Open Hearted, Not Open Minded

For decades, our culture has been crying out for acceptance and for people to be “open minded”, especially "closed minded" Christian conservatives.  "Be Tolerant"  "I was born this way."  "Coexist"  What should our response be?  Should we just accept that the way people are is alright?  Or should we protest against all the things we disagree with in society?  What does the Bible say on this? 

Some would argue that protesting is the appropriate response and while I do think there is an appropriate time and place for making ourselves heard, I don’t believe that picketing and protesting are the right ways to do it. Whenever I think of protestors, I think of people filled with anger shouting messages of hate. Westboro Baptist Church comes to mind, the infamous “God hates Fags” protestors who make the news. It is images of Christians like these who make up the media and the public, fueling their presupposition that all Christians are haters. (See my previous article Hollywood “Christians” at www.reelchristians.com/hollywood_christians.html.) But this is not biblical. In the Beatitudes, Jesus Christ said, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the Earth” and “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” In fact, Christ never protested in hatred, but rather in love. He came to edify and teach, not to shout or belittle. 

Others would say that we should be silent and just “go about our lives”, accepting that this is the way the world is. Or even keep to our own community as the Amish do. But this is clearly not what the Scriptures teach. When Jesus saw how the people were abusing the temple court, he became angry and forced the people out in righteous anger. Jesus was very vocal, making his wisdom known and making people uncomfortable. This is why he had so many enemies, because He spoke the Truth with conviction. The same is true for Peter, Paul, and the other apostles. It is our missions as Christians to share the grace and love of Jesus Christ with the world as stated in the Great Commission. So then, what should we do, and how should we do it? 

First and foremost, we should pray. Prayer is the single most powerful weapon we have in Christ and many (me included) fail to use it to it's full potential. In John 13:35, Jesus said that we will be recognized as his disciples not by our logic or by our loudness, but by our love. “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” Not that logic and loudness are bad things. No, in fact, we are called to love the Lord with all our heart (love), soul, mind (logic), and strength (loudness). But love must come first. If we have not love, as Paul writes in 1 Corinthians, then we are nothing. So, instead of just “accepting” that this is the way people are, we should reach out to them in love. We should have open minds, but open hearts. 1 John 4:7 says, "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God." Ephesians 4:2 "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love." If you have any comments, feel free to email me. There is a link to my email on the side. 

Blue Like Jazz

       A couple of weeks, I had the amazing opportunity to go to DCC (Denver Christmas Conference) with Campus Crusade for Christ and had the incredible, and unexpected, privilege of seeing a rough cut of the film Blue Like Jazz, based off the book by the same title.  (See my previous article on book-to-movies conversions and creativity!!)  The movie follows Donald, a boy who is burned by the church, as he runs off to most Godless college in America.  As the story unravels, Donald continually sees God “following” him in everything he does and eventually realizes how he as well as many other Christians misrepresent the power and love of God.

       Overall, the film, which is scheduled to be released in mid-April, is very well done and the “godlessness” is very strongly and realistically portrayed.  The acting is good and the characters are believable and relatable.  However, it is a film that I would not invite all of my Christian friends to see.  There is a lot of language, a lot of drinking and drug use, and a lot of sexual dialogue.  But this all brings up a good point.  

       Recently, I have been researching what are some things that make Christian movies weak and fake.  One of the main problems with Christian films is that they don’t get sin right.  What do I mean by this? Well, secular films make sin (language, sex, and so on) look appealing and tempting.  On the other hand, many Christian films make sin look unappealing and often times just fake.  The choice between the right thing and the wrong thing is a “no duhh” situation that seems unrealistic.

       As with Blue Like Jazz, the amount of sin in the film will attract a broader audience among non-Christian college students and presents a very vivid picture of what a God-less college looks like.  What are your thoughts on “sin” in Christian films?  Are there certain things that are more acceptable than others on screen?  Is it worth adding a little bit of edgier material to reach a wider audience with the Gospel of Christ?  Feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you think!!