I started watching the new Penny Dreadful: City of Angels series on Showtime. I have only seen one episode so far. The great actor, Rory Kinnear played Frankenstein’s monster in the original Penny Dreadful and is seemingly playing a different role in the new one. Rory Kinnear’s Frankenstein inspired me to read the original story by Mary Shelley again.

As a side note: whenever you are at a party or somewhere, please talk intelligently about Frankenstein’s monster. Mary Shelley never named it and in most films it is not given a name. In the original Penny Dreadful Showtime series it was given the name of John Clare.

Also, there are actually many differences between the films and the original story by Mary Shelley. Read the original and impress all your friends.

Mary Shelley seemed to be writing a metaphor regarding Frankenstein creating his monster and God creating us–both of which had horrific results. However, I would like to make an important point of difference between Dr. Frankenstein’s creation and the Lord’s creation, us.

The biggest difference between Dr. Frankenstein and his monster is that while, Dr. Frankenstein hated his creation, we are told our creator loves us. Surely from the moment of Adam’s and our first sin we look to the One Above All as hideous and disgusting as Frankenstein’s monster seemed to Dr. Frankenstein. Yet, even before we were created, the Lord has continued to pursue fellowship with us. In the Frankenstein story, Dr. Frankenstein runs away to the far edges of the world. Yet, the monster pursues him there. Instead, our creator pursues us! Even when we kill, murder, and destroy (as the monster in the story did) the Lord has provided us a path to forgiveness and fellowship with Him. Truly we are His people, the sheep of His pasture!

1 John 3:1 See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

—————————————————-W.