I grew up loving movies and loving Jesus. But my filmgoing and churchgoing felt like separate worlds with little overlap. That changed one afternoon when I was a high school sophomore. I was in a movie theater in Shawnee, Kansas, and the movie was Terrence Malick’s WWII epic The Thin Red Line. It was the first time I watched a “secular” film that spoke to me directly as a Christian, engaged my head theologically, and stirred my heart to love God more.
The Thin Red Line showed me the rich possibilities for how faith and film could interact. After that transformative filmgoing experience, I committed myself to carefully exploring the faith-film conversation and helping others do the same. I’ve continued this exploration as a student, film critic, and teacher ever since.
Over the last 25 years, I’ve come to see the intersection of faith and film is multifaceted and multidimensional. Here are four aspects of the relationship that might help you as you think about how movies relate to your Christian faith.
1. Faithfully Viewing Films
A big way our Christian faith interacts with film is in the mode of our viewing. Are we watching movies Christianly? Are we exercising Christian discernment and wisdom in both the films we select and how we watch them? How do our “no” and “yes” to certain films arise from Christian convictions and affect our witness? How does what we watch affect our souls? How do Christian viewers enter this highly secular sphere without being morally compromised by it? These questions and others are essential as we think about what it means to faithfully view films.
2. Films Interpreting Faith
How does Christianity fare as a subject matter in contemporary movies? Many modern filmmakers incorporate Christian imagery, motifs, and virtues in their films, in both positive and critical ways. Christianity looms large as a dominant cultural force, so naturally artists can’t resist interacting with it.
How do Christian viewers enter into this highly secular sphere without being morally compromised by it?
Occasionally, Hollywood turns out movies that depict Christian faith in substantive, even challenging ways. Think of true-story films like Chariots of Fire or The Mission, or complicated portraits like Calvary or Silence. But in many other cases, Christians are depicted as villainous, unhinged bigots (e.g., Doubt, There Will Be Blood, The Wonder). Whether it’s a good, bad, or ugly portrayal, it’s almost always helpful for Christians to pay attention to how our faith is depicted and interpreted by filmmakers.
3. Faith Interpreting Films
Filmmakers offer interpretations of Christian faith. But Christian faith likewise can offer fruitful interpretations of films—even films that aren’t clearly about matters of faith. This is an area I’ve loved growing in over two decades of being a Christian film critic.
Far from setting aside my faith when I sit down to watch movies, I view them through the lens of my Christian faith—recognizing spiritual longings and theological dynamics in movies, even when filmmakers didn’t intend to create anything overtly spiritual or theological. I love being able to explore how the Christian gospel offers “subversive fulfillment” to the longings expressed in a film and provide answers to some of the questions it raises.
4. Faithfully Making Films
Another way faith interacts with film is in the actual making of movies. More and more faithful Christians are becoming not just consumers of films but creators of them. Sometimes the films are explicitly Christian and fall into what might be called the “faith-based” genre. But often Christians make movies that don’t overtly deal with faith topics or subjects yet nevertheless explore Christian virtues and narratives consistent with biblical values.
I’m also interested in the question of a Christian aesthetic or style of filmmaking. How do we make movies in a distinctly Christian way that brings goodness, truth, and beauty to an often dark realm?
Announcing New ‘Faith and Film’ Virtual Cohort
Are you interested in engaging with film in spiritually enriching, God-glorifying, and gospel-advancing ways? If so, join me for an eight-session virtual cohort this fall, beginning October 2.
During our weekly meetings (Wednesdays, 4:00 to 5:30 p.m. ET), we’ll dive deeper into the four topics described above, discuss 10-plus recent and older movies, and together grow in our understanding of how to evaluate and engage films from a Christian perspective. If that sounds like something you or someone you know might be interested in, click on the button below for more details.
This will be an interactive cohort with limited spaces. Reserve your spot soon—the last day to register is September 25. I hope to see you there!
