The Voyage of Life: What Lasts?

The Voyage of Life: What Lasts?

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Culture reflects our quest for meaning—a theme often explored in films. In this study, Ken focuses on three films: Schindler’s List, The Bucket List, and The Seventh Seal.  These ask:

Will anything I have done last?

Have I ever done enough?

These movies all point to the inevitability of death and challenge us to live in this light. But if we live only for this life, not looking to anything after, we have no hope. The world cannot sustain the weight of human longing and aspiration. We need a hope outside of this world, and Christianity gives us that. Only in Jesus do we find true meaning for our lives.

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Watch part 5 in a teaching series based on the themes of Thomas Cole’s Voyage of Life. These four paintings depict the cyclical dynamics of human life, as signified by the artwork’s titles: ChildhoodYouthManhood, and Old Age. You can view these paintings in person at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

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