Category Archives: Film & Theology

Discipleship, Film & Theology

A Christian Responds to The Golden Compass 2

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The number one movie of this past weekend was The Golden Compass which made an estimated 26 million dollars. For weeks a controversy over this film and the book series that it is based on has been brewing over the supposed anti-Christian messages being sold to small children with Narnia -like animals, Harry Potter-like magic, and Lord of the Rings-style epic storytelling.

I saw the film on Friday and walked away unimpressed. The story seemed rushed, the characters seemed flat, and the ending was paced very oddly. There was a great polar bear fight with a surprising and satisfying payoff but is was not enough to save this film for me. I could not imaging taking a group of 10 year olds to this film and expecting them to sit still during the almost 2 hour screening.

However, one positive outcome from seeing the film. I found 3 elements of this story that, I believe, Christians can use to discuss their faith with those who have seen the film. This week I’ll be posting these three points for you. Let’s get to it.

1) The Magisterium
According to Entertainment Weekly, the Magisterium is a “fractured church-like body with power over every aspect of life. No Pope, and about as Christian as the Inquisition.” In the film the members of the Magisterium dress like bishops and cardinals and are seen as opposing free will and free thought. The books refer to the Magisterium as “the Church” and they serve a higher being known as “The Authority.” The film briefly mentions “the Authority” but it wasn’t clear to me that the name addressed a being.

The members of the Magisterium meet is secret meetings and slink around with duplicitous looks. In one scene, a top official tries to poison one of the main characters. In another a group of elders are seen conspiring to consolidate power through fear and coercion. All of this leads up to what the Magisterium is really up to.

They seek to separate children from their daemons (souls) in an effort to keep them “safe” from Dust (more on that later) and to help them “grow up.” By growing up and maturing these children can put away childish questions and flippant behavior and get down to the real business of serving the Magisterium’s agenda. Soulless beings are more manageable than beings full of life. We meet one little boy who has lost his daemon. He is a shell. He is nearly physically dead and we see that he has been spiritually ravaged.

In my eyes, the men and women of the Magisterium seem more like Pharisees than a true church body. It was Jesus who said that in order to follow him into the Kingdom of God we must have faith like children.

“He called a little child, whom he placed among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes a humble place—becoming like this child—is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me. “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung around their neck and they were drowned in the depths of the sea” (Matthew 18:2-6 )

This one was easy. Anyone or group who claims to serve the Lord will speak and act like the Lord. Their agenda is God’s agenda: bringing life to the dead. The Magistirium brought the characters in TGC nothing but pain, sorrow, and loss. That doesn’t sound like any church that I want to be a part of and it doesn’t sound like a church that seeks to follow Jesus.

Part 3: Dust to Dust

Discipleship, Film & Theology, Popular Culture, Questions, Theology

A Christian Responds to The Golden Compass 1

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The only thing Christians need to fear about The Golden Compass is that by ignoring it they might miss a great opportunity to share their faith.

Until a month ago the only thing I knew about the movie The Golden Compass was that it was based on a series of children’s book and that it starred James Bond and the guy from Lonesome Dove. Then I received a handful of emails that warned me to stay away from the movie because the author, Philip Pulman, was a devoted atheist who wrote the books in order to “kill God.” I did my research on the books, the author, and the upcoming film and came to only one conclusion: I needed to see this movie.

I have now seen the film and I walked away from it with 3 talking points that Christians can use to discuss their faith with others who have seen the film. As I spoke about yesterday, people get much of their theology from movies. Movies can only point toward a truth. If we, as Christians, are ignorant about the half-truths the culture is hearing and believing then we can never connect them with the source of real truth, Jesus. I completely understand that some refuse to buy a ticket to a movie they disagree with because the act of buying a ticket monetarily supports the filmmakers and their agendas. However, you should not ignore something that is a potential conversation starter about the faith you hold so dear. Being in the world means that we must engage the world. Ignorance is not an option.

Before we discuss these 3 talking points I want you to have at least a working knowledge of the story and of the controversy. On Sunday I will post the first talking point. Until then, you’ve got some reading to do.

Updated: Links now work
Plot summery of the book from Wikipedia
Synopsis of “Compass” controversy from Snopes
Feature Cover Story from Entertainment Weekly

Books, Cinema, Film & Theology

Wormwood on Film

Ralph Winter Prods. is producing a bigscreen adaptation of the C.S. Lewis novel “The Screwtape Letters” with Philip Anschutz’s Walden Media.
Pic will be produced via Walden’s Bristol Bay Prods. banner (“Ray,” “Sahara”).

Pic, which Walden hopes to release in 2008, is the company’s second Lewis collaboration following “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” which grossed $744 million worldwide. The sequel to that pic, “Prince Caspian,” is due out next year.

Like “Narnia,” “The Screwtape Letters” — which is described as a midbudget, primarily live-action pic — embodies Christian themes.

First published in 1942, “The Screwtape Letters” takes the form of a series of missives from a senior demon, Screwtape, to his wannabe diabolical nephew, Wormwood. As a mentor, Screwtape advises his protege on the finer points of undermining faith and promoting sin. His instructions are interspersed with observations on human nature and Christian doctrine.

Since taking over the publishing of “The Screwtape Letters” in 2001, HarperSanFrancisco has sold almost 1 million copies of the trade paperback alone.

Producing are Ralph Winter, Randy Argue and Lewis’ stepson Douglas Gresham.

Wow, this is pretty cool news. Winter produced a little franchise called X-Men. It didn’t make much waves at the box office… oh wait… yeah, it did!

“The Screwtape Letters” is a great book and I hope that it can translate well to film. With Winters behind it I’m sure that it will.

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Discipleship, Faith in Action, Film & Theology, Heroes, Leadership, Ministry, Politics, Resources

My Great Change

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Monday night I headed over to downtown Ft. Worth for a screening of the newest film from Walden Media, Amazing Grace.

The film tells the story of William WIlberforce.

Wilberforce was a member of British parliment near the end of the 18th century and early part of the 19th century. In 1784, a “great change” occured in his life. He became a Christian.

This “great change” influenced the way he lived and lit a new fire in his belly. Wilberforce set out to abolish slavery in all of the British Empire. It became his all consuming passion. He dedicated the rest of his life to this end. Friends were lost and enemies were made but he never gave up. For 34 years, he continued to push for an end to the “horrors of the slave trade.”

Three days before he passed away, Parliment passed the Slavery Abolition Act, freeing all slaves within the Brish empire.

One man. One Faith. One Pursuit. Millions of lives changed.

While watching the film I was struck by the thought that one person can make a lasting difference in the world. I used to believe that as a kid but somewhere along the way that belief turned into merely a pipe dream.

My least favorite sentances in the world are:

“It’s always been this way.” and “We’ve never done it that way.”

Those are the two biggest lies that cripple young dreams and vibrant life. Well, I’m not buying it anymore.

Yesterday I read Amazing Grace in the Life of William Wilberforce by John Piper. It was a great little read. It is under 80 pages so you could read it in about an hour. It again drove the point home to me: One person can make a difference.

The movie was very good and I am hoping to promote it with my teens and their families. The film opens on February 23. You can go to the film’s website to see where it will be playing in your area.

Cinema, Ethos, Film & Theology

The Pusuit

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pusuit.jpg I don’t know how these things happen to me but I am glad that they do.

I received an email inviting me to the Dallas premiere of Columbia Pictures’ newest release, The Pursuit of Happyness starring Will Smith. The invitation stated that not only was the event free and not only would we get to see the movie a month before it was released but the real treat would be that the Fresh Prince himself would be there for a Q&A immediately following the film!

So we drove all the way out to NorthPark last night to see the movie and I’ve got to tell you:

Go See This Movie!

The Pursuit of Happyness tells the story of Chris Gardner and his young son who were forced to live on the street after Gardner’s wife left them during the early eighties. Gambling everything for a better life, Garner takes an internship with a brokerage firm with no pay and no promise of future employment with the firm all in the pursuit of happyness.

And yes, I am spelling it correctly.

There wasn’t a dry eye in the house and afterward Mr. Smith was articulate and passionate about why he made the film and what he hopes it will accomplish. As you watch it, you cannot help but ask yourself when you would have given up. When you would have let the dream die.

You ought to see this film.

Probably the neatest experience was when an executive from Columbia Pictures led a prayer before the movie started.

I don’t know how I got invited last night. But I am forever thankful that I did.

Film & Theology, Leadership, Ministry, Theology

2007: The Year of William Wilburforce

I am making a bold prediction here. Over the last few weeks I have heard the name William Wilberforce over and over and over. 2007 is going to be his year. And with good reason.

Wilberforce was a member of British parliment near the end of the 18th century. In 1784, a great change occured in his life. He became a Christian.

This great change influenced the way he lived and lit a new fire in his belly. Wilberforce set out to abolish slavery in all of the British Empire. It became his all consuming passion. He dedicated the rest of his life to this end. Friends were lost and enemies were made but he never gave up. For 34 years, he continued to push for an end to the “horrors of the slave trade.”

One month after he passed away, Parliment passed the Slavery Abolition Act, freeing all slaves within the Brish empire.

One man. One Faith. One Pursuit. Millions of lives changed.

Wlden Media will release Amazing Grace: The William Wilberforce Story next Spring. I hope you all get to see it.

In conjuction with the movie, you can sign an online petition that has as its aim to abolish slavery world wide. Click over there and sign it or download it and pass it around to those around you.

I wish that there were a few canidates out there that had these kinds of ideas. I would gladly vote for any man or woman that stood for something like justice and truth instead of just a donkey or an elephant.

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Books, Film & Theology, General, Guilty Pleasure, Leadership, Ministry, Music, Popular Culture, U2

Playing Catch Up (Update)

Uplift Thanks
Our trip to Uplift ended up being very, very positive. Since 1993, I have probably only missed 2 or 3 summers at Uplift. From camper to intern to counselor to dorm guy to now leading my own group I have found that this camp is perfect for groups large and small. Having only been at my church for a month this marked our first big trip together as the youth group. I chose Uplift because I knew that everything would be taken care of before we arrived and that would allow me more time with my students. Andrew Baker, Brandon Tiddle, and the rest of the gang that puts Uplift together did an excellent job of creating and leading a memorable experience for my students. Thank you Uplift.

Uplift Class
When I first started attending Uplift as a camper the classes taught by the youth ministers where always the most random assortment of classes ever produced: No theme and sometimes very little thought (depending on the YM). When Andrew became the director though, the theme of the camp began to bleed over into the classes. This year they took it a step further and had a handful of youth ministers write the curriculum for every class. Basically, the classes would have continuity with the theme and all three sessions of camp. The theme this year was ER: Eternal Relationships and I was asked to teach the class titled Neurology. I was pretty excited when I received the curriculum because it called for me to perform brain surgery!!! Ok, not really but it had a drama skit where I would place the mind of Christ in a student and talk about how the mind of Christ differs from our way of thinking. I was told that everything I would need would be provided for me: Scrubs, set pieces, brains, instruments. However, when I arrived in my classroom only half of what was supposed to be there was actually there and half of that was messed up or unusable. My class at Uplift looked like it would quickly turn to disaster.

Praise be to God that He didn’t let that happen. In under an hour, I was able to scrap the old class and create a brand new one. While I was trying to figure out what to do, God gave me the answer to my predicament. Instead of teaching a class that was over the top and full of grey matter I decided to just be honest about my life and hang out with these kids and share a message of forgiveness and transformation. I spent the whole week telling students about how it seemed that I had everything together in High School. I was a leader, well liked, and on my way to college as a youth minister. However, I was a complete jerk to those around me because of my anger and selfishness. My relationships were breaking apart because of this sin.

Anger isn’t a very sexy sin. You don’t hear about it from the pulpit so you would think that it isn’t really that big of deal. But it is. God used my class this week to touch a couple of students and families. I felt humbled and inadequate every time a sponsor or student came to me afterward to thank me. Their stories of how anger was affecting them or a loved one drove home that fact that we need to talk a little more about these “second tier” sins. Youth ministers, before you write another class about sex, gossip, or alcohol think about addressing stress or anger or disrespect.

Will I Ever Eat a Fast Food Hamburger Again?
After reading the slaughterhouse chapter of Fast Food Nation I’m not so sure anymore. Darn you social conscience! This question didn’t arise because of the cattle, it has come because of the conditions in which human beings have to work in and around in these modern day death traps. I thought The Jungle took care of all that but I guess not. It is appalling the dangers and conditions in these slaughterhouses. I feel a personal boycott coming on.

Nike+iPod
This fat sack of crap is completely mesmerized by this new product. What is Nike+iPod? It’s a wireless sensor that you place in your shoe that communicates to your iPod nano in order to track your workout which you synch to your computer and share with a community of other users. It also will coach and motivate you as you run! Genius! Synergy! Genisergy!

From iLounge:

During CNBC’s “On The Money” this evening, sports reporter Darren Rovell provided the first look at the new Nike+iPod Sports Kit, saying he was “very impressed with it” and that it “could change the running world.” Following a first-hand test of the kit, Rovell proclaimed that it could “kill treadmills and membership at gyms” and “really change the way people run and how people think about running.” According to Rovell, the iPod nano was chosen for Nike+iPod support because the majority of nano owners use it to work out, with Apple’s Greg Joswiak noting that the nano is the most popular iPod model. A Nike exec added that the kit will work with 4 million shoes by the end of the year. Also during the CNBC segment, it was revealed that Apple and Nike plan to spend “no money” on advertising the kit and will “rely solely on buzz.” Besides launches at Nike and Apple Stores tomorrow, the only additional marketing planned for the device is its use by Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong in his preparation for the upcoming New York City Marathon.

iTunes has already added coaching/music mixes on their site to use with this new system. I am intrigued.

Nike+iPod Update

Mussolini Must Need a Sweater
I cried during an Adam Sandler movie. Click has been my favorite movie this summer. As great as mutants, pirates, cars, and men in blue tights are they are no match for the reminder that family, relationships, and the small stuff are the true essence of living.

Whew, I think I’m caught up on my posting now. Have a great day everyone!

Film & Theology

Emmanuel and Kal-El

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As you can see by the new header image this week I am gearing up for the movie I have been anticipating all year. In only a couple of more weeks the last son of Kyrpton will make a his first appearance on the silver screen since I was in kindergarten and I couldn’t be more excited.

There has always been something about Superman that has captured my imagination. Maybe because he was adopted too. Maybe I relate to Clark since I’m a little clumsy. Maybe it’s something a little deeper.

Indeed, I believe Superman points beyond the comic book page to something and someone who is close to my heart. Superman points me to my Savior.

I can hear you now, “What? How dare you. Irreverent!” or “Are you crazy?” or “Yeah, I remember when Jesus defeated Gen. Zod and sent him to the forbiden zone! Now I see it.”

No, it’s not that far of a stretch. Hang with me.

Superman
Sent by his father, Jor-El, to save the world; raised by Ma and Pa Kent in Smallville, KS; chose his destiny to serve the weak, poor, and the helpless; moved to the big city of Metropolis where he used his powers to save humanity

Jesus
Sent by his Father, Elohim, to bring salvation to the world (Jn 3:16); raised by Joeseph and Mary in smalltown Nazareth; chose his destiny to serve the weak, poor, and the helpless; went to the big city of Jerusalem where his sacrifice glorified the Father and and brought salvation to the world

Now do you see it? Did you see a glimpse of what I was talking about?

I hope that Superman Returns is worth the wait. More importantly though, I hope this film can be a stepping stone to help me share the Gospel with students. The trailers have made my theological radar go crazy for quite some time now so my hopes are very high.

I love catching glimpses of the Gospel in film. For you, Superman might just be some kiddie filck. For me it is another reminder of how great my Savior is. He can’t leap tall buildings or freeze enemies with his breath. No, my Savior, the ultimate hero, defeated sin. The last son of Krypton has nothing on the Son of God.