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Top 10 secular films with Christian themes
by bruce
January 26, 2010 | Books, Culture, Faith, Film, Religion | 16 responses
I love to look for God in movies that seemingly have given no thought to declaring his presence. I am one of those people who think that all of life is a Christian theme because all of life belongs to God. It turns out that it’s far more often that I see themes of God’s presence in a film than to NOT see it. Sometimes his presence is really heavy, and sometimes just here and there in a few lines of dialog or a few scenes of action. I considered how I was moved to see this in films like There Will be Blood, The Godfather, Schindler’s List, Apocalypse Now, No Country for Old Men, and many others. But those scenes can be pretty fleeting. So here is my list the top 10 Christian movies that weren’t explicitly trying to portray Christian values (which explains the omission of excellent movies like The Passion of the Christ, Faith Like Potatoes, and The Exorcism of Emily Rose).
1. Hotel Rwanda
Five-star hotel manager Paul Rusesabagina puts everything on the line for the sake of his family, friends, neighbors, and even strangers. This movie clearly shakes us into seeing who we are, and who God called us to be.
2. I Am David
An extraordinary film of a boy who escapes an East European prison camp, and travels all the way to Denmark. The themes of sacrificial love, peace versus violence, and true identity makes it unavoidable to see God’s hand in the most “non-Christian” settings.
3. Grand Torino
Like other recent films from Clint Eastwood, this film shows a different side to the violent movies of his earlier career. In this one we see the futility of revenge, the need for atonement, and the love for one’s neighbors.
4. Shawshank Redemption
A raw and disturbing film for mature audiences, this is one of the best I’ve ever seen. The movie’s theme of one man’s redemption from his own private hell is tremendously thought provoking. Hope is scattered liberally throughout the film, and one line that few people other than Christians can fully appreciate makes use of this—“Hope is a dangerous thing.”
5. To Kill a Mockingbird
As a book-lover I find it hard to love movies based on books. But this is a major exception to that rule. And it bears little discussion since so many people are familiar with both the book and the movie. But how can we escape the Christian emphasis in any story whose major theme is to discover whether people are essentially good or evil?
6. Shadowlands
Anthony Hopkins plays the great Christian Apologist C.S. Lewis in this true story of his meeting and eventual marriage to Joy Gresham. Lewis drew from this experience in his books The Problem of Pain and A Grief Observed. It also shows how life for the Christian isn’t neat and tidy and that knowing theology is different from putting it into practice.
7. Lord of the Rings
Some will argue that according to my definition of films that qualified for this list and those that didn’t, this should be omitted because it’s explicitly Christian. And while I agree that any real study of where this story came from cannot help but see the underlying intent is steeped in Christianity, it is not an allegory, nor is it Christian in name or dialog. But it is thoroughly a Christian myth that captures the imagination of most viewers, Christian or not.
8. Because of Winn-Dixie
This wonderful family film reveals a dog as an agent of grace to a wounded father and his daughter, and the sense of community that surrounds them in which there is eventually no difference in people, whether young or old, white or black, make nor female.
9. Bridge to Terebithia
As far as books that are turned into movies goes, this one does better than average. But to see the movie without knowledge of the book in your head, you’ll miss many of the Christian references. But there are still many obvious connections with Christianity here, not the least of which deal with why bad things happen to good people.
10. The Matrix
This film is last on the list because I have serious reservations as to whether it should be on here at all. To get overly indulgent of potential Christian symbolism in this film is a mistake, because it’s heavily dependent on symbolism from many places, including Greek mythology and eastern spiritual culture. Nevertheless, there are an abundance of Christian themes dealing with everything from rebirth to taking an active role in the redemption of a fallen world.
So, which films did I miss?
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Love the post and the list of these great movies. I would definitely include The Mission on this list.
To risk being cliche…The Star Wars Trilogy (not including the newer Jar Jar Binks tripe). Yeah I know it borrowed from many traditions as did The Matrix. The theme of redemption, sacrifice for others, being cleansed in the wilderness, confronting the evil within, etc, etc runs throughout. I know the religious nature of Star Wars has been discussed ad nauseum…but I still put it on my list.
I thought about Star Wars, but that led me to considering how much the presence of a Christ figure should count. For the most part I discounted Christ figures alone since nearly every movie has that to some degree. But you're right about SW–it's my main example when talking about the depth of modern epics.
OK, of the modern epics (SW, Matrix, LOTR), which single movie is best (in terms of Christian themes), in ya'll's opinion?
I hear a lot about "Babbette's Feast" but I haven't seen it. I think "The Truman Show" has a lot of good analogies with God the Father.
Two movies that do not require a philosophical analysis in order to see an extremely powerful Christian motif are my all-time favorites.
(1) "The Blind Side" is the story of a lady who not only wears a Cross around her neck all the time, but with astonishing boldness puts her Christianity into action. One of the most powerful and compelling reflections of the life of Jesus ever. Don't miss it!!
(2) "Akeelah and the Bee" makes a Christ-like statement that love trumps personal success. Akeelah shows that she is not merely an earthly winner, but a spiritual one as well.
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Freddy vs. Jason – Freddy (who used to be close to the world) sends Jason into the world so that through Jason, the world might come to know/relate with Freddy once again. Total ripoff of the gospel. ish.
Hi Bruce,
I thought of two right off the bat:
1. Gladiator: the trailer has these lines…"the General who became a Slave…the Slave who became a Gladiator…the Gladiator who defied an Empire…" Gladiator meaning "armored one." Jesus himself said that he did not come to bring peace but a sword. And he certainly defied the empire of satan to set us free.
The other one is Legend of Bagger Vance. There is a ton of how the Holy Spirit works in this movie (through Bagger).
Lastly, my wife and I just saw the Notebook last weekend. This movie stirred us both deeply. I think there is something in this movie about how Jesus pursues us with the offer of freedom and life, similar to the way the guy first did with the girl…and yet he did not really ever give up pursuing her, either, at least at a heart level. Especially at the very end…Jesus will be there for us…seeing the real us and loving us right to the very end.
Thanks for the post. Good stuff!
Kevin
How about 'Pulp Fiction'? They even (sort of) quote scripture.
Secular films with Christian themes. Those with great redemptive messages include Secondhand Lions, An Unfinished Life, and SeabiscuitSeabiscuit being an extraordinary study of community and how we have such a wonderful capacity through which God can heal others. Gladiator and The Legend of Baggar Vance have already been mentioned, but how about Signs? I love what Signs has to say about taking your deepest, most provocative questions to God. But one that would almost never get mentioned here is Spiderman 2. I know, I know … but how true is it for believers when Peter says to the James Falco character that appears to be obsessed with his personal grudges and the smaller stories: "There's more going on here than you and me."
Oh, I had forgotten about some of those lines in Spider Man. Good call.
Definitely DeNiro's "The Mission". Climbing the cliffs with his net-full-o-armor and failing to succeed– that's the clearest picture of human brokenness and attempted self-saving I remember seeing. Also check out "To End All Wars" (a.k.a. "The Only Kiefer Sutherland Movie That Ever Mattered" to see substitutionary atonement at its most heartbreaking. And to see pictures of well-intentioned but misguided attempts to give grace and blessings, take in Kenneth Branagh in "Rabbit-Proof Fence". Oh, yeah– it's also visually stunning, and the Aboriginal girls would have been the best silent film stars ever.
Another good movie is the movie "Traitor". Its mainly theme is muslim but you could defenetly take some christian messages out of it. A great example was when the mother was being interviewed about the main character and she was asked if he was a devout muslim, and she said, "there is no scale, he is muslim". That really made me think. You ether are christian or your not, your not kinda christian.