On "End of the Spear" and Chad Allen
I was recently asked by a good friend to weigh in the controversy swirling around End of the Spear and the casting of known gay activist Chad Allen as the main character. I have often come very close to writing a post in response to something that I have seen in the slurry of posts in the Christian blogosphere recently (Al Mohler, Sharper Iron, Challies, Challies, Justin Taylor, ScottyB, Pensees, Steve Camp, Musings, Musings, Randy Brandt, Brandt, etc.). I really think that I have little to add - compared to many out there I am a mental midget – so I will not go into great length to write explanations of my positions since they are likely obvious or already written in one of the other posts to which I linked:
- ”The messengers are not the message.” -JT
- Personally, we must attempt to look past the
controversy to be affected by the reality that God was sovereignly reigning and
guiding the martyrdom for his glory. What looked like a lethal blow to God’s
glory when viewed through eyes of men became one of the most glorious and
God-exalting stories of modern missions. Let’s fight hard to view both the
movie and the controversy with eyes of faith. That same God who worked the
murders of Nate Saint, Pete Fleming, Jim Elliot, Ed McCully and Roger Youderian
for good is still on the throne. ScottyB's post is an excellent reminder of this; here's an excerpt to make you click: "There
is only one explanation for why these five young men died. God
intervened. there is only one explanation why Chad Allen played Nate
Saint. God intervened."
- Nevertheless, Every Tribe Entertainment made a huge mistake in this casting decision. Even if the producers are not personally aware of God’s view of homosexuality as rebellion against him (i.e. sin), this casting decision draws attention away from the message and the story to a controversy outside the movie having nothing to do with its content but the actor: bad decision for any artform or message. Al Mohler said it well, “That said, this last point is the real problem when it comes to Chad Allen. Every Tribe Entertainment has chosen an actor -- perhaps even the actor -- least likely to be able to make us forget him and see Nate Saint. Chad Allen's activism is what many audience members will see, not Nate and Steve Saint.”
- The message of this movie has been compromised. People will see Chad Allen and not Nate and Steve Saint. In the name of the gospel many may even misinterpret the message of the gospel to be the message that Chad Allen has taught (see the Larry King Live interview, basically the message is that God is to be defined by each man’s understanding of him, the very thing that defined one of Israel’s most blatantly rebellious times) rather than the good news: That Jesus came to save rebels like you and me and received, See ) the wrath of God against sinners instead of me to set us free from the power of sin (of which homosexuality is one) so that we can enjoy him and obey him forever. What a tragedy that one of God's greatest modern demonstrations of his triumph over Satan and sin is overshadowed by controversy that does not deal with that message...
- Those
who are making known our mutual displeasure with the producers' casting
decision are not out of line and are to be commended for their research
and activism (most thorough is Jason Janz at SharperIron). Nevertheless, I pray that these next too points are primary in their minds and are not missed as their critiques are read:
- Our love for the Gospel and our praise of God for saving us and the Waodani should ring louder among each other and to the culture than complaining about how Hollywood has let us down again. My hope is in the self-giving God who would die for a hateful creature like me and who cared enough for the Waodoni to send the gospel to them. He is the God who forgives sin and changes hearts at great cost to Himself. That is something far more worthy of discussion than the blatant error of Hollywood producers and the distorted view of God that one of the actors in the movie proudly proclaims with the pedestal that he has received.
- Why
not similar outrage that the producers and many of the actors in The
Passion openly deny the gospel and teach a different gospel which is
not the gospel (Gal 1:6)? I am not saying that we need to start being
outraged at that too, but that we need to stop applying different
standards to different groups of nonbelievers (or marginal believers,
God judges the hearts, but I am speaking as to proclaimed and
demonstrated faith). Why not similar outrage that a nonbeliever who is
a practicing adulterer plays [blank]? We get exactly what we are to
expect out of the world, godlessness, so let's not just condemn and
call for repentance, but let's bring them the message of God's kindness
that will lead them to repentance (Rom 2:4). The message that
Christianity is
sending is a partial truth. Homosexuality is a sin; everybody's pretty
clearly understood that message. It must be repented of...check.
Homosexuality is rebellion against God and the end of rebellion against
God is eternal separation from Him in Hell...check. God came to die for
sinners, the righteous for the unrighteous, that we might become the
righteousness of God (2 Cor 5:21)...um, muffled at best, absent at
worst.
- Finally, as a side note which I may write more thoroughly on, any time we talk on this subject we must be aware that we are not only speaking to Christians. Those who have not yet believed and are therefore in opposition to God are reading, many of which likely have the same sin-of-choice as Chad Allen, homosexuality. What do they hear most clearly from us? Homosexuality is a sin? Christians need to distance themselves from homosexuals? Christians hate homosexuals? You must stop sinning before you can come? Do they see us saying, “Love the sinner and hate the sin” while we outwardly and hypocritically show that we hate both? The message of the cross is not, “Do more of this and less of that,” which sadly is the message that the world thinks that Christians proclaim. The message of the cross is the opposite of that - while we were enemies Christ died for us and he adopted us as His children when we have faith, which he gives us as a gift. When are changed by His grace, we will live differently, but cannot out-sin his grace and cannot merit his favor.
