ScreenFish

where faith and film are intertwined

Christians

The Evil Within (and Without): The Story of God (Ep. 5)

by Leave a Comment

Past Articles in This Series: Episode 1 | Episode 2 | Episode 3 | Episode 4
Shrieking Shack
Evil is one of those things that we, as humans, have to deal with on a daily basis.  If you’re not sure about this, all it takes is a few minutes of watching television or browsing the news headlines on a phone. Although our overall desire is to be and do good in all situations (including our thoughts), we aren’t able to do it with 100% effectiveness our entire lives. The Apostle Paul shared this struggle as follows: “I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.” (Romans 7:18-19 NIV) So where does all of this come from?  Morgan Freeman, in the penultimate episode of The Story of God (National Geographic, 9 PM/8 Central tonight), tackles this subject and reveals some enlightening things about humanity and their propensity for evil.

This episode starts off with a visit to a maximum security prison and a challenging conversation with a person convicted of some pretty heinous crimes (I’ll let you discover what they are for yourself). When Freeman asks the prisoner why they happened, he says, “I had a desire, an impulse, and I wasn’t able to stop myself from acting on the impulse.” He’s also not convinced that if released, he could avoid doing the crimes again.

This brings up the question, “Where does evil come from?”

To attempt an answer, Freeman looks at how a number of faiths deal with the issue. The early Egyptians believed that when a person was filled with evil or sin, their heart became heavy. Their heart would be weighed on a scale upon death against truth; the result would determine their eternal destiny. Hindus think evil may have to do with the spirits of dead ancestors who weren’t happy; they offer sacrifices upon realizing this is the case. Zoroastrians believe evil is a battle within to be fought with good thoughts, words, and deeds (in that specific order). Buddhists try to counter the evil within using meditation and ritual. And Christians believe that Adam and Eve’s sin started a chain reaction of events that transfers evil to each person upon birth. This is why Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection allows believers to combat—and eventually conquer—Satan and his minions.

Morgan Freeman
(Photo credit: National Geographic Channels/Matthew Paul Turner)

Freeman has a fascinating talk with Brian Widener, a former Neo-Nazi, during the episode. Widener was tattooed beyond recognition during this time, but after getting married and having a child, he realized the error of his ways and had them removed from his face over a period of 2½ years. He states he found God in the middle of the process, although he admits he’s not sure what that looks like.  Can evil be contained and washed away? Freeman asks before ending with a baptism ceremony in a river—the Christian symbol of a regenerated life through belief in Jesus.

For me, one interesting point of the episode involved a scientist in New Zealand who showcased an experiment involving kids and the need for a higher being to keep order and control using a game (again, I’ll let you see what that looks like). To me, it reveals the propensity of evil in an individual’s heart when they think they can get away with something.  As the prophet Jeremiah notes, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.  Who can understand it?” Science can attempt to decode the reasoning for why we do things and discover patterns of behavior, but the heart is fatally diseased, prone to evil from the outset. In this way, we are all wretched (there’s the Apostle Paul again), which is the exact reason why we live in a world full of sin. How we deal with the evil within (and without) says a lot about our beliefs and, in many ways, our outlook on the world we inhabit.

On Starbucks, Hollywood, & “Defending The Faith”

by 7 Comments

starbucks

What do Starbucks, Seth Rogen, & Jesus have in common?

I’m all for apologetics, the “reasoned arguments or writings in justification of something, typically a theory or religious doctrine.” In their place and in their time. But why do people of faith find themselves hung up on apologetics when it comes to films made by those who don’t believe the same thing, or, as recently as this weekend, when it comes to the design of Starbucks’ holiday cups?

While there is a time to wrestle with issues of theology, I think that sometimes we get so carried away in society’s “us versus them” banter, that we lose sight of what we’re really doing here. We arrive at the point of faith with an understanding of how much we need Jesus’ grace and forgiveness through his death on the cross, and before long, too many of us think that Jesus needs us to argue for him, pontificate about him, and angrily protest in defense of his honor.

Puh-lease. Jesus died on the cross, crucified between two thieves when he could’ve hopped down, flown away, or blasted all of the Romans off of the planet. Do you really think he is offended by some people who doubt his existence?

Jesus loved – and we should, too. Jesus forgave, and we should, too. Jesus lived sinlessly, and we should (try), too. Jesus cared about and not or, but or instead of. Jesus brought grace into fragmented situations, to draw people to himself and together.

So, instead of apologetics, I would like to apologize.

-To Starbucks, who makes mighty fine coffee and decent chocolate croissants, but who has no ‘platform’ by which they’re expected to determine what is morally appropriate or theologically correct about the celebration of Jesus’ birth. I’m sorry we Christians turned all bull-like at the sight of those red cups. Sorry we tried to tell you how to run your megazillion dollar business… although I’m sure Howard Schultz will laugh this bonanza the whole way to the bank. You all stick to grinding the beans, and let preachers and pastors everywhere meditate and teach on the word of God.

-To filmmakers who make films that are “irreligious” or conflict with what the majority of people believe about Jesus and Christians (like The Night Before), thanks for sharing your story. [In the trailer and interviews I’ve seen about Seth Rogen’s new Christmas Eve film, a group of friends get together for their last Christmas Eve night together – expressing their loss of community but Rogen’s character throws up in church after he’s drunk. I can hear some folks sharpening their knives — instead of recognizing the opportunity to share what real community looks like.] I’m sorry that we Christians forget that film is storytelling, that not everyone thinks or sees things the same way. I’m sorry we fail to recognize the inconsistencies in the Gospels – even the synoptic ones – and the thoughts that don’t jive between the Old and New Testaments. You all stick to making films of quality that stretch our hearts and minds, and let …preachers and pastors everywhere meditate and teach on the word of God.

Hey, while I’m at it –

-To the poor, the homeless, the hungry, the marginalized, the forgotten about, the abandoned, the abused, the sold-into-slavery, the hopeless, the ignored, I’m sorry. I’m sorry that we, The Church, get so bogged down in defining who is not with us, that we forget we were once not with Christ, and that no matter what, there’s a spot at the table, at the barista line, at the cinema for each of you. Because there’s space here for us doesn’t mean that there isn’t space for someone else. You all keep fighting – and know that God loves you, even when The Church fails to. Know that God is bigger than prayer in school or “season’s greetings” or whatever nonsense the church makes it about because God cannot be kept out.

One day there’s a kingdom coming, where all of this will be wiped away, and there’ll only be ONE.

One God, one Lord, one Savior of us all.

Oh, wait, that’s what Christmas is really about.

Instead of being a Christian who boycotts Starbucks or throws a fit over the color of a cup, why not be the Christian who doesn’t flip out when your drink isn’t exactly like you hoped it would be? Or better yet, if you were the kind of Christian who overtips your barista? Christianity’s revolution isn’t in what it’s against but what it’s for. 

Rev. Rob Schenck: Being Pro-Life Is More Than Abortion

by Leave a Comment

Reverend Rob Schenck, a pro-life activist and missionary to politicians on Capitol Hill, broke with his expected evangelical position on gun ownership when he found himself questioning what it meant to be pro-life. In her directorial debut, The Armor of Light, Abigail Disney documents Schenck’s conversations on the subject with politicians and people of faith, while also highlighting his interactions with Lucy McBath, the mother of an unarmed teen murdered in Florida. To find out more about Schenck’s story, we caught up with him in the midst of his ministry to those struggling with the violence at Umpqua Community College in Rosemont, Oregon.

The Armor of Light documentary focuses in on Schenk, who is the chairman of the Evangelical Church Alliance and president of the National Clergy Alliance. Schenck has been serving as a commissioned missionary to elected officials since 1995, sent to Washington, D.C.  intentionally for that purpose of ministering to members of all three branches of the United States government. While he has been pro-life when it came to abortion, he began to question his stance on guns after being repeatedly asked to pray after violent situations involving guns, like the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in 2012 and the Naval Shipyards in 2013. The change in his position on guns and laws concerning guns caused many of his previous supporters to question his beliefs and his politics. The controversy escalated, drawing director Disney to him.

When the opportunity for the documentary presented itself, Schenck admitted that it was intimidating at first to have the cameras following him around but that, ultimately, it proved therapeutic to give voice to his internal struggle over whether Christians should be gun owners or not.

While some issues tend to be defined based on divisive lines between those who claim to be religious and those who are not, Schenck’s stance has been highlighted by what some Christians, like Tenn. Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, have said in response to recent violence. Ramsey posted on Facebook that Christians should better arm themselves to be prepared for similar situations, and Schenck gently rebutted him.

“While the Lt. Governor of Tennessee may be well intentioned,” Schenck wrote, “it’s not good advice. Anyone with good firearms training knows that when you strap on a gun, you are psychologically ready to kill another human being. That’s a paramount moral decision. Guns are lethal weapons that put lives at risk, including the gun owner’s own life and the lives of loved ones, neighbors, and friends. The best people to give moral advice on guns or any other issue are church leaders, and they’ve been conspicuously silent on the question of Christians arming up in fear. I appeal to pastors and other church leaders to speak out clearly, prayerfully, and biblically on the Christ-like approach to guns, fear, and even love of enemy. I appeal to Christians not to look to secular sources for their most important moral decisions. We must turn to God in prayer, search the Scriptures for wisdom, and look to Christ as our only model for dealing with evil.”

That silence by Christian leaders with conviction about escalating violence troubles Schenck, and is why he chose to step out and take a stand. “I’ve received a couple of emails and a phone call,” Schenck said, “but people have to sit with this kind of challenge. It took me months to accept Abby’s invitation because I had a reticence to share my voice. I had to find courage. I knew that the film could cost me long-established friendships, so I had to weigh the cost. We’re told to count the cost by Jesus, but the truth is that people are starving spiritually, ethically, and morally for guidance.”

Schenck wanted to be clear that many of the things that made people defensive about his stance were natural, and that he respected them for holding those values. “I’m careful not to dismiss the impulse to take care of your family,” Schenck said, passionately. “Some of those things don’t make the film because we had ninety minutes to share two years’ worth of conversations, distilled down.”

“The challenge of the gospels is to go beyond that, but we’re missing that in the Western church,” he continued. “We talk about how to live for Christ but we don’t talk about how to die for him. I know a few pastors who are armed in the pulpit in case someone comes there, but I’ve been asking if it’s always the will of God that we survive?”

The theologian, evangelist, and missionary said that we have a natural human response that is powerful but we’re called to work to get to Jesus’ response. Schenck pointed toward Jesus’ injunction to his disciples to put their swords away in the Garden of Gethsemane as he was being arrested, and his encouragement to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.

“Paul tells us in Philippians to refer to others as better than ourselves,” he shared, “so I have to remember that I’m not the most important person in the equation.”

The film’s impact certainly has Schenck aware that what he expected and what happened are often miles apart. “People tend to jump to conclusions,” Schenck continued, “because the conversation questions their orthodoxy. It puts people on the defensive, so I’ve learned to be sensitive and work to relax their defensive reactions.”

Regardless of what you believe about the Second Amendment, guns, or faith, The Armor of Light is a discussion starter that allows us to see one experienced pastor’s perspective in a world where violence is becoming more and more prevalent. Hopefully, audiences will watch the film with their friends and family, and then offer up their opinions about how our communities, our churches, and our country can move forward, holding the Constitution of the United States in one hand and the hand of God in the other.

The Armor of Light will be in select theaters on October 30. 

“Armor Of Light” Director Abigail Disney: “I Don’t Think Everyone Has An Itchy Trigger Finger”

by Leave a Comment

armoroflightDirector Abigail Disney is out to push your buttons, make you think, and openly challenge the things that you believe to be true about guns, violence, and peace. Since she engaged fully in charitable work in her thirties, she has had a love for people often dismissed by society and the issues that either bind us together or drive us apart. In her latest film, The Armor of Light, Disney serves as both executive producer and director, taking aim at our understanding of what it means to be faithful, gun-carrying citizens of the USA.

“I started traveling when my kids were older, and I encountered these stories that I felt needed to be told,” Disney shared from New York. “In Liberia, I found this fully ready-for-film story [Pray The Devil Back To Hell] and it worked.”

Disney has admittedly pushed buttons with her films, and Armor of Light is no different, saying that there’s a weight that comes with her last name. [She’s the daughter of Walt Disney World co-founder, Roy Disney.] “I’m willing to push buttons, and not everyone likes that. Some people think that the Disney name means that I should keep everything comfortable,” Disney told me. “But the end result is that after they’ve seen it, the name seems to push them toward too happy or too mad; my name really drives out the neutrality.”

The Armor of Light is the kind of polarizing movie that everyone should see… but they will be extremely divided over. When Rev. Rob Schenck found himself praying as a representative of faith at situations like the Navy Shipyard or Sandy Hook Elementary, his convictions about being pro-life [in regards to abortion] began to challenge his politically conservative thoughts on gun ownership, control, and ideology.

“Our country is built on an identity entrenched in certain attitudes and frames of mind,” the director continued. “Gun ownership is a way of declaring who you are, and people feel threatened by more than gun control. They see it as a confrontation over respect for authority, tradition, and history.”

“People seem to be divided into two camps, where the other side has been traumatized by situations where guns were involved and can’t imagine why some people are so connected to their guns. We tried to explore the story with a sensitivity for what people are thinking and feeling.”

To find the right person to frame their documentary around, Disney told me that she called people on the left and the right. As executive producer and director, Disney put in calls to see who had worked on the Narnia movies, and encountered people along the way who weren’t willing to say what they believed publicly. Then, a progressive friend of Disney’s told her about a minister who she had met at an interfaith forum, and Disney called Schenck to see if he would be willing.

After Disney’s crew filmed months worth of footage, the director sat down for a year to process the footage. “We knew that we needed to find the story,” Disney said, chuckling. “It’s like there’s a giant pile of spaghetti, and you pull out the one strand that’s just right to keep it all connected.”

This exploration of gun-related deaths, Schenck’s involvement and inner musings, and conversations featuring both sides of the argument resulted in a ninety-minute film that will leave you questioning how you handle confrontation. But Disney is clear that this is a bigger issue than just ‘gun control.’

armoroflight2“I don’t think that everyone who owns a gun has an itchy trigger finger,” the director shared. “I think that not everyone has run the risk/reward analysis, but they’re presented with facts from both sides that are contested. I wish we could get everyone to agree to let a neutral third party provide the ‘facts’ of the situation.”

“I really struggle with the language we use: ‘stand your ground,’ ‘make my day,'” Disney said. “There’s nothing Christian about that as an approach. I could say I was going to run over and kick someone in the shins, but there are other ways to handle things. There are non-lethal, non-violent options. In this land of creativity, where we trumpet ingenuity, we can’t think of another way to fix these situations?”

I asked Disney what she thought of more recent situations, including Schenck’s response to the shooting at Umpqua Community College or the ‘justified’ shooting of Tamir Rice in Cleveland, and the way we respond to them politically. “There are higher principles than what’s written in the law,” she said. “Whether you’re Christian, Muslim, or Jewish, you believe there’s something else. You’d hope that our elected officials would carry those things that many of us believe into their responsibilities as they represent us. We would certainly be better served by principled decisions, but that hasn’t been happening.”

The making of The Armor of Light has drawn Disney herself back to a place of faith. After years of running from conservative, Catholic faith, she has accepted faith over simply ‘believing’. “I was always that kid who was listening, and it never really left my heart,” Disney shared. “I think it’s liberating to be part of the community, to find faith together.”

Disney’s desire for peace – and her recently renewed faith – have set her on this road, and what happens next will be determined by how far she can take this message. No matter what, she’s telling stories that need to be told, and asking others to put down their arms and sit down to talk at the table.