Transcript

Evangelism isn't just about sharing doctrines or refuting objections.

Our Lord used stories in the form of parables to make His teachings endure in His listeners.

In today's episode, we're gonna look at nine films that are great in imparting Christian themes to non-Christians.

Now, a few caveats about these films.

First, I'm talking about films with Christian themes, even if the creators themselves were not trying to preach those themes or they're not even Christian themselves.

I'm also talking about films that you could just casually sit down and watch with a non-Christian.

So while The Passion is probably the best depiction of what Christ endured for us, it's not exactly a casual Friday night movie to watch with friends.

Finally, I'm excluding films that are overly cheesy or beat you over the head with their Christian message, films like God's Not Dead, God's Not Dead 2, God Not Dead 3, God's Not Dead 4: We the People!, and God's Not Dead 5: In God We Trust.

At some point, I hope one of the sequels takes place in space and has a crossover with Air Bud, God's Not Dead 6: Caught Up in the Air Bud to Meet Him.

But in any case, let's go through these films in order of their release date.

Number one, 1959's Ben-Hur.

The film is based on the novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace, which was published in 1880 and was the most successful novel in America until the publication of Gone with the Wind in 1936.

The author, Lew Wallace, was a Union general and governor of the New Mexico Territory.

In 1876, Wallace spent a train ride discussing religion for two hours with Robert Ingersoll, the Richard Dawkins of the 19th century.

Wallace later said of the encounter, I was ashamed of myself and make haste now to declare that the mortification of pride I then endured ended in a resolution to study the whole matter.

After being humbled by Ingersoll, Wallace sought to study his Christian faith as much as he could and he ended up writing a story about Jesus Christ through the eyes of a fictional slave named Judah Ben-Hur.

The novel was adapted into two silent films and then into the 1959 epic starring Charlton Heston.

The 2016 version does not count.

Don't look it up, it's awful.

Now, what makes the 1959 version a great film for non-Christians to watch is how it beautifully portrays the Christian message of grace through the redemptive story of Ben-Hur, a slave who learns about forgiveness through his providential encounters with Christ.

Also, the 1959 film's use of a special wide-angle lens and larger-than-life sets gives it a grand epic scale.

The set created for the chariot race was the largest one ever built at the time.

Indeed, this is a classic film that modern critics admit still looks like a billion bucks.

Though, be sure to have a comfy couch when you watch it because it has a three-and-a-half-hour runtime.

But if you have the time, it's certainly worth it.

Number two, 1962's The Reluctant Saint.

This is the story of Saint Joseph of Cupertino, a simple farm boy who was teased for being slow-witted and, at his mother's insistence, enters a friary.

It's said that Saint Joseph prayed to God to pass his academic examinations and his examiner miraculously asked him the only questions he knew that he could answer, thus making him the patron saint of anyone in a jam on a test.

Saint Joseph of Cupertino has also been the subject of academic books chronicling the evidence that even skeptics admit is surprisingly strong that he levitated because he was so full of joy of our Lord.

In the film, Catholic actor Ricardo Montalban plays a skeptical priest, Father Raspi, who thinks Joseph's deeds must be diabolical in nature, and he carries the role with great gusto.

If the name sounds familiar, that's because Montalban played Khan in Star Trek II.

Khan!

While Ben-Hur is fun to watch because it belongs to a lost genre of Hollywood epics, The Reluctant Saint is fun to watch because of its smaller, cozier scope of being a humble biography, which is fitting given the spirit of the man the film is about.

Another honorable mention in the category of classic saint films is A Man For All Seasons.

It depicts the last years of Sir Thomas More, the saint who refused to support King Henry VIII's request for an annulment and his claim to be the Supreme Head of the Church of England.

Many people will fault me for considering this film to be the honorable mention when it is objectively better than The Reluctant Saint.

It is a classic, no doubt.

I just have more of an emotional attachment to the film The Reluctant Saint, just like I have more of an attachment to Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope even though I know Empire Strikes Back is objectively the better film.

So I'd recommend both films as classic saint stories brought to life on the silver screen with a narrative that any non-religious person can appreciate.

Number three, 1965's A Charlie Brown Christmas.

In an age where children's animation is often frenetic and designed to cater to people who have been raised on iPads since birth, it's refreshing to watch something with kids where the animation moves at a slower pace.

The story follows our favorite Peanut characters like Charlie Brown, Lucy, Snoopy, and the gang as they seek to understand the true meaning of Christmas.

The best scene is at the end where an exasperated Charlie Brown asks if anyone knows what Christmas is all about and Linus recites the story of Christ's birth from the Gospel of Luke and then says this.

That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.

I'll also add in the context of children's Christmas movies a controversial honorable mention, 2017's The Star.

If you want something that has this modern, more frenetic energy, this imaginative retelling of the nativity story definitely has it, along with the trope of talking animals that humans do not understand.

One Catholic critic said it's like Silent Night meets Secret Life of Pets.

Many of you will hate this movie and find it supremely annoying.

I get that.

But my kids really liked it and I could see this being something that you could show non-Christian younger members of your family when you gather around at Christmas.

I was worried when I heard one of the voices was Oprah, but in spite of being a mainstream production, I can tell it has redeeming qualities because mainstream critics don't like this film.

One critic says, The film believes its myths and propagates them through some of the cheesiest God pop you could ever dread to hear.

'Mary, did you know that your baby boy will grow up to walk on water?' one warbles.

A Christmas movie that actually believes in the story of Christmas?

Fancy that.

So if you like a classic, slower-paced Christmas film for kids, I recommend A Charlie Bound Christmas.

But if you have the chance to steer the Christmas Netflix dial at your family gathering, and you can't watch Die Hard because children are around, The Star is a good pick if you know what you're getting into.

Number four, 1998's The Prince of Egypt.

When I was a kid, the definitive story of the Exodus was the 1956 film The Ten Commandments.

I didn't watch it much though because it's almost four hours long.

But Charlton Heston plays a Moses with gravitas to spare.

However, the title of best film about the Exodus, if not one of the best films about a story from scripture in general, is Dreamworks' 1998 film The Prince of Egypt.

The film is also a good lesson in the difference between animation and cartoons, which are just animation for children.

The film's opening depiction of the enslavement of the Israelites shows this is not a kiddie show.

But the film does a good job pivoting from silly to serious to keep people of all ages engaged over its incredibly efficient 99-minute runtime.

For example, Moses' dream about the slaughter of the Hebrews, cast in the form of Egyptian hieroglyphics, is still one of the best computer-animated sequences I've ever seen in film.

The film is also a musical, but it's absolutely not corny.

The songs are awesome, my favorites being Through Heaven's Eyes and the song played during the 10 plagues.

The film does a great job portraying the Exodus while only taking minimal artistic liberties, and it really hammers home the theme of God's almighty power and love for his chosen people.

It's a great film to show anyone, not just children, because the all-star cast of Patrick Stewart, Ralph Fiennes, and Val Kilmer as Moses do a really great job.

This isn't technically a Christian film though, because it focuses on the Exodus, but it's definitely a great Biblical film to watch with anyone, even if they aren't religious.

And if you just want a good film to watch on Holy Thursday to show the Jewish roots of the Eucharist in the Passover, you can't go wrong with The Prince of Egypt.

Number five, 2002's Signs.

In Signs, Mel Gibson plays Reverend Graham Hess, an Episcopal priest who left the priesthood after his wife was killed in a car accident.

Hess lives on a rural farm with his brother, a failed baseball player, and Hess' two children, one of whom has asthma.

The title Signs refers in part to signs that can be seen in crop circles that form in Hess' field that signal the beginning of an alien invasion.

The film masterfully teases out the tension of the invasion as Hess learns about it through things like aliens clicking on a baby monitor and spooky encounters in his crop at night, as well as increasingly nerve-wracking news stories.

The latter part of the film follows the family as they're barricaded in their farmhouse during the invasion.

While the previous films in this list explicitly reference the Bible or Christian faith in some way, this is more of a subtle parable about God.

Although I need to discuss a spoiler related to the ending of Signs, so if you don't want to know that spoiler, skip ahead to the time code listed below, or go ahead a few minutes if you're listening on podcast.

The title, Signs, also refers to signs in Hess' life that providentially align themselves so the family can effectively repel the aliens.

Many people think this film is dumb because the ability to stop the aliens hinges on them being allergic to water.

Granted, it does seem strange for a species capable of interstellar travel to try to conquer a planet where 70% of its surface is covered in stuff that kills them.

The best way I've tried to keep myself from suspending disbelief is by thinking the aliens aren't trying to conquer Earth at all.

Instead, I like to think that they're engaged in a social ritual, like the one done by adolescents of certain indigenous tribes, where they venture into a dangerous territory simply to prove their bravery, which explains why the aliens go to Earth without advanced weaponry.

Setting that plot hole aside, Signs is an artful threading of how God leaves signs in our lives that are not accidents, even in our moments of deep despair, but are evidence of his divine design.

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And now- back to the episode.

Number six, 2005's The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.

This is another film I'd recommend if you want a Christian film to share with children who may have a mixed religious background or come from more nominally Christian homes.

This classic fantasy story from C.S.

Lewis follows the adventures of the Pevensie children, who are sent to live with their uncle during World War II and find that the back of one of his wardrobes leads to the fantastic world of Narnia, filled with talking animals, mythical creatures, and dangers, primarily in the form of the evil White Witch.

The children join the fight against the White Witch, led by Narnia's majestic protector, the lion Aslan, voiced with gravelly excellence by Liam Neeson.

You might think the story hits you over the head with the theme that Aslan is Jesus, especially when he dies to atone for sins and then rises from the dead.

But overall, it's pretty measured, and remember, it's written at a level for children to understand the allegory.

But it doesn't beat you over the head with the message.

Compare that to Zack Snyder's 2013 film, Man of Steel, where Superman literally sits in front of a stained glass image of Jesus, in case you didn't get the hint what Snyder wanted to symbolize.

So like A Charlie Brown Christmas, it's a classic story for children as well as adults, and it provides an excellent springboard to talk about Jesus Christ, who scripture calls the Lion of the Tribe of Judah.

Number seven, 2006's Amazing Grace.

Ioan Gruffudd, aka the guy who played Mr. Fantastic in the early 2000s Fantastic Four movies, plays William Wilberforce, a 19th century Protestant politician who fought for the abolition of the British slave trade.

As you watch the film, the parallels between this movement against slavery and the modern movement to end legal abortion are uncanny.

Many people in the film express their personal opposition to the slave trade.

They don't like it, but they worry that things will be worse if you make slavery illegal.

After all, if you outlaw slavery in England, the French will just take it over, and so all that will happen to England is that they'll be worse off.

This parallels how pro-choicers say, If abortion is outlawed, it's still gonna happen, so why not make it safer?

But you can't make this procedure safer 'cause half the people involved always end up dying.

Amazing Grace is a well-done period piece, and also has excellent supporting cast members, including Benedict Cumberbatch, who plays the English Prime Minister, who is sympathetic to the abolitionist cause.

I'm also adding as an honorable mention to films that promote the pro-life message 2007's Juno, starring Ellen Page.

Go ahead, strike my channel, YouTube.

I'm not saying Elliot Page had a breakout role when he played a pregnant teenager.

I'm not doing it.

Juno is a comedy about a cynical teen who becomes pregnant and how she responds to the situation.

The director, Judd Apatow, was not trying to make a pro-life film, but he had to explain why Juno wouldn't get an abortion, because that's what most teens with her attitude would do.

And if she did that, the movie would be over.

So there's a great scene where she encounters another pro-life teenager who tells her that her baby has fingernails, and that's enough to get Juno to reconsider her decision after she notices everyone's fingernails in the abortion facility's lobby.

Now, with Juno, there are mature scenes, so viewer beware.

But Amazing Grace is an excellent pro-life film for all audiences who are ready to face the film's treatment of a grim subject like slavery and the proper Christian response to it.

Number eight, 2012's Les Miserables.

Based on the Broadway show Les Mis, which itself is based on the 1862 Victor Hugo novel, Les Miserables is a musical that chronicles the redemption of Jean Valjean, a man who spent 19 years in prison for stealing some bread to feed his family.

A kindly bishop changes Valjean's life and buys his soul for God by keeping him from returning to prison, and gives him the means to live an upstanding, upper-class Christian life.

Valjean does that, and ends up trying to save Fantine and her daughter Cosette from poverty and death.

In doing so, he garners the attention of Police Inspector Javert, who resolves to hunt down Valjean for breaking his parole and make him pay for his crimes.

All this takes place against the backdrop of students engaged in a revolution against the French monarchy.

Valjean represents God's mercy and grace, whereas Javert represents the law which convicts us of sin, and shows us how, if we are saved by grace, then we cannot be saved by the law, and the two cannot co-exist in this way.

Instead, a person is saved by faith working through love, and Valjean demonstrates that multiple times in the story.

Personally, I prefer the 10th anniversary concert edition of Les Mis, especially since Philip Quast is the greatest Javert who ever lived, and Russell Crowe, who plays Javert in the 2012 film, is somewhat lacking in the singing department, which is bad for a musical.

For example, here's Philip Quast in the 10th anniversary edition singing Stars.

And here's Russell Crowe.

But that performance aside, Hugh Jackman nails Valjean, and Anne Hathaway gives a haunting performance as Fantine, which is more difficult than in a musical theater production, because she has to sing powerful notes while emoting for camera closeups.

It's a perfect introduction to the essence of the Gospel, that God's mercy is a free gift to anyone who is willing to accept it and become a new creation in Christ.

And finally, number nine, 2016's Hacksaw Ridge.

While his personal life is a bit of a mixed bag, everyone agrees Mel Gibson knows how to tell a story and allow Christian themes to naturally bleed through them, if you will.

And I mean that literally when it comes to The Passion as well as Hacksaw Ridge.

The film tells the true story of Desmond Doss, an American World War II combat medic played by Andrew Garfield, who, due to his Seventh Day Adventism, is a conscientious objector to the war.

He signs up for the war, but as a medic who refuses to carry a weapon.

As a result, his fellow soldiers torment him because of his pacifism and that he worships on Saturday instead of Sunday.

What really surprised me is that Garfield also plays a Christian in Martin Scorsese's film Silence, based on the Shusaku Endo novel about Christian persecution in 17th century Japan.

That film is much darker in its exploration of faith, because it deals with the question of whether it is okay to engage in acts that could be construed as denying Christ if that's done to save the lives of other people or to save them from torture.

I found Silence to be really unhelpful in building up people's faith, even if it raises important questions about martyrdom.

It's definitely not a film I would watch with a non-Christian where I want to present an uncomplicated example of Christian heroism, as can be seen in Hacksaw Ridge.

That film perfectly embodies the principle of show, don't tell, where Doss's sincere faith, humility, and good-natured spirit are seen in his actions, and not something you have to lazily put into an exposition dump.

We see this, for example, in how Doss is portrayed as earning his fellow troops' respect by not complaining about their abuse, but instead by saving their lives in battle.

Doss repeatedly prays to God that he has the strength to save just one more injured soldier, and mild spoiler alert, he ends up being the first conscientious objector to ever be awarded the Medal of Honor.

So those are my nine great films that Christians should watch with non-Christians or other nominal believers.

Was there a film you thought should have been added to this list?

If so, leave your recommendations in the comments below, and I hope you have a very blessed day.