Comments on: Evangelicals and the Movies

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 30 Dec 2005 15:46:29 +0000

I really like Johnston. I like what he has written and I greatly appreciated my time in his class. I am grateful for this shift in evangelical and conservative Christianity that does not see movies as (always) protestable products. I have been a film lover as long as I can remember. It is nice not having to defend myself whenever I say I enjoyed or learned something from a movie with objectionable material.
I am also grateful that the article gives evangelical voices such as Johnston's significant time. The article brings up the debacle surrounding The Last Temptation of Christ, which was a misguided protest, in my opinion. Thankfully voices such as Falwell and Robertson (who wanted to buy all the copies of Scrocese's film so he could burn them) are not the only Christian voices reaching the newspapers. I would rather hear more from Johnston, who is lucid and thoughtful, than Robertson, who has mastered the art of the foot-in-mouth soundbite.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 29 Dec 2005 22:58:05 +0000

I teach a class on film discernment at my church. We must interact with our culture but we must also remain true to our faith. It is a hard line to walk at times.
Thanks for bringing this subject up. I hope people begin to give this some serious thought.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 29 Dec 2005 19:37:01 +0000

I believe that the relationship of evangelicals and movies does point toward the larger question of Christians and culture. How should the two relate?
As has often been said, “We are to be in the world, but not of the world.” I find this statement reflects the prayer of Jesus in John 17:14-15: “I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.”
Nevertheless, it is easier to mistakenly focus on one side of this biblical concept. When Christians only think in terms of the second half of the phrase (“not of the world”), they tend to separate from culture. The result is the AFA and other fundamentalist groups. At the same time, I fear that evangelicals may overly concentrate on the first half of the phrase (“in the world”). In this case, we can immerse ourselves in the world rather than seeking to interact with it and transform it. After all, we are “aliens and strangers” (1 Peter 2:11). Actually, 1 Peter is a great place to turn in understanding the proper relationship between Christianity and culture.
I, along with you, pray for a shift from Christian activism to Christian proclamation.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 29 Dec 2005 18:39:38 +0000

Should this sort of shift also apply in other areas of Christian-Culture interactions? How does this idea extend to the actions of groups like the AFA and others who jump to boycott anything and everyone that breathes in a manner offensive to their understanding of Christianity? Could a shift like this eventually lead to less Christian activism and more Christian proclamation? I personally think the truth, proclaimed in love, is more powerful than a placard and repeated chants of condemnation…