response to introductions v. 2 (theology & film)

so i asked for introductions from the people that made it to this blog and as part of the intos i asked for each comment to include a theological question that was on the brain. so i’d like to take a chance to make a response to those questions. in no way am i attempting to be the end all be all to these questions, but to be a conversation starter. this is one way of doing theology. it is called open source theology. we work out our theology together in community and allow all voices to speak and all ears to listen. so as i take a stab at these questions, please clarify if i’ve erred in your original question, and bring as many people into this conversation as you want to.

theologically we’re talking about something called common grace. “common grace explains why the most spiritual movies are often made by people outside the formal borders of the church. robert duvall offered an inspiring and humane portrayal of a pentecostal preacher in the apostle. tim robbins directed dead man walking, a transcendent story of a death row inmate’s spiritual journey with a nun…when television shows such as the west wing and the simpsons feature sincere prayers to god, common grace takes a bow. when dave matthews sings, ‘bartender, please fill my glass with the wine you gave jesus that set him free,’ common grace claims another platinum record. common grace subverts preconceived notions of how, when, and through whom god chooses to communicate. it makes god bigger and the evangelist’s burden lighter.” -craig detweiler and barry taylor from a matrix of meanings p. 16-17

amanda chan brought up the relationship between film and theology. i think this is an important question for all the arts as well, but for now we’ll just focus on film. something that i’m becoming more and more aware of is the fact that theology and culture do not need to be brought together. the reason for this is because they are not entirely separate entities that someone like me has to work hard to bring together. the reality is that theology can not be divorced from culture, although there are many theologians who would strongly disagree with that. i use the word theologian very liberally in the sense that we’re all theologians. all of our doctine and theological positions are a response to some kind of cultural situation. i would welcome anyone to provide me an example of when theology has been done in a vacuum and actually become a faithful theological or doctrinal position. the trinity is a response to arianism. the translation of the christian scriptures into common language were a response to the roman catholic position that allowed only the the elite to have literary access to the texts. i believe very strongly that theology must do the same thing today. and there is no doubt that film is a cultural norm that impacts our society in very meaningful and important ways.

film is probably the most important teacher of history today. i had great history teachers in high school and college, but none of them taught me about the middle passage the way amistad did. the textbooks were well written, i suppose, but never captured the holocaust the way countless documentaries and schindler’s list did. social justice is in the same boat. think of the social impact of films such as hotel rawanda, philadelphia, and remember the titans. philosophy and theology became normal conversations after films like fight club, the matrix, and the lord of the rings. film shows us that people learn better narratively, visually, and experientially. so theology, if it is going to be meaningful in an age of film, needs to be narrative, sensual, and experiential.

so can and should film be a source for theologizing? i agree with amanda that it should be. film captures theology in ways that textbooks can’t. this doesn’t mean we throw out the textbooks. if nothing else it means the two need to go together. here’s my biggest problem with theology…it has been relegated to the ivory tower of acedemia. theology at some point in history became something that a select few, really smart people got to do, while the rest of us sat in awe of these great men (it’s unfortunate, but men was the reality for such a long time. i’m glad that is changing). theology needs to break out of the ivory towers and be let loose in our churches and on the streets. film, along with other art, does this. i think what we realize is that theology has been on the streets for a long time, we just weren’t able (willing?) to recognize it. a good film will expose the church’s lazy mind and hopefully get us engaged in theological dialogue with classical theologians, pastors, teenagers, rappers, film makers, the homeless, and the list could go on and on until everyone was covered. so, yes i think film is a great way to engage god, in fact i think it is necessary if theology is going to be done well.

“Intellectuality has the propensity to yield arrogance. I hope I am forever reminded that there is a deep frailty to words and that to know wisdom and to know madness and folly is but a striving after wind.” -by Amanda Chan (from her sidebar profile.) I love these words.