Let”s go see Son of God, the new movie about Jesus in theaters this weekend!
By Mark A. TaylorÂ
Not everyone had praise for the History Channel”s miniseries The Bible when it became a surprise hit last year. Facebook posters and tweeters complained about biblical inaccuracies, criticized the show”s choice of Bible stories, generally attempted to demonstrate that they knew more about the Bible than the show”s producers.
But I liked it. Oh, I didn”t like every little thing about it. It had a little too much bombast for my taste. I wasn”t sure every portrayal matched my image of that week”s Bible character. I was disappointed that, although it dealt with David”s sin with Bathsheba, it never showed his wrenching repentance.
But the 10-hour miniseries received the second highest ratings ever for the History Channel, 13.1 million viewers in all. That”s a huge audience for a film that consistently showed the power of God, the grace of his Son, and the commitment of his followers. When has God”s truth ever been more creatively proclaimed before more people, especially a nationwide audience surely containing many seekers and nonbelievers?
The answer may come in Son of God, the movie made from The Bible miniseries, releasing this Friday across North America at more than 3,000 theaters.
Assembled from reedited footage and scenes deleted from the original miniseries, the movie will show Jesus” life, death, and resurrection on the big screen. Even those who tuned in to the miniseries may feel the impact of the story in a greater way seeing it all at one time (instead of week-to-week) and without commercial breaks.
I can imagine many Christians inviting neighbors and friends on the edge of belief to see the film with them. And given the pervasive criticism of “secular media” and “godless Hollywood” among so many Christians, I think we ought to support this movie.
Roma Downey, who coproduced the film with her reality-TV veteran husband, Mark Burnett, certainly seems to believe the movie is about more than box-office numbers or revenue. In a piece for USA Today and distributed by Religion News Service, she wrote, “This is a battle of light and darkness.” In fact, she announced that the figure of Satan, portrayed on TV by an actor with a resemblance to President Obama, will not appear in the movie. “This is now a movie about Jesus, the Son of God, and the devil gets no more screen time, no more distractions.”
Personally, I was taken by the shadowy, sinister portrayal of our enemy and happy for the reminder that Jesus faced him just as I do. But that won”t stop me from plunking down my cash for tickets to this movie at the multiplex. As I remember the miniseries, the film is compelling and convicting. I need to see it for my soul, and I want to see it to make a statement.
The producers could have called it, “The Greatest Story,” or “When Jesus Came,” or some other more politically correct title. But “Son of God” is a bold statement, a brave affirmation of the message we and our neighbors need to take to heart. Let”s go to the movies to lift him up in a wonderful way.
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http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/tv-ratings-historys-bible-pulls-432045
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http://www.religionnews.com/2014/02/20/roma-downey-cut-satan-son-god/
Author: Mark A. Taylor
Mark A. Taylor, who served as Christian Standard editor from 2003 to 2017, retired in June 2017 after almost 41 years with Standard Publishing (Christian Standard Media).
