Christ at the Movies

Jason Lisle offers a basic Christian paradigm for movie-watching. Here are his closing paragraphs:

Since our God-given ability to create and enjoy stories stems from our nature as God’s image bearers, the kinds of stories we enjoy often parallel the Gospel – God’s true story of redemption. We can summarize the basic elements of the history of redemption as follows.

We start with perfection. Human beings enjoy life in a perfect world made by God. Then a problem occurs; a man commits evil, and life becomes difficult as a result. The evil spreads and many people suffer. A hero is born – the Christ. He is innocent, yet because of His great love, He willingly suffers pain for the sake of others. He sacrifices Himself in order to save His bride – the church. When all seems lost, the hero overcomes death itself and victoriously conquers His enemies. Paradise is restored and the people rejoice.

Just think of the many movies that follow this basic formula. Not all do, but most borrow at least significant elements. Most start in a good situation (either directly, or implied by backstory), but the “bad guy” acts wickedly and the innocent suffer as a result. A hero is raised up from among the people and confronts the evil. The hero often suffers through no fault of His own. There is a low point in which all seems lost; the hero is essentially dead. But the hero recovers and defeats the bad guy. The people are saved and rejoice. These kinds of stories are immensely satisfying because they are true to reality. They capture the basic theme of the Bible, and this honors the Lord.

The next time you watch a movie, don’t let it be simply mindless entertainment. Look for Christian themes. See if you can identify the Christ-figure. It is truly amazing how many movies parallel biblical history. This is further confirmation that we all know in our heart-of-hearts the biblical God.