God's a movie star

In the first three months of the year, three Christian-themed films have been released or are being released in the next week — “Son of God,” “God’s Not Dead” and “Noah.”
These aren’t some B movies that are shown to like 30 people in a church youth group. These are wide-released films that have made quite a bit of money.

So far, “Son of God,” released Feb. 28, has grossed over $55 million. And “God’s Not Dead,” released Friday, was the fifth-highest grossing film of the weekend, raking in $8.5 million.

“Noah” will be out Friday, and with a name like Darren Aronofsky attached to it, expect it to pull in some big numbers.

Mainstream society is becoming more secular than ever — one wouldn’t expect this sudden sacrament in Hollywood, a fairly liberal institution.

In my opinion, the reason for this out-of-nowhere surge of Christian movies is because mainstream society is becoming so secular.

People aren’t going to church as often as they used to, simple as that.

According to a Hartford Institute of Religion Research study, 40 percent of Americans say they attend church every week, but statistics indicate that only 20 percent actually do.

This means that many Americans who claim to believe in God just don’t go to church that often for a variety of reasons. And people love movies.

Going to see the $22 million dollar production “Son of God” is a whole lot more fun than going to church. Plus, Diogo Morgado, who plays Jesus, is downright
gorgeous.

My theory is that Christian filmmakers know that church attendance is down and that society is secularizing at unprecedented rates, but they still want to spread the word of God, so they make Christian-themed movies.

The movies could also be parables for Millenials.

The plot of “Son of God” is your standard New Testament story, the story of Jesus from birth to Crucifixion. And the eponymous “Noah” tells the story of Noah’s Arc.

But the plot of “God’s Not Dead” is interesting in that it’s indicative of the struggles of many Christians, especially those of Millenial Christians and their parents.

It’s the story of college student Josh Wheaton, whose faith is challenged by a philosophy professor who doesn’t believe God exists.

This is a direct parallel to what’s happening in society today. Young adults just don’t believe in God with the same vigor that their parents do.

With professors, peers, the Internet, etc. — faith is being challenged. When you’re 20 years old, especially if you’re in college — surrounded by empirical and concrete knowledge — it gets harder and harder to have literally blind faith.

I’ll let you decide if these modern parables for the Information Generation really teach anything. But they’re not going anywhere anytime soon — except to a theater near you.

ziperr@indiana.edu
@rileyezipper