sustain:if:able kiwi

re-releasing the passionate response to the passion

With Easter, movie theatres in various countries are re-screening Mel Gibson’s movie, The Passion of the Christ. In May last year I wrote an article for Reality magazine on the movie, exploring various film and theology angles in the movie, including the place, or otherwise, of redemptive violence in Christian theology. It’s proving a popular read again, being no. 1 at the moment on Reality website. I got a fair bit of flack for it at the time in Letters to the Editor. Anyhow, it’s located here if you want to read it.

film quiz – Jesus as movie star

Every few weeks in the gospel and film class I am teaching this semester, I have a film quiz. The class are in teams: Fox, Bollywood and Sundance. I fire 5 questions at them, and the overall winner at the end of the semester will receive a BCNZ Academy. Lots of fun, good crowd breaker, and often the information makes good teaching points.

Here’s the questions from last week.

Question 1: The longest film ever made, at 6 hours, is Jesus of Nazareth? True or False

Question 2: Which religious film – The Ten Commandments, The Greatest Story ever told, Ben-Hur – was a Top 10 film for the entire decade of the 1920s?

Question 3: Ben Hur was a box office smash in 1959. Made for a then unprecedented $15M, it earned more than $70M at the US box office. Did it win 7 or 9 or 11 Oscars?

Question 4: Put the top 3 movies of 2004 in the correct order:
Shrek 2, Spider-man 2, The Passion of the Christ.

Question 5: Less than 0.1% of people who watched The Passion of the Christ came to faith? True or false.

Update: For the curious, the answers are …

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is church as boring a healthy motivation for creativity

“I went to the Easter Vigil service at the Anglican Cathedral in Pittsburgh. It was snowing, and I was aware of the proper setting for a tremendous religious experience. But the people in the church seemed bored, and the clergymen [sic] seemed to be hurrying to get it over with. I left with the feeling that, rather than rolling the rock away from the tomb, they were piling it on. I went home, took out my manuscript and worked it to completion in a non-stop frenzy.”
– Tebelak, creator of the 1973 musical/movie Godspell.

(In Tatum, Jesus at the Movies. A Guide to the First Hundred Years. Polebridge Press, 1997)

where is the gospel in film?

Last nite I kicked off teaching in gospel and film. It struck me in preparation that 50 years ago, Christians weren’t even allowed to attend films, let alone have them taught on at a theological College.

Why a gospel and film course? I suggested 5 reasons;

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meeting mels Jesus at the movies

Research just out shows that Mel Gibson’s The Passion had no lasting impact on faith. Given the inadequacy of its theology, all I can say is thank God.

Only 16% of viewers said it had affected their religious beliefs, while 9% prayed more and 8% attended church more. Interesting that half of movie goers in the US were Christians (53%). That means that a good number of Christians could watch Jesus being beaten and flogged, yet remain unmoved in faith and practice.

As for its evanglistic potential, the research found the apparent absence of a direct evangelistic impact by the movie. Despite marketing campaigns labeling the movie the “greatest evangelistic tool” of our era, less than one-tenth of one percent of those who saw the film stated that they made a profession of faith or accepted Jesus Christ as their savior in reaction to the film’s content. Let me repeat that – one-tenth of one percent!

Does this mean movies missionary potential is limited? Well, the research found that while 41% of adults had seen a movie in the last 2 years that caused them to think more seriously about faith, they were more likely to be active religiously before hand.

This would suggest that movies are not a postmodern magic bullet.

christian and lesbian interaction: reviews of allie eagle and me

The film “deftly side-steps the conventions of dry art-historical biography, fusing personal history, inter-generational dialogue and politics with a delibaretely light touch.” from here

and from here; “In the film, Allie Eagle talks about the way audiences and critics have often locked her work into a feminist time warp. This concern is the driving force behind her new show, in which she embraces the Christian faith of her childhood.”

This is what makes the film interesting; the collision of worlds, where the word Christian sits alongside the rating ** and ++ (Two stars indicate lesbian content, two pluses feminist content.)

Reweaving

I always find it hard to assess my public speaking. On Thursday I talked to a conference of NZ missiologists and theologians. It was a tremendous privilege for me, as a 35 year old, to address such a distinguished audience. Paul was there to listen:

It was stimulating experience. It was a real priviledge to see / hear the giftedness and learning of both a friend and an important young voice in local and international sense … Steve’s metaphor of re-weaving the broken rope as a way of reflecting on task of theological scholarship in Aotearoa New Zealand was wonderfully provocative and evocative. He lightly reflected on themes on brokenness, the marginalised voices in society, welcoming the stranger, hospitality, story-telling, friend-making, plural perspectives, inclusion, exclusion. I’m sure that the metaphor will have been wonderfully enriched by interdisciplinary conversation over the remainder of the conference.

Thanks Paul.

whale rider, the bible and mission

Today I am travel to Auckland for 4 days. I am speaking at a theological conference. I am using a scene from Whale Rider as my main “text,” and focusing on theology as re-weaving the broken ropes.

I am weaving in 2 texts: Emmaus Road (Luke 24) and Abraham’s visit by “strangers” (Genesis 18). I am asking 3 questions: who are our strangers? what is our table? what does hospitality mean? Full abstract is here.

I have really enjoyed preparing, I trust the participants enjoy it equally!!

UPDATE: This went well; despite some technological hiccups, and managing to naively hit some trip wires around the whole gay and lesbian debate. (Duh. Me and my big talking mouth.) People loved the creativity and freshness. Best of all, I learnt some things in conversation afterward, and so the learning goes. It was a huge buzz to have Paul drop by. Thanks mate.

Reading Whale Rider: Reweaving in Godzone

This is the abstract of a paper I am going to give in July in Auckland. It’s up on the web here.

Reweaving in Godzone: theological scholarship in Aotearoa New Zealand

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passion(ate) letter to mel

My article on Mel Gibson and the passion, they one that caused so much trouble (see here and here) has been published and is now also published on the web.

Headings include;
My movie of disbelief
The framing
The framing of violence
Gender relationships
Over-hyped
Evangelism by art

Please, if you are a Kiwi and you read it, why not also go and buy a copy of the magazine, as they have kindly put this online a monthly earlier than normal, due to the circumstances surrounding it.

open letter to mel gibson

Dear Mel

I went to your film today. I am a Christian and so want to be part of the Kingdom extended. I am a pastor and so have a certain interest in Jesus. I am a theologian, who did a Masters on the atonement in contemporary culture, and so have a certain professional interest in how Jesus death is portrayed.

So today I went to your film …letter continues under headings of
my movie of disbelief
the framing
the framing of violence
the over-hyped
evangelism by art

I would love feedback;

PS I have taken the article down. Reality magazine want to print my Open Letter to Mel. Due to the legalities of print vs www, I have taken the letter of this website. The Reality issue is due out April 19, and at that time you can read it.

meeting mels Jesus

there’s a lot of talk in cyberspace and cafe table about The Passion. I get an allergic rash at some of the way’s evangelicals are responding. I mean, Mel puts millions into the movie and we respond with a few tacky tracts. Why can’t we let art be art?

Yet having watched the art, the questions are raised. They hang there, waiting. I am pondering preaching on these questions.

meeting Mels Jesus
– Why the levels of violence?
– Who did kill Jesus?
– What about before and after the 12 hours?

Letting art be art, while reflecting theologically on the cafe table questions. What do you think about the approach? Am I scratching where people are itching?

downunder atop the oscars

New Zealand
world famous for its movie creativity

for more pictures and info see here.

Whalerider

We watched the movie Whalerider in Church and Society class this week. The class consists of about 30 people, including Maori, Pacific Island and Indian.

Question: What are the issues facing contemporary Maori society?

Issues identified included;

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