Bridge to Teribble Theology

My good buddy Hank and I went to a movie on Friday night... Hank and I get together for a bite to eat and a movie every so often, and I usually try to pick movies that are more towards the softer and gentler side.

We went to see Bridge to Terabithia, which I knew very little about at the time though I have now learned that it is a movie based on a very popular kids book of the same name by Katherine Patterson. I was just going by the fact that it was a solid "B" pick by critics and yahoo readers, and seemed a much less graphic pic than, oh, say "300" which was debuting as well.

The movie's rough plotline follows "An 11-year-old boy has his life changed forever when he befriends the class outsider, a girl. Together they create the world of Terabithia, an imaginary kingdom filled with giants, trolls and other magical."

I loved the imagination of the movie, and it really was a fun film. Yet, it also takes these insidious jabs at Christianity. Though not falling into the usual categories of disapproval, aka sex, violence, etc, the film paints Christianity as a religion based on artificial fear-mongering that must be overcome with the "purity of one's imagination..." Secular characters are presented as free-thinking, free-expressing, and likable. Christian characters are dull, plodding, and uninspiring.

Ahh, the foolishness of this world, to keep selling this lie that "everyone is good on the inside just the way they are..." It really just motivates me to try and live more openly before a watching world. Christians need to show the world that yes, we are serious about sin, but only in the sense that you don't have much appreciation for grace if you haven't first considered sin. Grace only becomes amazing when you realize that it is offered to you, a sinner, who doesn't deserve it but so desperately needs it...

What's so amazing?

On Friday, Kat and I went out for dinner and a movie with our good friends John and Heidi. We went and watched "Amazing Grace," which I would definitely recommend ~














The film, if you haven't heard of it, is about William Wilberforce, who fought for many years in the English parliament to abolish the Slave trade. The movie is openly Christian, which is awesome, and is actually well-made. After Narnia last year and now this, Christian filmmaking is making great strides to overcome the likes of such specatacles as Kirk Cameron's now infamous turn in the "Left Behinds"...

One cute thing about watching this film ~ We saw it on opening night, and the theatre was packed. We got there during the open scene, and hte last 4 seats in the place were in the absolute front-right corner of the theatre, so we were staring up the entire way.

But this was like the most totally Christian-dominated audience I've ever experienced at a movie. In one scene where a dramatic moment led to something climactically said about "God's grace overcoming..." there was a huge collective sigh in the theatre, and not a few amens. I love seeing Christians engaging with Hollywood, and not giving up on it!

Good film - Go see it soon, to make sure its not banished to video in a week as many such films are...