# The Best Summary I've Ever Seen of Christian Movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 30, 2015, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-summary-ive-ever-seen-of-christian-movies/718905 "2015-04-30T17:10:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-summary-ive-ever-seen-of-christian-movies/718905/41 "2015-05-01T18:09:56Z")
Anytime you pick something based on two criteria, most of the time those that are strongest on one criteria will be weakest on the second. For instance in basketball you are selecting on great shooting and great athleticism. This is why the winners of the three point contest tend to be bad at dunking and the winners of the dunk contest are bad at shooting threes. Players who are great at both are rare as hens teeth. Same thing in movies, Christian movie scripts are chosen on the basis of piety and entertainment. The more pious the script the worse it is at entertaining. If you compare these movies with ones made just for entertainment purposes then they will suffer in comparison. Movies like “The Passion of the Christ” are rare. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-summary-ive-ever-seen-of-christian-movies/718905/42 "2015-05-01T18:29:40Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Admitedly the exact definition is probably kinda debatable, but I think “Christian Movie” in the OP’s sense usually means ones developed specifically to target the Christian market and convey a Christian message. Not just one that deals with biblical themes. > > I doubt the Jewish director of Ben Hur, or the largely Jewish owners of MGM were particularly concerned with Ben Hur delivering a Christian message to the masses. But the movie was based on a book - which was widely considered “the most influential Christian book of the 19th century”. It was the first work of fiction blessed by the Pope! 😃 Can you get any more Christian than that? > [@](#): > > Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ is a novel by Lew Wallace, published by Harper & Brothers on November 12, 1880. Considered “the most influential Christian book of the nineteenth century”,[1] it became a best-selling American novel, surpassing Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852) in sales. The book also inspired other novels with biblical settings and was adapted for the stage and motion picture productions. Ben-Hur remained at the top of the bestseller lists until the publication of Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind (1936). Following the release of the 1959 MGM film adaptation of Ben-Hur, which was seen by tens of millions and won eleven Academy Awards in 1960, the book’s sales increased and it surpassed Gone with the Wind.[2] Blessed by Pope Leo XIII, the novel was the first work of fiction to be so honored.[3] > **[Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben-Hur:_A_Tale_of_the_Christ)** > > Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ is a novel by Lew Wallace, published by Harper and Brothers on November 12, 1880, and considered "the most influential Christian book of the nineteenth century". It became a best-selling American novel, surpassing Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852) in sales. The book also inspired other novels with biblical settings and was adapted for the stage and motion picture productions. > Ben-Hur remained at the top of the U.S. all-time bestseller list until the 1... ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-summary-ive-ever-seen-of-christian-movies/718905/43 "2015-05-01T18:42:33Z")
As for reasonably recent (as within the last 50 years!) - and good - Christian movies, I’d nominate _The Last Temptation of Christ_ and _Jesus of Montreal_. Neither were made to highlight evangelism, though. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-summary-ive-ever-seen-of-christian-movies/718905/44 "2015-05-01T19:45:09Z")
[To Save A Life](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1270286/?ref_=fn_al_tt_3) - was pretty good in that the target market I watched it with - teenagers - seemed to like it. I personally didn’t mind it more than any other teenage-inspirational movie ---
**Author:** ![Big\_Norse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/big_norse/32/9954_2.png) [@Big\_Norse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Big_Norse)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-summary-ive-ever-seen-of-christian-movies/718905/45 "2015-05-01T21:26:13Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > David (_ **Home Improvement** _) McFadzean, a rare Hollywood producer who’s an active Christian says that all the recent “Christian” films he’s seen have something in common: “They’re just like porno movies. The acting is terrible, the budgets are tiny, and you know EXACTLY how they’re going to end.” I would also add that in these movies the token atheist isn’t actually an atheist. They’re angry at God for something and just need a push in the right direction to repent. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-summary-ive-ever-seen-of-christian-movies/718905/46 "2015-05-01T22:06:43Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > When I was a teenager back in the 70s I was a big fan of the rock band Kansas. It wasn’t until years later, listening to their music as an adult, that I realized they were a “Christian” rock band, in that a lot of their music had a spiritual theme, but they didn’t beat you over the head with it. Same for The Call, if you’re familiar with them. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2015, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-summary-ive-ever-seen-of-christian-movies/718905/47 "2015-05-01T23:28:54Z")
Given that the OP and others in this thread have identified themselves as Christian, let’s avoid the broad brush Christianity/Christians insults. No warning issued, but will be if this turns into a Christians/Christianity bashing thread. > [@Lobohan](#): > > The trouble is Christians are trained from childhood to pretend to like poorly-written drivel if it will curry favor with teh Jesus. > > It’s not like _God is Not Dead_ is less entertaining than _church_. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-summary-ive-ever-seen-of-christian-movies/718905/48 "2015-05-02T03:08:36Z")
I’m remembering now those Davey And Goliath shorts they used to show on TV when I was a kid. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-summary-ive-ever-seen-of-christian-movies/718905/49 "2015-05-02T03:27:12Z")
Define Christian movie as a movie about Christians whose faith is very significant to the movie, and there are lots of contenders–what about Selma, fer instance? The problem with “Christian movies” defined as movies by Christian production studios for Christian audiences is that they’re trying less to be good art and more to be propaganda for the faithful. They’re not aimed at folks who are very concerned about aesthetics; of course they suck. But I think it’s worth defining the term more broadly. ---
**Author:** ![Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e47c2d/32.png) [@Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hershele_Ostropoler)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-summary-ive-ever-seen-of-christian-movies/718905/50 "2015-05-02T04:16:02Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > But the movie was based on a book - which was widely considered “the most influential Christian book of the 19th century”. > > It was the first work of fiction blessed by the Pope! 😃 Can you get any more Christian than that? Let’s say, the first work regarded by the Pope as fictional. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-summary-ive-ever-seen-of-christian-movies/718905/51 "2015-05-02T04:39:26Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > I’m remembering now those Davey And Goliath shorts they used to show on TV when I was a kid. The claymation ones? They still show them on one of the religious channels - TBN, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-summary-ive-ever-seen-of-christian-movies/718905/52 "2015-05-02T14:37:41Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > The claymation ones? They still show them on one of the religious channels - TBN, I think. Those were a Lutheran church production and still get used in Sunday School. In retrospect they had a nice mix of faith and political liberalism, so I get that they might still be useful. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-summary-ive-ever-seen-of-christian-movies/718905/53 "2015-05-02T14:52:32Z")
I think the biggest issue is the lack of quality control. There’s a large segment of the population who take a one-dimensional Boolean approach to all value judgements. Is it Christian? If yes, then it’s good, and if no, then it’s bad (this can also lead to equating all “good” things with each other, and equating all “bad” things with each other, like thinking that abortion is the same thing as homosexuality because they’re both “bad”, but that’s more a matter for GD). If you’re making a movie (or song, or book, or whatever) for this crowd, the actual quality of the work is completely irrelevant, so it ends up being about as bad as you’d expect from someone who didn’t care about quality. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-summary-ive-ever-seen-of-christian-movies/718905/54 "2015-05-02T16:18:28Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > As for reasonably recent (as within the last 50 years!) - and good - Christian movies, I’d nominate _The Last Temptation of Christ_ and _Jesus of Montreal_. Neither were made to highlight evangelism, though. When _The Last Temptation of Christ_ came out, I was a member of a fundamentalist Christian church. The movie was very poorly received by most of the people I knew in that sphere, because it strays from the depiction of Jesus in the Gospels, and, in particular, because it depicts Jesus having been married to Mary Magdalene (and there’s a sex scene between the two of them). There were a number of [vehement protests](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Temptation_of_Christ_%28film%29#Release) against the film when it came out, and it’s apparently still banned in several countries. In short, it’s a movie about Jesus, but most of the audience for the “Christian movies” that the OP describes would likely never willingly watch it. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-summary-ive-ever-seen-of-christian-movies/718905/55 "2015-05-02T16:21:41Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > Those were a Lutheran church production and still get used in Sunday School. My mother-in-law was an administrator for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and they were the ones who still had ownership / administration of _Davey and Goliath_, at least as of a few years ago. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2015, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-summary-ive-ever-seen-of-christian-movies/718905/56 "2015-05-02T17:44:35Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > The claymation ones? They still show them on one of the religious channels - TBN, I think. There is a odd Adult Swim show that started as a loose kind of parody called Moral Orel, in the later episodes it abandons comedy and becomes a really chilling study in an abusive horrible family and study of the religious hypocrites in a small town. All claymation. If you liked Davey and Goliath it is interesting. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2015, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-summary-ive-ever-seen-of-christian-movies/718905/57 "2015-05-03T06:31:21Z")
Seeing the references to Davey and Goliath, I’m reminded of many of the church produced Sunday morning dramas, from the Lutherans, and (I forget that Catholic group-I’m wanting to say Jesuits, but, that’s not right), etc… They were really quite well produced, for TV at least, and they have had some great actors. (read: semi-big names). One, called “Jesus BC”, or “Christ BC”, (you can Youtube it) had William Windom and Tim Matheson in it. It was fun, amusing and had a remarkably tight evangelical theme/message to it. I saw it about 35 years ago, and it has stuck in my head ever since. Thank God for Youtube/Internet/imdb/etc… ETA: Youtube “Davey and Goliath Mountain Dew” for an amusing commericial. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2015, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-summary-ive-ever-seen-of-christian-movies/718905/58 "2015-05-03T10:47:38Z")
handsomeharry, you’re talking about this episode: > **["Insight" Jesus B.C. (TV Episode 1976) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0611432/)** > > Jesus B.C.: Directed by John Meredyth Lucas. With William Windom, Paula Kelly, Tim Matheson, James Cromwell. of this TV series: > **[Insight (TV Series 1960–1984) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053510/)** > > Insight: With Ellwood Kieser, Pat McGeehan, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Brian Keith. American Roman Catholic religious-themed anthology shedding light on the contemporary search for meaning, freedom, and love. which was produced by Paulist Productions: > **[Insight (disambiguation)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insight_(TV_series))** > > Insight is the act or result of apprehending the inner nature of things or of seeing intuitively. > Insight may also refer to: I can’t find that episode on Youtube, but it seems to be possible to download it from other websites. ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2015, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-summary-ive-ever-seen-of-christian-movies/718905/59 "2015-05-03T17:51:14Z")
It may not fully fit in the category, but _When the Game Stands Tall_ was a co-production with Affirm Films (Sony’s branch that produces films such as _Fireproof_) and rose at least to the level of mediocrity. There are many films made by Christians and imbued with Christianity, but not many that also seem to be for Christians. Although the recent _Calvary_ comes close. The screenwriter (John McDonagh) and his brother (Martin) do excellent work with Christian themes (Martin wrote _In Bruges_ and _Seven Psychopaths_). I’d also recommend a podcast I recently started listening to, called [More Than One Lesson](http://morethanonelesson.com/), that looks at films from a Christian standpoint. They do talk about the films marketed to the Evangelical audience without ignoring the faults. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2015, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-summary-ive-ever-seen-of-christian-movies/718905/60 "2015-05-04T13:17:06Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > Speak for yourself. Some of us enjoy church and mine at least is filled with art that is actually good. Yes indeed! Some of the very best art to be found in America can be found in rural churches. I plan to make a tour of the Churches of the South in the hope of examining pre Civil War art work. I’ve been led to believe that some of it is just superb. If things pan out as I believe they will, I hope to write a book titled, "Wonderful Art Work of Pre-Civil War Southern Churches in America. I expect it will contains some beautiful artwork and hope that other people will enjoy it as much as I hope to enjoy doing the photography. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-summary-ive-ever-seen-of-christian-movies/718905.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-best-summary-ive-ever-seen-of-christian-movies/718905.md?page=4)