Does the God of the universe shudder when a filmmaker gets it wrong?
by Phil Cooke, PhD • President, Cooke Pictures
I’m taking a risk here, since I received so much criticism for recommending Christians see the movie Noah. But as Hollywood attempts more movies based on the Bible, we need to do more than just complain when they miss the mark Biblically. The truth is, some of these movies will be hit and others miss. Hollywood isn’t a Christian institution so for us to expect Biblical fidelity in all their movies is simply not realistic. Just to complain about it doesn’t help change the situation. Instead, here’s what I’d recommend:
1. Absolutely let’s preview films and tell Christians (especially families with kids) what’s in these movies. I’m all for reviews and recommendations that let people know what’s there so they can decide for themselves whether to see it or not.
2. We need to actually see the movie before we criticize. I’m a firm believer that to criticize a movie, book, TV program or other endeavor without actually seeing it is intellectually dishonest. Christian leaders do it all the time and I believe it really hurts our credibility outside the Christian bubble. If those leaders were honest, they’d admit they’re mostly doing it to stir up the faithful to help fundraising, but when it comes to making an impact in the culture, it’s not helping. If you hear negative things about a movie or TV program and want to avoid it personally, that’s fine. But before you mount a public petition drive, boycott, or campaign against it, you need to know what you’re talking about…
