Christians in our Culture

I have been told many times that Christian movies are extremely cheesy. I have also heard other Christians say that to find great written movies and films you must watch shows and movies with lots of drugs, sex and violence.

I have heard others say that Christians need to make movies like everyone else makes so the world will watch. Which begs the question: What do you mean? If we are to make movies with drugs, sex and violence because that is just the world we live in and that’s the only way we can relate to people, I beg to differ.

As Christians we are called to live like Jesus, in the world but not of it. We can do this by the way we chose to think, act and live. If Christian movie makers are producing the same kind of movies as the rest of the world, what is the difference between them and us? Even if the message is good, pictures speak louder than words in this culture.

1 Peter 2:9, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” We are chosen to be set apart, but far too many Christians are afraid to. Why are we so afraid? Will we step on some toes? Will we get looked down upon? Will we not get hired? When will we learn to be bold? (I know Christian’s struggle with the opposite, by being so separated from the world and so unlovingly bold that we don’t demonstrate God’s love, but I honestly haven’t seen this as an issue in my generation. So this is why I have not chosen to write on this side of the argument.)

I would just love to hear of Christian film makers producing movies with award winning story lines and production values without the audience having to cover their kid’s eyes and ears. That would make Christians in the world but not of it. Maybe the reason “Christian” movies are cheesy is because they consist of uneducated writers, producers, actors, etc. because all of the educated Christian media makers have not been encouraged to make good clean movies.