8 Ways to Sunday

In a review that surprised the hell out of me (no pun intended), evangelical Christian magazine Relevant has given the new Keanu Reeves flick Constantine a big thumbs-up. Recognizing the movie’s similarities to the Biblical books of Job and Revelation, author Kevin Miller praises the film for presenting highly relevant spiritual questions in an entertaining context:

While the theology of this film is far from orthodox, the themes and questions it raises are a different story. Few Christian films have done a better job of depicting the difference between works and grace. And few mainstream films offer such a strong affirmation of the spiritual dimension of life, showing it to be every bit as real and consequential as the physical. Constantine also addresses a number of spiritual questions that seem particularly pressing at this point in time, questions like “Is God good?” “Does He have a plan for me?” “Is He out to get me?” “Is He even there?” and “What must I do to be saved?”

An image from the film “Constantine”

It’s an interesting perspective on the film, coming from an interesting publication. Relevant represents the crystallization of what I’ve seen as a growing trend in the the last few years: evangelical Christians of my generation and a little older who’ve opened themselves and their faith up to all aspects of politics and pop culture, rather than walling themselves off from the world.

While I’m not an evangelical Christian myself, this is a refreshing change that I hope to see more of. Such an outlook can only be beneficial to relations between those of all faiths.

As for Constantine, I thought it was a lot of fun and definitely more thoughtful than your typical Hollywood religio-action thriller. I’ll try to get a full review up sometime soon.

(Props: The Revealer)

Updates:

• 3/1/2005 at 2:45 PM — This is also a guest post on Stupid Evil Bastard.