Stirred Unexpectedly by a Movie

I love watching movies.  I prefer action-packed films and thrillers, even a good spooky film once in a while.  I enjoy them because they sweep me into another world for 90 minutes or so.  The other night we were searching for a movie to watch and started surfing Comcast’s list of On Demand movies.  We came across one that everyone agreed sounded interesting called “The Invention of Lying.”  (Note:  I share nothing below that would be considered a spoiler if you’re going to rent it.)

The premise behind the movie is that this is an alternate reality that is taking place within our point in history.  What makes it alternate is that there is no such thing as lying, imagination or fiction.  Everybody tells the truth.  Of course, within the first five minutes you’re hit with the stark realization of what that would really be like.  People say things that are incredibly insensitive and rude.  But it’s an intriguing premise and makes for some pretty interesting dialog between the characters.

The main character is down on his luck and suddenly realizes that he can gain advantage by telling a lie (in telling his best friend later, he describes it as “telling something that wasn’t”).  Of course, he begins to play with this new found talent and begins using it to tell people what they want to hear.  His ailing mother is on her death bed and is being wracked with fear of the forever nothingness that she is about to enter, when he begins to weave a new set of expectations for her about the afterlife.  He describes what most of us would consider heaven.  But he is overheard and word begins to spread that he knows what happens after people die.  Soon, the whole world is waiting to find out how he knows this.  This is when he makes up, “the man in the sky.”

I don’t need to share any more of the plot, because that is all that is pertinent to today’s rant.  It immediately became aware, to me and everyone else watching, that the writer of this particular story believes that God is a pure fabrication.  I’ve thought about that so many times since viewing the film.  And I feel my heart stirred with a painful reality – the gap between kingdoms is widening.  The gulf between the kingdom of this world and the kingdom of God is growing.

I really don’t want this to sound like the crazy Christian ranting about the depraved world we live in, but there is a reality that the world we live in – the kingdom of this world – is spiraling into ever-greater depths of ungodliness.  Things that were considered socially unacceptable just a few years ago have become commonplace.  As Christians, we face enormous pressures to be tolerant of all sorts of behavior and choices that our bible and our faith tell us are not pleasing to a holy God.

I’m not grieved that an atheist made a movie.  I’m actually glad that they did and I hope all sorts of people see it.  It will spark conversations all across this land.  Minimally, it may entice people to think about what they believe and why.  I actually liked the movie.  It was very entertaining and I would encourage anyone to see it.  But it does give a window into the writer’s soul.  And it let me take a sneak peek at what my life could have felt like if I didn’t believe in the God of the universe.