I CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S NOT THE BIBLE!!

I spent the day with my only grandson this past week.  He's a pretty cool eleven year old if I have to say so myself.  He's a thinker  by nature and full of questions.  But like many of our children I find that he's getting exposed early to things that I didn't even care about when I was his age. Already we've had deep conversations about Area 57 and the possibility of life on other planets, Hawking's Black Hole theory and Quantum physics.  If you haven't guessed yet...he's into science!

Since quite a few scientists are also atheists, I've been keeping my eyes and ears open to make sure that he's getting a good diet of bible truth as well.  While he's busy quizzing me on science, I'm dropping in the Word of God at every opportunity! That's why I thought he might enjoy a  movie as one of our outings. I wanted to get his take on one just hitting the theater this month, Left Behind.  We both found it interesting and entertaining but for a bible-based movie it had very little bible in it!  (The first one starring Kirk Cameron was much better).

I know you've noticed the trend..Hollywood has discovered that Christians love movies about their faith!  Yep!  Now there's  something for both the sinner and the saint and we're making them billion of dollars at the box office.  Already there's one coming out about Moses, based on the Book of Exodus. By spring we'll have another called, Wayward, a modern day Prodigal son.

I'm not hating on the movie industry. It is good to see something beside sex and violence and deviant behavior.  It is entertaining for sure.  But could they at least try to make it look like the bible!  Did you see the movie, Noah?  I must admit, I didn't.  But even my grandson said it was confusing!  
However there are some true faith-based offerings:  God's Not Dead!; Courageous, Soul Surfer, and Fireproof are examples.  But I left Heaven is For Real, thinking...Are YOU For Real???  

Okay, let me see your hands...how many of you still believe that Tyler Perry's movies are faith-based and teach Christian values???  So glad I can't FaceTime all of you!  Yet he built his now successful career with the monetary support of Christian audiences!

 Do you believe that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute as shown in The Passion of Christ and perhaps two-thirds of other movies? Everyday in the news we are inundated with pictures of people  in the Middle East.  Ethnic Jews, Syrians, Jordanians, all people of color.  Yet in most biblical movies the disciples  and others are fair-skinned with European features, especially Jesus.  

This is not racist diatribe.  Just proof that Christians ought to be able to discern fact from fiction (2 Timothy: 2:15; John 8:32).  Know what is a tool for evangelism (Romans 10:17) and what is just pure entertainment.  Even the latter must be done with care for it is easy to be swayed by another gospel (Gal. 1:6-10) or become spiritually defiled with over indulgence (Ps. 101:3a)

The  sad news is that many Christians are Bible illiterates and can't tell the difference! When witnessing we have to spend a great deal of time just getting folks to unlearn what they've seen! 

 Perhaps the next time we go to the movies before heading for the popcorn we should pause, pray and then take a moment to scan our Bibles first!!