Unplanned meanings - echoes of eternity

Films, books, and music are a major opportunity for sensitive evangelism. Even though it was never the intention of the writer or director, there are often eternal truths and parallels just waiting for us to point at. Indeed, we should normally expect to find such echoes in the yearnings of writers.

"All stories consist of a few common structural elements found universally in myths, fairy tales, dramas and movies. They are known collectively as The Hero's Journey... A story is a also a metaphor, a model of some aspect of human behaviour." [Christopher Vogler]
"...stories... answer the eternal questions: What is the world really like? How am I to live my life in it? How can I truly be myself?" [Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers]

The journey of the hero(s) is usually 'redemptive', in that he (or she, or they) seek a specific goal or situation resolution, for themselves or others, which may only be achievable through hardship and sacrifice.

Stories are integral in all cultures to the way we relate to the world and understand almost all abstract concepts. It is not surprising therefore that story should be at the heart of evangelism.

Although this site promotes the value of apologetics discussion as a biblical vehicle for evangelism among certain groups of people, it is interesting to find that C S Lewis, of all people, abandoned this method in favor of story-telling! Lewis had written a number of philosophical apologetic books, which are wonderfully argued and remain in print to this day. Yet after losing a public debate with Elizabeth Anscombe, a Cambridge philosopher, he became both depressed and challenged. Biographer A N Wilson says, "The seeds of the first Narnia story were dawning in his mind. Lewis never attempted to write another work of Christian apologetics after Miracles."

Despite the effect that Lewis' apolegetics books made (and still make) on the numerically small intellectual world, there is no doubt that his children's books have impacted a vastly larger group: generations of millions of children. He has been able to place in their hearts, sometimes without them really knowing or fully understanding, concepts such as the death of the Lion King on behalf of the sinner, the creation of the world and the Fall, the deception of evil, and the end of the world. His sci-fi trilogy still packs a powerful message. To Lewis, stories and myth were powerful.

Movies

Melissa Mathison was educated in a Catholic school in Hollywood, and worked on the film E.T. During filming, she and the cinematographer suddenly realized the similarities between the plot and the story of Jesus Christ. "His being left on earth, being found, his apostles, dying, the resurrection. We were cracking up when we figured out that one. When we told Steven [Spielberg], he said, 'I'm Jewish, and I don't want to hear anything about this.'"

Writer Leslie Hand believes that film producers such as Spielberg are unwittingly God's messengers for today. Hollywood Jesus takes a similar approach. The same strategy could be used as a major outreach to India, by looking at India's Bollywood films. Books, plays, music - all contain such parallels. Indeed, almost any secular subject can be used to illustrate truth. Spurgeon's most famous lecture series was Studies in Candles - two long lectures filled with illustrations drawn from candles. He gave these lectures to show how easy it is to illustrate spiritual truth through everyday objects.

Movies are also a good discussion point with friends and colleagues.

Books

It is often the case that secular mainstream books illustrate spiritual truths more clearly than Christian writings. E.T. has placed some eternal concepts into the hearts of a whole generation.

The book I Am David by Anne Holm, is a wonderfully moving tale of quest, longing, and finding. Is it a 'Christian' or 'evangelistic' book? Well, it presents Christian truths in a powerful story form, and in a way that few writers, Christian or non-Christian, can achieve. The same is true of the books by Robert O'Brien: The Silver Crown, Z for Zechariah, and Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH.

More on using literature and plays as a starting point.

Music

Analyzing the lyrics of contemporary music is another major way to communicate the Gospel to young people.

Art

Art is also questing after meaning and interpretations of the world we live in. Most pictures tell a narrative story. Here is another place to look for meanings and parallels, perhaps using a critical approach similar to the the secular Artchive.

Looking at storytelling and culture in a new way

We need to be like the men of Issachar, who understood the times they lived in. There are good resources to help us understand the culture around us, such as Damaris and Facing the Challenge.

Francis Schaeffer was an influential and insightful early advocate of the vital importance of learning to understand secular culture and use these insights for the Gospel. An important point made by Schaeffer: looking for meanings within secular books, films and the arts is not the same as endorsing them as wholesome material for all Christians to read or watch. The purpose is not review for Christians, but holding up a mirror for non-Christians to find an element of truth in the books and films they already consume. Someone called by God to be such an interpreter may need to analyze material which includes content that is not particularly uplifting.

With our eyes wide open, we can begin to see some remarkable parallels in the most well-known, or unlikely, stories. A definitive book on the subject is Hollywood Worldviews, and its insights apply equally to other types of story.

The evangelistic strategy of Jesus was almost always (except in the synagogue) to use stories rather than scripture as a starting point. Evangelistic pages (and other media) using this strategy will reach people. Our case study on Poland demonstrates how important they can be.

It is also possible to use online short stories and poetry for evangelism.

Take a tour of the HollywoodJesus site, looking at culture from a Christian perspective:

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