“If I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God's household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth” (1 Tim. 3.15). In the wake of Jesus’ revolutionary time on Earth, the community of those who believed his message was soon referred as the church. As time progressed and the movement known as Christianity expanded, churches sprouted up in countless cities and towns, separated from each other by physical distance, but still one community under the rule of God. Today, as in the past, the church is tasked with using its members’ gifts to glorify God, encouraging believers, proclaiming the Gospel, and preparing the way for the return of the risen Lord. However, the church often neglects that to accomplish its mission, it must engage the world and not box itself into its own version of the “Twilight Zone;” a place that some call, the “strictly religious zone.” So, why does the church so often place itself in such an isolated position? There would appear to be two contributing factors that together provide an answer.
When the idea of “separation of church in state” was introduced by John Locke in 1689 in his “Letter Concerning Toleration,” individuals began to compartmentalize life, placing state (politics) in one compartment, and church (religion) in another (Uzgalis, par. 3). This idea really caught fire in the late eighteenth century when the United States implemented the idea in its own founding. To be clear, there was nothing inherently wrong with the idea that religion should not control government and government should not control religion. In fact, most Christians would agree that this idea is of vital importance, protecting all religions (theoretically) from governmental prejudice and persecution. Today however, many people, under the influence of the empire, have taken the idea a step too far; now believing that any views or thoughts shaped by religion should be kept in individuals’ religion compartments. Frankly, this is an absurd belief. Asking someone to leave religion out of their values is equivalent to asking a white, middle-class, small-business owner from Texas to forget that he’s all of these things when he interacts with the world and makes political decisions. So yes, in today’s world the empire is partially to blame for the church’s distance from pop-culture. Taking all of this into account, ultimate blame still falls on the church.
What lies at the heart of the great disconnect between pop-culture and the church is the fact that the church has become “afraid of the dark.” The word “dark” as used here refers to the sin, corruption, and evil found in the world ever since the fall. The church has attempted to shelter itself from what it perceives to be the darkness of pop-culture by retreating to its own little sphere. The empire thrives in the darkness that this retreat allows and because of it, the empire has exerted its control over pop-culture. While this picture does sound very bleak, there is still hope for the world yet. For while the empire represents darkness, Christians, and thus the church, represent light. "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (Mat. 5.13-16). Even in the darkest of rooms, the dimmest light will still shine through, overcoming the darkness. With this in mind, Christians should realize that it is the church’s duty to go out into the darkness of pop-culture and shine Christ’s light. This doesn’t mean that Christianity needs to “wash out” current pop-culture. However, what it does mean is that Christians need to be actively engaged in the world, using God’s light to search for the truths that already exist within pop-culture. In essence, Christians need to view artifacts of pop-culture, examining and thoroughly discussing what each one has to say about the human experience. This includes looking at what kingdom truths and imperial myths an artifact presents and identifying what each artifact’s significance is. What story is an artifact telling, and how does it fit in or clash with the kingdom’s story? By using this practice, the church can engage in pop-culture while minimalizing the risk of pop-culture negatively influencing the church.
Now, one may ask, “How exactly can the church participate in pop culture?” While there are many areas of pop-culture that should be explored by the church, one avenue in particular stands out: film. Movies are an ideal way for the church to engage in pop culture for multiple reasons. To begin with, they are easy to watch and don’t require as much skill as other mediums such as literature. Secondly, they don’t require a large time commitment. A movie runs, on average, for about two or three hours; while television, for instance, requires consistent weekly viewing to fully appreciate the messages being sent and the stories that are being told. Finally, movies are the most expensive pop-cultural artifacts to manufacture. Over the years production and advertising costs have continued to go up. The most recent blockbuster, Avatar, reportedly cost as much as half of a billion dollars to make and market (Tyler, par. 1). This fact tells us that films are important to individuals because the world tends to spend the most money on what it believes to be most important. Specifically in this case, businesses spend an exuberant amount of money producing movies because movies grip the attention of consumers, thus causing them to spend more and more money to satisfy their thirst for attention-grabbing entertainment. Movies can and should have a role in the church, but this idea needs to be applied. How can film be used in the church?
In the year 2004 many churches set out as congregations to the movie theater to view Mel Gibson’s retelling of Jesus’ crucifixion, The Passion of the Christ. Since then, the church has remained mostly quiet in the film industry, only making a small amount of noise when The Da Vinci Code was released. This noise only lasted for a few weeks and really didn’t amount to much. Some people were riled up about the film - strangely enough, many of these individuals never bothered to read the book or watch the movie - while others just brushed it off as another fictional Hollywood blockbuster. There are questions just begging to be asked here. Why does the church only bring to the forefront and discuss films that are made by churches or specifically about Christianity? In cases with movies like The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons, why hasn’t the church opened up to the community and provided both screenings of the films and discussions revolving around the truths and lies that these films’ stories present? The bottom line is that there are ways for churches to utilize movies and they need to start now.
The most obvious way to do this is to hold screenings of films that the church finds culturally significant. What movies the church chooses to examine can be determined by pastors, elders, a special committee, or even the entire congregation. Selected films can be watched in a church reserved movie showing at the movie theater, in the church itself, or in homes of individuals willing to show them. Showings can be for either the church community, or the local community depending on the church’s wishes and the movie being shown. After the film is over discussion could take place. Whoever selected the movie would be in charge of compiling a list of pertinent discussion questions and insights into the film. As a congregation the church could then together examine the movie’s narrative, finding the truths presented and ways to apply them along with identifying the lies that are told and what the dangers and effects of the lies are. These are just some options that are available. There are many more out there and it is for each church to individually decide which options are best for it.
Another way the church can encourage more examination of film is by building a library within the church that contains a wide variety of “secular” films. Along with these films, the church could include discussion guides similar to the ones used for the church screened movies. These guides could be specially tailored for the intended audience of the movie. For instance, a movie like Up might have questions more geared toward families and young children, whereas District 9 may have questions aimed at teenagers and younger adults. The point is that movie showings don’t have to be formal or even a big church activity. Movies can be viewed and discussed by smaller communities within the church.
To provide a specific example of what a film discussion might look like, the movie The Dark Knight will be examined. The Dark Knight is an excellent film both in quality and in depth. If presents many themes and ideas. One theme it conveys well is justice. While Bruce Wayne is a vigilante – a position that can often be used by the empire – fighting evil in the world, he has his own rule that keeps him from falling into evil. He’s not an executioner -he knows that he’s not the ultimate judge. The same principle applies to humans. Humanity has been called out into the world to overcome evil, but we were not made to judge the world. That is God’s job. On the flipside, one of the final messages that the movie presents is clearly spoken by the empire. “Sometimes the truth isn’t good enough.” This line is very problematic because God is truth and truth is good. God has commanded us not to lie, and by suggesting that lying can be better than telling the truth, the movie seems to be telling viewers that it knows better than God. Some questions that the film raises are: Do you believe the Joker’s belief that all humans will dispense their codes and morals when fear overpowers established order? (Explain.) Is there a difference between believing that men are truly depraved when only pushed and believing that all men are sinful? If so, what’s the difference? While this is only a small sample of what a discussion might look like, the general idea outline of a discussion can be seen.
Finally, before the church begins to utilize movies, any potential dangers of using film in the church need to be examined. First of all, Church members need to show discretion when choosing a film to watch. While violence in movies strongly impacts some individuals, others can handle it. People need to be conscious of what they can and cannot properly handle so that certain situations, that they knows they can’t deal with, can be avoided. Secondly, if discussion and discernment aren’t participated in and practiced, then individuals may become desensitized and they may begin to be drawn into the messages that the empire presents. It is essential that church members are in fellowship together, looking out for one another and holding each other accountable. Finally, the church needs to make sure that it is firmly grounded in scripture. It needs to remember that God’s word is the final authority, and that while movies present many interesting ideas, many can lead to bad places if not handled correctly.
While the church and pop-culture will never fully see eye to eye, the church still needs to make an effort to understand pop-culture and its influence on the world. By doing so, the church has an opportunity to reach more people by being able to better relate to them. This also will allow the church to come out of the “religion box” that the empire has attempted to put it in. By utilizing film correctly, the church can continue to follow the instructions of Jesus and advance the kingdom.
Works Cited:
Tyler, Josh. "Avatar Cost $500 Million And James Cameron Won't Get Paid?." Cinema Blend. 11 Nov 2009. Cinema Blend LLC, Web. 26 Jan 2010.
Uzgalis, Bill. "John Locke." Oregon State University. 01 Sep 2003. Oregon State University, Web. 26 Jan 2010.
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