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What exactly would you get if you combined the gay cowboy movie Brokeback Mountain with End of the Spear - a movie about a Christian martyr missionary? Am I being irreverent? Maybe….then again…maybe not.
By now you’ve heard about Brokeback Mountain. But what you might not have heard is that Chad Allen, who plays Nate Saint in End of the Spear, is a homosexual activist. That’s right, gang. And nothing stirs up the Evangelical Right more than a homosexual activist. (Maybe an abortion doctor.) Start making your BOYCOT END OF THE SPEAR posters now. There are actually people who are calling for the boycott of the movie…a movie about a Christian missionary…because a gay actor plays him.
I have a question concerning that reaction. Can we think of another reaction to things other than boycott? Is that as creative as we can get? How about…ummm, I don’t know….dialogue, conversation, bridge building? Here is a pretty fair assessment of the situation by Mark Newman of Movie Ministry.
Newman did not do as good of a job on his review of Brokeback Mountain. His point that Brokeback makes sin a pleasant, justifiable experience is well made but every romantic comedy/tragedy (Titanic, Hitch, any Nora Ephron movie) uses the same formula. Nobody screams and hollers “IMMORALITY” when Tom Hanks finally gets Meg Ryan. Why? The difference is that the two protagonists in Brokeback are men. For some reason, ‘we’ are okay with movies that paint heterosexual sin with empathy but we break out the rocket launchers for homosexuality.
They will know us by our boycott signs…
Tags: Brokeback Mountain, Chad Allen, End of the Spear, Movie Ministry
4 responses so far ↓
1 Mimi // Jan 24, 2006 at 6:13 pm
What a creative way God has for getting that community to go to a movie about the gospel!
2 greg // Jan 24, 2006 at 7:54 pm
“they’ll know us by the t-shirts that we wear
they’ll know us by the way we point and stare
at anyone whose sin looks worse than ours
who cannot hide the scars of this curse that we all bare
they’ll know us by our picket lines and signs
they’ll know us by the pride we hide behind
like anyone on earth is living right
and isn’t that why Jesus died
not to make us think we’re right”
from “T-Shirts” by Derek Webb
Amazing, isn’t it? Do a google search using “boycott end of spear”. The stuff you find will astonish you - and sadden you. People won’t see this because one of the actors is gay? I hope they don’t watch practically any other movie, either.
You’re right on with the “can’t we do better than this” comments and the “accepting tom/meg but not the dudes” comments.
I’m actually just about to sit down and watch the “Beyond the Gates…” documentary tonight, which I’ve still not seen. I’m assuming it’s safe and homosexual free…
3 robert terrell // Jan 24, 2006 at 11:05 pm
i actually had someone tell me this yesterday as a warning that the movie might offend some because of the lead actor being homosexual. the statement was “it just goes to show that GOD can even use those people.” when i responded by saying “and you never know he might be a CHRISTian” their answer was “no he’s a practicing homosexual.” so now GOD is only able to save those who have moved to a point that they no longer sin? apparently people who still sin can not be won over by the love of the GOD of grace? it’s stuff like this and the above mentioned boycott that makes me wonder why the LORD doesn’t slap us (HIS followers) down.
4 jeremy // Jan 25, 2006 at 11:27 am
nice thoughts, grant.
i wrote a blog about homosexuality last year (similar to what you wrote here), and i was nearly crucified for it by a few of my readers. stuff like this makes me sick.
keep up the good work, bro.
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