Should we or shouldn't we?

I wrote this post the other day and somehow I lost it...the Holy Spirit has been tugging at me ever since to write it again so here I go. I hope it will not bring any condemnation but bring for you a closer walk with the Lord as you continue to discern how He wants us to be in the world but not of the world.

There is a controversy over the movie, "The End of the Spear" which was released on January 20th of this year. This movie tells the story of five missionaries who went to Ecuador in 1956 to bring the gospel of Christ to the Waodani tribe and lost their lives. Their work continued through their wives, who were successful in bringing most of the tribesmen to Christ, ending decades of killings. This mission is also being continue in another generation as Mr. Saint's son is still ministering to the Waodanis. The story of their lives and their determination to this mission is a wonderful, uplifting, encouraging testimony to man's faithfulness to God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The movie was produced by a christian company, "Every Tribe Entertainment", and the actor who plays Steve Saint and his son Nate Saint is "Chad Allen", well-known to most for his roles on "Dr. Quinn; Medicine Woman", "St. Elsewhere", and "Our House". This is where the controversary unfolds. You see, Chad Allen Lazzari is well-known for his very public gay activism. He has graced the cover of the leading homosexual magazine "The Advocate" three times and was the actor who staged in Terence McNally's play, Corpus Christi, which brought alot of attention to christians, because of it's portrayal of Christ as a homosexual involved in a homoerotic dynamic with his disciples. He speaks openly not only of his gay activism but the intensity of his mission to normalize homosexuality-clearly documented on his web site. He also speaks candidly about his syncretisitic faith...a mixture of Buddism, Christianity and Native American spirituality. On the Larry King Live show he talked of his religion and I quote.."I have a deep relationship with God of my understanding. It's very powerful, and it's taken its own shape and form. And I am very much at peace in the knowledge that in my heart God create this beautiful expression of my love." Boy, does that raise a million red flags!

But, there have been films that have been loved by christians before that have had gay actors in the leading roles. The role of Gandalf in "The Lord of the Rings" was played by Sir Ian McKellen, who has also been known as a gay activist. And how about in "Chariots of Fire"...the lead role of Eric Liddell, played by Ian Charleston, or the role in that same film played by one of the greatest Shakespearean actors of this last century, Sir John Gielgud, both gay men.

So, where does that leave us...I have several thoughts. First, we ALL are sinners so because of that fact every artistic endeavor is going to marred in some way by sin in both its conception and demonstration. Does this mean that we can never enjoy movies, books, art, music,ect..? No, but we must work hard to develop a mind that brings all things under subjection to Christ, which also includes our entertainment preferences. We should not recklessly praise or condemn anyone or anything without any obvious tie to biblical truth. We must always avoid hypocristy. Also, we must learn cultural discernment. We have to live in this world but we should guard against being of this world. In my opinion we as christians have an obligation to investigate as best we can the entertainment we choose, much like we do for our children. Most of us parents are quick to go to a sight such as "Screen it" or many others to find out what the language, sexuality, or harmful material might be in a movie. When we are privy to information such as the beliefs of Chad Allen, should we not be just as ready to investigate, then armed with the facts pray and make a decision about whether we should be spending our money, which is a gift from God, to further him fiancially or in his career?

The job of an actor is to make the audience see the character he is portraying in the performance, not the actor himself. I feel like others, including Albert Mohler, the president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, that "Every Tribe Entertainment", made a very serious mistake...they picked the actor,that probably is the least likely, surrounded by so much activism and controversary, that can make us forget him and help us to see Nate Saint. Of all the actors out there why would they make such a choice? I find it mind boggling. The controversary is over the actor they chose, not the story, and that could and should have been avoided.

And let me throw one last morsel for thought in here. How do we as christians get this movie going and supporting thing under control? Why do we bend and grapple and put aside what our normal convictions are because a movie is about a christian theme or made by a christian producer or production company no matter what we find out or how the Holy Spirit is directing us? Is this our only chance or way to witness to unbelievers? I know of churches that have brought out movie theatres for past movies and made the tickets available to their congregations....how about instead of doing that, spending the money on the quite famous two books that Elisabeth Elliot (wife of one of the missionaries) wrote. In the book "Shadow of the Almighty" and "Through the Gates of Splendor" she recounts their story. Instead of buying fifty, seventy-five or one hundred seats to the movie, why not buy that many books and organize a book giving of some sort to get the books in the hands of those that don't know Christ?! After all the books were written by someone directly involved, the wife of one of the martyed missionaries.

Please pray about this, share it with others, and let the Holy Spirit guide you as we should in anything that we do. If you decide to go see the movie let it be because the Holy Spirit has directed you, we know that the Holy Spirit can work anywhere anytime through anything. But, don't go blindly, which is also a word for the future. This is entertainment, it is not a matter of life, death, or liberty. We should make our choice carefully and try our best to pick best over good or better. Personally, I can't see where any of us would be harmed if we never saw another movie in our lifetime, but then again movies are not all bad and evil....we just need to discern what we spend our money on, what we support, and what we put into our minds...all of these things...and we can, if we stay informed and let the Holy Spirit guide us.