Movie Review "The Son of God"

 

Today was the premier of the movie that many of us bible geeks have been waiting for "The Son of God". For those of you who might not be aware the "Son of God" is based on Roma Downey and Mark Burnett's ten hour mini series "The Bible" that was aired on the History Channel last year.  While the mini series encompassed the entire bible "Son of God" focuses on the three years of Jesus' ministry here on earth.

Other than a few references to the Old Testament and Jesus birth at the beginning, the entire movie depicts Jesus' earthly ministry, His death and a very condensed version of the resurrection.  The movie was well done and certainly was respectful and fairly accurate in its depiction.

Those who are well versed in the bible will notice that some stories were abbreviated.  I was some what disappointed that some key verses of John 14 were left out.  When Jesus spoke in the movie He jumped from John 14.1 right to John 14.4.  Eliminating the three key promises Jesus made to His friends at the Last Supper (there is more than enough room in My Father's house, I will prepare a place for you and I will come and bring you there myself).  There were other scenes where the same thing happened but that is the one that jumped out at me.  These abbreviations are understandable given the time constrains of producing a movie.

Some secular reviewers gave the movie poor marks, one even went as far as to say there was nothing fresh or daring.  Well I take that as a compliment because if there was anything fresh or daring about the movie it would not have been true to the bible on which it is based.  While this movie is unlikely to convince a skeptic it is a great two hour + introduction into Jesus' life.

This is the first motion picture in ten years to tell the story of Jesus' life.  The last one was Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ", which primarily shared the last twelve hours of Jesus life with the audiance.

 Overall, I would recommend going to see the movie especially if you want to get a nice little over two hour over view of the life of Jesus. 

What Does The New Testament Say About Giving?

Recently, I decided to examine what the New Testament teaches us about giving.  There are two verses that I think make clear what God expects of us.  The first is in Matthew 6:1-4 (ESV).  This text is in red letters to demonstrate that these are Jesus' actual words.

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.  Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,  so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you."

The other verse can be found in 2 Corinthians 9:6-8 (ESV) in which Paul teaches the people of Corinth about giving.

 "The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.  Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.  And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work."

 What I learn from these verses is that giving should be voluntary, from our hearts, each gift should be cheerfully given and done in secret.

Let's examine the idea that giving should be done in private as that is what Jesus Himself teaches us.  It is clear we should not make a show of it.  In other words we should not give money with conditions such as the naming of buildings or wings.  If we want to help give the money quietly without strings.  We should not be calling press conferences to announce our gift nor should we make a public display when giving it. 

Paul expounds on this further teaching us through his lesson to the people of Corinth that giving should be voluntary and not under compulsion and that it should be cheerful.

I take these verses to mean God expects us to give but he expects us to do so voluntarily, in secret and not by compulsion.  What does this say about churches who require as a condition of membership that their members divulge their income and provide documentation so that the church can monitor that you are tithing. To me that seems more like compulsory giving or a church tax.  I am not sure about you but I do not consider taxes to be voluntarily, cheerfully or secretly given.  I would hope those churches will prayerfully reconsider their policy. For individuals who are not giving they should also prayerfully reconsider their motives.