Movie Goers Beware

2014 Must be vying for the title of "Biblical Movie Year" according to some. Well at least several movies have Biblical Themes or Topics in them. There is "Son of God" which starts in Genesis and quickly moves to the story of Jesus as recorded primarily in the Gospel of John. "God is Not Dead" is another popular box office hit depicting the defense of God by a gutsy college freshman enrolled in a Philosophy class taught by an staunch Atheist. Then there is NOAH which is an avowed atheist's rendition of the Biblical story of Noah. Of course there is "Heaven is For Real" giving the account of a young boy's Near Death Experience. I'm not sure why, but Hollywood seems to be playing to the religious crowd and particularly to Christians in 2014. Why? I can only speculate, but I know from those who have been close to people in the movie industry that even though Hollywood knows that the biggest box office hits are usually family friendly films. But because of their activist agenda most writers, producers, and film makers shy away from the most profitable genre. So I am a bit skeptical in saying that Hollywood must be hurting for some cash so they've tried to play to the family, the religious, the spiritual side of people. Regardless of why there are so many spiritually oriented movies, the fact remains that for Christians there is a need for serious Scriptural evaluation of what is being communicated in a particular movie. We should be cautious of going to a movie simply because the title indicates a Biblical theme or topic is being considered. I am assuming that, unlike a generation ago, most professing Christians do go to the movies.Movies are powerful tools to communicate and it is likely that once we've seen a movie our perspective on whatever Biblical story it depicts will be seriously impacted. For example, it is difficult for people of my generation who have seen Cecil B. DeMill's "The Ten Commandments" starring Charleton Heston to read the Exodus account without seeing the images and characters from the movie. More recently those who witnessed "The Passion of the Christ" can hardly read the Gospel accounts of the Passion without the gruesome and gut-wrenching scenes from the movie flashing through their minds. When we see a movie about a passage or event in Scripture we tend to believe that the movie version is what happened. Therefore, it behooves us to do our homework before ever going to a movie or at minimum think in Biblical terms in evaluating what is seen. Let me take a few examples from the list of 2014 Films to make my point and challenge us. NOAH is a movie that by it's title makes those familiar with the Bible think that they will be watching the familiar Bible story come to life on the Big Screen. NOT!! Consider that the producer is an atheist who does not believe in the God of the Bible and therefore does not accept the Scripture accounts as authoritative and accurate. His world-view profoundly impacts the telling of the story. I have not seen the movie, but those who have inform me that it takes the Biblical account and turns it upside down. In the Bible mankind is destroyed because of their sin against God, but in the movie God is saving the animals from the humans. Noah in the Bible was a righteous man who "walked with God", but in the movie he is anything but righteous. To subject ourselves to blatant heresy is dangerous and unwise. I am sure that many Christians will flock to and rave about "Heaven is for Real" and yet, the book itself and I would assume the movie depicts a concept of being raised back to life and of Heaven that we do NOT find anywhere in Scripture. There are numerous accounts of people raised from the dead or of people with a heavenly encounter. See Isaiah 6:1-7; 2Kings 4:29-37; Matthew 9:18-26; Luke 7:11-17;John 11:1-46; Revelation 4:5-11; 5:1-14. And then there is Paul's own record in 2Cor.12:1-6. In these and other stories of people raised from the dead or people encountering God in Heaven there is only Humility, Awareness of Sinfulness, Celebration of God's magnificence and praise. Among those raised from the dead, Paul is the only one to mention anything of His experience and it is marked by such shock and awe that He is unable to speak about it and is actually given a thorn in the flesh to keep Him humble. Now contrast the Biblical record with what is written in the book and portrayed in the movie, "Heaven is for Real." No doubt the boy's stories are heart-warming, and we can all appreciate that his young life was spared, but we should be cautious of letting the emotional appeal blind us to Biblical truth. It is dangerous to interpret Scripture in light of our experience. It is a much sounder practice to interpret experience in light of Scripture. All I am saying is that what we see in Scripture regarding Heaven and Near Death Experience differs drastically from what is portrayed in the book and movie. This should give every serious student of Scripture pause in going to such a movie, in reading the book, and in praising those works. For a more in depth look at the issue of Near Death Experiences as recorded in the Bible as they relate to our scrutiny of "Heaven is For Real" see the following link to an article by David Jones professor at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. http://www.scribd.com/doc/220085950/Near-Death-Experiences Movie Goers Beware of spiritual sounding films that contradict the Bible and undermine our faith.