Friday Musings
Cinco De Mayo
I don't have anything special to say about the Mexican Independence day, but I did hit El Rodeo with the guys for lunch. In my book, it is the best dollar-for-food value in Des Moines for Mexican food. Tough to beat the "Speedy Gonzalez" for under $5.00. Lauren and I are also going out tonight for the events at Valley Junction. Should be a good time, although I hope it warms up a little.
Evangelicals and the Movies
Shaun Groves has highlighted two interesting articles (1, 2) this week relating to how Christians in America relate to movies. The first is titled Evangelical Childlike Hysteria & The Da Vinci Code and expresses frustration at the "nanny state" mindset among some that would keep us from engaging and interacting with the movies. This perspective views films like "The Da Vinci Code" as dire threats which are about to sweep away the faith of millions who can't think critically for themselves. The second, The Passion Reloaded, reveals the failure of the same mindset when applied to movies that do promote a Christian message. There were those who hailed Mel Gibson's film as the greatest tool for evangelism in 2000 years. And though there were doubtlessly some who were reached, it failed to live up to the promise. George Barna found that less than one-tenth of one percent who saw the film made a profession of faith. To me, it points us back to the basic need for Christ to be shared person-by-person, relationship-by-relationship. Movies may sometimes facilitate that, but there are no shortcuts.
I don't have anything special to say about the Mexican Independence day, but I did hit El Rodeo with the guys for lunch. In my book, it is the best dollar-for-food value in Des Moines for Mexican food. Tough to beat the "Speedy Gonzalez" for under $5.00. Lauren and I are also going out tonight for the events at Valley Junction. Should be a good time, although I hope it warms up a little.
Evangelicals and the Movies
Shaun Groves has highlighted two interesting articles (1, 2) this week relating to how Christians in America relate to movies. The first is titled Evangelical Childlike Hysteria & The Da Vinci Code and expresses frustration at the "nanny state" mindset among some that would keep us from engaging and interacting with the movies. This perspective views films like "The Da Vinci Code" as dire threats which are about to sweep away the faith of millions who can't think critically for themselves. The second, The Passion Reloaded, reveals the failure of the same mindset when applied to movies that do promote a Christian message. There were those who hailed Mel Gibson's film as the greatest tool for evangelism in 2000 years. And though there were doubtlessly some who were reached, it failed to live up to the promise. George Barna found that less than one-tenth of one percent who saw the film made a profession of faith. To me, it points us back to the basic need for Christ to be shared person-by-person, relationship-by-relationship. Movies may sometimes facilitate that, but there are no shortcuts.
Labels: Friday Musings
posted by Alan at 1:13 PM
3 Comments:
Interesting. When John was in Nigeria he went with a native evangelist and was able to share with a genarater The Passion of Christ. It drew the whole village and opened doors for the church there to speak their faith. John was honored to be apart of the churches attempt to evangelize their area. 10 years ago this same village had been persecuting the church there. I agree that nothing replaces verbalizing the truth of our faith. Yet God is pleased to use tools sometimes too. What ever we do we need to do with much prayer to the glory of God:)
Thanks for sharing John's story Voni. That's awesome. I think the survey was looking at America only. In other words, perhaps the reason that the film didn't have more of an impact is because we are in such a media-saturated culture. The nightly news shows us shocking and saddening things all the time, yet usually we are able to return to our normal lives unaffected.
It would make sense that there are definitely areas where the dramatic impact of a film like "Passion" would be greater and you would see more results.
I'm not disparaging evangelistic tools by any means, just reminding that we can put too much hope in them, or conversely (like with Da Vinci Code) ascribe them too much influence.
Oh, and good job on getting your blog off the ground! I hope you enjoy it.
Post a Comment
<< Home