"What is it that makes us human? Not somebody you can program. You can't put it in a chip. It's the strength of the human heart. That's the difference between us and machines."

The contemplative words of John Connor, albeit corny to many a moviegoer, closed another chapter in the saga that speaks deeply to the power of the unbowing resistance, compassion and sincerity peculiar to the human race.

Directed by McG and starring Christian Bale as John Connor in post-apocalyptic 2018, Terminator Salvation depicts Connor as the man who is now fated to lead the human resistance against Skynet and its army of Terminators.

While writers John D. Brancato and Michael Ferris hold steadfast to the standard Terminator plot of man against machine chock-full of dirt-smeared rebel soldiers, robotic acrobatics and thrilling vehicle chases, an underlying theme of love for one’s fellow man is served up with just enough macho man fight scenes to not scare off its testosterone-driven male base.

Connor, who is revered by the entire human resistance, voices commands to his troops far and wide everyday via a transistor radio. And, as downtrodden and dejected as he may feel, he - without fail - reminds his fellow men daily of the immeasurable human strength they possess which far outweighs the machines’ numbers and advanced technology.

In fact, Connor’s zeal is fueled by the death of his mother and father at the hand of the machines.

Thus, he has taken a personal oath to fight for and protect the future of the world he once knew. Boasting a wife with child, Connor leaves no stone unturned.

Paramount for Connor is his hope that - in the face of such savagery and squalor - he and all the human remnant can and will choose to retain their humanity.

"Command wants us to fight like machines. They want us to make cold, calculated decisions. We are not machines and if we behave like them - what's the point?”

Compassion, as Connor touts in the film, is what sets us apart from every other creature under the sun. We have the capacity to choose to look beyond someone’s coarse exterior and see their wounded soul or to extend mercy to a hungry child at the risk of compromising one’s own comfort.

A simple act of compassion is what in the end brings about a shift in power. A human – if he chooses – can always lay down his life for a friend. And, it was the new Terminator, Marcus Wright, who would make the choice to give rather than take.

Ironically, Skynet re-created Marcus Wright – a death row murderer killed by lethal injection – to serve as their pawn to kill John Connor.

Carefully crafted as if Satan were the chief strategist, Skynet made it so that Marcus appeared (even to himself) to be an ally to the human resistance, rescuing women and children from rape and slaughter. Yet, unbeknownst to him, his hidden objective, was to infiltrate the resistance, win the confidence of human beings and lure them and their leader to the Skynet’s gallows.

Just as the enemy of our souls is driven by a deep hatred and desire to eradicate the authority and strength divinely bequeathed to human beings since the time of Creation, so was Skynet determined to destroy the human race even if it meant clothing itself as an “angel of light,” Marcus Wright.

In the end, we must realize that everyday of our lives is another chance to share one’s love and live one’s faith. Without this, we are nothing better than machines. If so, what’s the point of living?