If anyone wants evidence of the expanding meaning of redemption to the point of obscuring “the only redeemer of God’s elect,” take a look at Christianity Today’s list of 2012′s most redeeming movies:
Our annual Most Redeeming list . . . represents the year’s best movies that include stories of redemption. Several feature characters who are redeemers themselves; all have characters who experience redemption to some degree. Some are feel-good flicks; others, less so. Several are rated R and PG-13 and are not intended for young viewers, so please use discretion.
Of those on the list, I have only seen Argo, which is good and paradoxically a feel-good movie about the CIA (when does that happen? When the agency fights political Muslims, seems to be the answer.) But I would not call it a movie about redemption, a topic which has a much more definite meaning.
The lesson may be that when you begin to expand claims about Christianity’s comprehensiveness, break down distinctions between the holy and the common, regard all of life as “religious,” you wind up with a movie made by a Jewish-American about a predestinarian heterodox president turning out to be redemptive.
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The only movie I have seen that comes close to dealing with redemption in a Christological sense is “To End All Wars” which, not coincidentally, was written by a Christian.
There is also a scene in the excellent “Last of the Mohicans” that comes to mind.
Just like we can’t “do the gospel” we really can’t depict redemption in the ultimate, biblical sense unless we have a sinless God man dying to appease a perfect, infinite God.
There is that scene in “Forrest Gump” where Forrest goes back to pull everyone out of the jungle, taking a bullet in the buttocks in the process.
“The Avengers”? Seriously? Erik, you missed out on “Gran Torino.” Clint got more than a bullet in the butt at the end.
Saw Torino. Clint hadn’t battled such long odds since he took on a crazy Jessica Walter in “Play Misty for Me”. Fun movie with a good jazz soundtrack. Who can’t relate to a girlfriend like that?
If you liked Torino you might like Michael Caine in “Harry Brown”.
Christianity Today has been drifting Leftward for a long time. I “forgot” to renew my subscription many years ago.