A Higher Power Essay Example

one who is called I AM.  “I AM” is undefined and the mystery remains as to who is this higher power, but “I AM” being written in capital letters, it definitely shows authority. I AM” is also used as a first-person point of view, which also emphasizes or helps one relate to God so that one does not feel isolated. Other than these statements, we see that the pronoun used throughout the bible is ‘he’; therefore, we tend to think that God is a masculine figure, a Father.

To a certain extent, many may argue that it is to show some form of authority. In many films, God is generally portrayed as a masculine figure. I believe the role of God is a very tough one to play because everyone’s mage of God is different. In the bible, God has spoken to man but never physically present. We see that he finds means to communicate to us – in Exodus 3:2 “appeared to Moses as a flame coming from the middle of the bush” and in Exodus 19:9 he “The Lord said to Moses, “I will come to you in a thick cloud”.  Here are a few examples of how God communicates with man but in different elements and never as himself. We are able to grasp the essence of God’s character but not his image.

In the film, Bruce Almighty God appeared to be just like everyone else. When Bruce first sees God and asked, “Who are you? ” Morgan Freeman acting as God answered, “ I’m the one. Creator of the heavens and the earth, alpha and omega. ” We see

that all these descriptions can be interchangeably used with the word God. It is an interesting way of introducing oneself instead of hearing one’s name, age and where they from etcetera. Even though God is someone that everyone knows, we are unable to recognize him like a popular celebrity.

God is portrayed as an African American in the film Bruce Almighty. This has probably caused a lot of controversy as to why God is portrayed as an African American because it can influence many people’s image of God as discussed earlier and this image should be left a mystery. This could be a reason why “Islam and Judaism both prohibit representations of God”.  Therefore, this movie was banned in countries such as Malaysia and Egypt. An image may also mislead people into believing certain facts that are portrayed about God.

When God called Bruce, the original version used a real phone number. The producers made sure that this phone number did not exist, however, many people tried calling the number hoping to speak to God. [5] Therefore, certain portrayals have a significant impact on society. Because we see God as an Almighty Lord with amazing power, we “test” God with the powers he has to convince ourselves that he is the one. From looking at the Bible where Moses tried to prove that the Lord sent him, he had to use a walking stick.

This is seen once again where Bruce did not believe that Morgan Freeman is God, he had to test all the “magic tricks” to truly realize that Morgan Freeman is God. Portraying God with all these powers, I

believe that it is a hidden message to subconsciously remind and convince us that God knows everything and allow us to feel safe and hopeful that there is a God out there that is able to relieve us from our problems; because God is someone we turn to when we are down, desperate and need that extra miracle and light to pull though the challenges we face.

But when God gave all his powers to Bruce, it made me realize that although God is portrayed as an African American, God does not necessarily need to be seen as a specific person. If God gave all his powers to Bruce, then Bruce can be seen as another God just like Moses having God’s powers through the walking stick. Therefore, God’s image does not necessarily need to be fixated on the fact that He is portrayed as an African American figure because Bruce can be seen as another ‘new’ God for a week because Morgan Freeman decided “to go on vacation”.  God communicates with people and disperses his powers with certain individuals to help one another. Therefore, I think God does not need to be viewed as one individual but as many individuals that are there to help those in need. This could be a reason why one is unable to define who or how God looks like because God communicates to us through various forms and ‘changes’ all the time. Looking at the second question, how mighty is this power? We know that God has extraordinary powers.

He created the universe in seven days and in the film, Bruce Almighty some particular allusions are

used from the bible where Bruce separates his tomato soup just like Moses separated the sea; or when Bruce walked on water just like Jesus did. Bruce had all these powers with two rules to follow:  he is unable to tell anyone that he is God and  he is not able to mess with free will. We know and associate God with extraordinary powers, hence, when Bruce received God’s powers, the background music I got the power is quite appropriate and he is able to do anything he wishes.

Not only do we associate God with mighty powers, but we also turn to him when we are in trouble and we pray and know that he can hear us – as stated in the bible, Mark 11:24 – Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours” and in Matthew 7:7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ” This is justified later on in this movie when Bruce started hearing voices and God told him, “You are not listening” and asked Bruce, “How many people have you helped? With these powers, comes responsibility and just like everything else, nothing can be perfect. When Bruce answered yes to every single prayer, we realize that if everyone gets what he or she wants, the world does not end up in a happy place. I believe that this is what God is trying to manage and overcome. One should be careful of what they wish for, because you need to use

any power you have wisely so that there is value to what you doing. Sometimes I believe the best ‘power’ that God has given us is having no power at all but to pray.

As discussed above, power comes with responsibility and God’s job is truly not an easy one. Not knowing and being innocent is sometimes a gift and I believe we should embrace and cherish the miracles and happenings in our daily lives. As mentioned in the movie, God is unable to mess with free will. This is the gift He has also given us, to be free and do what we wish. Therefore, as an agnostic believer, whether or not there is a God or higher power, it is definitely a form of hope and belief for people to turn to when they encounter challenges in their lives.

Because higher power is not strictly defined and just like there are no specific description of how God looks like, one is able to relate to their own “personalized” higher power. His powers may be so great that it is impossible to measure but we know, that God is love as he is said to be a selfless being. The ending of the movie shows Bruce realizing that when things do not go well, having all this power left him feeling helpless. We see Bruce and God only wanting the ones they love to be happy.

In conclusion, I may not have a specific answer to the two questions ask but I remain agnostic and the fact that everything happens for a reason.