reducing them to a you know, one dimensional monster, we say that that's a human being created in the image of God. Can we do that? I mean, we say, oh, the sanctity of life. Well, the sanctity of life goes beyond just that. If you want to talk about that within the womb, then their sanctity of life goes to after the womb. Are we not to demonstrate that then as well? If we can recognize every person as an image bearer of God, it opposes the instinct to dehumanize or vilify others, which is often seen in fear based politics. This view calls believers to look beyond outward appearance and perceive differences, understanding that each person has God given worth and potential. Rather than making enemies. A biblical perspective encourages Christians to see those who disagree with us as valuable and worth understanding. Now that goes against our sinful nature, say our sinful nature says ah. Forget the image of God, enemy, destroy, vilify, to humanize, call names, throw them into hell. I mean Christians,

50:30 we always have the hell card up our sleeve. Right, we can play the hell card whenever we want. Oh you do this, you go to hell. Oh you vote the wrong way, you go to hell. You do this, you go to hell, and you go to hell, and you go to hell? I mean our that's our that's our best play, is it not? You better agree with me? You better do what I say? Are you burn? As if we're somehow in control of who goes to hell? We think we're God. We think we think we have the keys to Hell. We think we own it. We think we get to open the door and throw in whoever we want. I wish Christians would stop acting like that. We almost use hell as a weapon to threaten people. Oh you think, Oh you think you're so smart. Wait do you burn in hell? Wait? Do you stand before God?

51:13 We're not broken. We use it as a weapon because we disagree, we can't win it, and actually, I don't know have a n actual discussion. We just have to threaten them with hell, and it makes us feel superior, doesn't it Our torch is to just throw cast people into hell? How about set of dehumanizing everyone. We see people and that they're created in the image of God, and we see beyond the race, we see beyond the politics, we see beyond our disagreement. How about stop throwing everyone in hell because they disagree with Ooh, you vote Democrat, you burn That's nowhere in the Bible. Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, because of Christ alone. You're saved by an imputed righteousness. And that impute righteousness does not change who you are, because you're still a center.

52:03 And guess what, it doesn't change how you vote. You say, well, the Bible should change how I vote. It may, but guess what you want to You want to make everything one dimensional, and because you can't because things we're very have a very difficult time as Christians seeing things that are not always so simple simplified. Things are not so one dimensional that there are multiple issues that could people lead people to vote for various reasons. Just like you vote for my team, or you are not a Christian. How about maybe being a Christian someone could go, well, I think there's more than just one issue. Oh no, there's only one issue. Okay, well let's look at that one issue, and then you can say, well, what about this, and what about this and what about Oh no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no no no. I don't want any nuanced. I don't want any no. They want to make it simple. It's us versus them. Where the good guys are the bad guys they burn in hell. We go to heaven and we win. We've got to see people and the image of God, right, don't we don't we believe that, so see people in the image of God. Number two, we're supposed to love our enemies and pray for those who would even oppress us. I mean I thought that was Christianity. Yeah, I don't know, Maybe I forgot about it. Jesus commands us.

53:33 This is a command. Now, we're never going to do this correctly. This is one We're always going to fall short, and we have to be saved by an imputed righteousness. But Jesus commands us to love our enemy and pray for those who persecute us. It's somewhere in the Bible. I think it's called the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter five, verse forty four. Now this goes against the instinct to demonize or destroy opponents. As said, it calls for radical love that seeks the good of others, even those who may be considered adversaries. Do you seek the good of others who you may even perceive to be your political adversaries? Do you seek their good? Do you love them? Do you pray for them? Or do you just call them your nice little names and you talk like well, a condescending, arrogant jerk. Do you sound like Jesus or do you sound like I don't know Trump's Twitter feed or Truth's social feed or any other politician who demonizes and call people's names. Love your enemy, go against the instinct to demonize and destroy your opponents. Pursue a radical love that seeks the good of other people, even those you may consider your adversaries. Now, this command challenges believers to step away from groupthink or mob behavior that encourages animosity towards

55:05 perceived enemies, and said it fosters a counter cultural approach where believers are called to respond with compassion even to those who oppose them, praying for and showing kindness to others rather than joining in condemnation. It transforms both individuals and relationships, promoting healing and reconciliation. Love your enemy, pray for those who would oppress you, turn the other cheek, resist not evil. Already hearing Christian, But now this is the law of God. And guess what, Yes, you say, but it's impossible. Yeah, it is impossible. That's why we have to be saved by and imputed righteousness. But it's still what we are to pursue. So Number one, we need to see people in the image of God. Number two, we need to love our enemies and pray for those who oppress us and turn the other cheek. Number three, and brace humility and recognize your own sin. Scripture teaches that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. That was you before salvation, that is you after salvation. Acknowledgment of universal human sinfulness fallibility calls for humility.

56:25 It recognizes that everyone is need of grace and forgiveness. Have you need to be more aware of your own fallibility, your own failure, your own sin, your own bitterness, hatred, unforgiveness, unloving, lust, coveteousness, grumbling, complaining, hatred, all the things that are inside of you. You need to be more aware of those than you are about anybody else. Instead of worrying about everyone else, condemning everyone else, look in the stinking mirror at yourself, see yourself. We need to embrace humility and embrace and recognize our own sin.

57:12 Stop talking about like you are somehow better than them. Stop demonizing them as being the bad guy. You're the bad guy. You're the monster. You're the sinner, and so am I. Number four. We need to pursue peace and reconciliation over division and destruction. Christians are called to be peace makers and to live peaceably with all, with all, as far as it depends on them. The ministry of reconciliation teaches the believers or to work towards restoring relationships and bringing healing to divisions. This is Matthew five nine, Roman twelve eighteen as Tewod Corinthians five eighteen through nineteen.

58:05 Rather than fueling division, a biblical perspective emphasizes unity and reconciliation, seeking peace even amidst disagreements. This stands and start contrast to fear driven political approach that often divides and polarize. A commitment to reconciliation encourages believers to bridge divides, seeking understanding and find common ground with those who may differ from them. Pursue peace, pursue reconciliation, not dehumanizing, not demonizing. Love your enemy, turn the other cheeks, see people in the image of God. This is basic Christianity one oh one that the Church in America has lost because we have been infected with the evil of politics and we, as we are declaring everyone else to be the monster, and we want to grab our torches and burn them down, we have become the monster. We need to trust God rather than acting out in fear. Scripture repeatedly calls believers to fear not and to trust God's sovereignty. The fear of the future of perceived threat is encountered by a steadfast trust in God. A biblical view challenges fear driven responses by reminding believers that their security is found in God, not in controlling or eliminating all perceived threats. Trusting in God allows believers to engage with others out of love rather than fear, offering a calm and compassionate approach rather

59:38 than one based on anxiety or suspicion. This perspective encourages believers to approach issues thoughtfully and with wisdom, rather than reacting impulsively with hostility. Christians talk about trusting in God. He's my rock, here's my refuge, He's my shield. I will not fear. I will not even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. We talk all a big game, and then we run around and oh, the end of the world is going to happen. We gotta do this, and we got to get rid of the democrats. Then we gotta do this. Then we gotta do this, and fear fear, fear, fear, fear, fear, fear, fear, and demonize and to humanized and the others. We got to get rid of the others. And we're and we act like we're scared to death. What we claim, Oh, we don't fear anything. We talk a big game, and then we're like, oh, we need fifteen we need fifteen armed guards inside this church. We gotta do this, we gotta do that. We got to get rid of these people.

1:00:44 Because because we talk a big game. You see, it's easy to talk about not having fear. It's another thing to live as if you don't have fear. I can talk about not having fear living without it. That's a radically different approach. But fear is a tool used to manipulate you, to get you all discombobulated, that you give your vote to a party that then they get the power, and then you somehow feel better. A biblical and philological perspective offers a radically different approach to fear, demonization, and mob mentality by grounding interactions and love, humility, and trust in God. While the world may tend towards division, fear of the other, and reactivity, a christ centered perspective calls for compassion, understanding, and a commitment to peace. This approach does not ignore real challenges or dangers, but reframes reframes them within the context of faith, reconciliation, and grace, inviting believers to be agents of healing and unity and a very very, very fractured world. So January first, eighteen eighteen, Frankenstein the Novel is released. November nineteen thirty one, Frankenstein

1:02:19 the Movie is released. In these classic works of film and literature, very important themes emerge, themes that should make us face ourselves and think a little bit about man, this is not right, and then we can see how these things have arisen within American politics. Now, if it would have just stayed in American politics, great, But this has entered inside the church. And this approach is not biblical, it is not godly, it is not scriptural. It is completely counter to everything Christians are supposed to stand for. But Christians have been pulled in, They've been manipulated, They've been led like sheep to the edge of the cliff and some pushed over, and they have abandoned biblical, historical Christianity for a political agenda. And they have been guilty of dehumanizing, unloving, condemning, and being almost hateful towards groups and people, instead of seeing them in the image of God, instead of loving our enemy, instead of doing these things that we know the Bible calls us to do. Now, I'm not saying we're ever going to do them perfectly.

1:03:31 We're always going to fall short. That's why we have to be constantly aware and admit our own sin. Now, these lessons have been there for a very long time. We can learn these lessons, we can ignore them now. Just to show you how far things have gone today, you'll just open up your if you have your phone, if you have your tablet. Just go to drudgereport dot com.

1:04:12 Drudgereport dot com. Look at the headline. That's all in red. Trump calls for Liz Cheney's execution. Now, I've seen how conservatives said, will he didn't actually say that, Well, he didn't actually mean that, and they've played all their little games. But I've seen the video of it. Some say, well, the context changes that I've heard the context. You can get into a debate. I'm just saying, whether it's Trump calling for another being's execution because he doesn't alike that she's his political you know, critic and criticizes everything from what happened on January the sixth, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, his lying about the election being stolen, in whatever, he's calling for execution. And we can talk about people on all sides who've said absolutely outrageous and horrendous things, whether Republican or Democrat. But this is the story today.

1:05:24 It's right there. It's all in red. I've seen it everywhere. Christians, stop it, get out of it, leave it, leave the political cesspool behind, walk away, wash your hands, return to christ return to the Bible, return to Christianity. Leave this political disease, this political cancer that infects us, that leads you down some path of just you get into some echo chamber and you start talking like politicians instead of talking like your savior. You've abandoned your savior. You've thrown the cross in the trash can to wrap yourself in the American flag so you can cover your hatred and your fear, and you're loathing and despising of other human beings who are created in the image of God.

1:06:21 Enough's enough. I don't care what political party you are. I don't care what your politics are. Enough's enough. Maybe there's some answers, but there's some warnings that were given in eighteen eighteen, and a little book called Frankenstein showed up in a film in nineteen thirty one called Frankenstein. Maybe Frankenstein's monster can actually give us warnings that if we take to heart and we go back to our Bible, we can be like, there's a different approach. And it's not a Republican approach, it's not a Democrat approach. It's a Biblical approach. Now, of course I'll probably get some well meaning Christian. They'll say you're going to hell, and you can threaten me with hell. I mean, you know, hey, Mark Driscolls can tell people you go to hell if you vote Democrat, you go to hell. If you're pro choice, people can say all that. I don't really care anymore what Christians think, what Christians think are is irrelevant to me.

1:07:39 You know why, because Christians just turn Christianity whatever they want. We want to throw anybody in hell. We don't. We forget about salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, because chryst no, no, no, no no. We now have just taken Christianity. We just make it into our own image. So you make Christianity your own image. Threaten me with hell, throw me into hell. I don't care, because you don't control hell. You can be a narcissist, stick condemning jerk. I don't care. Your Christianity is meaningless to me because the Church has abandoned Christianity. Salvation is a faith in Jesus Christ. I don't care if you're a Democrat. I don't care if you're a Republican. I don't care if you're a communist. I don't care if you're a socialist. I don't care what your political ideology is. Hope and faith or hope for salvation is found in the Cross of Jesus Christ.

1:08:27 Believe in him and you will be saved. For God so love the world that he's in his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him shall be saved, They shall have eternal life, they shall not perish. Faith salvation is found in faith in Christ. Now, once you have that faith in Christ and you pursue scripture, it may impact how you perceive certain issues within society. But you'll also note when you vote, you're not just voting on one issue. And even if you're voting on one issue, it's not always as simple as everyone thinks that it is. But see, this is what happens when you bring your Christianity into the political arena. Now, your Christianity. You know what gets messed up when you bring your politics or your Christianity into politics. You know what gets corrupted your Christianity. You know what gets infected your Christianity, not the politics. The politics will always remain relativistic. It's basically relativistic, immoral, deceitful, deceptive, pragmatic.

1:09:42 Your Christianity is supposed to be countered, all of that Frankenstein politics. Hope something I said will be of some use as we fast fast approach this election. May God have mercy on all of us.