Christian Reading
A couple of articles caught my attention this week. Dallas Jenkins is a Christian in the film making business. He decided to make a Christian film. Makes you wonder if the film came down during the alter call. Jenkins has a good understanding of what makes a film “Christian.” I have mixed feelings on this one. On the one hand, Jenkins is right that most films dubbed Christian are terrible and I admire his effort to make a decent Christian film. On the other hand, he is wrong that what Christians want are films where the payoff scene presents the Gospel. What I really want is movies that do not glorify sex, drugs, and violence as a lifestyle. Great stories ring great themes. The best are very compatible with and useful for the Kingdom of God. See C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia and Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings series as prime examples. The Villiage and the first Matrix movie are others. Give me more of those kind of movies. If Jenkins can pull off a movie that is not “preachy or false” then he just might redefine the genre. His blog is worth keeping an eye on.
The second article is over at ChristianHistory.net on the blog. It is a transcript of a discussion between several Bethel professors about how Christians engage in politics. For those unfamiliar with the history of Evangelicals this article is a good place to get the basics though it is by no means exhaustive.
The best two questions come near the end on how young Christians are shaping the Evangelical movement and whether Evangelicals are too aligned with one particular party. On the former the profs touch on the reemergence of spiritual formation and direction among Evangelicals (which is a passion of mine) which moves beyond the knowledge of God to the experience of relationship with him. The latter question sparks a debate on what Evangelicals really want by engaging in politics. A biblical answer must include both freedom and justice which makes it very difficult to be on either side of the aisle all the time.
