Faith on Film is a monthly feature published the last Sunday every month. More than an amazingly entertaining, moving, well-crafted film, The Shawshank Redemption is also a manifesto against the dangers of institutions and the people who become their victims. It is a film the church needs to rewatch with new eyes, especially on Resurrection Sunday. The Plot In case you are one of the few who have never seen the film, The Shawshank Redemption follows the journey of Andy... Read more
Atonement lies at the heart of Christian faith, bridging the problem of humanity’s brokenness with God’s redeeming love. Unfortunately, many Christians, even theologians, have great difficulty articulating how we are saved. Sure, there are simplistic pat answers, like by faith or by grace… Okay, but how does that work? Shouldn’t we at least have a simple understanding of how we are saved that is consistent with not only scripture, but our experience in relationship with God? Over the past year,... Read more
Churning beneath the surface of this true story about strong females succeeding against limitations imposed by men, Cabrini is a theological treatise for immigrant equality and affirmation within the body of Christ. It’s a message all of us need to hear, and it’s very timely. Don’t get me wrong: Cabrini is certainly a story of women refusing to be constrained by complementarian oppression within and without the church. From the very beginning of the film, a lot of men are... Read more
Many Christians underestimate the theological significance of Jesus’ Lost Coin parable, leading them to overlook its radical perspective of how God’s relationship with humanity intersects with our redemption. The parable has always fascinated me. Unlike it’s more famous scriptural predecessor, the parable of the Lost Sheep, recounted in both the gospels of Matthew and Luke, and it’s poorly titled Lukan successor, the Prodigal Son, this short and sweet analogy is often critically evaluated as a theological afterthought. In this way,... Read more
Faith on Film is a monthly feature published the last Sunday every month. For too many in this world, hope is not an everyday occurrence. Sometimes it seems as if the tragedies of our existence become so commonplace that we lose the core of who we are and become incapable even of outrage. This was the reality of life in Sarajevo thirty years ago. In the aftermath of fall of the Berlin Wall, ethnic and nationalist tensions erupted when Bosnia... Read more
I’ve been amused by the idiotic controversies sparked by the He Gets Us Super Bowl commercial. Although the makers of the ad certainly intended to provoke debate, most of the reactions proliferating social media and even news reports seem to be missing the point. And even if taken at face value, the commercial itself lacks a fundamental truth that should not be avoided. Just so we are on the same page, here is the ad in question: Knee Jerks... Read more
Because the church doesn’t understand sin very well, we don’t forgive very well. It’s actually worse than it sounds. The church has become a self-appointed gatekeeper, denying grace to individuals and groups who act, identify, or feel in ways we label “sinful.” Under misguided attempts to establish orthodoxy (right ideas) and orthopraxy (right practices), we have sometimes failed at orthocardia (right-heartedness). When the church decides what is and isn’t sinful, we become legalists. And since the church has made sin... Read more
Faith on Film is a monthly feature that is published on the last Sunday of every month, starting with this article. I ran across the film First Reformed again while I was browsing around for a movie to watch, and after five years of abstaining, I decided to watch it again. It is truly one of my favorites, in my personal top three alongside Paris, Texas and Five Easy Pieces. Though the plots and characters of each of these films... Read more
Yes, you read that title correctly: God is not powerful. I don’t write such words lightly. I realize that many will not actually read beyond the title, so for those of you still with me, thank you. Of course, some might call it semantics, or perhaps perspective. I believe our expectations of “power” differ in ways both small and great from who God actually is, how God relates to us, and how we ourselves function in this universe. By the... Read more
Many people, especially Christians, consider God strictly in terms of power. This is a mistake. Not that God isn’t powerful (a topic I explored last year while reviewing one of the most insightful books I have ever read). But when we choose to approach our relationship with God primarily in terms of power and abilities, it can lead us to distort our understanding of who God is. I mean, how good is your relationship with someone you don’t really understand?... Read more
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