(I have a regular commenter here. This is NOT about him. Not that David.)
I don't like most movies offering a presentation of biblical characters. They just normally ... mess it up. But my bride wanted to see the new Angel Studios film, David, so we went. It did indeed ignore a lot of biblical facts, and manufacture others ... the kind of thing that will make audiences come away with the thought that "So, that's how it was" when it wasn't. But ... I was actually pleasantly surprised at the message despite the historical failings.
There were undeniable errors, omissions and leaps. As a shepherd, David took on the lion ... but only defeated him and later freed him ... even though the account says he killed it. Saul threw a spear at David because Saul knew David had been anointed king. Well ... no ... it's not in there. They skipped the part where David beheaded Goliath after hitting him with the rock. Fine. Whatever. But the running theme, indeed, the main message of the movie was that God — not human strength, charisma, or kingship — is the true source of help, guidance, and victory. That God, indeed, is always right in what He does. In one musical part (there was a lot of music, which, I guess, could have been since David wrote so many psalms), David is in distress and on the run, crying out "Why, God?" In a parallel moment, his mother is running with her family for their lives singing, "My God ..." and assuring everyone that the God that David was questioning was reliable in every circumstance, a skillfully woven counterpoint "duet" with a message. God was everywhere in the story, from his anointing to a butterfly picking a stone for David to throw. No ... that's not in the Bible, but the message was "God is in everything." The message was our courage rooted not in self-confidence or arrogance, but in God.
Images can be dangerous in portraying biblical stories. We can substitute the images for the truth of the text. But this movie declared boldly what many Christians miss ... God chooses, guides, and empowers humble people who trust Him, while human strength and human kings inevitably fail. It intentionally fixes our eyes on God rather than Man. Similar to Paul's "What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice" (Php 1:18), I suppose I'm glad that in some small way, Christ is proclaimed, whether in pretense or in truth. Am I recommending the movie? No ... just the message.
The arts are a powerful way to communicate the Gospel message. Good stories are good stories no matter what, and can inspire people in many ways.
ReplyDeleteObviously there are always changes made to any "True/inspired by" story that affect the accuracy. Hopefully, as in this case, they still allow the bigger picture Truth to come through.
As an aside, I've always thought that the story of Esther was a perfect candidate for a movie. It would be interesting to see it it could be adapted for a more modern time period without sacrificing the message.
There is Esther and the King (1960), The Book of Esther (2013), The Bible Collection: Esther (1999), and Esther (1986) to name a few. Having never seen one, I can't say if they're any good. There is a group that does Bible stories on stage in Branson, MO. Impressive work, too. They did one on David and one on Esther. They're available for streaming.
DeleteWe have a “Sight & Sound Theater” near us, in Lancaster, PA. It’s quite famous (as is the one in Branson, MO), and people come from all over for the shows. Friends of ours had just seen “Noah” there and were telling us about it last weekend (just before you posted about Noah last Tuesday). Evidently, they do amazing things with live animals in their shows--not like at the church I heard about, where a camel being walked down an aisle for a nativity play kicked a woman in a pew and injured her. Amateurs! :)
DeleteWhich kind of makes my point, that Esther is simply a great story and should be told well through the arts.
DeleteYes, there are venues that do a good job of telling Biblical stories well, and we should encourage those.
I am not a movie-viewer (and I haven’t been to a theater since my kids were young); in any case, I personally am not drawn to fictionalized renderings of Biblical events or characters. I am one of those “sticklers” who believe God’s inspired Word contains the very accounts and conversations that He wished it to include, so I will trust the Bible to instruct me properly--i.e. without those “undeniable errors, omissions and leaps” you mentioned. “To each his own” in this matter, I suppose, but the “creative liberties” usually resorted to in producing these works of entertainment are very concerning to me.
ReplyDeleteTo add a bit of clarification: Catching the errors in artistic renditions of Biblical accounts and characters requires, by definition, a fairly good knowledge of God’s Word, so that one would even recognize where the stories have gone astray. Fortunately, you were able to do this, as you related. However, others watching these things don’t possess that discernment (due partly to the high level of general Bible illiteracy), so they will assume the depictions are biblical, and therefore they receive a form of false teaching (even if ever so subtle). (This would apply even moreso for a series with multiple episodes [such as “The Chosen”]). That is where my concern lies.
DeleteI think that some of my willingness to accept departures or not depends on whether or not the production points people toward YHWH and Scripture or away. I absolutely believe that a dramatization of Biblical events can be edifying and beneficial without every "jot and tittle", if it points people back to the source.
DeleteI recently saw the Passion Play in AR and while it wasn't 100% scripturally perfect, it was a faithful representation of the events of Jesus' death and resurrection.
As for The Chosen, I have mixed feelings. I agree that there is much to be legitimately be concerned about, yet also believe that YHWH can absolutely use it to point unbelievers to Himself and The Truth. I think that the problem comes when people put TV shows, books, or movies in place of Scripture.
I think it is important to be careful in telling the Bible stories in a movie format. But we have to admit that video is the more dominant form of information dispersal, and if we back out of the medium because we fear misunderstanding, we are ceding ground to the world. Yes, a majority of the people that see movies like this will come away with wrong ideas about the actual narrative. But there will also be those that will be turned toward the Bible to see the rest of the story.
DeleteIf one’s hope is to “point people” to God and to the Bible in these projects, then why not stick as closely to the actual Bible itself? That will surely turn people to the source of all truth more directly than any other method. There is adventure, drama, romance, intrigue, and humor enough to keep the movie-makers occupied--without resorting to fabrication and excessive fictionalization. (It’s almost as if they are viewing the Bible only for its entertainment value and feel it needs a bit of a rewrite.)
DeleteDavid,
DeleteI agree that ceding art forms to the world because of the potential for misunderstanding. I agree that Scripture is the only/best place to see the whole overarching narrative.
Lorna,
Any example of Christian art should point people to YHWH. Ultimately the only place for people to get the whole story is Scripture. Yet it seems difficult, if not impossible to put the whole of Scripture in a piece of art. I'd argue that the David movie is an excellent example. It is a (per Stan) reasonably faithful retelling of one small part of the whole of Scripture. Hopefully the intent of those who produced the movie intended to tell the story of David well enough to point viewers to Scripture to get the rest of the story. The biggest question your stance raises for me is the script. Is it mandatory (per you) that the script follow a particular translation? That every secondary and tertiary character be fully and completely represented as in Scripture?
Or, let's take a different tack. The story of Torpedo Squadron 8 during the battle of Midway is an incredible story. Well worth being turned into a stand alone movie (if it hasn't), yet no one would expect that a movie about that one part of the battle to contain every detail of the entire battle, would they? Would not the goal/hope be that viewers would be so drawn in by one part of the larger story that they would be drawn to the actual history?
I'm not arguing for just making things up, but for some creative latitude to tell a part of the Biblical narrative in such a way as to draw people into the rest of the narrative.
Craig, Unfortunately, I don’t think this comment section is the best setting for a proper examination of “Christian art” and the pros and cons of utilizing the “creative arts” to “point people” to God or the Bible. I know views can run the gamut from strict to lenient, as the matter touches on issues that go beyond the pragmatic notion of “I feel that this will draw people to God, so it must be OK and even good.” Many consider pragmatism in Church matters to be dangerous, doing more harm than good regarding making true disciples of Christ, while others feel differently, of course.
DeleteIt doesn't take Hollywood to produce "departures." I've heard good, Bible-preaching pastors and teachers presenting clear opinion as biblical fact. We all have to be careful of that.
ReplyDeleteBingo. We see Christian artists who regularly take excessive liberties with Scripture that don't get this much push back.
DeleteCraig, as an aside (and with thanks to Stan for permitting an NFL-related comment): I really thought our teams would be facing a Super Bowl rematch next month. As you know, the Birds ended their season last evening (sob!), but we can both hope for next season, right? Seeing how things change so quickly in the NFL from year to year, it really was quite the accomplishment for the Chiefs to have had three Super Bowl wins in a row. And how ‘bout them Bears, huh?
ReplyDeleteLorna,
DeleteI was pretty convinced at the outset that it was not going to be a great season, and injuries certainly didn't help.
Hopefully they'll be able to get things fixed for next year.
The Bears are a good story, to be sure.
“Hopefully they'll be able to get things fixed for next year.” Our exact thoughts for the Birds as well, of course! Perhaps we’ll pick this back up next February (I know I said that very thing to you last February!).
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