The Adjustment Bureau

"Calvinist angels employed by an Open Theistic God ..."

Last night I went to see "The Adjustment Bureau" with some of my dearest friends. I remember seeing the preview for this movie last year, we saw Robin Hood the night before we left for Chile on May 15th and "The Adjustment Bureau" was previewed there. I remember the impression that the trailer left me with, "this movie is a take of God's sovereignty" and upon actually seeing the movie I can say that that parallel, and that struggle was present in the movie. I will admit, for me this movie was very frustrating and uncomfortable to watch. Now, while I can see why Ed Stetzer and Dave Ramsey were tweeting about this movie being a modern day take on the struggle between Calvinism and Arminianism, if you ask me this movie portrayed a nice re-enactment of the open theistic model of God's sovereignty.  One of the key points of Open Theism is that human and angelic agents are not pre-ordained to make such and such decisions, because both humans and angels have free will- as a result the choices we do make cause a ripple effect through out our lives and the people that, at any point, come in to contact with us or the byproducts of the choices we make. There were points in the movie where the Bureau stalks the couple and says "we have to prevent this from happening because it will create a ripple and this whole thing will be harder to prevent." This is a beautiful, but can often times be demonic, way to show how we have not evolved towards perfection like biology likes to claim, but rather that we are warring against the wills of an unseen force, both Divine and angelic ... but also we are warring against the wills of one another. The second big point of the movie that stresses the open view of God's sovereignty is that Ben's character was thwarting the will set forth before Him. I think this is where the Calvinistic thought process comes to light; no matter the interactions, the emotions, the sheer humanity of this man, his choices had been made for him and he needs to abide to that plan- which is definitely not free will. Maybe we misunderstand God's will in this way?

I think what hit me the most was how much I can relate to the main characters struggle. After I put aside the philosophical articulations of God's sovereignty and human free will I saw different aspects. In the movie "the bureau" occupied a 2 fold position- to some they were the good guys, and to others they were the bad. However, the agents weren't aware of what the plan was, they just knew that they had to follow it. So for me this movie was more of a reflection of spiritual warfare. The warfare motif is something that is amplified and stressed to the max within the view of open theism. I see David's struggle to maintain his drive and focus on what he knows is right despite the opposition from those, who have a considerable advantage over him- id say because of their vantage point. These agents can actually, to some degree, see how the choices he makes will or will not effect him and many others. I can say that I know what it is like to be opposed by a force with a higher vantage point than my own. There were times when the agents would come to David and tell him that the choices he is making are not ones that will make the most of his life or Elise's life (he is a politician with a promise to become president and she is a world class ballerina). But, this is to disregard the unity of the 2 individuals. I am not one to talk about that sort of thing but in the movie the advantage that David had over the Bureau was that he could feel the situation; the agents spoke from a formulaic aspect as opposed to David's very aesthetic standpoint- by this, he struggles to make sense of the 2 opposing vantage points. David decides to abandon his relationship with Elise because he buys into the Bureau's plan, but it was until he finds out that she is getting married that he is once again lifted back up to fight this battle. He grabs Elise in a bathroom before she is to be wed and starts proclaiming his love and filling her in on everything that has happened (which makes him sound crazy), she naturally freaks out, but she follows him as they flee from the pursuing agents who are now out to seize them and erase their memories. At a point, Elise becomes overwhelmed and stops running and says "what is going on? I do not understand?" (she actually asked for an explanation) ... He just looks her in the eyes and says something to the effect of "you can go back through that door and walk away or you can trust me." Needless to say she trust him and they continue running. David decides that the only possible way to make his love for Elise work is to re-write the "plan" so he heads that the agencies headquarters, He is going to negotiate with the "Chairman" (who is never revealed in the movie but is given the impression that he occupies the position of "God").

When ever they reach the headquarters they are being pursued by many many agents and the scene concludes on the roof of the headquarters. They realize that this is it, they are about to have their memories erased, so they make the most of their last moments by professing their love for one another. When they look up all of the agents have disappeared except one. He tells them that because Elise trusted David and chose to follow him (instead of taking the doorway back to regular life) that that decision altered the plan ... the plan changed. The "chairman", despite the choices of David and Elise, and the plan for David and Elise (which separately would have meant very successful lives in their professions).

2 things-

1. the Chairman re-wrote the plan. This is a typical standpoint of open theism. The plan is not set in stone but the outcome is. God is working for the good despite our inabilities.

2. Separately they had 2 different opposing destinies. Together they had 1 destiny that shadowed all the other destinies in light of their love. Maybe i'm a sap but I couldn't help but be drawn in by that. If you remember, the cornerstone that became the deciding factor for the Chairman to re-write the plan was Elise's decision. She could have said yes to David long ago BUT given her enlightenment to the situation, and her determination despite that, the plan actually worked out to her benefit. Also, I think love becomes a more amplified virtue when your free will to love or not to love is reciprocated by another free will that has chosen to love you instead of not loving you. 2 for 1! Maybe what truly re-writes things is that people love one another and work together. Love is not easy and though love is seen as a gain in society (and it is ... in its proper context) it will also cost you quite a bit (i.e. Jesus)

Rob Bell has said "love wins" ... maybe he is right in a less eschatological sense? Thats what Jesus was teaching us ... advance the Kingdom of God by reflecting my light.

"Free will is a gift that you'll never know how to use (I add "for good") until you learn how to fight for it"-The Adjustment Bureau

Our natural inclination, because of sin, is to abuse free will ... maybe we all need to learn to use our free will to fight for what is good and the victory that has been promised to us?!

We all know what it is to intend to do something good & to do something bad instead. Aristotle called it "akrasia" or "weakness of will" ... maybe our intentions and our outcomes need a more thorough reevaluation?


#lovewins