Have you ever had to sit and listen to someone tell you how utterly "touched" they were by a supposedly Christian theme of some big Hollywood blockbuster? (Rolling my eyes, here)
I'm thinking right now of a friend who thought the Matrix Trilogy was some sort of Christian movie with Christian themes and Neo was a Christ-figure. Oh really?
There are tons of people in the world who think so and who think other movies are Christian. They think this way because they lack discernment (and true spiritual discernment requires understanding subtle deceptions and counterfeits.) And they think this way because they are swayed by some similar theme, some "christian" word, thrown into the mix.
Now, of course folks can be "touched" -- even spiritually touched-- by a movie that makes them think of Christ. But just because a movie makes one think of Christ doesn't mean it leads you to the Biblical Christ. In fact, sometimes it leads one to the Antichrist...a false notion of what the Christ represents.
And let's face it...we Christians are so sentimental and gooey that we are easily touched by anything that reminds us of our Lord. So when a film uses Christiness to somehow depict a different Christ...we fall for the ploy. Honestly, let's ask ourselves: what is the theology of the Matrix trilogy? What is the doctrine of that movie? It's right in that it implies we are all asleep and some evil force is using us and feeding off our emotions. Whether its corporations in the physical realm or demons in the supernatural realms or governments.... we know instinctively that we are not free and that we should fight against the parasitic power. But...does it lead to the specific salvation pointed to by Christ? Seriously, any old savior -- mythological, folkloric, or historical-- can fit into the savior mold without it having to be particularly Christian.
Yes, i know.. Matrix was decades ago. But the fact is...Christian lack of discernment has gotten worse..and the average Christian's ability to see through the subtlety has also gotten worse.
The crappy Christ figures are even more annoying when they show up in artwork by so-called Christian writers. A character doesn't have to be totally Christ in all aspects but must he be so one-dimensional? When I see books such as The Shack the writer in me -- not even the Christian in me, mind you-- just thinks: "What a weird character this Christlike character is!" If the writer in me can see silly sentimentality and bad characterization, the Christian in me....well... yes, I get supremely pissed. What has happened to the ability of modern Christians to truly think and dissect all aspects of a subtle work of art? What has happened to our ability to know how to think..period? Most Christian commentators and Christian writers are not deep. The folks writing these supposedly deep books come from strange disciplines where they study a lot of modern books but they never studied the great theological books of Christians from other ages or other countries. They don't know that some of the objections or ideas showing up in modern books are old as heck. And because they don't read as widely as they should...they basically think they are asking new questions and stating new propositions......not knowing that they are showing their ignorance.
Oh, I could go on but I am just so annoyed at the lack of critical thinking, the lack of historical knowledge in so many modern Christians.
2 comments:
I'll try to NOT fill up your comment space with a 5K word essay.
Most Christian commentators and Christian writers are not deep.
I have to be brutally honest and momentarily not humble.
I don't think I'm the smartest person in the room unless it's just me and the dogs. And sometimes one of the dogs can out-think me in a trice.
I do not care for the world of Christian writing and commentary as it exists today. Until very recently I've stayed away from it altogether, only consuming a few non-fiction works recommended to me by professors, pastors and my mother.
With all that modern Christians like to quote C.S. Lewis, few of the ones I see writing and reading and commenting seem to have put the leg-work into establishing and nurturing their faith-intellect connect that Lewis did.
I've more recently come across a lot of Christians like myself who are operating outside the confines of modern Christian commentary and authorship precisely because we find the cultural restrictions imposed on those disciplines to be arbitrarily narrow and shockingly uninformed.
In short, the people that are most needed for rigorous reform of modern Christian thought have been driven out as the inclination of the Church is to encourage a homesteaders' race right toward the lowest common denominator.
I'll be flat-out honest and say that I consider the Seeker-Friendly/ Seeker-Driven Church movement of the last 25 years to be indicative (if not partially culpable) for the problem.
Congregational worship and sermons were meant from the earliest days of the church for spiritual nourishment and continuing education of the Body. But as congregational bodies sought larger incomes, these modern churches have been turned into milk-only gatherings; entry-level theology trussed up with sparkles and whizbangs to entertain and distract.
For most Christians now, as their Sunday Worship and education is watered down, there is no place to grow in learning so the faith is stuck wading in the shallows.
You said: "the inclination of the Church is to encourage a homesteaders' race right toward the lowest common denominator. "
Oh, I love it! So much to say...but I'd be preaching to the choir. You know what I mean. There is nothing more jaw-dropping than hearing some kid in a christian college saying something he/she thinks is outre and deep and "different." The sense that the kid has made it through college without being able to think and the kid has reinforced their own ignorance with media-defined society-defined concepts.... well, it just boggles the mind!
I'm not saying everything ancient and foreign theologians wrote were all that perfectly theologically true. But it wouldn't hurt the world to honor the old writers by having reading clubs dedicated to more folks from the past (and not just C S Lewis.) Heck, the desert fathers could teach the prosperity gospellers a thing or two.
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