Hollywood

Hollywood is a district of the city of Los Angeles, California known for its movie making industry. IT is called the "Entertainment Capital of the World and it is the home of people with fast cars, famous movie stars, fashion designers and models. There are movie studios, nightclubs, grand hotels, entertainment of all kinds as well as world famous shopping. It's a land of glitz and glamor and they do make a lot of movies, but what Hollywood is really interested in is making money.

Hollywood producers wanting to make money have discovered that tickets sell best when audiences are wowed with action packed violence, nudity, displays of sex, suspense and other moral depravities. Much like the entertainment arenas of the long outdated and outlawed Roman Coliseums, crucifixions or public floggings, Hollywood has a reputation for giving audiences of people exactly what they want and PG and PG 13 animated films are becoming more popular than the G rated kind.

Part of the dilemma comes as PG rated films with childlike characters and themes are being made with kids in mind. Being as many characters are cute and funny, people find it hard to take offense. Some are filled with sexual innuendos or mild profanity, yet parents take their small children, not seeming to mind that such things in the script or scenery give the films a "not-so-general" audience rating. and it seems the same mentality prevails when it comes to the production of religious films.

Unlike the made for television Ten Commandments, (1956) the latest Hollywood produced religious film is full of blood letting and violent action. Called, 'The Passion of the Christ,' and rated R, it was a box office hit, and churches everwhere were busing people to the big event: Hollywood gone Jesus. Nevermind that it's only Hollywood realizing there is potential to make money wants to market more films to specifically Christian audiences.

But would Hollywood, with all the glitz be able to understand and portray such a thing? Should the church be learning spiritual lessons from producers in Hollywood or from the Bible?

Christian Pastor, A.W. Tozer, (1897-1963) wrote a piece and titled it, The Menace of the Religious Movie. In it he gives reasons why he opposes the “religious movie.” While not everyone might agree with Tozer on the issue, as a man with a reputation of being a faithful preacher of God’s word and man of prayer, one should at least listen to what he has to say. In this peiece, Tozer remarks on how the scriptures say, “faith comes by hearing.” (Romans 10:17) and he notes, “ The movie addresses its message primarily to the eye, and the ear only incidentally.”

In the Dark ages, icons and images were popular, perhaps this was due to a lack of literature and a disregard for human history, but thankfully God has made sure His word has been preserved, and this through the invention of a man created machine, the printing press. Before such time passion plays and statues, were all they had when literature was no more, and even then such things often served only to lead them into superstition, that and believing only the things which they were taught by mere men and only things that they could see.

We know faith does not come by merely seeing with your own eyes. We know, because God told us, "Faith comes by hearing." In Hollywood, maybe seeing is believing, but in the bible, hearing comes by the faithful preaching and deliverance of the Word of God.