By Taylor Breckles (The Cascade) – Email
Print Edition: March 12, 2014
Recently, a wave of studio-produced Christian movies have been sweeping theatres. While some find this change exciting and complementary to their tastes, others are disturbed by their abundance in 2014. I am one of those people less-than-thrilled about the prospect of a flood of Christian films, but it’s not merely because I am not Christian. It is my past experience of receiving mixed messages from the Christian faith that has inspired my negative reaction towards the latest Hollywood scheme.
As a child living in the “Bible-belt” of the Lower Mainland, I was banned from playing with certain children because I had different beliefs or rather, I was judged for not going to church.
Now, considering the number of people who only go to church once or twice a year, it is surprising how hostile the Christian community was toward me. As Justin Taylor states in The Gospel Coalition, “It seems that it’s more accurate to say that 40 [per cent] of Americans claim to attend church regularly.” Taylor carries on to say that church attendance from the mid 1960s to the ‘90s was around 26 per cent.
Even so, I am still judged today for my absence in church, yet now I’m “old enough” to understand why.
But I don’t understand why.
I can’t seem to grasp why the meaning of what it is to be a Christian has changed so drastically from what it is preached to be. The Bible states that you are to love one another; take Peter 4:8 as an example, “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.” Yet it is baffling why many people have changed this to “love all God’s children as long as they believe exactly what you do and follow all your personal moral rules.”
The passage stating that women should stay silent in Corinthians 14:34 (“Women are to keep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak”), is ignored today. As is the passage regarding tattooing and piercing (“Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD”) from Leviticus 19:28. Why are only certain passages accepted at face value?
Just like society evolves when new ideas, new theories, and new generations of thinkers are born, religious thoughts should also be willing to change.
Accepting the beliefs of others doesn’t mean that you have to pray to Allah or cleanse your house using sage, but mocking or trying to inhibit people from living the life they want is unacceptable.
With regards to the films, I must admit what Hollywood is doing is brilliant. “[Hollywood has] understood it’s a very good business to take Christians seriously, and this is a real serious market … that there are over 91 million evangelical Christians in America,” says media consultant Phil Cooke to the Telegraph. The North American film industry is finally taking part in a market that is ripe for the picking.
Perhaps had the Christian faith not changed their philosophy from the “love every child” view to the “I wouldn’t give you a dime for ANY church that doesn’t take a strong stand against abortion, booze, homosexuality, adultery, immodest dress on women, et cetera” view, then these films wouldn’t be such a source of discomfort. However, until the judgement is dialled back, these films will do nothing other than inspire yet another debate.
