“Christianity and the Movies” Pr. Giese’s Online Class through Concordia Lutheran Seminary 

To participate live in the next three parts of this Online Quest Course tune in Tuesday Sept 17th, 24th and October 1st at 7pm: click here.

Spiritual gifts in St Paul's Writings:

While speaking of Spritual gifts Paul often speaks of them using the body as an example.Romans 12:1-8 1 Corinthians 12 Ephesians 4:4-16 Often discernment is labelled as a spiritual gift. What is discernment? Simply put, discernment is the ability to judge well. There are a variety of ways of thinking about this, two ways that appear best are these: First Following something called The Channel Model many Christians believe that a Spiritual gift like discernment is ultimately located outside the Christian (Lutherans, would then see the source and location of a gift like this in the Holy Spirit working through Word and Sacrament). Others build on this point of view by considering the Natural Talents Model where the Holy Spirit after applying the gifts of Christ to the Christian in Baptism and/or by His word makes Holy the God given intellect of the individual so that their discernment would "be wise as serpents and innocent as doves." (Matthew 10:16)

Discernment (the ability to judge well)  is an important part of watching movies. One way to test what you watch is by measuring it against the Bible, another way is to measure it against the catechism, which is an excellent exposition of the Bible. In either case Scripture is the final authority when learning to judge well in your life. On the first evening we looked at the 10 Commandments and discussed Movies related to the commandments. 

The catechism we'll be using is Luther's Small Catechism, if you're interested in purchasing this edition you can order one from Concordia Publishing House (Hard Cover and Kindle available) or you can find your closest Lutheran Church-Canada congregation and they will be happy to assist you in getting one.

1) You shall have no other gods.What does this mean? We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things.

Life of Pi (2012)

A young man who survives a disaster at sea is hurtled into an epic journey of adventure and discovery. While cast away, he forms an unexpected connection with another survivor: a fearsome Bengal tiger.

Director: Ang Lee

Writers: Yann Martel (novel), David Magee (screenplay)

Stars: Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan, Adil Hussain

Life of Pi provides an example of pluralism in film. The Christian is called to have One God in Three Persons and is not called to have a multiplicity of gods taken from all religions. The central character of the film tells about his childhood interest in Religion; watch the clip below and think about the first commandment.

This is a film I would highly recommend. It's the kind of movie you'll watch and end up thinking about your own life while watching it. In this scene watch for the dynamics between the father and son; the whole movie is one of wrestling with personalities within a family.

Dial M For Murder

An ex-tennis pro carries out a plot to murder his wife. When things go wrong, he improvises a brilliant plan B.

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Writers: Frederick Knott (screenplay, adapted from his play)

Stars: Ray Milland, Grace Kelly, Robert Cummings

The theme of murder is popular in Hollywood films. But Hollywood didn't invent murder, it's been with us from the time of Cain and Able in Genesis 4 and Jesus even says that the Devil was a murderer from the beginning (John 8:44). Here we see an older film dealing with the breaking of the 5th Commandment.

6) You shall not commit adultery. What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we lead a sexually pure and decent life in what we say and do, and husband and wife love and honour each other.

The Great Gatsby (2013)

A Midwestern living in New York finds himself drawn to the past and lifestyle of his millionaire neighbour.

Director: Baz Luhrmann

Writers: Baz Luhrmann (screenplay), Craig Pearce (screenplay)

Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton

Gatsby wants to re-live the past by steeling away the wife of another man. He had had a relationship with the man's wife earlier in his life. This film is, in part, about the hardships connected with adultery. Again this is not a theme made up by Hollywood, not even a theme made up by the writer of the book it's based on (F. Scott Fitzgerald). There are notable examples of this in the Bible, for example King David and Bathsheba the wife of Uriah the Hittite.

Here is the trailer for another film that I would recommend. Doubt details a case of giving false testimony, but who is the guilty party? The film is a mystery and only fully reveals it's answers in the end. It is filled with dramatic twists and turns and is well worth the watch.

9) You shall not covet your neighbour’s house. What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not scheme to get our neighbour’s inheritance or house, or get it in a way that only appears right, but help and be of service to him in keeping it.

Drag Me to Hell (2009)

A loan officer who evicts an old woman from her home finds herself the recipient of a supernatural curse. Desperate, she turns to a seer to try and save her soul, while evil forces work to push her to a breaking point.

Director: Sam Raimi

Writers: Sam Raimi, Ivan Raimi

Stars: Alison Lohman, Justin Long, Ruth Livier

Not a film for everyone, this film centers on the consequences of coveting another person's house for personal gain. In this film a young woman working at a bank forecloses on a older woman's house in order to get a promotion at work, she does it all in a way that only appears right. After this the film takes an unusual turn with the older woman ends up being a gypsy with a curse. Here's the television trailer.  

10) You shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbour. What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not entice or force away our neighbour’s wife, workers, or animals, or turn them against him, but urge them to stay and do their duty. 

Elysium (2013)

Set in the year 2154, where the very wealthy live on a man-made space station while the rest of the population resides on a ruined Earth, a man takes on a mission that could bring equality to the polarized worlds.

Director: Neill Blomkamp

Writer: Neill Blomkamp

Stars: Matt Damon, Jodie Foster

Selfishness motivates almost every character. The focus is not on helping others to keep their property and possessions or helping them when they have physical needs. Greed drives the story telling and the rich and the poor are both at work coveting each others resources.