Today we continue along in our series about how to watch films theologically. As I've said, I watch films for enjoyment and I watch films to see how the filmmaker helps me clarify my vision of the gospel. The third way I watch films with theological spectacles is to see what kind of vision the culture shapers (filmmakers) of today have of the gospel, the church, and most significantly of God. I think it's crucial for Christians to have our ears to the cultural ground and let's face it: films speak volumes about what people think about God and about us, his followers.
Here are a few points to consider:
First, whether we like it or not, many people develop their theology through the ideas about God presented in film. Almost every film tells us something about God and something about ourselves (unless it is complete junk). The question is: what is it saying? What is it teaching us? I always encourage Christians to engage the big screen and the ideas it presents for this reason. When we watch, and even better if we gather a group of friends yet to be Christians and take them with us with discussion to follow, we can critique and ask is this the God revealed to us in Christ? Is this an accurate representation of Jesus' hope for the church? Is the gospel, even with a soft touch, being seen and/or heard? If it is, then we have a plethora of openings available to us in talking about God, in answering questions with respect and humility, or in defending some false claim against the people of God. If, however, we shelter ourselves from what's playing at the cinema, then we run the risk of being left without a voice when the contemporary ideas of God, his people, and the church are inevitably discussed.
Second, I am not worried about people developing their understanding of God through film if film is one source, particularly an introductory source or affirming source of a well grounded theology developed in the church. I do think this is why we need Christian filmmakers or we need to embrace movies that teach us well about the gospel. This often happens in ways that are not immediately obvious to us or anyone else (i.e. not every film that teaches us well is a C.S. Lewis story or a Facing the Giants or only those made and financed by "conservative Christians"), but if we watch films theologically we can find these nuggets where God reveals himself clearly and creatively. The Spirit is not limited in whispering the name of Jesus to all people, everywhere. We should not too quickly eliminate film as a possibility for his voice and the theatre as a place of conversion.
Third, in my own life I've been touched by what I believe to be the Spirit in a movie theatre. I've written about that here on this blog and I will continue to do so. Sometimes when I read certain Scriptures my imagination is drawn to a scene from a film I've seen and then I can more easily connect this ancient Scripture to my own life in the 21st century. For example, there is a seen near the end of The Gladiator where Russell Crowe's character is slipping out of consciousness in the arena and he begins to approach a large door that is opened to him, then he feels a fresh breeze sweeping across a wheat field, he runs his fingers across the wheat, and he sees his young son and beautiful wife come running towards him and he knows that this is heaven. He is going to die, but in his death he will find peace. Well, that scene for me was transformative as I gave further thought to the fine line that exists between my life here and my life to come.
Now, am I saying we shouldn't think critically about what films we choose to see as Christ followers? No. We do need to be discerning and I will deal with this in greater depth later in our series. But in the meantime, go to the movies! See what others are seeing. Engage the culture and the voices of culture shapers. And do so to enjoy it. Heck, go see a movie this weekend. TGIF everyone.
A friend of mine has introduced me to your blog, as we are both film buffs. One of our favorite films is Sam Raimi's "The Quick and the Dead" Have you seen this one? And if so, what were your thoughts about the film?
Posted by: Chloe | 27 September 2008 at 12:34 AM