Bruce Almighty!
Bruce Almighty challenges the popular perception of God as an
almighty being who oversees the universe, yet who mystifies us by
not intervening to stop bad things happening in people’s lives. It is
hardly surprising that many people have already rejected the notion
of such a perverse deity. The sad thing is that such an image of God
is remote from the reality. God is not some sort of divine puppetmaster. Instead God loves mankind unconditionally and calls people
into a relationship. This is seen most clearly in and through the
person of Jesus Christ through whom God entered into humanity.
God longs for mankind to respond in love, yet never forces mankind
to do so. Each person is free to accept or reject God’s love.
1. Why is Bruce upset with his life, and in particular God?
2. What signs did Bruce see that might have been from God?
3. Describe any of the Biblical references made in the movie.
4. How does Bruce use his newfound powers?
5. What happens when Bruce gives everyone what he or she wants?
6. What does Bruce realize about the powers and role of God (once he has been
given these powers and role)?
7. What lesson does Bruce learn about free will? How is this an issue for God as
well?
8. Bruce’s initial image of God seemed to be one of an almighty, all-powerful being
who could intervene to make the world a different place. How does this
perception change by the end of the movie? How did Bruce change?
9. Did you find Bruce Almighty offensive in any way ~ if so, how and why?
Neat Things…
1. The address for Omni Presents is 77526 23rd St. Can you find the hidden Biblical
or religious reference in those numbers? Hint: #’s on a phone pad.
2. God (played by Morgan Freeman) plays three roles in the movie. What are they
and what do they symbolize?
Deep Thoughts…
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Do you think God sends us signs? How?
Have you ever been through a time in your life when you think you ignored signs, but recognized
them later?
Why doesn't God just come out and tell us stuff?
How do you think the world would be different if there were no free will or if God directed every
detail of life? How would your faith be different?
What do you think about the comment, "it was God's will," in response to things that happen in
life? What's the relationship between God's will and our free will (a gift from God)?
Have you ever prayed for something and not received it? Have you ever discovered later that it
was good you didn't get what you wanted?
How do you recognize an answer to a prayer?
God also says, "People too often ask me to do things for them that they can do themselves." Do
you think this is true? Have you ever prayed to do well on a test? What other prayers might be
about things that people could or need to do for themselves?
How does Morgan Freeman fit in with your ideas of God? How does his
character challenge or change your ideas?
If you had God's powers for a day, what would you do?
What
Answers
[It's 77256 23rd St. The #'s spell out "Psalm" on a phone number pad. So it's Psalm
23 - "The Lord is my Shepherd...".]
Can anyone name all (or almost all) of the Biblical references in this movie?
-There is the tomato soup reference at the diner which is referring to God parting
the Red Sea for Moses
-Then at the party we see Bruce leaning on the golden calf which is another
reference to the Bible's 10 Commandments where it says that "thou shalt not
worship any false idols." Meaning that only the faithful must worship God and no
false entities.
-Again at the party Bruce is coming upstairs with a pitcher of water and a glass of
wine which is a reference to Jesus turning water into wine at a social function
- When God and Bruce meet out on the water this is a reference to Jesus walking on
water
-the search engine Bruce uses on his computer Yahweh, is also another name for
God.
3. The address for Omni Presents is 77526 23rd St. Can you find the hidden Biblical
or religious reference in those numbers? Hint: #’s on a phone pad.
4. God (played by Morgan Freeman) plays three roles in the movie. What are
they and what do they symbolize? Janitor (Christ the servant?), electrician
(Spirit?), and boss (God the Father?).
Free will
When God hands over God's powers to Bruce, he tells him he cannot mess with free will.
Bruce finds out how frustrating this is when he starts to lose his girlfriend, (a very kind
woman named Grace) and says to God, "How do you make someone love you without
affecting free will?" and God answers, "Welcome to my life. If you figure out an answer
to that question, let me know."
Show me a sign
As Bruce complains about his life, he prays to God and asks God to show him a sign. As
he is praying, he is passing construction signs that tell him to "Turn Around," or say
"Dead End," "Wrong Way," and "Do Not Enter." He ignores them all and crashes his car.
His pager beeps a number he refuses to call. When the pager continues to beep after it has
been destroyed, he decides to call it, and ends up meeting God in a building called "Omni
Presents."
Discussion questions
Bible helps
Mark 8:1-13. This passage is the story of the loaves and fishes, and concludes with the
Pharisees arguing with Jesus and asking for a sign from heaven. Jesus sighs deeply,
asking, "Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given
to this generation." Clearly, this generation had already been given many signs--the
prophets who foretold of Jesus' birth (Isaiah 7:14, 9:2-7) and many miracles, including
the one they had just witnessed of the multiplication of loaves and fishes. The Pharisees
were much like Bruce, ignoring the signs right in front of them.
Discussion questions
Talk about how many of the questions that we have for God boil down to the idea of free
will: why doesn't God end hunger and poverty, war, environmental problems, crime, etc.
These are all problems that exist in the world, to varying degrees, because we choose to
do things that end up affecting other people or creation in negative or positive ways. Free
will influences people in small ways too. God is certainly at work in everyone's lives, but
as we can see from the previous discussion, we don't always choose to recognize it or pay
attention to God's presence, influence, or actions.
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What problems did Bruce run into when he struggled to use the free will given to
him?
How do you think the world would be different if there were no free will or if
God directed every detail of life? How would your faith be different?
What do you think about the comment, "it was God's will," in response to things
that happen in life? What's the relationship between God's will and our free will (a
gift from God)?
Bible helps
In Genesis 3, we see that God gave free will from the very beginning.
Answered prayers
Bruce uses his powers for selfish gain for the first week to please his girlfriend, to get
ahead at work, and for revenge. When he encounters God again, God asks about this, and
Bruce understands that the annoying voices he keeps hearing are other people's prayers.
He has millions of prayers to answer; he tries to find good ways to organize them, and
finally develops a Yahweh Website to hold them all. But there are so many that he finally
decides just to answer yes to everything.
Through both answering his own prayers (in the first week) and everyone else's later,
Bruce learns what kind of damage can be caused when people always get what they want
(prompting God to ask, "Since when have humans known what they want?"). Bruce pulls
the moon closer to create a mood, and a tsunami happens on the other side of the world.
A bunch of people win the lottery; so many that they all only get $17 each. People's
stocks go up and the financial market freaks out. The city's team wins and a riot starts.
Discussion questions
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What happens when Bruce gives everyone what he or she wants?
Have you ever prayed for something and not received it? Have you ever
discovered later that it was good you didn't get what you wanted? (A good
resource for this discussion is Garth Brooks' song "Unanswered Prayers.")
You may want to encourage youth to keep a prayer journal so they can keep track
of their prayers and who and what they pray for. Go back and see if they can
recognize the answers they eventually received or how their lives may have been
changed or influenced by prayer.
How do you recognize an answer to a prayer? (This gets a little tricky!)
God also says, "People too often ask me to do things for them that they can do
themselves." Do you think this is true? Have you ever prayed to do well on a test?
What other prayers might be about things that people could or need to do for
themselves?
Bible helps
Romans 11:33 talks about how impossible it is to understand God's decisions. In
Matthew 26:39, Jesus prays a prayer that does not get answered the way he would like,
when he prays "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me, yet not what I want
but what you want." Think of how different the world would be if God had chosen to
answer that prayer differently.
A quote to close with from Goethe: "Every solution of a problem is a new problem."
Other things you'll get a kick out of in the movie:
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Parting the Red Sea: One of the first things Bruce does with his new powers
while playing with his tomato soup.
Most Lutheran line: Bruce says to his girlfriend, "Nothing feels right without
you, Grace."
God plays three roles in the movie: Janitor (Christ the servant?), electrician
(Spirit?), and boss (God the Father?).
God asks Bruce to "Take a closer walk with me."
As with anything, feel free to adapt this guide to your own situation. Enjoy the film,
enjoy the discussion and enjoy one another, And remember, the first word and the last
word is always, “God Loves You.”
Bruce Almighty challenges the popular perception of God as an almighty being who
oversees the universe, yet who mystifies us by not intervening to stop bad things
happening in people’s lives. It is hardly surprising that many people have already rejected
the notion of such a perverse deity. The sad thing is that such an image of God is remote
from the reality. God is not some sort of divine puppet-master. Instead God loves us
unconditionally and calls us into relationship. We see this most clearly in and through the
person of Jesus Christ through whom God entered into our humanity. God longs for us to
respond in love, yet never forces us to do so. Each of us is free to accept or reject God’s
love.
That point is picked up admirably in an exchange between Bruce and God where Bruce
asks how he can make Grace love him without interfering with her free will. God replies
that it is something he has never managed to solve!
Perhaps instead of seeking answers to unfathomable questions, the focus of our energy
should be on a growing relationship with the God who has met us in the person of Jesus.
The God who does not sit remote from the struggles of what it means to be human, but
who shares the journey with us every step of the way. It is through such an encounter
with God that we can begin to makes sense of an often confusing and sometimes
frightening world.
Have your say on the discussion forum....
Bruce’s initial image of God seemed to be one of an almighty, all-powerful being
who could intervene to make the world a different place. How do you see God?
When Bruce tried to answer everyone's prayers with a 'yes', all sorts of problems
emerged. What insights into prayer does that give you?
Did you find Bruce Almighty offensive in any way ~ if so, why?
How does Morgan Freeman fit in with your ideas of God? How does his character
challenge or change your ideas?
If you had God's powers for a day, what would you do?
What is the significance of Bruce's girlfriend's name?
What evidence is there that Bruce learns the importance of giving to others? What
evidence is there that he does not?
You can see more of my thoughts on this film at:
http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hv&id=1808403329&cf=parentsguide