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It has now been three times in recent memory that I have received news of the 'wonderful opportunity for evagelism'. It began with the release of Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ", was followed by the (late) release in Australia of Luther, and came again in recent weeks with the arrival of Disney's translation of the first of C.S. Lewis's Narnia series - The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - appearing on the big screen on Boxing Day. Certainly two of these have generated significant public discussion. Gibson's tortured film certainly gained loads of attention, as has Narnia - not all of it positive. But general publicity aside, I wonder if this constant search for 'the next big thing' is really the essence of Christianity at all. Certainly everyone likes a good story, and such classics as Lewis's works have stood the test of time. And the use of modern technology to tell the story can add to its power. One wonders whether Disney might be the best sponsor of interpreting the story, mind you. Are we really welcoming the story, or being manipulated by Disney to turn around its stuttering film division?
The difficulty is that God has been known to use a donkey to get his message across, so Disney's involvement doesn't write out God being at work. The problem is not so much the desire of commercial organisations to exploit the christian market, but our gullibility in buying in to these things, often uncritically.
I will be taking my children to see the Narnia series. They have read the whole series and I will be interested in their critiques of the movie. I did see Gibson's movie, but found it improbable at many points. I found it to be an interesting but uncompelling interpretation of Jesus' Passion inasmuch as it was without context. "Luther" was an understated but powerful telling of the story of the reformation. For those with an interest in church history, it would provide some useful catalyst for understanding the Reformation.
It makes me wonder whatever happened to the simple personal relationship for sharing what Jesus means today, and the difference he can make in our lives if we let him...
Posted by gary at December 29, 2005 02:05 PM
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