The first time I saw the movie, I thought it nicely completed the circle between religion and science. The movie cemented for me the concept of faith and how something doesn't necessarily have to be seen to exist.
When Katie, Teri, Don, Jordy, Nelson, and I all sat down to watch Contact, I was nervous about how Katie and Teri would like it. I needn't have worried. I had forgotten a lot about the movie, which reinterested me in it, and we particularly enjoyed seeing the places where we had just been hours before.
One part of the film that hit me this time but that I missed last time was when the instructions for building a machine did not include some features that the humans thought necessary. The "alien" design was counterintuitive and the scientists felt they had to build it the safest way they knew how. Jodie Foster's character wanted to build it as designed, and in the end she was right. She listened for what was being said to her, even though she didn't understand it - much like Moses with the burning bush or Abraham and his son, Isaac. How many times have we been conflicted and failed to listen intently enough for the answer?
The ending of the film struck me even more this time. Perhaps because I am older, perhaps because I have seen God working in mysterious ways, perhaps my faith has grown . . . I don't know for sure . . . but the way Jodie Foster's character experiences something that she cannot prove nor can she explain helps me understand the nature of God.
Thankfully, Katie and Teri enjoyed the movie, too. I think I will have to watch the movie again . . . who knows what else I might pick up.
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