End of the Spear is a movie due out on Friday which chronicles the story of Jim Elliot, the missionary who said "He is no fool who gives what he can not keep, to gain what he can not lose." Jim was murdered by the tribes he came to witness to, and served as an example to many young Christians who decided to go to the missions field.
A new controversy has begun to boil in the Evangelical community about this film, which is being marketed like "Passion of the Christ" - thru churches. The controversy is specifically about one of the actors, Chad Allen, who plays Nate Saint (one of the other missionaries killed with Jim Elliot). Chad Allen is an outspoken gay activist, who has been featured prominently on the national stage. The director is unapologetic for hiring Chad Allen (scroll down to comment #3 on the link), and claims he was hired as the best man for the job.
Frankly, I am not sure how I feel about this controversy, but I think it highlights a much more troubling trend in the church. The church is being used more and more by Hollywood as a market for their trailers. PASSION OF THE CHRIST did not concern me - it was clearly a Christian story and it was closely vetted by pastors and Christian scholars. THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA was a bit more concerning, but as a major fan of Narnia who sees the value of C.S. Lewis's stories for kids, I was fairly sympathetic. But this shows the complete disconnect between Hollywood - who just wants to sell movies - and the church, who should not be in the business of "selling" anything. It is one thing to allow the community to share information about a good movie, or show, or band. It is another to become another distribution medium.
It should come as no shock that there is a disconnect between Hollywood and the Church. The bigger shock should be that we (Christians) were so willing to forget the inevitable disconnect.
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