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Saturday, July 10, 2010

Film Comment: The Book of Eli

Denzel Washington is a Christian actor who has starred in an explicitly Christian film, The Book of Eli (2010).   The film raises an important question: is it acceptable for a Christian to resort to extreme violence to protect the things of God, in this case the only remaining Bible on Earth.

Eli has wandered in a generally westward direction for the last thirty years to deliver the Bible to a place he feels that God has told him to seek, a place where the Bible will be safe and cherished.  The landscape is worse than anything in the Mad Max films; a massive war has reduced civilization to rags and tatters with only a few people still being literate.

Eli carries firearms and a very sharp machete and never hesitates to use them to protect his treasure.  Robbers and brigands who try to steal his things (and who plan to kill and eat him) regularly end up maimed or dead.  Is Eli justified in pressing on to complete his mission of delivering the book even if he has to kill to do it?  What will it mean for the world if the book falls into evil hands or is destroyed?

Eli's greatest challenge comes when a powerful and totally ruthless warlord (Gary Oldman) realizes what Eli is carrying and decides that he must have it.  His illiterate henchmen tell him that it is just a book and he angrily informs them that no, it is a powerful weapon which gives its holder the ability to control and mold his followers.  How many people have used the Bible in just this way throughout history?


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