I recently posted about the film, Megan Is Missing, the
message of which I think you should know.
I was extremely hesitant to recommend that you watch the film because it
is so intense and savage that it may actually cause psychological damage to the
viewer. Viewing this film would not have
been an issue when I was a child because many Christians at that time kept
themselves and their children intentionally ignorant outside of their churches. They used their churches as “shelters
from the storm.”
Theirs was a “do not” religion. They adamantly did not smoke, drink alcohol, dance, play
cards or games, gamble, watch television, watch movies, read works of fiction,
or any other of a long list of things.
There was also a very strong streak of anti-intellectualism.
Many Spirit-led Christians today, myself included, still
reject many of the same activities as before but with a different
understanding. From a spirit of
Christian freedom, they reject some things because they do not advance the
cause of the Kingdom. They pursue
some other formerly rejected activities but always from a Christian
worldview. All activities are
viewed through Christian glasses.
In order to have influence on the world, Christians need to
be aware of the world. Paul quoted
from pagan poets to make some of his doctrinal points. While showing a strong knowledge of the
surrounding culture, Paul did not in any way endorse their worldview. He used their words to advance his
arguments. Paul’s attitude can be
applied to Christian study in any discipline. We need Christians who have expert knowledge about Islam and
other religions. We need Christians who have expert knowledge about ancient
languages. We need Christians who have expert knowledge about world politics.
We need Christians who have expert knowledge about child pornography and human
sexual trafficking. We need Christians who have expert knowledge about modern
Western popular culture. We need Christians who have expert knowledge about
science and medicine. We need to be able to show the world that we are at the
very least their intellectual equals, without any compromise. We need to be able to show the world
the treasure of the Gospel.
This is the attitude from which I do these film
comments. Non-Christians have no
understanding of the Truth but this does not mean that they have no insights.
This does not mean that they have no virtue. This does not mean that they
cannot produce anything beautiful. This also does not mean that we should ever
compromise the Truth.
Below is a short list of Christian websites devoted to
presenting a Christian
understanding of films and movies. These sites have several things in common. Most discuss films as a sort of pre-screening for the viewer
and especially for viewers with children. Many discuss both the negative and the positive points of the
films. Some of the sites rate
films based on the presence or absence of God or religion, violence, sex,
nudity, bad language, objectionable philosophies or worldviews, extreme
political content, hidden messages, or for their suitability for viewing by
children. The aim is to aid
Christians in discernment about films they may watch.
Inclusion of a site in this list does not mean that I
necessarily endorse all statements made on that site. Some of these sites produce screen pop-ups.
If a particular film becomes controversial within your
church, it might be wise to choose a group of mature Christians to view the
film and to give their suggestions and comments to the church.
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