This is a great Christian movie.
And I feel some of my Christian brothers and sisters need to calm down about the various definitions of what makes a “Christian Movie”.
Does it need to have an alter call at the end? Does it need to show a cross or a crucifix? How many times does the name of “Jesus” need to be mentioned in the movie for it to be justifiably Christian? Does any swearing in the film at all instantly make it from the devil’s cauldron?
It can be maddening…
For my purposes I define what a “Christian Movie” is by first understanding two principles in regards to the propitiation of the Gospel:
1) The use of story and metaphor (re: Parable) in the communication of the message of Christ.
2) The teaching of Paul that some are called to plant, others to water and others to harvest ( 1 Corinthians 3 ).
And also a third principle is that a Christian does not necessarily need to be involved in the propitiation of the Gospel. Don’t have a heart attack… I said “not necessarily”.
I believe, also, that since we were created in the image of God, we are predisposed to some supernatural ideals, namely in the idea of creation: we as humans have the ability and natural inclination to create story, fable, and fairy tale… often in exquisite intricacy.
C.S. Lewis and Tolkien were masters at this. What makes all of their work “Christian work” is that it is all written from a Christian Worldview which ultimately leads someone down a path of harvest… even though Hobbits and Orcs are involved.
NOW, I just essayed broad strokes of Christian Philosophy with only a few words which then leads to many questions (many questions!) We will get into that at a later time.
What I want to do right now is get you to go watch “The Book of Eli”.
The story is about a man who has been traveling the post-apocalyptic wasteland (that was once the United States) for 30 years, carrying with him the sole remaining Bible in the world. He was sent by God to deliver the Bible to somewhere in the western United States for the good of mankind. Upon reaching close to the end of his journey, he runs into a wicked gentleman who has been looking for a Bible in order to use its power to hypnotically control the populace of the town he created; then perhaps parlay that control to create other towns.
Now, it seems that there are those in the culture who balk at the idea of one sole Bible remaining in this fictional story. However, they gladly accept computers becoming sentient and taking over the world (The Terminator and The Matrix), vampires and werewolves dating humans (Twilight), talking apes ruling the world (The Planet of the Apes), and a teen being bit by a radioactive spider and living (Spiderman). I suppose when a story includes something fantastical about Christianity, suddenly “reality” is called into question… but I digress.
To the movie at hand: the longer I consider it, the more I love it. The story could easily have been stripped from the Old Testament portion of your Bible: the hero on a sole quest for God that would be impossible for someone not called of God, that same hero killing evil men who would seek to deter his mission, the decrepit and lawless ruling not through order but through violence and lust, the miracle and fantastical working power of God in ways that defy how mankind would “logically” accomplish God’s will, and the holiness and sacredness of Scripture.
The awesomeness of this film is only fully revealed in the last 10 minutes; it is at that point where I felt how indeed the power of God is revealed in our utter weakness and frailty. It was the end of this movie that crystallized to me the Christian saying, “You don’t need to understand, you just need to hold His hand”; and in the Scripture “The secret things belong unto the LORD our God” <Deuteronomy 29:29>. The end of the movie brought to mind the story from the Old Testament when King Josiah (2 Kings 22) found the hidden Scriptures and had them read out loud, transforming his kingdom at that specific time because that was God’s choosing – and not earlier where man in his own twisted logic would have had it.
I then saw the purity of the 30 year journey through the wasteland to accomplish God’s mission: you see, though the mission may be vitally important, it is WHO YOU BECOME WHILE FULFILLING THE MISSION, that God cares more about.
Praise God, I love this movie.
JESUS IS LORD
Rev. Daniel Gabriel
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