God in the movies

The recent blockbuster, "TopGun: Maverick" employed numerous technical advisors and cooperation of the US Navy to ensure technical accuracy. Countless hours of analysis went into the filming of the flight scenes. Even then, compromises had to be made to keep the running time somewhat reasonable. That stated, what ended up on-screen differed greatly from what life is like on-board an actual USN carrier (much less the much lauded flight scenes). Again, compromises affect accuracy. Even movies like "Titanic" or "Apollo 13", where tremendous amounts of resources, special effects and on-set advisors were employed to make the films as true-to-actual-events as possible, certain compromises had to be made to keep the movies accessible (or in the case of "Apollo 13", understandable) to audiences. (And both movies are, of course, based on true stories).

Not nearly as much effort is exerted in movies that are religiously centered. The 1977 Carl Reiner film, "Oh, God!" is a prime example of a Hollywood movie, while no doubt well intentioned, falls short in so many areas of biblical accuracy. A pivotal scene has the protagonist (played by John Denver) reviewing some questions posed to him by theologians to determine if he had, in fact, really met God. One such question asks if Jesus is really the Son of God. (The movies' script could've gone two ways). God, as portrayed by (the late George Burns) dodges the question and gives a watered down answer, no doubt to appeal to the masses. The movie's entire premise could, of course, be called into question, though. But this particular exchange is indicative of what so many Hollywood films do to keep audience attendance up. The 1956 Charlton Heston biblical spectacle, "The Ten Commandments" is another movie where scriptural accuracy is often bested by elaborate special effects and biblically paraphrased dialog. Even the much hyped "The Passion of the Christ" had to make certain concessions to keep audiences engaged. Too often, as Christians (and especially non-believers alike), can be influenced by popular culture attempting to give an approximation of what's in the Bible.

Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Too often, we allow Hollywood to tell us what's in the Bible vs what we actually know is in the Bible. We already have the best technical advisor of all: The Word of God.

Further reading and background of Christianity in the media...

https://www.deseret.com/2016/9/19/20596523/when-hollywood-puts-god-on-screen

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