My formative years, spanning primary and high school, were spent in a public boarding school in a modest South African town. The community, and by extension the school’s faculty were predominantly christian. Consequently, they were never too shy to spread the Gospel message among students. On Sundays, and occasionally on certain weekdays, we had sessions of praise and worship in our school hall or dining hall. Some classes were even dedicated to watching the most popular faith based films of that era such as Fireproof and God’s Not Dead. As an adolescent, with barely any understanding of what was happening in those films, I would never be able to tell you the reason why they made such a good watch. But they did and now that I am older, I find them lacking.
Intentionality Over Artistry
Fireproof and God’s Not Dead were the kind of Christian films whose core objective is to instill a sense of hope and spiritual resilience, particularly during the most challenging moments of our lives. When watching these movies I can’t help but see that intention written all over the screen in bold, uppercase letters.
I recall a time when a teacher introduced a non-Christian film About Time. A film that I still cherish and make an annual appointment to watch. This teacher had the ability to extract profound biblical lessons out of anything, including this film that she so proudly shared with us during her classes. She drew a contrast between the film’s protagonist, Tim, who belonged to a long line of males that possessed the ability to rewind time to fix their mistakes and relive their favourite moments. This ability allowed Tim to curate a perfect life for himself but more importantly, to avoid getting into the kind of trouble that is difficult to come back from. Unlike Tim, we are exiled to this reality where time progresses in a singular pattern, forward. The story was revealing a simple but inescapable truth, that every new day, no matter how mundane, is a blessing from God . It highlighted the importance of present actions and the finality of choices made.
A more contemporary and compelling example of extracting Christian themes from secular art is a YouTube video by Ifechi titled Attack on Titan Is a Twisted Retelling of the Bible (You Can’t Unsee It). This essay assembles a meticulous argument about the globally popular anime Attack On Titan (AOT) as a strange, inverted narrative of the Jesus Christ story. Ifechi explains that Eren Yeager, the protagonist, is a flawed messianic figure, a direct contrast to the perfect messianic figure of Jesus Christ. Both are tasked with a divine mission to save humanity from its destructive habits. The crucial difference lies in their guidance and outcome of their mission. Eren is a flawed, broken, young boy burdened too early and unexpectedly with a responsibility that no one prepared him for. The fate of the world is dropped into the hands of a character whose fears overtake his ability to be rational. Eren had no divine entity to guide his morality or show him how to be a saviour. Jesus, in contrast, was wholly led by the Holy Spirit and God the Father, resulting in a salvific end that brings certainty and joy to believers all around the world centuries later. Eren’s ultimate plan for “salvation” was morally devastating and so ambiguous that it leaves audiences conflicted, feeling that a better, less tragic solution to the conflict in AOT must have been possible. This engagement with secular narratives demonstrates an appetite for complexities that often feels absent in Christian media. Faith based films are trying too hard to be on the nose, refusing to challenge its audience without misrepresenting the Gospel.
Preachy Art Fails
YouTuber and Filmmaker, RyderTheOmniscient, perfectly diagnosed the failure of many Christian films as “overly preachy art”. The resulting films often feel awkward, uninspired and dramatically inert. They fail to engage the viewer because the core story is neglected in favour of the message. These films function merely as an extended church sermon fundamentally ignoring and misunderstanding the cinematic medium. This is not the way to captivate the target audience or capture a newer one.
Elevating Biblical Stories
Fortunately, a growing body of work proves that profound, faith-based narratives can be told with world-class entertainment value.
In the last five years we have seen direct biblical adaptations found in The Chosen and The House of David. They both stand out as prime examples that biblical history can be rendered in a deeply entertaining and high quality episodic format. These series have captivated even non-believers who can appreciate the human drama and historical context, regardless of their personal faith. Similarly, Passion of the Christ, while uncomfortable and grueling to watch, is undeniably a real cinematic achievement. Its story is visceral and requires no existing christian commitment to acknowledge its impact.
The Masterpieces of Faith and Conflict
There are so very few films directed by cinematic giants that demonstrate how faith-based films can be elevated to cinematic masterpieces.
Silence by Martin Scorsese and Hacksaw Ridge by Mel Gibson are extraordinary explorations of faith under duress. Both films offer a gruesome, yet profoundly human, look at the nature of faith, the devastating worldly consequences of having that faith, and the complex human hearts beating beneath it.
They raised powerful questions:
- Is your spiritual duty to God truly more important than your tangible duty to fellow man?
- Are you ready to face deadly, worldly persecution for carrying belief in God?
The central characters, Desmond T. Doss in Hacksaw Ridge and Sebastião Rodrigues in Silence-both portrayed by British Actor Andrew Garfield-answer these questions through a series of trials that make these films widely exciting and emotionally exhausting pictures. What these stories communicate to the world is that tragedy is a universal human experience. Yet, when faced with this tragedy, one man (Doss) finds his strength in God, while another (Rodrigues) is forced to look primarily within himself, questioning the very core of his belief. These characters and their stories are brilliant reminders that no one was ever promised an easy or fair life. That struggle is inevitable but even hope is possible to find in the darkest storms.
Perhaps, there is no singular formula for creating a successful Christian film, but I believe that there should be a guiding principle. Imagining the desired outcome, impact and resonance should be enough to inspire the quality of the art produced.
The principle is, in fact, biblical. When Jesus sought to explain the profound consequences of sin, the nature of the Kingdom of Heaven, and the gravity of his words he used parables. He chose storytelling not merely for simple entertainment, but because it was an effective pedagogical tool. For people to remember the lesson, to visualise the truth being spoken, and to fully comprehend its reality. He had to use narrative. The storytelling didn’t diminish the reality He was preaching, it elevated it, ensuring its legacy.
Christian stories can be celebrated as high-quality, impactful art forms. Dallas Jenkins proved it with The Chosen. Martin Scorsese and Mel Gibson proved it on the silver screen. The message is only as strong as the medium allows it to be.
