by Andrew Nishimoto

Created on: January 30, 2009

When movies convey Christian values they often come off seeming corny and unrealistic. The reason is "Christian" movies often have to take situations out of context in order to appeal to their demographic which is the Christian population. It is funny that so many Christians want movies with Christian values for themselves to enjoy when most of the movie productions that are "Christian" are aimed at evangelizing. Instead of wanting movies with Christian values, I think Christians should spend more time using the popular media now as a tool to teach Christian values. It is often overlooked, but in many movies today there is a lot of symbolism and reference to the Christian faith. There are even some pastors who have a whole series on Christianity and movies. Even more than that though, it is important for Christians to realize that they need to understand the culture in which they live in order to be effective witnesses in this world. Christians are called to be in this world but not of it, and I think sometimes Christians caution too much to the side on not being of it that they miss out on how to effectively live in it. What I would encourage families to do is instead of searching for only Christian movies like Left Behind, Veggie Tales, Fireproof, etc., they should get movies that address real world issues. For example, in the movie fireproof there is a really good message about life and love, but the situation and how the situations play out are very unrealistic. In order to allow kids to actually learn from movies, parents should get a movie and watch it first. They should take notice of events and themes that can be converted into conversations with their children about Christianity as well as any parts of the movie that needs to be skipped due to inappropriate content. They should then sit down and watch the movie with the rest of the family leaving time afterward (maybe with dessert) to discuss the themes of the movie and how it relates to the real world and their Christian faith. I believe that doing this will not only bring about better family time, but also will help people learn how to react to real world situations in a way that will actually be effective and can be related to non-Christians. I challenge parents to give this strategy a try and see if in the end it build family unity as well as a deeper understanding of Christian values.

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