Movie Marathon

So, we had our annual movie marathon yesterday and it was wonderful! We watched all 3 Spiderman movies and the 2 Batman movies. It was a super-hero filled day!
My post today is about the Dark Knight, the second Batman movie. I love this movie because it very clearly states the inherent tension in the myth of redemptive violence. First, the "myth of redemptive violence" is a phrase I'm borrowing from Richard Rohr's amazing book "Things Hidden, Scripture as Spirituality." It refers to the belief that violence is acceptable in the fight against evil. The theory of just war falls into this view, as does the idea of killing in self-defense, our current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, etc. And the real problem in this myth is beautifully illustrated in Batman: you either become a martyr, or you live long enough to become the villain.
I know people like the myth of redemptive violence. I like it myself. But unfortunately, I think it's a very destructive myth, and I believe this primarily because Jesus did not engage in redemptive violence. Jesus engaged in redemptive suffering, another very beautiful idea, but one which we do not often see in this world. However, this is what Martin Luther King Jr and Gandhi were involved in. They did not use violence to stop injustice and violence: they suffered. It is only when we refuse to use the tools of injustice and evil that we can truly fight them, although it does not often look like fighting to others. This is a radical, offensive idea, one which Jesus, you notice, died for. It's one that I'm very interested in right now.