A man's got to know his limitations - Magnum Force (1973)
Magnum Force is one of my favourite all time movies.
One of the things I like about the Dirty Harry movie series is that although they purposely for the sake of dramatic effect, place Harry in violent situations, they also show the darkness of evil in the world. Harry not only beats up and kills criminals, but also at times becomes injured himself and the ugliness of crime is portrayed in an artistic and entertaining fashion. The following statement is one to live by. A man's got to know his limitations. Every person should be aware of limitations and realize that if these are ignored, terrible consequences could result.
I do not want to primarily trust in what God gives me, but need to trust in God. I am both limited and sinful, and God is neither of these. God wants neither a follower that has no significant free will and is a robot, nor one that is completely autonomous. But, in Scripture it is clear that from the Exodus 20 commandments and the great commandments of Matthew 22:34-46 and Mark 12:28-37 that God desires followers to follow him with at least some level of freedom. I theorize that human nature and consciousness does not choose to be as it is, but was created by God, and has been corrupt since the fall of humanity, which is a Biblical concept in Genesis 3. From consciousness and self-awareness, human beings would develop motives and desires, and eventually make limited free will choices. The primary cause of human acts is determined by God who creates the human nature, and influences human choices. The secondary cause of human acts is the individuals that act according to nature, consciousness, motives, desires, and a limited free will influenced by God. These human acts are not coerced or forced by God, and yet are willed by him.
I always thought that was an odd statement to make in the context of that scene, not that it isn't a true statement.
ReplyDeleteI suppose it's because on one level you could consider Harry just as "bad" as the vigilante cops, in that he is being a vigilante in killing the cops. But the difference is that he not on a cop-killing crusade as such, he is limiting his actions against those who would otherwise never be prosecuted, who deem themselves above the law and if left to themselves, would result in a society with no respect for due legal process, a police state.
Not to necessarily condone Harry's action in this case, perhaps the better thing to do would have been to alert a higher level of authority to the vigilante activity. But that would put his life in jeopardy, and possibly would not bring any results.
It's definitely a complicated situation.
Thanks, Chucky. Those are very good comments.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that Harry uses the statement more than once in the film. The last time it is used, and in the clip, it is in the context of his boss Lt. Briggs, and his inexperience with actual police work on the street, I believe. Harry views Briggs as a paper pusher.
This is one of the films I own on DVD. I watched it on my LCD screen with headphones and I understood more of the film than previously.
but does that mean than in some way or another our free will is not absolute? You made a good point there really. Having our choices but definitely influenced by God yet without any coercion or force whatsoever. I get what you mean. and its totally true. I myself even experienced that kind of thing.
ReplyDeleteCorrect, our free will is not absolute, but limited as finite beings. God simultaneously wills human actions. As well, from a Reformed perspective, the corrupt nature prohibits persons from choosing God. God chooses who he wills for salvation as with Ephesians 1:4-12.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Army.
There's another thing that about Harry that most people don't notice or are unwilling to admit. While he has little patience with political correctness, he's not at all a vigilante. He doesn't go out to kill people, even though they have undoubtedly earned a death sentence and would otherwise escape justice in this world. He's still not Judge Dredd. His problem is that he's simply very, very good at what he does. When they refuse to surrender and threaten him or some innocent with lethal force, he just responds much more effectively than they. The choice to (attempt to) "live by the sword" is entirely theirs. It's not so much that it's that complicated a situation, just that we're sometimes uncomfortable seeing it stripped to it's essentials.
ReplyDelete-- Ken
Excellent comments, Ken.
ReplyDeleteThere's another thing that about Harry that most people don't notice or are unwilling to admit. While he has little patience with political correctness, he's not at all a vigilante.
Magnum Force verifies what you are stating.
His problem is that he's simply very, very good at what he does.
Agreed.
Ken, I hope you comment again.
Cheers.
Russ