The Christian filmmaking industry faces a dilemma. They want to compete with Hollywood, but they want to create content that glorifies God. To do that, the pull of making gritty, adult-themed movies is a strong temptation. Are PG-13 and R rated type films the future of Christian filmmaking? Time will tell.
The recent film “The Sound of Freedom” by Angel Studios (PG-13) revealing the foul, underground world of child sex-trafficking has prompted overwhelmingly positive reactions from within the broad river of American evangelicalism. After seeing over a dozen posts by well-meaning Christians exclaiming “Everyone Must See This Film!” I decided to challenge that notion.
Why? After reading reviews and the plot summary, I decided to guard my heart and pass on it.
Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. (Proverbs 4:23)
We are not only free to keep our hearts with all vigilance; we are commanded to.
When I posted I had no desire to view the film on social media, I received some immediate attacks on my character and overwhelming social pressure to view the film. Some reactions were passionate; some were downright angry.
To all those claiming “The Sound of Freedom” is a must-see film, I lovingly submit there is no such thing. What we do have is a must-read Bible.
Meanwhile, we live in freedom concerning our engagement with the arts, submitted to the teachings of Scripture.
What is freedom according to the Bible? “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” (Gal. 5:1) We do not have to earn our righteousness, certainly not by watching the latest Christian effort to compete with Hollywood. I Cor. 6:12 says, “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything.” This passage is a good reminder that we are free, but we must be cautious. We walk in a wide place of liberty (Psalm 119:45) but there is no freedom like the freedom of a clean conscience and a pure heart. We can choose not to be dominated by the current popular thing. We are free.
Briefly, I want to respond to three common responses:
- If you do not see the film, you are looking the other way.
This is a non-sequitur; Not watching the film does not mean one is “looking the other way,” or unconcerned. When we substitute any film that tackles a deeply moral issue, we see the error, e.g. “If you don’t see Schindler’s List, you’re looking the other way on anti-semitism.” But it is entirely possible to fight against anti-Semitism in other ways. Not only is this untrue, it impedes Christian liberty. We are free in Christ; Free to listen to the words of Scripture and discern what the Lord’s will is. (Ps. 85:8) We cannot be involved in every area of evil confronting our culture. A Christian apologist once compared this effort to the task of trying to listen to every blade of grass growing. It’s impossible. We follow the teaching of Scripture and the leading of the Spirit. (Rom. 8:14) We are free not to watch.
- If you do not see the film, you are supporting leftists.
This is an ad-hominem. The claim attacks one’s character as traitorous to the Christian cause, but it is illogical. While it is true, for the most part, political leftists oppose the teachings of Scripture, the lack of support for one Christian film in no way supports unbiblical policies or criminal activities. To those who say, “The left opposes the film, that’s all we need to know,” I would agree this is generally true, but not always. An example would be the issue of pollution in our lakes and rivers. The political left claims to oppose polution, and as stewards of God’s creation, we should, too. (Gen. 1:28) Claims should be evaluated individually in light of what the Bible teaches. The real irony is leftists readily politicize the arts in this manner. We would do better to evaluate entertainment in the light of God’s word, not through the lens of identity politics. We are free to do so.
- You need to watch the film to be educated and raise awareness.
Watching a movie can be educational, yet there are many other ways to educate ourselves on the topic of sex-trafficking, ways that guard the heart from visual imagery suggesting gross immorality. Additionally, we are free to employ myriad ways of disseminating information on a given topic. We are not enslaved to the big screen and we are free to educate ourselves without watching sordid, adult-themed exposés. Ephesians 5:12 tells us evil done in secret should not even be spoken of. More on that below. Christians do need to pursue righteousness and proclaim the Truth of the gospel, but we do not have to watch a movie to do that. We are free to utilize other means.
Let’s look at Ephesians 5:11-12:
Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret.
What does it mean to expose the darkness? Matthew Henry comments:
“We must witness against the sins of others, and endeavor to convince them of their sinfulness in our words; but especially by the holiness of our lives.”
According to Henry, we expose things with words, and most effectively, by the way we live our lives from day to day.
John MacArthur also offers helpful commentary on Ephesians 5:11-12:
“You don’t ignore the deeds of darkness, you expose them. That’s your responsibility. You expose them for what they are. You expose them to the people that are the darkness. You warn them. You terrify them for the consequence of what they’re doing. And in the church, you confront it…
…Now what does that mean? There’s a limit to that. That’s why the next verse has a caveat. “For it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done in secret”—you expose them but that doesn’t mean you go into the lurid details. There are just some things that aren’t fit even for conversation, let alone behavior. I don’t know that there’s anything in this culture that fits into verse 12, that’s so disgraceful that it should never be spoken of that people haven’t already seen on their iPhones. It’s disgraceful to speak of the things that deviant people do in secret. It’s disgraceful. It’s not anything you would even talk about. It’s so repulsive, it shouldn’t be mentioned. But when people are engaged in that, without knowing the details, they need to be exposed. They need to be exposed for their sake and if it’s in the church, certainly, for the Lord’s sake. This is our commission.”
(he addresses v. 12 at 48:00)
Here’s the point: Those promoting a film about freedom often refuse Christians their basic freedom to follow the caveat of Ephesians 5:12.
No amount of zeal for “The Sound of Freedom,” or any other Christian art form should refuse other believers the freedom not to view it. Rather than exposing the darkness to those who are participating in the darkness, many Christians consider exposing themselves to it as a fulfillment of the commission of God. The commission, read rightly, is to expose the darkness to those who are living in darkness.
Some viewers will be able to watch the film and go about their day as usual. For others, it could have harmful effects. I have observed comments on social media saying, “I had to force myself to watch…,” “It made me feel sick…”, and “I had to turn my head away…”. For many, the film is clearly not enjoyable, and the negative reactions of the conscience are ignored. To sit and view what is morally repulsive to the point of physical nausea does not sound like freedom.
Christians have differing capacities to handle the seemingly limitless depths of human depravity in the big screen and some hearts are more sensitive to evil than others—we are not all the same. Live in the liberty Christ brings. (2 Cor. 3:17)
We are free to see the movie.
We are free not to.
We are free to guard our hearts.