18Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation,19that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.20Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God.
We were once isolated from God because of sin, and we have been born with a propensity to sin and to break the heart of God. But, through the work of Jesus Christ and his death, burial, and resurrection, an act of ultimate love for humanity and for each of us personally, He has broken through the walls that we have erected between us and God the Father so that we might come to know Him and be in relationship with Himself. He will melt our cold, cold hearts with the warmth of His compelling love.
In 1st John 4, we see a powerful passage that addresses God's abundant love for us and how His powerful love enables us to overcome fear:
16And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.17Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.18There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.
The talk of Hollywood, of course, last night, was the annual serenade to film excellence known as the Academy Awards. And, the Oscar for Best Picture, not unexpectedly, went to "12 Years a Slave". Matthew McConaughey received the Oscar for Best Actor, and Cate Blanchett was awarded Best Actress.
Here is his response to Emily's question: How does your faith play into your work, into character development and storytelling? He replied:
Nevertheless, Frozen is a highly entertaining film that reinforces values that we as Christians embrace. As animator Mark Henn said in the WORLD article, regarding themes about self-sacrifice and the importance of family, he is quoted as saying, "Parents need to do a little work and glean out those things and talk about them with their kids. [The themes] are there. The parents have the responsibility to look for them." And, regular Meeting House guest Dr. Marc Newman of Movie Bible Study has a FilmTalk Bible Study available for the film to help explore a variety of themes from the movie. A Facebook post says that, "Frozen can stimulate discussions about the importance of love, the perils of hasty decisions, and the purpose of giftedness. Frozen can also inspire talk about the test of real love, and the ability of love to vanquish fear."
And, the Oscars are juxtaposed with a box office weekend that saw "Son of God" likely exceed $25 millions and finish second for the weekend.
So, what are our takeaways from this film and the discussion surrounding it?
Well, we're reminded that stories can be powerful tools to reinforce spiritual truth. People are paying attention to movies, and film producers have the capacity to influence moviegoers with redemptive subject matter, or to present messages that run counter to messages that are consistent with the Scriptures and our deeply-held values. Be aware of the power of imagery presented on the screen. And, often, we have to beware of the material.
In Frozen specifically, there is much about which to be aware, in the good sense. You have a sister who has a gift that has the potential to destroy. She withdraws into isolation, but her sister pursues her with a redemptive purpose in mind. The power of the pursuit can be a reminder of the love that Jesus has for us - He pursues us, not only to come to know Him, but also to draw us into a deeper relationship with Himself. As Nick Olson said in his review of the film for Christianity Today, Anna and Kristoff and the reindeer Sven are told that "only 'an act of true love' can free the people from their eternal winter. It would be natural to assume that an act of romance, of love at first sight, would save the day. Instead, the act of true love—the perfect love which casts out fear in Elsa's heart, you might say—is accomplished by Anna, who endlessly seeks reconciliation with her big sister."
It's good to see a film that reinforces our values, and I actually thoroughly enjoyed this one. To know you have a Christian working behind the scenes is gratifying, and to be able to see these messages consistent with a Christian worldview perspective played out on the screen can give families the opportunity to think about and even discuss some of these valuable truths.
The talk of Hollywood, of course, last night, was the annual serenade to film excellence known as the Academy Awards. And, the Oscar for Best Picture, not unexpectedly, went to "12 Years a Slave". Matthew McConaughey received the Oscar for Best Actor, and Cate Blanchett was awarded Best Actress.
There was one particular film on which I want to concentrate - it was nominated twice and won twice. Writing in late 2013, a history professor at Houston Baptist University has said that it might have most Christian movie he had seen that year. It's based on The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Anderson, a film that followed the adventure of two sisters while delivering powerful messages of love, family, and sacrifice, according to a piece on the Religion Today website. It quotes Billy Hallowell of The Blaze, who wrote:
“Collin Garbarino, assistant history professor at Houston Baptist University, has said he sees parallels between Dante’s “Inferno” and the central themes and story line present in ‘Frozen.’ In fact, in a recent article about the subject, he wrote, ‘Disney’s ‘Frozen’ might be the most Christian movie that I have seen this year.’ Garbarino also believes that Jesus’ sacrifice for humanity’s sins is mirrored, to a degree, in the film. To illustrate his points during an interview with Fox News over the weekend, the professor first explained the central tenets of Christianity.”The piece referred to an interview that Emily Belz of WORLD News Group conducted with one of the animators of the project, Mark Henn. She points out that Henn is a Christian who has been an animator at Disney for 33 years. While he has animated many of Disney’s best-known characters (from Goofy to Winnie the Pooh to the mice in The Rescuers), he has the reputation as the animator of heroines. He animated Belle from Beauty and the Beast, Ariel from Little Mermaid, Jasmine from Aladdin, Mulan from Mulan, and Tiana from Princess and the Frog.
Here is his response to Emily's question: How does your faith play into your work, into character development and storytelling? He replied:
It’s a global impact as well as day-to-day and scene-to-scene. I’m very blessed. … This has been my boyhood dream to be a Disney animator. I’ve seen a lot of change and a lot of ups and downs. I was almost fired at one point. God has been incredibly gracious to allow me to be here, and I feel like this is where I’m supposed to be.
In the minutiae—it’s those daily struggles—you’re fighting a scene, the same things everyone deals with. He’s gotten me through many a tough day and tough scene and tough production schedule.
It’s nice to work for a company—we’re not a church organization or a faith-based organization—but the basic values we want to put across in our films are right in line with my faith.Frozen was nominated for and won Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song for "Let it Go". I have to admit, it would have been good to have seen Joni Tada recognized on the national stage and perhaps performed the title song to the movie, "Alone Yet Not Alone".
Nevertheless, Frozen is a highly entertaining film that reinforces values that we as Christians embrace. As animator Mark Henn said in the WORLD article, regarding themes about self-sacrifice and the importance of family, he is quoted as saying, "Parents need to do a little work and glean out those things and talk about them with their kids. [The themes] are there. The parents have the responsibility to look for them." And, regular Meeting House guest Dr. Marc Newman of Movie Bible Study has a FilmTalk Bible Study available for the film to help explore a variety of themes from the movie. A Facebook post says that, "Frozen can stimulate discussions about the importance of love, the perils of hasty decisions, and the purpose of giftedness. Frozen can also inspire talk about the test of real love, and the ability of love to vanquish fear."
And, the Oscars are juxtaposed with a box office weekend that saw "Son of God" likely exceed $25 millions and finish second for the weekend.
So, what are our takeaways from this film and the discussion surrounding it?
Well, we're reminded that stories can be powerful tools to reinforce spiritual truth. People are paying attention to movies, and film producers have the capacity to influence moviegoers with redemptive subject matter, or to present messages that run counter to messages that are consistent with the Scriptures and our deeply-held values. Be aware of the power of imagery presented on the screen. And, often, we have to beware of the material.
In Frozen specifically, there is much about which to be aware, in the good sense. You have a sister who has a gift that has the potential to destroy. She withdraws into isolation, but her sister pursues her with a redemptive purpose in mind. The power of the pursuit can be a reminder of the love that Jesus has for us - He pursues us, not only to come to know Him, but also to draw us into a deeper relationship with Himself. As Nick Olson said in his review of the film for Christianity Today, Anna and Kristoff and the reindeer Sven are told that "only 'an act of true love' can free the people from their eternal winter. It would be natural to assume that an act of romance, of love at first sight, would save the day. Instead, the act of true love—the perfect love which casts out fear in Elsa's heart, you might say—is accomplished by Anna, who endlessly seeks reconciliation with her big sister."
It's good to see a film that reinforces our values, and I actually thoroughly enjoyed this one. To know you have a Christian working behind the scenes is gratifying, and to be able to see these messages consistent with a Christian worldview perspective played out on the screen can give families the opportunity to think about and even discuss some of these valuable truths.
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