Kay Arthur and David Jeremiah, two of the most biblically renowned bible teachers in this country, are also encouraging people to watch the movie. Tonight on social media Kay Arthur posted a trailer of the movie asking her followers "do you believe?" I made a comment to her question. To my absolute shock she replied an hour later.
Roma Downey, the Emmy award winning actress from Northern Ireland, is best known for her television series "Touched by an angel". More recently Downey gained notoriety for her mini-series "The Bible" whereby she played Mary. She was also executive producer of the mini-series. "The Bible" was viewed by more than 100 million people world wide. It was beautifully done. Wonderful acting. But it was also riddled with false truths and inconsistencies. The movie was a false biblical narrative albeit a wonderful production.
I replied to Kay Arthur's comment because,quite frankly, I was shocked and disappointed that this doctrinally sound teacher would encourage people to watch something not based exclusively on God's word. After all, Kay's Precept Ministries is a biblically based study. I have studied under her teachings for almost 2 decades. Furthermore, the song "Stay With Me" was written by Smith after a bad homosexual breakup. I have this song downloaded into my iPod. It's beautiful. Is it biblically relevant to scripture? Based on Kay's own teachings that answer would be unequivocally "no".
"So what Elizabeth?! At least people will be hearing about Jesus on Easter Sunday!" Well, I guess that's true. What kind of damage will we be doing though? No, really? Releasing a movie claiming to be God's word when in reality it's not all complete truth?
I am allergic to shellfish. I have a dear friend whose son is allergic to peanut butter. We all carry Epi-pens. I have one in my purse, one in my kitchen, one in my car, and one in my husbands vehicle. I risk dying without the Epi-pen should I inadvertently eat something that has a spec of seafood on it. Or if I ingest anything with the medicine containing "canes" (I'm a dentists nightmare). My friend's son is in the same predicament. She goes no where, nor does her son, without an Epi-pen. The Epi-pen is our life line.
When I was first written the prescription for the Epi-pen the doctor explained that the box would come with a "practice" cartridge. I could practice sticking myself in the thigh. Honestly, I just put the practice Epi-pen the kitchen drawer and never gave it another thought. My friend explained to me the vital importance of making sure I knew how to use the Epi-pen. She explained where in my thigh I needed to be stuck. She explained that I could not use it through my jeans it had to go into bare skin. She also was very helpful in explaining the chemistry behind it. The fact that I have to go to the ER immediately after injecting myself. The doctor has to hook me up to a heart monitor while the adrenaline works out of my system. So, the directions and practicing were actually the foundation. Well, I had skipped them. It was a lot of detail that I thought I didn't need. And I could have killed myself, had I tried to use the Epi-pen, because I was unfamiliar with how and where to use it.
Kay Arthur's response to my comment on Facebook was this (very condensed version) " 'The Bible' {mini series} has received more than 100 million cumulative reviews. That is over 100 million opportunities for someone to hear the name JESUS. It may very well be the only time someone will hear the GOSPEL". That sounds great right? Not really. What if they are hearing a false Gospel? If we believe the Bible to be God's literal word? Anything that is added to or deleted, by Hollywood, is not only a lie but it is dangerous. As Christians the Bible is our directive for life. It is our bloodline. It our love letter from Christ. It is our salvation. It is our history lesson. It is our current events. It is everything. And all of it is a lie if it is cherry picked to tickle people's ears. We have to have God's word in our core. We have to know scripture. We have to be able to discern life. We must know God's word to live life as Jesus would have us. Period. Sure, we can sit under teachings or watch videos. But in order for us to be able to communicate with the Holy Spirit? Hear from God through His scriptures? Bear fruit in our lives? We must know God's word.
Here's the thing: the details are important. Just like my Epi-pen. I needed to read the directions. If I hadn't read the directions? Applied those directions to my life? When I needed the Epi-pen in an emergency I would have no idea how to use it! I would be putting my life in the hands of whomever was with me. Placing my life, in order to get to the ER, in the hands of someone else. And I might not make it there in time. My throat just might actually close. I just may die.
A non-believer watches this movie, with it's Hollywood aka-lades, and they decide they want to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. They spend their lives believing that they are saved. They attend church regularly, listen to praise and worship music, serve in the community. But the seed, the fruit, has not been planted. Because they don't know God's word or study it? They have no idea that they may not have even accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Their eternal salvation literally is at stake. They have been deceived.
I've been all over the map as far as my literal belief in the bible. I've studied under Beth Moore, Joseph Prince, David Jeremiah, and Kay Arthur. I've been a non-Rapture Believer, a Post Tribulation Believer, a Mid Tribulation Believer, and am currently a Pre-Tribulation Believer. In 1995, when I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, I would have told you that this movie hype was ridiculous. Not anymore. Turn on the television for 5 minutes. That's it. You will witness chaos, immorality, deceit, and world wide unrest. It still shocks me. Yet I know it is all part of God's plan for us. Why? Because I read it in the bible which I believe to be the literal word of God. There will come a day when, as Christians, we may not have the religious freedom that we do now. We won't be able to rely on Facebook and YouTube to watch Christian speakers, etc.. We will be unable to read Christian blogs as our daily devotionals. We may not even be able to outwardly communicate with one another in regards to our faith. What then? If you do not have the Word of God running through your veins you will be lost. It is His love letter to us! We should be sprinting to it every single day. Complete anticipation about what new gems He will share with us.
The church today, collectively, wants us to believe that peace, tons of love, good works globally and locally, happiness, and grace are all we need. Treat our neighbors kindly, throw some block parties for the "un-churched", extend love i.e. "pay it forward" to every person on earth, serve some meals, and boom our salvation is secured. We are absolutely called to globally preach the gospel. We need to be showing the love of Christ in our cities and communities. Serving the homeless and less fortunate. But this out reach does not take the place of our salvation! These things are in addition too. Most importantly, we've forgotten to teach the bible. By doing so we are eliminating the uncomfortable stuff. Love comes with forgiveness. Forgiveness comes from Repentance. Repentance comes from the insatiable need to do what is right by God. It comes from a fear and reverence for the Lord. Our God loves us-- that is a given. Our God is also a God who will, ultimately, hold us accountable for our sins. He will punish the wicked one day. If you believe the bible to be true then you can not leave that fact out.
If you believe in God but believe the bible to be a wonderful teaching tool for our lives ? Filled with spectacular parables to help make us better people by following Jesus example? You will eventually loose interest. It will be too difficult to try and work your way into a "good person". Been there done that. This is why so many of Americas churches are dead. The ministers do not believe the bible to be the true spoken word of Christ. You can not maintain the momentum: excitement, love, and grace needed to change the world without being filled with the Holy Spirit.It is impossible on our own accord. You eventually will burn out. LET ME SAY THIS there is always a Remanent in parishes. Be that person! Let your walk with Christ bring others into the fulfillment of true saving grace.
Now that I've written this long tirade I will be fair. I will watch the movie. But I will watch the movie with my bible in hand to check and verify. And if I'm wrong? I promise I will be the first to say so! I do agree that this movie is a great conversation starter. It's a wonderful way to say to a friend "let me give you the one true gospel". Just as my friend pointed out the significance of the practice Epi-pen? You, too, may get the privilege of laying the foundation that saves a life.
"The one who associates with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers
harm."-Proverbs 13:20
harm."-Proverbs 13:20
