Here's my rock-solid recommendation for the week: all Christians should go see the movie Saved! Also, all non-Christians should go see the movie Saved! In fact, everyone should go see the movie Saved! (The exclamation point is part of the movie's title. I wasn't THAT excited about the first three sentences of this entry.)
The movie...excuse me, the film (ooh, see what I did there? That's a callback. It's a comedy term, don't worry about it.) was a pretty scathing satire of contemporary Christian culture. But here's the thing: was it anti-Christian or even making fun of Christianity? No. It did, however, make fun of a lot of the stupid things people (especially Christians) do in the name of God and their religion. I think this is a wonderful thing to do and should take place more often, just so people can take stock of their actions and see just how ridiculous they are.
But this is a fairly challenging film and from the outside can seem quite controversial, so what happens? BOYCOTT!! Yay! Many Christian groups are up in arms over this film, some even claiming that it is being marketed to teens in order to turn them away from their faith. Here's my favorite part about uproars like this: the vast majority of people who are getting upset about it haven't even seen it. I love when people feel like they possess such a finely tuned moral barometer than they can judge a piece of work without even seeing it. Why, it's a modern-day miracle!
The funny thing is that although much of the film is religious satire, the message in the end is one of the most uplifting things I've seen in a while. Plus, there are quite a few funny bits in it. And it stars Macaulay Culkin. What more could you want? So go see Saved! Think about it, wrestle with it, debate it, and pray about it. Just don't condemn it without seeing it.
Because I will slap you.
P.S. Memo to all youth pastors: please stop trying to talk like the kids in your youth group. The moment you say something like "JC is in the house!" or "Who's down with G-O-D?", whatever coolness might have lingered in the phrase is instantly sapped by the fact that you said it. Seriously, stop trying so hard. Just be good examples and good leaders. Or I'll slap you.
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5 comments:
Haven't seen Saved! yet... but will. If nothing else, just 'cause you said so. But in the mean time, I'll leave you with this:
Here at Globo Gym we're better than you - and we know it!
Rob
Yeah, in the real world, some people actually work and don't get to watch a jillion movies every weekend, but hey, such is life. Glad to hear that Saved did well and I'm debating what to see first. However the first special day at camp will be Survivor: Adirondack.
-josh
Why all the slapping?! Such hostility, Timothy. For shame.
-Jake
Ahem Jake, I seem to remember a little slapping going on in Forum. For Shame to you for forgetting that. I would also like to take this time to say I agree with you Tim, If you cant laugh at yourself, then how can you laugh at anyone else. If one were to take a few moments to step outside of themselves and take a good look at what goes on in their life, then I am quite sure that they could lose ten pounds just laughing. I hope you are having a great time in Chi-Town.
Paul K.
Paul, I can't always laugh at myself. But I take comfort in the fact that I can always laugh at you. Anyway I haven't seen saved yet, although I certainly intend to. Unfortunately I don't really have the time, so I might have to bootleg it...although I think it being a Christian movie/commentary stealing it might constitute some kind of deadly sin. Things to think about. - Scott
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