I found an article about Ray Comfort's Audacity, a movie that describes itself thusly: "Audacity uses a unique approach to address a very sensitive subject in contemporary society. Regardless of your views on the gay lifestyle, you'll gain fresh insights and a new perspective." I had not heard of this movie or of Ray Comfort, whom I later discovered seems to be an enormous joke to a lot of people on the internet--something about calling him "Banana Man." I'd have to research the reference to see if it's as funny as it sounds. With a tagline like "Love can't stay silent," I thought maybe this movie would have something good to say to those who feel alienated and marginalized by people who haven't been able to find a loving way to disagree with their lifestyles. A few minutes in, I knew this was not the case.
I've had beef with many Christian films for lacking the artistic integrity and depth to really make their point to the audience without becoming fuel for the fire of making our beliefs a complete joke...and I'm not talking Angus. I appreciate the heart to use entertainment to make a difference--but you're seriously underestimating the intelligence and jadedness of your audience--often doing more harm than good.
 |
| Pictured: the wrong kind of beef. |
With the movie still playing in the background, I started looking up reviews. The first one I found was from a website called Patheos.com, which is marketed toward 'the friendly atheist.' Parts of the review were humorous. It mentioned a scene in the movie where the nervous, newly Christian protagonist finds himself in an elevator with two women who happily announce they are applying for a marriage license. He grimaces and reaches for a pamphlet in his pocket, but decides not to say anything. The sarcastic caption to the film still was "I feel you, Peter. Lesbians are exhausting." I chuckled at the irreverent tone, as (for better or worse) I am somewhat wont to do. Other parts of the article, though, were sobering.
The author of the article joked about the movie, softening her harsh criticisms (which unfortunately were not completely unwarranted). The undertone, though, was one of fear for the way some believers view the gay community--or at least, her perception of those views. She ends the article mentioning a church she witnessed handing out bottles of water at a Pride event and how she appreciated what they did.
I've heard and completely agree with the arguments that love and truth walk hand in hand. We should never condone things we don't believe in and we should never back down to political correctness. HOWEVER, every well-intentioned person has a responsibility to disagree with another person's views in an intelligent and loving way. Sometimes people will still be offended by the truth, that's true. But if you are being so indelicate as to feed into the fear that the majority feels, you are part of the problem. One of my favorite movie quotes of all time is, of course, from Star Wars: "Fear is the path to the Dark Side. Fear leads to anger; anger leads to hate; hate leads to suffering." If we are so concerned for people's welfare based on the things we see as sin, why aren't we being more creative, compassionate, and thoughtful in the way we approach them--in the way we approach ministry as a whole? Why aren't we trying to quell their fears instead of charging forward in our bullheadedness to "call them out" for their sin? Why are we screaming from podiums instead of reaching out through relationships, talking about things over a cup of coffee or from our own living room couches? Why are we pushing them toward that fear, hate, and suffering instead of pulling them away from it? We have to change the way we are doing things.
 |
| Yoda agrees. |
I turned the movie off and began to search for negative Christian reviews about it. Surely, I wasn't the only one who felt that it was a one-dimensional and frankly stereotypical representation of our faith. Amidst four and five start reviews from countless websites, I found one Christian reviewer who seemed to get to the heart of it. In a blog featured on crosswalk.com titled A Few Thoughts about Audacity, the author makes an amazing point. The film portrays gays and lesbians as issues rather than as people. He says it well:
This is a running theme throughout Audacity. Both Peter and Comfort insist their motives aren’t grounded in hatred. Rather, they love homosexuals enough to tell them the truth about their sinful lifestyle. Yet, as I watched them both reach out to these people they were so determined to save, I couldn’t help but notice one important detail; they never asked them their names.Peter claimed he was willing to take a bullet for the two men sitting across from him, but he wouldn’t take a few seconds to just ask for their names. Comfort was no better. Despite packing his interviews with questions about sin and salvation, nobody was ever asked, “Hey, what’s your name?” Roughly fourteen gay and lesbian individuals appear in Audacity (either as characters or interviewees), but only two of them were ever named. How can we Christians claim to love people when we won’t even try getting to know them?Which do you see? An issue, or a person?
The point I'm making is not that we should stop believing that sin has consequences. It is that we need to seek change from relationships, not soapboxes. We need to stop generalizing and get intimate. We need to stop chasing people away in our attempts to do the right thing. We have to stop being so defensive and angry when people think poorly of us (read: Christians) to the point where we justify everything we do. Sometimes people won't like you. It's nothing new and it's no cause to announce to everyone how proud you are to be reviled because that means you're doing something right.
No matter what laws are passed, no matter what people say, no matter who gets married--what God thinks does not change. We think we know what that is. Maybe we do, maybe we don't. I'm not arrogant enough to say that I know without any doubt where God draws the line. I'm not Him. I believe the Bible. I believe He is righteous, just, black and white--and also a compassionate, generous Father who deals with us as individuals. I believe in speaking the truth and having a stance that not everything under the sun is okay or just or morally right. I do NOT believe that yelling my beliefs to strangers will change them. I believe relationships are the platform for confrontation about those big questions, not Facebook or Twitter--and if there isn't a way to sum that up in a film, maybe not the big screen, either.
In 1 Timothy 3, it talks about the qualifications a bishop should have--qualifications I believe we should keep in mind when ministering to a broken world. Its basic points are that people touting the Word should be above reproach. How can one seek to be above reproach? It's not about perfection, it's about trying to be things such as "gentle, not quarrelsome" (rather than seeking an argument to prove yourself right); "not a novice" (being educated, informed, and exercising the wisdom of humility); and "moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside." That church mentioned in the first review has built up a good testimony. They didn't yell or argue or condemn. They handed out water on a hot day, letting actions speak louder than words. Words are useful when you've planted the seeds of love in someone's life. They are hurtful when you're just some rando off the street grimacing at the parade.
 |
| I'm only glaring because I love you so much. |
The definition of audacity is this: "rude or disrespectful behavior; impudence." Love is NOT audacious.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7New King James Version (NKJV)
4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
*Photos courtesy of pixabay.com, with the exception of one found on Google images, which may very well end up being deleted. Such is life.
No comments:
Post a Comment