I have appreciated the opportunities in the past of going to a movie theater and watching wholesome, God glorifying movies, but they are rare! So many movies try to make us think that they are biblical and/or God glorifying when in actuality they are an insult to the God I know and love, and are a slap in the face to Christians everywhere (like The Last Temptaion of Christ).
Well, the movies to choose from in theaters now are all of the above!
The Son of God is based on heretical beliefs, and is made with a heavy influence from New Age philosophy and present a twisted feel-good wimpy savior (non capitalization intended). I was sad to see the Dove Awards actually recommends this film. Sad indeed. I am not a good movie reviewer, so here are some that I found helpful (and there were many "Christian" reviews that totally overlooked the blaring problems with this film):
Questions to ask while watching The Son of God
Noah was such a promising movie if you only watched the previews....but you are probably wondering who those children were...there were no children on the Ark, right? And what's with all the explosions and fighting? I thought it would be awesome, but have found out that it is offensive and just plain messed up. It has little to nothing to do with the Biblical account of the flood - it shares the name of Noah, there is a boat, and there is a flood....pretty much everything else is totally messed up.
Here's quick rundown of what is wrong with this film:
If you want to read a more in depth article (and highly entertaining review at that), check out Matt Walsh's review, but don't let his title fool you!
And lastly, I come to the movie I did watch this past weekend, God's Not Dead. I really had no idea what we were going to see other than reading the brief synopsis, and seeing that many people whom I highly respect their opinions were recommending this film, it was our 29th anniversary and the other choices were just plain lame. Boy, were we ever pleasantly surprised! We really enjoyed the movie - it kept our attention throughout, and I've even describe it as keeping you on the edge of your seat. It was very emotional, but that can make it difficult to critically view the movie. There are some things that could have been done better (like a fuller presentation of the gospel, and a few little things that were not very realistic, but I'm not going to be a spoiler). Some parts were predictable (pleasantly so), but others were shockingly not predictable.
Ken Ham wrote a review of this movie, and while much of what he says is true, I think he missed the point - God was not on trial, and the student was not trying to present the gospel, he was doing what the professor challenged him to do - at least give them a cause to doubt that God does not exist. Yes, he didn't use lots of scripture to prove his points, but when talking to an atheist, basing every argument on scripture alone will not make a dent in their mindset - you have to use the world around us to show that scripture is true....even the Bible says that creation will reveal that there is a Creator to anyone who looks upon it!
While I recommend bringing your unsaved friends to this movie, I don't think it will have a dramatic effect on someone who believes they are saved, who believes there is a God, as it doesn't really get to the real tenants of what true salvation is (see my post on this subject!), but it will encourage Christians to have an answer for the truth of God's word, and it will definitely be cause to ponder for atheists and those who are unsure if there is a God or not. That said, bringing someone who might think they are saved but in reality are just playing along (this is a dangerous place to be) might be a good idea as it might give you the opportunity to present a true gospel message and the idea of living for Christ in everything we do.
As my husband said when we were considering what movie to watch "which would you rather see on the big screen" - meaning action movies and exciting special effects are more impressive on the big screen, but we also discussed where to "throw your money" too. Hollywood listens to where the money comes from. DVD rentals just don't count as much as movie theater tickets do! And then there is the watching a movie in the community context! I enjoyed the responses in the theater to the elements in this movie - applause, gasps, and even people texting about the movie after the show!
So there you have it - I have to get going on my day (it's sunny so I HAVE to paint something!), but I just had to put our my 2 cents on the movie options in theaters right now. Use your time and money wisely, check out what others are saying about these movies and how Hollywood what movies are worth producing, and then make your voice heard!
PS Pure Flix produced this movie and they have another one coming out soon that you might want to take a look at - Heaven is for Real, based on a true life story and the resulting book. I have no idea about the movie or the book, but the trailer was really captivating! If you know something about this movie/book, please comment!
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