Andy Naselli

Thoughts on Theology

films

Useful Questions When Approaching Literature, Films, Etc.

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Grant Horner, “Glorifying God in Literary and Artistic Culture,” in Think Biblically! Recovering a Christian Worldview (ed. John MacArthur; Wheaton: Crossway, 2003):

If Christians attempt to approach culture—literature, film, the arts and philosophies of humanity—from a human, cultural standpoint, they will be acting in disobedience to God. (p. 315)

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Some Useful Questions

There are several core areas that must be considered when attempting to approach cultural artifacts from a biblical perspective:

October Baby

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Last week my wife and I watched October Baby, a new film that releases in theaters on March 23.

Here’s the official trailer:

More clips and interviews here.

Some Strengths

  1. It celebrates life in our culture of death. It’s about Hannah, a college freshman who learns that she’s adopted and that her biological mother unsuccessfully tried to abort her and then abandoned her.
  2. It winsomely depicts abortion as what it is—murdering helpless, voiceless little people—with tears and heartache. It connects with people on an emotional level that mere intellectual arguments cannot.
  3. It celebrates family, love, and forgiveness.
  4. It’s relatively clean compared to typical Hollywood movies.

Some Weaknesses

  1. It is religiously generic compared to films like Courageous and Fireproof (Provident Films distributes all three). My expectations, [Read more…] about October Baby

Courageous

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Last weekend my wife and I watched the film Courageous, which opens at 900 theaters nationwide on September 30.

Trailer

About the Film

Thoughts

  1. This is the best of the four films that Sherwood Pictures has produced in terms of filming, acting, and storyline.
  2. It focuses on multiple aspects of fatherhood and depicts that weighty responsibility as a high calling. It makes a strong counter-cultural statement about fathers courageously leading their homes rather than selfishly abdicating their responsibility. [Read more…] about Courageous

KJB

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This 90-minute film releases in the United States today: KJB: The Book That Changed the World.

Jenni and I enjoyed watching it last week.

  • The film focuses on the intriguing politics behind the making of the KJV.
  • It’s superbly narrated by John Rhys-Davies, who played Gimli the dwarf in The Lord of the Rings.
  • The acting is well done.
  • It includes two brief commentaries by Carl Trueman.

Here’s a three-minute preview:

No Greater Love

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Tonight Jenni and I watched No Greater Love. We expected it to be another semi-cheesy Christian film, but it’s actually well done. It’s a surprisingly gripping story. Jenni almost never cries when watching movies, but this was different.

I learned about it in mid-January when I received this update from The Master’s Seminary. Jay Underwood, one of their graduates, co-stars in the film.

More info:

Update: Justin Taylor recommends No Greater Love.

Update: Justin Taylor <a href=”http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2010/03/16/no-greater-love-dvd/” target=”_blank”><strong>recomends</strong></a> <em>No Greater Love</em>.