On this Rocky Balboa

Christine at TheWorld…IMHO writes:

No joke, said all the subscribers to People magazine. But, Stallone added, he’s been going through a change in his life. He’s realized that he was wrong to place his career and fame ahead of his family. "The more I go to church," he said, "and the more I turn myself over to the process of believing in Jesus and listening to His Word and having Him guide my hand, I feel as though the pressure is off me now."

And, admitting that the analogy might be a little pedestrian, he made a correlation between physical and spiritual fitness. "You need to have the expertise and the guidance of someone else. You cannot train yourself," he said. "I feel the same way about Christianity and about what the church is: The church is the gym of the soul."

And, he said, his life experiences are what allowed him to write the final chapter of the epic series. "I needed to actually go through my trials and tribulations," he said, "before I could be man enough to know how to write that kind of story that Rocky Balboa is."

So, as someone who began listening on the call as a giggling skeptic, and who does not expect Rocky Balboa to be heralded as a Christian film, I have to confess I was won over by the real-life story of redemption I heard.

So, what’s next for Stallone? I can only imagine Rambo sneaking into Burma to free Christian missionaries who are being held by militants. And as the invincible one-man army looks into the eyes of the ordinary folks from Oklahoma and South Carolina who are risking their lives for the Gospel, he is swept up by their commitment.

Oh, wait. I’m. Not. Kidding. "It rekindles something in him. He doesn’t believe at first, he’s seen too much. He’s bitter. But when he meets these people and looks into their eyes, he’s swept up in it, and literally he’s just taken on this journey," Stallone said. "He’s a Christian warrior! Can you believe it?" I’m believin’ it.

Well he could also make a movie of the Council of Nicea and instead of his trademark line from the first Rocky movie could yell out "Arian! Arian!" instead.