Today I take a break from our usual project updates to
muse on a question that has been batted about in articles and filmmaker
forums. "Why do conservative Christians rarely, if ever, make great
art?" Alternately referred to as "good movies."
If I may indulge in a bit of speculation, might I suggest that at
least part of the reason has to do with our nature as Protestants? Think
about it, the overarching label for those Christians not of the
Catholic or Orthodox tradition? "Protestant," a protestor. The label we
wear says our chief trait is that we are against something. This may
seem like an oversimplification, but the very word is defined as a
statement of objection. We, by choice, and now tradition, are
principally objectors. We are defined by what we are against. Think
about it, the overarching opinion of the preceding generations was that,
if you were a Christian, you didn't drink, smoke, or do drugs. You
didn't dance or go to parties. If you were to be defined as a
conservative Christian, a large portion of that would not be what you
are, but what you aren't. What you don't believe in, instead of what you
do.
"But," some might say, "we're pro-life." Really? What aspects of life do
we endorse? What things do we promote that make life worth living? How
do you enrich the quality of every moment of life? How do we improve the
lives of others? How do we make life about more than just surviving
until we die or Christ comes? If we were really "pro"-life we would do
all of that, instead of simply fighting against abortion.
For modesty? The principal definition is freedom from conceit or vanity.
Secondary being "conforming to conventionally accepted standards of
behavior or morals regarding dress, speech, or conduct." Neither
definition would conform to our standard of modesty. The first, because
we can often be very proud of our modesty; the second because
"conventionally accepted standards" in this day and age allows for all
manner of immoral acts. What we mean when we talk about modesty is not
(there's the negative again) dressing in a way that would give people
any wrong ideas. Incidentally, I'm all for that, but I'm using it to
prove a point.
The most heartbreaking example? Walking down the street and seeing a
church sign. "Church of Christ: non-instrumental." The defining
characteristic of this church? "We don't use instruments." What about
Christ? How does He define what we are? Does He even really matter?
Would the world notice if He disappeared from our lives, our causes, our
very reason for being? The sad thing is, I don't think they would. We
have made ourselves, as Conservative Christians, so much about the
causes, what we're against, that if Christ quietly slipped away I'm not
sure we would even notice. But I digress. This is a post of musings on
the topic, so you get them all.
We have become so much about what we're not, what we can't or shouldn't
do. Perhaps that's why people see our films as too preachy. Even if you
try to avoid it, if you're against something, it tends to bleed
through. Now there are many things I myself will not do in my work out
of moral conviction, so I'm not suggesting we do whatever we want. What I
am suggesting is that we discover what we're really for. Who are you?
What are you? What do you value? If we can find very little about us
that is not defined by what we're against, then maybe we need a new
perspective on life.
I think one of the greatest things we as Conservative Christians
champion is the family. Indeed, it's been rightly viewed by wise men
throughout the ages as the core of civil society. A concept foolishly
abandoned by the "advanced" thinkers of the 20th century. But that's
still an issue that we will quickly turn into "the traditional family
vs. gay marriage" or "family vs. single parenthood." What if we stopped
fighting against things and instead spent our energy lifting up that
which is good?
In time past heroes were exalted in story and song. They
were set as an example for all who heard their tale. Perhaps we should
raise up a standard for others to follow. Not a standard as we think of
it now, a list of what we should or should not do, but a banner of
goodness and heroism. Something that men and women with courage and
strength of heart can follow. Because, for all the sermons, none of them
have had the same impact on my life as a single tale of heroism. We do
not need another sermon, we've heard enough, and the world won't listen
to them anyway. Give us stories of heroes, of valor. Of war and peace.
Of life, and yes, love and loss. Give us men and women who fight, fall,
and rise again. Tell us stories of men and women who would be at home in
Hebrews 11. Yes, decry evil where it lurks, but what we need more than
that is an example. Give us heroes, we already have sermons aplenty.
