Movie Themes

Where to start.

In recent weeks a whole spate of movies has come out that touch on biblical issues and spiritual concerns.

Serious evangelical Christians can use the perspectives expressed in these films as discussion starters with seekers and skeptics who surely have been to the cinema lately. The Apostle Paul modeled that ministry approach in Acts 17 when he observed and then utilized aspects of Athenian culture to launch a conversation about Christ in that pagan city. In Colossians 4:5 he stresses the importance of using every opportunity to cultivate an interest in Christianity among those outside the faith while Peter, in 1 Peter 3:15, advises believers to always be alert and prepared for chances to speak of the hope we have. In today's world, we can draw seed thoughts from movie plots to engage people in reflection and then present the biblical worldview.

Take, for example, "The Lovely Bones", the story of an adolescent girl, brutally raped and murdered by a neighbor who happens to be a sex offender. She goes out into a sometimes beautiful, sometimes fuzzy afterlife where she views her family's grief and desire for justice and where she pines away at lost youth and tries to orchestrate her killer's punishment. OK. It's just a motion picture, but its depiction of what happens at death sure is at odds with the biblical description. For starters, scripture makes it clear that not everybody goes to Heaven when they die. Only those who embrace Christ for salvation will show up there. And those who enter that tangible, material, beautiful place will not harbor jealousies or lusts or regrets or bitternesses anymore. Their bodies will be whole and their spirits will be perfect.There will be travel and art and learning and creating and growth. Contrary to this film's interpretation,though, the center of attention in Heaven will be God, who will receive worship and adoration forever. Even though the amenities will be indescribably awesome, it will not be simply a zone of self-indulgence. And there'll certainly be no possibilities of reconnecting with those left behind or somehow influencing earthly events.

Another cinematic piece, "Legion", weaves a tale of God capriciously, angrily deciding to completely destroy mankind and sending angels Michael and Gabriel to accomplish the deed. Only problem is that Michael feels that this isn't a good idea and proceeds to join forces with the frightened human race and thwart God's plan.

This film regrettably throws together a whole bunch of bits and pieces of significant biblical themes into a tangled mishmash(Flood, God's wrath, birth of Christ, end-times events, angels and demons, etc) that makes no sense. Worse, it offers up a God who is evil and mean-spirited, perhaps mentally ill. It depicts a God who is changeable and probably powerless. It leaves out the wonderful grace of God in Christ and assumes that God has no foreordained, long-standing plan for what will happen to this world. It portrays a heavenly world in chaos and divided just like the human one which is trapped in sin. God is reduced to human attributes and flaws. How completely opposite all this is to the scriptural presentation of God as sovereign, omnipotent, omniscient,immutable, holy, yet patient, and loving, willing for people to repent.

What about "The Book Of Eli", a post-apocalyptic story starring Denzel Washington? It's about some future time when the world has been largely destroyed by some cataclysmic disaster. One lone man travels across a barren landscape, facing all kinds of dangers, and carrying what may be the last copy of the Bible to a place where possibly it might be used in the refurbishing and reestablishment of the earth and culture.

Three cheers for a movie that seemingly exalts the status and significance of the scriptures. Nevertheless, there are problems here. First off, the predicted, ultimate devastation of this planet associated with the second coming of Christ in the last days won't be quite like what's dramatized in this film. At that time, according to the Bible, there will be no second chances for restoration. There will be no possibility of any man-made renaiisance.No prospect of simply pulling yourself up by your bootstraps, working hard, and starting over. Judgement will commence, and then, for believers, a God-directed renovation of this messed-up earth will occur as eternity begins. Also, you get glimpses in the movie of wrong ways to use the Bible. One evil-hearted individual attempts to steal the book from the wanderer so that he can utilize it to control his band of thugs.That kind of mindset is with us all the time, isn't it? And,sadly, at film's end, the delivered and copied Bible is seen as just one more book among many in a redeveloped library of great works of literature, not as the unique, life-changing book that it is.

Finally, "The Wolfman" opened recently. Here is the popular tale of men who are reduced by a curse to a wild, savage wolf-like status when the moon is full. The term for it is lycanthropy. Most people don't know that there's a similar story in the Bible, in Daniel 4. No pagan curse and no full moon business but rather an act of God's judgement, after strong warning, against the uncontrolled pride of Babylon's ruler, Nebuchadnezzar. He became more like an ox than a wolf, but for 7 years lived an animal-like existence until he learned the lesson that before God's sovereignty we are to be humble and grateful and submissive. The Lord usually doesn't use methods like that today, but He will get our attention. We would do well as individuals and as a nation to abandon prideful self-seeking and self-will and submit to God, who made us and knows what's best for us. One of the sins that God hates most is pride, and it is so destructive to human relationships.