April 16, 2010

The idea of offering a sacrifice to a “higher power,” whether it’s in the form of slain animals or something more acceptable for contemporary society, has been around for a very long time.  It should be no wonder, then, that it pervades the movies we encounter.

Take The Matrix series, for example.  If you haven’t seen any of these movies then you might want to stop reading for the sake of avoiding SPOILERS, but those who have seen all three are well aware of the fact that the protagonist—Neo—ends up giving his life to save (at least temporarily) humanity from the wrath of the resentful machines that were created a century or so earlier.  It’s clear that filmmakers are aware of the power associated with this sort of imagery, as a number of well known movies (Braveheart is a good example) have demonstrated.

If you’re a Christ follower, what does this mean for you?  How can one reconcile what we encounter in popular culture with faith? The short answer, at least in my estimation, is that these things cannot be reconciled.

What we see in the movies, though often inspirational and moving, pales in comparison to the ultimate sacrifice that Jesus Christ endured so that we might have eternal life.  As stated earlier, writers and directors often—perhaps subconsciously—manipulate this association, and there’s a danger in doing so: namely, it sends a message to those who aren’t believers that the concept of “sacrifice,” in general, is enough to guarantee’s ones spiritual destiny.  It’s what I refer to as the “good person syndrome”—the idea that one or more “good” acts will ensure a person’s entry into Heaven.

The 2005 film Constantine—another Keanu Reeves vehicle—is an excellent illustration of this point. John Constantine is a warrior for hire.  Specifically, he exorcises demons and sends a variety of otherworldly creatures back to their respective domains. After a lifetime of trying to gain access to Heaven by completing good works (he’s banned because he attempted suicide at a young age, which also somehow granted him the ability to see and interact with the previously mentioned demons), he’s finally allowed in because he gives his soul to Satan on the condition that an acquaintance in hell be relocated to heaven.  This is an interesting idea, but when it’s examined with any degree of Biblical scrutiny it quickly falls apart (there are, of course, a wide variety of theological inconsistencies with this idea, too).

One of the main problems, though, is that there seems to be no acknowledgement—or, more importantly, acceptance—of God’s grace.  In other words, John has no faith.  Even though the archangel Gabriel—there are a number of problems with Gabriel’s character as well—explains the tenets of faith to him early in the story, he just can’t wrap his brain (or, more appropriately, his heart) around it.  This turns out not to be a problem, though, because of the sacrifice he commits in the final moments of the film.

An important lesson resides here: with movies, as with anything else we come across in life, everything needs to be weighed against scripture. Ephesians 2:8 comes to mind as being wholly representative of the films we’ve just referenced: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.”

And I haven’t said all of this to suggest you can’t enjoy movies.  You can.  I do on an almost daily basis.  The artistry and thematic elements found in “the moving picture” are wondrous things, and studying them is a passion of mine.  It’s just that we need to be diligent in reminding ourselves of who we are.

Thoughts?  Disagree (or agree) with anything said here?  Please comment!  I’d love to generate some thoughtful discussion.

–Chris Flowers

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