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Movies every Christian should watch.

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Here is a list of some favorite films with Christian themes. I avoided the ones that were obvious choices (Ten Commandments, The Greatest Story Ever Told, et al) and focus on films thought of less as "religious movies".

Hoosiers - America as it once was at its apex. The main theme is redemption. Christianity is shown in the movie to be normal, an important part of the community. Strap, the preacher's son is never ridiculed for his faith, nor is he the butt of jokes by other players (as opposed to contemporary films portraying *any* Christian as a wierdo or kook). Strap is not a very good player, yet when he unexpectedly performs brilliantly in a crucial game, he gives credit to God - "It's the Lord. I feel his strength!" Performances by Gene Hackman and Dennis Hopper are excellent. The movie works at many levels - all exceedingly well.

Chariots Of Fire - Brilliant performances abound in this excellent production. The film is centered on two men: devout, Christian, Scottish Eric Liddell whose principled stand not to run in the Olympics on Sunday is contrasted with the win-at-any-cost attitude of jewish Harold Abrahams. Eric Liddell exemplifies Christian ideals in practice, even seeking out his competitor (Abrahams) before a race to offer him best wishes for the race. Eric Liddell became a missionary in China and died in a japanese interment camp during WWII.

CS Lewis: Beyond Narnia - CS Lewis (played by Anton Rodgers) tells his own life story. He honestly discusses his early hardships, his early atheism as well as a frank discussion of his conversion (helped in no small part by his friend and fellow Oxford "don" JRR Tolkien). Enjoyable, frank discussions of hope and despair, faith and doubt, joy and heartbreak.

The Case For Christ - The story of journalist Lee Strobel who, after his wife's conversion, began a journey of discovery - initially to debunk his wife's new faith - that led to his conversion to Christianity and his conclusion that there was indeed "a case for Christ".

We're No Angels - A charming, witty classic with Humphrey Bogart, Peter Ustinov and Aldo Ray as three escaped convicts who will do anything to escape Devil's Island but "fall in with nice people!" A charming tale of three convicts who are changed one Christmas by being with a good, kind, Christian family. Brilliant performances, witty dialogue and a wonderful theme of changed lives works well in this brilliant and colorful classic. Truly, God works in mysterious ways!

Sergeant York - Starring movie great Gary Cooper, this is the story of a great American Hero, Alvin York. The story centers on York's conversion to Christianty and his courageous acts in WWI. York is the epitome of the great Christian American, possessing noble virtues of a kind not seen in film today and rarely evidenced in America in general.

Peter And Paul - Anthony Hopkins, as Paul, gives his usual excellet performance. Robert Foxworthy gives a creditable performance as Peter. Here, we see crucial questions within the early Church: faith over the Law of Moses, inclusion of gentiles without adherance to Judaic law. Shows the principals honestly. Paul is somtimes a hothead that brooks absolutely no compromise in any way and shows Peter as sometimes doubt ridden and a backslider on serious issues when pressured. Both men persevere to the end and gain victory in Christ.
 
i love sgt york i use that to explain that christian can be in the military.

as its very much a true story.
 
The Prince of Egypt
Forrest Gump
Powder
The Green Mile
The Book of Eli
Michael
How The Grinch Stole Christmas
Evan Almighty
Sister Act
City Slickers
Phenomenon
Up

:twocents
 
I would like to add two movies to the list.

Simon Birch - The story of two twelve year old boys, one of whom (Simon) suffers from dwarfism. He believes that God made him that way for a reason and that He has a special plan for him. This is one of very few movies that can make you cry both from laughter and because of touching emotional scenes.

The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry - Unlike Simon Birch, this is actually intended to be a Christian movie. It's about an old man who invites a boy into his home for some lemonade after mowing his lawn and tells him about the Bible. This starts a chain of events that leads to many changed lives.
 
i love sgt york i use that to explain that christian can be in the military.

as its very much a true story.

Gracie, Alvin's wife, stated that the lightning strike nver happened. His conversion was so sudden and total, it was simply portrayed in that fashion.

Yeah, I love it too! :)
 
The Prince of Egypt
Forrest Gump
Powder
The Green Mile
The Book of Eli
Michael
How The Grinch Stole Christmas
Evan Almighty
Sister Act
City Slickers
Phenomenon
Up

:twocents

Michae1, were these listed in jest? I hope I don't offend you, but I'm thinking so. :)

"Facing the Giants" and "Fireproof" - two films (low in budget & not the best acting overall) made by a Christian Church that drives home some very poignant messages.

I'm surprised that this wasn't mentioned, and it might provoke argument, but I believe "The Passion of the Christ" by Mel Gibson should be watched. It's painful to do so, but I believe it serves the purpose of reaching us in our human condition to relate to the suffering Jesus endured on our behalf.


A documentary called "The Privileged Planet" is very thought provoking. :thumbsup
 
No, they were not in jest. The films I listed all have an element of faith in them or share a belief/moment that I thought repeated what Jesus was trying to teach us.

Just trying to step outside of the box a little since I knew everyone else was going to mention the same old standard Christian type movies.
 
No, they were not in jest. The films I listed all have an element of faith in them or share a belief/moment that I thought repeated what Jesus was trying to teach us.

Just trying to step outside of the box a little since I knew everyone else was going to mention the same old standard Christian type movies.

Well, then, I have a few questions about some of these that you suggest every Christian watch...
Forest Gump - I love the movie, but there are some parts I always want to skip past (Forest & Jenny in her dorm room, the sixties era with drugs and drunkenness, lots of the Lord's Name in vane. And while the subject of God's plan for our lives as opposed to random events orchestrated by no One is given for thought, they never come to a conclusion that God has his hand on our lives. To your credit (and the movie's) good decisions are rewarded while bad ones show consequences.

The Grinch - Gives a purely worldly view of Christmas with no real CHRISTmas message.

Evan Almighty - Like Forest, good message in the end, but some problems. God doesn't take vacations and flippantly hand off his autonomy to people, and the scene where Evan is giving his (unwed) girlfriend a sexual experience while she's alone in bed. :shocked! Good movie for some Christians who can see the red flags, but every Christian?

Phenomenon - would have been much better if it the explanation given for his power wasn't what it was (trying not to be a spoiler)

Michael - A smoking, drinking angel who has seen the face of God? :nono

Please don't take offense. Just conversation and opposing points of view. I have tremendous respect for your faith, brotha. :yes
 
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Please don't take offense. Just conversation and opposing points of view. I have tremendous respect for your faith, brotha. :yes

Trust me, no offense taken.

I will admit that some of the movies I listed do not show a perfect picture of the world that we Christians like to envision, but since we are here on earth with all of its imperfections, I choose to not want to be with the group that ignores sin and thinks it will go away somehow. I am not saying that is what you do also, by the way. I guess for me, since I see sin everyday, if I see it in a movie it is more real for me. Not that I do not enjoy a good wholesome movie, but every good movie has at least a little bit of antagonism in it.

Forrest Gump was somewhat of an uplifting spiritual movie for me. I will never forget the line:
Lt. Dan: "Have you found Jesus yet, Gump?"
Forrest Gump: "I didn't know I was supposed to be looking for him, sir."
Most people see this as a play on words because the character was a little slow mentally. But I always saw it as a powerful statement of faith. I imagine Forrest grew up in a house where the word of God was taught. He believed at an early age and accepted that was the way it was. It seemed to me that us smarter folk were the ones who had a harder time accepting Jesus, and one reason for that was our pride of knowing better. Forrest was as humble as you can get, and I remember that was one of the things Jesus said we should do. To humble ourselves.
I remember the scene where Lt. Dan made his peace with God. I guess you have to go through a traumatic experience where you blame God or question if He even exist, to truly appreciate this scene. I call it the Born Again scene.
There are other scenes where I like to see the power of God outside of a church setting, but this post would be too long.

The Grinch will always be my favorite Christmas movie because I think it shows how Christmas has degenerated into what it is today. A retail holiday. The Grinch learned at the end that it was not their possessions and gifts that gave the Who's happiness, but their love for each other. While love is not the reason for Christmas, it is truly the meaning of it. Jesus said the greatest commandment was to love each other.

Evan Almighty showed courage to follow God no matter what the world thought. To trust and have faith in that God knows what he is doing. I think you might be confusing Evan Almighty with Bruce Almighty, which I did not care for. As for what God would act like, I do not think we can imagine what God does or what Heaven is like because the Bible does not say much about it except that it is basically beyond our wildest dreams. As long as we are respectful to Him and since he knows what is in our hearts, I hope that God does not mind how he was portrayed in the movie.

Phenomenon made me think of the gift/s that God gives us when the Holy Spirit is sealed within us, and how we use them to do the Lords work. The main character, George, does not use his new ability for fame and fortune but to help the people in his community. That kind of unselfishness is extremely rare and I thought the movie portrayed it really well. Plus the Eric Clapton song "Change The World" is somewhat inspirational in itself.

Michael may not be Biblically correct from what we read in the Bible, and it definitely does not follow the Hollywood version of an Angel, but I do not think anyone here on earth really knows what an Angel looks like or would act like here on earth. The way the Angel got the other characters to open up to each other, because he knew all about them and their secrets, reminded me that God knows everything about us. There is no hiding. It was very humbling for me. Not to mention what a great name for a movie. :thumbsup
 
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I saw the Case for Christ and the Privileged Planet. The Privileged Planet has absurd logic, but I thought the Case for Christ was a good defence of Jesus' existence.

Evan Almighty showed courage to follow God no matter what the world thought. To trust and have faith in that God knows what he is doing. I think you might be confusing Evan Almighty with Bruce Almighty, which I did not care for. As for what God would act like, I do not think we can imagine what God does or what Heaven is like because the Bible does not say much about it except that it is basically beyond our wildest dreams. As long as we are respectful to Him and since he knows what is in our hearts, I hope that God does not mind how he was portrayed in the movie.

I adore Bruce Almighty. Best depiction of God ever!
 
Michae1, were these listed in jest? I hope I don't offend you, but I'm thinking so. :)

"Facing the Giants" and "Fireproof" - two films (low in budget & not the best acting overall) made by a Christian Church that drives home some very poignant messages.

I'm surprised that this wasn't mentioned, and it might provoke argument, but I believe "The Passion of the Christ" by Mel Gibson should be watched. It's painful to do so, but I believe it serves the purpose of reaching us in our human condition to relate to the suffering Jesus endured on our behalf.


A documentary called "The Privileged Planet" is very thought provoking. :thumbsup

I think it's a fine list Michae1. Sometimes we can find GOD in places we would never think to look. I know I've been inspired by movies others would never think of as Christian or inspirational.
 
I know it's been said in the original post, but I'm a huge fan of the 1956 Ten Commandments. Its such an epic film. Heston pwns Brynner pwns. There were some Biblical inaccuracies and liberties taken in parts which diminished it's overall value, but all in all... 10 stars.

(Not high on the idea of portraying Christ and prophets, but this still is a great film in over 50 years later... and I'm 25)
 
Signs (this one starring Mel Gibson) is worth checking out - an unconventional way of looking at one man's struggle with faith. Plus it's just fun to watch.
Thanks.
 

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