Popcorn and Penance: Five Movies Christians Hated for All the Wrong Reasons

Seattle’s celebrity pastor, Mark Driscoll, recently attacked ChristianityToday.com‘s positive review of Avatar from the pulpit of his Mars Hill church. He called the 3-D megahit “the most demonic, Satanic film I’ve ever seen.” City Arts spoke with former CT movie critic and Seattleite Jeffrey Overstreet, who reviewed Driscoll’s review. “Avatar sounds like it was written by a sixth grader,” Overstreet says. “It’s like a Happy Meal. But if you’re going to call a Happy Meal ‘demonic,’ then I’m going to defend it.” Overstreet says believers should know movies, just as St. Paul knew and quoted pagan poetry in Athens. “And what’s the place where Paul did this?” Overstreet asks. “Mars Hill!” City Arts asked Overstreet to defend other films Christians love to hate.

1. Monty Python’s Life of Brian (above)
The Charge: It mocks Jesus.
The Defense: Not true. It makes us laugh as we watch gullible, fickle, arrogant humans chase a false messiah, exploit religious teaching for their own gain and misunderstand Jesus.

2. Harry Potter
The Charge: It’s witchcraft.
The Defense: No, it’s make-believe guiding kids to consider their own gifts. Rowling, a Christian, wove scripture into the stories.

3. Brokeback Mountain
The Charge: It promotes homosexuality.
The Defense: The film shows the evils of homophobic hatred, and also demonstrates that obsession can blind us and true love sometimes requires self-denial for the greater good.

4. Natural Born Killers
The Charge: It’s obscene, violent, blasphemous.
The Defense: It’s a brilliant lampoon. It exposes our national obsession with criminals, crime and scandal. Anybody who commits “copycat” violence missed the point.

5. Saved!
The Charge: It satirizes Christians.
The Defense: I attended a Christian high school. Christian teens (and their teachers) are prone to the same pride, peer-pressure games, hypocrisy and cruelty as any teens – and this wouldn’t surprise Jesus, whose disciples behaved the same way. Admittedly, the film’s conclusion – that Jesus wanted nothing more than kindness and tolerance – is severely insufficient.

 

Comments

May 6, 2010 at 8:05 PM | Visitor
Missing from this list is Kevin Smith's "Dogma" which I think might be much more worthwhile watching than "Saved!"
May 8, 2010 at 6:00 AM | Visitor
"Dogma" might be more digestable for Protestants than Catholics because the major conflict of the movie hinges on a dramatic and thoroughly uncomedic denial of Mary's perpetual virginity. Again, this probably wouldn't bother many Protestants, but it seems a needless potshot at Catholic faith. And, of course, the movie concludes by having Mary's genetic descendant pretty much give a moral justification for euthanasia (and euthanizing God no less).No, "Dogma" deserves to be in the bargain bin...even if most people haven't put it there for the right reasons.
May 7, 2010 at 9:29 AM | Visitor
The Wang disagrees.  "Saved!" was so much better than "Dogma", with way more subtlety and depth.  At least, in Bart's opinion.  Bart wonders what nonsense Driscoll would come up with in response to Overstreet...Sincerely,Bart Wang
May 7, 2010 at 10:34 PM | Visitor
"The Last Temptation of Christ" should also be on this list. It's not only a better film than "The Passion of The Christ", but it's a more "Christian" film. Yes, parts of the story are fictional (it was based on a novel by the author of "Zorba the Greek"). But, Jesus RESISTS the "last temptation" by Satan (to live a "normal" life and not be crucified) and chooses God's will to die on the cross to save mankind.
August 29, 2010 at 9:14 AM | Visitor
that's all well and nice, sir, but you want to check into the very well-documented fact the gospels of Mark, John, Luke and Matthew did a pretty good job of giving us a view of the historical Jesus. but perhaps historical accuracy means too little to you. in addition, there are other documents to help us to discover the real Jesus and what he went through. i personally have found that those who applaud "the last temptation" invariably know s*** about the Bible's portrayal of Jesus.i'm not Roman Catholic, but the "last temptation" reminds me of "the davinci code" in that genuine historical research could've been done but--hey!--it messed up the story the author selfishly wanted to portray....it's the old "don't confuse me with the facts" thingy....yeah...i have every right to be offended by "the last temptation"....the question is: why aren't you? 
May 9, 2010 at 11:12 AM | Visitor
I felt "Brokeback Mountain's" overall message was one of self-realization and the harmfulness of fear, denial, secrets, and dishonesty. I think theme of the film showed the wastefulness of life when one doesn't follow his or her own heart but let's others dictate the terms of one's own life. 
May 27, 2010 at 3:35 PM | Visitor
What in world does AVATAR, Harry Potter, Natural born killers or Broke back mountain have anything to do with christianity ?Whos to say whos faith is the right one that should be followed. personally its been for most of those that feel they need someone/something to answer to besides themselves. No one has every proved to me that "god" even plays an actual role of who we are or how most of us live our lives. Everyone i know goes about life the way they feel most comfortable and dont feel the need to ask some unknown being for health or riches or to help someone they know.Far as im concerned its a gimmick for those that cant except there ups and downs on there own personal merits.
July 16, 2010 at 3:41 AM | Visitor
I have been watching the "Life of Brian" religiously every Xmas and every Easter for 26 years. I now have it on Blu-Ray. The "Life of Brian" is a more accurate depiction of the life of the Messiah that the Bible. The Monty Python writers were educated in Church of England Colleges. That is why they are Atheists. I am a bedraggled refugee from the "Holy" Roman Catholic Church, now Atheist. Having been a Roman Catholic I can see more of the in-jokes than one who has not suffered the attempts at brainwashing by the RCC.
August 16, 2010 at 6:07 PM | Visitor
"chooses God's will to die on the cross to save mankind."??? What a bunch of trash, christianity will doom this planet till our last days and thats just about the saddest,realist thing i have ever said.Christianity is trashy ignorance and is straight up offensive, look into science its much healthier and realistic.
August 29, 2010 at 9:25 AM | Visitor
I've been a Christian for nearly 40 years now. In fact, I'm an ordained Christian pastor. Warning: cliches about Christians will be challenged in the following post.I **loved** "The Life of Brian."  I encouraged my kids to read every Harry Potter book they could read--and they did. I watched the first Harry Potter movie and....well...it was good. I'm just not 13 years old."Brokeback Mountain". never saw it. sorry. but there are plenty of movies i haven't seen. i really haven't heard any residual christian talk about this movie like i would usually hear. i have no problem with it. Next?"Natural Born Killers."  Mmmmm.....still another one I have yet to hear the first Christian say squat about. I can't say that I **loved** this movie. I usually want to see movies again that I **love.**Let's say that I " very deeply appreciated" the movie. I got it folks. I knew and continue to know what the movie is about. Great movie.  I just don't want to see it again for the same reason I don't want to see footage of a cow being slaughtered on youtube. I get it."Saved": I wanted to see the movie when it first came out but didn't. One thing that turned me off was an interview MacCauley Culkin did for the movie in which it seemed to me that he was indulging in bias or "Christian profiling", I'll call it. Like all Christians are like that and such. They're not. Yes, we know there are way too many Christians as portrayed in "Saved."What more mature Christians wish Hollywood would know is that a Christian is not a Christian is not a Christian. I know that probably is news to them. Peace out.