What should we make of evangelical influencers teaming up with filmmaker Rob Reiner?
“Last week Rob Reiner released the trailer for his forthcoming movie … on Christian nationalism. The release prompted a spirited debate on social media over the appearance of several evangelical pundits and influencers” - RNS
- 267 views
Author asks some good questions…
In the end, I think it is best to just wait until February when we all get a chance to watch Reiner’s movie. I will be paying special attention to how his Hollywood public relations team rolls it out. But this whole dust-up also raises deeper issues about evangelical political engagement and the best way to address the real problems facing the church today. Will the people who need to hear about Christian nationalism ever watch — or heed — this film? Is this the best way of reaching our fellow believers whose minds we want to change?
Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.
I don't have much expectation for the fairness/balance of what he will do. His Twitter feed is bizarre.
Wally Morris
Huntington, IN
One of the challenges with the Hollywood movies is that they have the nugget right, but then they spread it too wide (i.e. all Christians are bad). I do think this is a very, very bad and pervasive problem in our churches. Many will say, that it is not in their church, but the more I visit conservative evangelical churches the more I see it across a wide spectrum. This has its roots in the Moral Majority formed by Jerry Falwell in 1979. Today it has gotten out of control and is in conflict with Scriptures.
It is some professing Christians’ ideas of how Christians should live in and impact their culture. In other words, it’s just a different kind of Christian nationalism.
Discussion