Reverse Telling of Bible Stories by Steve Watters on 12/08/2006 at 10:33 AM

Hollywood's recent spotlight on major Biblical stories has been operating in reverse. First out of the gate was Left Behind based on the end of the world.  Next came The Passion based on Christ's crucifixion. The latest release was The Nativity Story backing up to Christ's birth.

This morning I found out that the next major movie planned goes all the way back to the fall. Paradise Lost, scheduled for 2007 is based on John Milton's story of the fall of Lucifer and subsequent fall of humans.

Maybe some of the churches who have been using these movies as teaching opportunities will consider hosting movie marathons that show the stories chronologically to demonstrate the power of the full version of the greatest story ever told.

Reverse Telling of Bible Stories by Steve Watters on 12/08/2006 at 10:33 AM

Hollywood's recent spotlight on major Biblical stories has been operating in reverse. First out of the gate was Left Behind based on the end of the world.  Next came The Passion based on Christ's crucifixion. The latest release was The Nativity Story backing up to Christ's birth.

This morning I found out that the next major movie planned goes all the way back to the fall. Paradise Lost, scheduled for 2007 is based on John Milton's story of the fall of Lucifer and subsequent fall of humans.

Maybe some of the churches who have been using these movies as teaching opportunities will consider hosting movie marathons that show the stories chronologically to demonstrate the power of the full version of the greatest story ever told.

Comments

[1. Jacob said the following at 12:58 PM on Dec 8:]

1

Creation, Fall, Redemption ... the three major themes of history AND story-telling.

What's next, though? Dante's Divine Comedy?

[2. Jonathan said the following at 11:18 AM on Dec 11:]

2

I honestly can't imagine any conceivable way of making either Milton or Dante into a good movie... (Dante's Inferno might work, but Paradiso?)

Besides the fact that any epic is just too BIG for a two-and-a-half (or even three-and-a-half) hour film, and the difficulties of ratings when several of your main characters don't know about clothing yet (Adam and Eve pre-fall?), there is the further difficulty that Milton appears to have held heretical positions on some relatively important doctrines -- you know, the Trinity, the nature of Christ, that kind of thing. And his misogyny (but I'm sure that won't make it into the movie, though the heresies probably will).

In short -- I'm not getting my hopes up.

If it turns out to be good, I will retract my doubts and support it the only way I know, by spending money to watch it on a really huge screen somewhere. :-)

[3. Erin said the following at 4:41 PM on Dec 11:]

3

I love Milton's Paradise Lost (I'm an English master's student after all), but I don't rely on it for my theological education. Like Jonathan said, Milton held some questionable views, and I think viewing a movie based on the book as anything more than an adaptation can be a little dangerous, should churches decide to use this movie and others like it as outreach tools. That being said, there certainly does seem to be a rising fascination with the history of Christianity, and I see that as nothing but positive.

[1. Jacob said the following at 12:58 PM on Dec 8:]

1

Creation, Fall, Redemption ... the three major themes of history AND story-telling.

What's next, though? Dante's Divine Comedy?

[2. Jonathan said the following at 11:18 AM on Dec 11:]

2

I honestly can't imagine any conceivable way of making either Milton or Dante into a good movie... (Dante's Inferno might work, but Paradiso?)

Besides the fact that any epic is just too BIG for a two-and-a-half (or even three-and-a-half) hour film, and the difficulties of ratings when several of your main characters don't know about clothing yet (Adam and Eve pre-fall?), there is the further difficulty that Milton appears to have held heretical positions on some relatively important doctrines -- you know, the Trinity, the nature of Christ, that kind of thing. And his misogyny (but I'm sure that won't make it into the movie, though the heresies probably will).

In short -- I'm not getting my hopes up.

If it turns out to be good, I will retract my doubts and support it the only way I know, by spending money to watch it on a really huge screen somewhere. :-)

[3. Erin said the following at 4:41 PM on Dec 11:]

3

I love Milton's Paradise Lost (I'm an English master's student after all), but I don't rely on it for my theological education. Like Jonathan said, Milton held some questionable views, and I think viewing a movie based on the book as anything more than an adaptation can be a little dangerous, should churches decide to use this movie and others like it as outreach tools. That being said, there certainly does seem to be a rising fascination with the history of Christianity, and I see that as nothing but positive.