Christmas has come back to Christian-type Movies.
Last night Danielle and I went to see The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. And just let me say, it was magnificent.
Let me back up. I saw The Passion of the Christ when it first came out. My church got a big group together, we like, rented out a theater or something. I didn’t really want to go, but some of the kids from the youth group were going and I figured that I should go just in case they wanted to talk about it. And I hated it. I spent half the time with my eyes closed. I bawled the entire time and wondered why I was subjecting myself to something so horrible. As a Christian, I know the reality of my Savior’s death. I know it was horrible, even more horrible than the movie showed. If it hadn’t ended with Jesus stepping out of that tomb at the end, I might have completely flipped out. I will never see that movie again because it was so violent. I can’t in good conscience recommend the movie to anyone, including Christians.
The Passion of the Christ portrayed the truth in the most visceral, graphic possible way. Just because I didn’t like it doesn’t cancel that out. However, it portrayed the truth in a way that was almost completely inaccessible to unbelievers. I’ve heard a small handful of stories of people who were converted after a viewing of The Passion of the Christ, praises be. Personally, if I weren’t a Christian, being bashed in the head with that kind of graphic horror for two hours would not convince me that it was the best way to go. I would think that obviously, Christianity is a crappy belief system if that can happen to their own leader, right?
On the completely different end of the spectrum, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was a refreshing, exhilarating portrayal of the truth that anyone can enjoy. Granted, it is a completely different type of film. The Passion of the Christ strove to be historically accurate (even down to speaking in the language of the time period,) while The Lion, the Witch, and that Wardrobe is a fantasy. But the truth was there.
When I was thinking about what to write today, I tried to pretend that I’m not a Christian and I had seen the movie for the first time. If I didn’t know anything about Jesus, what would I think of this movie? And I realized that if I didn’t know Jesus, I would still think how extraordinary it was that a ferocious leader like Aslan would lay down his life for someone who had been so blatantly treacherous against him and his people. That was what was most indelible for me: the fact that Aslan offered up redemption, and laid himself down in the name of love. And then he came back! He didn’t leave them alone in the battle, he came back when they needed him the most. Just like my Jesus.
Anyway, those are some of my scattered thoughts. Go see this movie. I have no caveats to put on this one; it’s the perfect movie for parents to take their kids to see. Or for adults to take their unbelieving friends to see. Until next time,
Brianne <><
Let me back up. I saw The Passion of the Christ when it first came out. My church got a big group together, we like, rented out a theater or something. I didn’t really want to go, but some of the kids from the youth group were going and I figured that I should go just in case they wanted to talk about it. And I hated it. I spent half the time with my eyes closed. I bawled the entire time and wondered why I was subjecting myself to something so horrible. As a Christian, I know the reality of my Savior’s death. I know it was horrible, even more horrible than the movie showed. If it hadn’t ended with Jesus stepping out of that tomb at the end, I might have completely flipped out. I will never see that movie again because it was so violent. I can’t in good conscience recommend the movie to anyone, including Christians.
The Passion of the Christ portrayed the truth in the most visceral, graphic possible way. Just because I didn’t like it doesn’t cancel that out. However, it portrayed the truth in a way that was almost completely inaccessible to unbelievers. I’ve heard a small handful of stories of people who were converted after a viewing of The Passion of the Christ, praises be. Personally, if I weren’t a Christian, being bashed in the head with that kind of graphic horror for two hours would not convince me that it was the best way to go. I would think that obviously, Christianity is a crappy belief system if that can happen to their own leader, right?
On the completely different end of the spectrum, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was a refreshing, exhilarating portrayal of the truth that anyone can enjoy. Granted, it is a completely different type of film. The Passion of the Christ strove to be historically accurate (even down to speaking in the language of the time period,) while The Lion, the Witch, and that Wardrobe is a fantasy. But the truth was there.
When I was thinking about what to write today, I tried to pretend that I’m not a Christian and I had seen the movie for the first time. If I didn’t know anything about Jesus, what would I think of this movie? And I realized that if I didn’t know Jesus, I would still think how extraordinary it was that a ferocious leader like Aslan would lay down his life for someone who had been so blatantly treacherous against him and his people. That was what was most indelible for me: the fact that Aslan offered up redemption, and laid himself down in the name of love. And then he came back! He didn’t leave them alone in the battle, he came back when they needed him the most. Just like my Jesus.
Anyway, those are some of my scattered thoughts. Go see this movie. I have no caveats to put on this one; it’s the perfect movie for parents to take their kids to see. Or for adults to take their unbelieving friends to see. Until next time,
Brianne <><
posted by Brianne @ 5:19 PM
1 Comments:
At 8:24 PM,
J. M. Richards said…
Wow, I was expecting something more along the lines of a technical critique. Thanks for praising the movie, I feel like too many peopel are giving it mixed reviews, and though I have my own thoughts on LWW, I still want people to see it!!!!
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