By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Writer
Hollywood’s Christian-bashing days are far from over. Several new movies rivaling the anti-Christian Da Vinci Code are currently in the making.
According to Jesse Carey, interactive media producer for the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN), actor Johnny Depp is said to be producing and starring in a big-screen adaptation of the graphic novel Rex Mundi, which is about the “descendants of Jesus” searching for the Holy Grail. Much like the Da Vinci Code, the basic plot revolves around the idea of Jesus having children.
Christianity Today describes the movie as being set “in an alternate history where Martin Luther was assassinated, the Reformation never took place, and the Catholic Church still reigns supreme.” The graphic novel itself takes place in the 1930s, “in a world where the Inquisition still runs rampant, Europe is ruled by monarchs, but magic manages to exist.”
Another novel being made into a movie is based on a comic book named Magdalena. Jenna Dewan will play a holy warrior who fights supernatural enemies. In Magdalena, Dewan’s character is a descendant of Mary Magdalene and Jesus, and is also part of a secret society charged with fighting evil. “This is no kid’s story though,” writes Carey. “The Magdalena comics are dark stories.”
Once again, the plot revolves around the concept of Jesus having married Mary Magdalene and fathered children.
Actor Mark Ruffalo (All the Kings Men, Zodiac) is also planning to direct a film about a faith healther called Sympathy for Delicious. The movie is about a paralyzed man who discovers a mysterious ability to heal the sick, a Jesuit priest who tries to help him maintain a balanced perspective of his gift and a rock star who begins to exploit him.
Although it sounds innocent enough, Carey warns that the film does not present Christianity in a favorable light.
“Unlike the other two religious-based films,” he writes, “Delicious takes aim at the contemporary Church.”
The last and perhaps most outrageous of them all is Religulous, “the most blatantly anti-faith film in the mix,” Carey writes. Hosted by the Politically Incorrect HBO personality Bill Maher, the documentary picks apart every major religion, especially Maher’s former Catholicism. It ridicules everything from the Immaculate Conception to the crucifixion.
“The movie isn’t just anti-Christian,” Carey writes. “It’s anti-faith—a direct challenge to everything Christians, and anyone who believes in God, thinks.”
Expected to open on October 3, Hollywood insiders are already talking about a possible Oscar nomination for Maher’s film.
What should Christians do about movies like these? Aside from not supporting them, Carey suggests Christians keep the adivce of St. James in mind.
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:2-4).
Instead, we should take advantage of whatever opportunities for evangelizing these films may produce by responding to questions about our faith with wisdom and charity.
“It’s easy to get emotional in response to films that challenge what we believe,” Carey writes. “But in most cases, they are based in genuine questions and misunderstandings. If we become blinded by our anger at the “attacks” on our faith, we risk not understanding what those questions are really about, and we can miss a true opportunity to engage in a life-changing conversation about what Jesus is really about. “
© All Rights Reserved, Living His Life Abundantly/Women of Grace. http://www.womenofgrace.com
In our show “The Do’s and Don’t’s of Evangelization,” Mark Brumley gives you all the advice you need to be an effective apologist in the modern world. Available for only $5 in our store at http://womenofgrace.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=364
