The "wild" is an important theme in Scripture. Just search for "wilderness" in any online Bible concordance, and you will find hundreds of entries. Most of them relate to Israel's wandering between Egypt and Canaan, and a few to prophecies of an even greater redemption (Is. 43:19, for one).

The big picture from all of these is that the "wild" is not something to be embraced, but to be tamed. The wilderness provides redemption insofar as it is conquered and come through alive.

But.

Look at the biblical testimony and something is clear: only God himself can redeem men from the despair and danger of the wilderness. Only God makes a way in the wilderness. Only Jesus made it through the wilderness in a vicarious (an "on our behalf") way.

Chris McCandless's story is a metaphor for that. The wild did not save him. It broke him. He went it alone, and he did not survive.

My salute goes out to you, Mr. Supertramp !

"Into The Wild" is both a non-fiction novel by Jon Krakauer (which I am going to get real soon) and a movie by Sean Penn. This movie got my standing ovation though I was alone in my room (consider it crazy but it was that amazing). I am not going to talk much about the movie because it is going to be a spoiler for those who are going watch it from now. Anyway, it was a great movie indeed, which means that the original novel must be a greater version of the greatest journey that "Mr. Supertramp" had in his life. Why am I labeling it a good movie? Simple reasons, there are many things in this movie that I can relate to myself but at the same time, many of the things inside are simply things I wouldn't do normally and of which I could only dream of for I really wish to know what's the taste of living those lives. Perhaps someday I would unleash myself 'into the wild' like Alex and the other distinct characters in his adventure but the ending tells you that you don't have to rush into it. I am recommending this movie to you my junior (you know who you are) so that you can illustrate your future undertakings in a more focused and vivid way, but still have the wild style to it. Thumbs up for this movie and I recommend this movie to anyone who's looking for a good one to watch. Pretty long but every minute invested counts.

P.S. The actress, Kristen Stewart, that appeared in this movie caught my eyes once again after my eyes first laid on her in the movie "In the Land of Women", which is another good movie. She's the "next door girl" type of chick that you wished you had in your teens.

Oh, and here's some funnies: In the adventurous spirit of Timothy Treadwell and Christopher McCandless, Lewis Gorden Pugh and friends go on a kayaking jaunt through the arctic and get stuck in the ice.

Go figure.