Finding Christ in Christian Movies

By Don Parker

This is my first article for The Christian Pulse.  Shall I be afraid to be controversial?  Nah!  Jesus always told it like it was or he used a parable which did the same.  If we are called to emulate our Master, should we not also learn to speak the truth with love?  Here I come with the question that will no doubt bring a rainbow of responses.  Is it a sin to watch movies?   Asking that question in a forum for films might seem like blasphemy or heresy.  Hopefully you all checked your stones at the door.

In the recent past, certain groups have placed movies on the forbidden activities list.  Most people today would consider that Puritanical. Should we as Christians pay any heed to such "man made" rules?  My answer is no . . . and yes. Think I'm waffling or sitting on the fence?   Not even close. The "no" applies to movies in general.  There is absolutely nothing in the Bible that forbids movie watching.  However Jesus said that men shall give an account of every idle word they speak in the Day of Judgment.  It might be argued that every idle moment is also a cause for concern.  How we spend our free time has to be an issue for someone who abides by the scriptural passage which says "if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged."  In other words, using contemporary vernacular, police yourself so you don't get busted.  Would I be out of line to suggest people should pray about watching a particular movie (or TV show)?
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Looking at the Film Industry Through God’s Eyes

     This is my first article for The Christian Pulse.  Shall I be afraid to be controversial?  Nah!  Jesus always told it like it was, or he used a parable which did the same.  If we are called to emulate our Master, should we not also learn to speak the truth with love?  Here I come with the question that will no doubt bring a rainbow of responses.  Is it a sin to watch movies?   Asking that question in a forum for films might seem like blasphemy or heresy.  Hopefully you all checked your stones at the door.

      In the recent past, certain groups have placed movies on the forbidden activities list.  Most people today would consider that Puritanical. Should we as Christians pay any heed to such "man made" rules?  My answer is no . . . and yes. Think I'm waffling or sitting on the fence?   Not even close. The "no" applies to movies in general.  There is absolutely nothing in the Bible that forbids movie watching.  However Jesus said that men shall give an account of every idle word they speak in the day of judgment.  It might be argued that every idle moment is also a cause for concern.  How we spend our free time has to be an issue for someone who abides by the scriptural passage which says "if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged."  In other words, using contemporary vernacular, police yourself so you don't get busted.  Would I be out of line to suggest people should pray about watching a particular movie (or TV show)?

         Jesus said you would know Christians by their fruits.  Can we apply the same criteria to movies?  The fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance.  If a movie promotes those things, can it be wrong to watch it?  My own personal barometer is this:  does it bring me closer to God or would it distance me from Him?  Movies of the latter category would definitely be avoided, whereas the former category would be acceptable.  Movies that do neither are in the gray area.   If there were enough good movies which fed our spirits, then we would not have to consider the other types.  Can we humans ever agree unanimously on the pigeonholes that movies should go into?  Not in our lifetime.

     The biggest rap against "Christian" movies is probably poor quality (acting, cinematography, and scripting).  I think God will be raising up people who will produce quality films that impact lives and win people to Christ.  Unfortunately money drives the process.  Whenever such a film is produced, Christians need to support it.  God's calling is upon the filmmakers, but falls just as mightily on film supporters. Sending missionaries to Africa is not the only way to support spreading the gospel.  Movies have tremendous impact on people's view of the world, but only if they watch them.  May I be audacious and suggest that people who produce Christian movies need to rely on prayer to help them create something that brings glory to God, fans to the turnstiles, and thumbs-up from reviewers? 
 

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Emergence of New Revenue Sources

As audiences continue to access free media and pay for less and less entertainment, new forms of revenue are developing, but they are unproven. This is a tough time for a lot of the entertainment industry especially music, but movies are really in the same boat. These days you see Christian music festivals popping up as less revenue is derived off of sales. Today, it’s purely appearance fees and tickets sales as artists have to tour constantly to generate revenue.

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Vision Gate Film

By Reece Tedford

Vision Gate Film (www.visiongatefilm.com) is probably the best designed online community dedicated to Christian film making. The website is dedicated to encouraging Christians in the art of film making and has served as a place of fellowship for Christian filmmakers for the last few years. The website and its functions were carefully designed and well thought out. It is home to a long standing message board that has sustained the site over the years. Also, it was home to one of the few Christian film competitions ever held. The site is trying to utilize some innovative features it has offered for quite a while but haven’t been advertised.

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So You Wanna Be An Actor/Actress?

By Reece Tedford

One of the biggest mistakes people make as they try to embark on a successful career in entertainment is thinking that talent alone will carry them. This is not true! Your talent is not enough to magically carry you to your dream job.

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