How does God inspire filmmakers to reflect his glory and truth, especially nonbelievers? First, most Christian media makers embrace a platonic story concept. Their stories can be seen as a model for behavior to guide us to morals. Platonic stories tend to be more about ideas than reality. Good is represented by a protagonist while evil is represented by an antagonist. In the platonic world concept, there are no gray areas. Everything is either black or white.
Most nonChristians as well as some Christians embrace an Aristotelian story concept where the viewer is faced with a purgation of emotions. These stories will be more subjective and will lead us into our inner conflicts. It’s often a journey into fears and desires that we do not want to confront.
The Aristotelian stories will challenge us to identify with the characters, which often results in the process of discovering our hidden primal feelings. The end result is that they may offer us insight into our lives; however, they do not necessarily offer a clear, moral message. Aristotelian stories require the viewer to be more involved in processing the importance of the story and its impact on your life. They tend to reflect the world as it is compared to platonic stories which reflect the way the writer would like the world to be. God can use both story concepts. Many Christians have problems with the Aristotelian concept because they cannot see God at work in the process. The Aristotelian stories require us to deal with the internal struggle within us, which is a messy endeavor because truth becomes more illusive and intangible.
Aristotelian stories are ambiguous and never paint the world as black and white. They allow you the opportunity to draw your own conclusions and decide what you believe is true and untrue. Although some may suggest that Aristotelian stories support the idea of relevant truth, I believe God can use these stories more effectively than platonic stories because the viewer is more actively engaged in the story process and tends to ask legitimate questions about the nature and purpose of life.
God Desires Art That Reflects His Truth. How does God inspire filmmakers to reflect his glory and truth, especially nonbelievers? How does this process play out?
(1) God can use our gifts and talents to inspire us. We did not create our gifts or talents. They are a gift from God. Because we are made in the image of God, he can inspire us to use them for his glory.
(2) God can inspire us through the creation process. Filmmaking and media making is a creative endeavor. When we create, we are mirroring God’s creative process. God’s nature is to create. He reveals himself every day through his creation. It would make sense that anything we create could contain God’s truth as well, including our art.
(3) Whether you are a Christian or nonbeliever, the Word of God is true. At some level, we are able to recognize this whether we are familiar with God’s Word or not because his Word has gone forth and exists everywhere in the world. The Bible is a story about man without God and man’s efforts to find something greater than himself. That story has been reflected in much of our art throughout history. That includes films and modern media. Hollywood cannot create anything new.
Ecclesiastes 1:9-10 says, “History merely repeats itself. It’s all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new. Sometimes people say, ‘Here is something new!’ But actually it is old; nothing is ever truly new.” NLT In other words, Hollywood cannot find any new stories. They are in the Bible. Whether they realize it or not, their movies reflect Biblical stories.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 says, “There is a time for everything, and everything on earth has its special season. There is a time to be born and a time to die. There is a time to plant and a time to pull up plants. There is a time to kill and a time to heal. There is a time to destroy and a time to build. There is a time to cry and a time to laugh. There is a time to be sad and a time to dance. There is a time to throw away stones and a time to gather them. There is a time to hug and a time not to hug. There is a time to look for something and a time to stop looking for it. There is a time to keep things and a time to throw things away. There is a time to tear apart and a time to sew together. There is a time to be quiet and a time to speak. There is a time to love and a time to hate. There is a time for war and a time for peace. NLT
Is there any film, TV show or other form of media that Hollywood has ever produced that does not reflect these themes from Ecclesiastes? This helps to explain why God is at work in entertainment. Much of what Hollywood creates is a reflection at some level of stories from the Word of God. We are all interested in finding the truth. That’s why secular filmmakers are often drawn to Biblical themes. Whether they realize it or not, they recognize truth.
God Desires Art That Reflects His Truth. How does God inspire filmmakers to reflect his glory and truth, especially nonbelievers? How does this process play out?
(4) God can speak to us in dreams and visions. What about speaking to nonbelievers? Can this be a form of inspiration for filmmakers and media makers? What does the Bible have to say?
Joel 33:14-17 says, “God does speak--sometimes one way and sometimes another--even though people do not understand it. He speaks in a dream, in a vision of the night when people are in a deep sleep, lying on their beds. He speaks in their ears and frightens them with warnings to turn away from dong wrong and to keep them from being proud. He does this to save people from death, to keep them from dying”. NCV
In Daniel Chapter 2, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed a dream and asked all his fortune-tellers, magicians, wizards and wise men to not only interpret the dream but to tell him what he dreamed. They could not. Daniel asked his friends to pray that the God of heaven would have mercy and show Daniel the dream and the understanding of the dream. God gave Daniel a vision during the night that showed the dream and its interpretation. Could some of today’s modern filmmakers be experiencing dreams just like Nebuchadnezzar but are also unaware of the source or the meaning of the dream? However, they are telling their stories in movies. Because the message is from God, people are responding because it is touching them at the deepest emotional level.
What they require, just like Nebuchadnezzar, is an interpreter. The heart of God for Hollywood is for Christians to get involved in the discussion that people are engaged in. Viewers are asking, “What is the meaning of this movie and how does it impact my life.” That discussion can take place internally as well as externally.
God Desires Art That Reflects His Truth. How does God inspire filmmakers to reflect his glory and truth, especially nonbelievers? How does this process play out?
(5) God can speak through the divine. God can speak to all of us in everyday circumstances. Because God is present in the world, he can use all things to fulfill his purpose. Therefore, he can speak through people. He can speak through nature. He can speak through objects. He can speak through creation. We can receive inspiration from God at any place and at any time. God does not limit himself but uses everything to speak to us. That means both Christians and nonbelievers can find their inspiration to create art that reflects his glory and truth in the ordinary things that exist in this world.
In Romans 1:18, Paul says, “God’s anger is shown from heaven against all the evil and wrong things people do. By their own evil lives, they hide the truth. God shows his anger because some knowledge of him has been made clear to them. Yes, God has shown himself to them.” NCV The scripture is clear that God’s presence can be found in the earth and all that God made. His divine nature can inspire all media makers and artists to create media that reflects his truth. Because his truth is known to all mankind, and we are capable of seeing it in his creation.
Paul goes on to say that even though they knew God, they would not worship him. So they created idols to worship that looked like people, birds, animals and snakes. God wants to reveal himself through his creation. That includes everything in the world. There is nothing wrong with artists who create art or images that reflect God’s glory as long as we do not put it above worshiping God. Creating images in itself is not necessarily sinful as long as they express God’s love and his truth. If we love the image more than God it becomes sinful. Although some media and film makers, may reject God's truth, and create images and idols, it is entirely possible that at some level God's truth will be reflected and be completely capable of impacting it's intended audience. Why is this possible ? Romans 8:28 says...."And we know in all things God works for good to those who love God, who have been called according to his purpose" NIV
God Desires Art That Reflects His Truth. How does God inspire filmmakers to reflect his glory and truth, especially nonbelievers? How does this process play out?
(6) God can speak to us through the storytelling process. Theology is primarily a story which starts in Genesis during the creation process and ends in Revelation with God’s ultimate destiny for mankind. Therefore, storytelling must be important to God. He has used it as his primary means to communicate to his creation.
Storytelling was Jesus’ primary means of relating to people during his ministry. Matthew 13:34, says, “Jesus always used stories and illustrations like these when speaking to the crowds. In fact, he never spoke to them without using such parables. This fulfilled the prophecy that said I will speak to you in parables. I will explain mysteries hidden since the creation of the world.” NLT
Jesus understood the power of stories. Throughout the history of mankind, we have been telling each other stories. Today’s film industry is just a reflection of the story-telling process that Jesus embraced. Jesus spoke stories and parables that were saturated with vivid, visual imagery. Everyone wants to hear and see a good story.
So how did Jesus use parables to reveal the hidden mysteries of God? First, he always had a point. All good stories are about something.
Jesus used symbolism and metaphors. Symbolism and metaphors help to forge a connection between dissimilar objects and themes.
Jesus told familiar stories that were tied to everyday activities. He didn’t talk about things that the average person wouldn’t understand. He wanted to connect to his audience. In fact, Jesus was culturally relevant.
If we want to tell compelling stories and relate to the general audience, we can learn a thing or two from Jesus. Jesus is presenting to us, the Body of Christ, the ultimate storytelling concepts.
Jesus told interesting stories full of drama, conflict and personal struggles. You do not have a story unless you have some form of conflict. Jesus embraced four story concepts, which are the only concepts in the storytelling process--man vs. man, man vs. himself, man vs. nature and man vs. the supernatural. In each one of these story concepts, conflict is essential.
