This author makes no claim to be the WELS incarnation of Ebert or Roeper. Therefore the objective of this column isn’t to offer a "movie review." The intent is to provide food for thought about such "biblical" movies in general.

Depending on each movie’s popularity, the potential to use that movie as a discussion starter with unchurched friends and co-workers could be significant. It’s debatable whether movies are more influenced by culture or culture by movies. Yet this much is hard to debate: movies can offer a significant "window" into the worldview of friends and co-workers. Just ask someone what his favorite movie is, and you will often see his eyes light up. As he answers your question, he may also give you significant details of the movie. As you listen, he may reveal much about his own worldview. Movies can offer that open door to discuss life’s important matters that we often struggle to find.

With that in mind, here are two encouragements. First, read the related portion of Scripture before you go—perhaps several times! Many such movies (such as The Passion of the Christ and One Night with the King) are based more on historical novels or legends than Scripture. Even when that’s not the case (The Nativity Story), because Scripture wasn’t written to provide screenplays, those who write them will supply much that’s not in the biblical text. In either case, it’s helpful to have a firm grasp on the biblical narrative. That way you more easily can sort through what may be questionable or downright false assumptions. This author, who thought he knew Esther reasonably well, made a beeline for his Bible after watching One Night with the King. It’s more helpful to be armed in advance!

In particular, be prepared that the screen portrayal may fail significantly to communicate Scripture’s core messages of human sin and divine grace. Those writing screenplays often have as their chief purpose to write a compelling human interest story that sells tickets. God and his unmerited favor often take a back seat to man and his basic goodness. Where Scripture paints its "heroes" and "heroines" of faith "warts and all," screenwriters may apply make-up.

For instance, in One Night with the King, the "beauty pageant" in which Esther participated was pictured as a chaste activity. But it was rather some-thing that rendered all participants "concubines" of Xerxes (Esther 2:14). Such a change stole at least some of the beauty of God’s grace, which brought deliverance from the midst of a rather sordid situation. Such is the beauty of God’s grace, that even when our own sin has a direct role in our struggles, he still works to make even that serve our good (Genesis 50:20).