There seems to be a lot of talk about Christian movies as of late due to movies like Son of God and Noah. I have seen a lot of blog posts on whether good Christians should support or not support these movies. I felt like I needed to give my opinion on these movies but commenting on Facebook posts is not always the best way to do so. It is because of this I have decided it was time to dust off the old blog and put down my thoughts. So here are a couple thoughts I think you need to keep in mind when you go watch these movies.
1. These movies are about starting conversation. I got the opportunity to see the Son of God movie last night. 
Son of God is produced by Mark Burnett (producer of The Voice and Survivor) and his wife Roma Downey (Touched by an Angel star). They also produced The Bible mini-series that aired on The History Channel last spring. I saw an interview with them at Catalyst 2012 and got to know their purpose for producing these pieces. They want to start conversation. They want to see individuals who do not know Jesus start to wonder about Jesus. What better way then to put the life of Jesus on the big screen?
2. We do not, or should not, base our doctrine off a movie. I have heard a lot of arguments about movies like Son of God and Noah not sticking to scripture. If you want doctrine go to the bible, this is not the point of these movies. These movies give people a starting place. After seeing Son of God I do not feel like they were sacrilegious at all. Did they use poetic license? Sure they did, but no where did it change the meaning of scriptur
e. My 12 year old son went with me to see this movie. We talked afterward and it put a passion in him to read the gospels in the bible. That is where he will get his doctrine, the movie puts a desire in his heart to read the bible. We also need to remember the bible leaves a lot of the in-between stories out. For instance, what did Jesus and his disciples do when they were around the camp fire at night? The bible does not tell us. This is an area we can guess
with the facts we know about Jesus. There is nothing wrong thinking about Jesus sitting around a campfire laughing with his disciples.
3. Watch them with the Holy Spirit. Allow the Holy Spirit to move you during these movies. There is a scene in Son of God where Jesus comes into the room the disciples are hiding in after his crucifixion. Jesus comes in to see his disciples after raising from the dead. He walks over to Peter, who is sitting on the floor, and places his nail pierced hand on Peter’s forehead. Peter closes his eyes and in that moment I saw repentance, forgiveness and love. This was after Peter denied Jesus. The touch from Jesus was full of forgiveness and love. Peter’s face showed repentance and acceptance that Jesus forgives and loves. That 15-20 seconds was the most moving for me during the entire 2 hour and 18 minute film. Why? I saw myself in Peter’s place. It was not Peter that Jesus touched, in my mind it was me. I am a sinner and to see this scene reminded me Jesus is forgiveness and love. It was an incredible experience. Allow God to speak to you through movies like this.
I know there will still be some that refuse to give these movies a chance but I ask you, as the reader, to take the opportunity to see these films. Go into them with an open mind. Honestly, there is enough garbage coming out of Hollywood filled with vile things and alternate agendas. These movies do not have these things. Enjoy the show!
Chad Dillon 