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By Tim Crater,

Pastor, Woodbridge Bible Church, Woodbridge Virginia: http://woodbridgebible.com

Donna Britt is a columnist for the Washington Post and usually appears in its “Metro” section each week.  In early August this year she wrote an interesting column entitled, “Far Too Often Religion Isn’t Even a Subplot.”  Essentially, she was marveling at how seldom genuine faith is depicted as an important element in peoples’ lives either in TV programs or Hollywood movies.  She wrote: “In movie after movie, TV show after TV show, people face every manner of terror, crime, illness and betrayal without ever turning to, or even acknowledging, a higher power. 

In real life, however, millions of people blurt, ‘Oh my God!’ at the first sign of trouble.  They close their eyes or tumble to their knees in prayer.  They visit churches seeking comfort, guidance or intervention.  Remember the bump in [church] attendance after Sept. 11?”  You and I know she’s right on that.  In the real world, the one with real people rather than pampered, preening millionaire actors, we often turn to the Lord for guidance, help, comfort and so on.  Moreover, the value of these national traumas, like 9-11 and the “Miracle at the Mine” rescue episode in Pennsylvania recently, is that the news can’t bleep out the genuine expressions of faith, prayer and spiritual consolation which the real-life people living in them offer up on camera. 

Lisa Beamer’s recounting of her “Let’s Roll” husband, Todd, has continually emphasized Todd’s prayers, his resort to his Christian faith and so on when he and fellow passengers took the initiative on the terrorist plane which crashed in Pennsylvania (rather than into the U.S. Capitol or the White House).  Polls consistently show that Americans believe there is a God, to the tune of 95% of our populace, consistently each year.  Real people pray, real people know they are vulnerable little parts of God’s gigantic universe and need His intervention badly, real people—like Peter when sinking in the waves—cry out “Save me!” to their Creator.

But that’s not what’s depicted in the unreal world of TV and the movies.  Says Britt, “But in the movies and on TV, when things go wrong, characters lean on drugs, sex, psychologists, friends’ advice—anything but their spirituality.  Why does mainstream entertainment so often ignore people’s everyday relationship with Spirit?  Why is the commonplace belief in a higher authority—and people’s reliance on it during crisis—rarely depicted?”  She then cites as an example Tom Hanks’ role in the movie “Cast Away,” where the character consoles himself by talking to a soccer ball!  Britt is astounded: “C’mon, crash-landing in the Pacific wouldn’t make you pray?”

Moreover, whenever Hollywood does portray religious people they are invariably hypocrites and evil people.  She mentions in her column the warden in “Shawshank Redemption,” who was despicable, yet quoted the Bible and acted pious while being utterly inhumane and cruel.  That is generally how the media and our entertainment industry see religious conservatives these days; they are sinister, dangerous people.

I think it’s important to remember this periodically, because the media and entertainment industry are such a big part of our lives and our children’s lives.  These are two very powerful forces that are at work to conform us to this world.  Repeated exposure to sophisticated presentations of people facing life without reference to God or their faith, and the relentless bombardment with images of unattractive believers, lunatic saints, and deviant devotees of religion take their toll on our minds and hearts.  They also have an effect on our children’s view of being a person of faith; it tends to make them indifferent, embarrassed or fearful of being part of the family of faith. 

However we choose to deal with the unreality of media depictions, we need to deal with this phenomenon somehow, if only to remind ourselves periodically that real-life actors in real-life dramas pray, seek God’s wisdom, and find consolation in their faith and in the Scriptures.  Todd Beamer cited the Lord’s Prayer, the 23^rd Psalm and prayed; then he and his fellow passengers charged the cockpit.  The rest is history—REAL history. 

Tim