The Book of Eli, and Humanism

So last night a friend and I went to the theater to see the new movie, ‘The Book of Eli’. I was went with a pretty skeptical, guarded outlook, as I anticipated that the movie would either distort scripture and the Gospel, or simply make false statements about Christianity in general. In the end I can say that my fears weren’t realized, and I was pleasantly surprised, at least in that respect. It was not a Christian movie by any means, however they never really twisted the meaning of the bible which was surprising for a mainstream movie (there were several problems, which I’ll discuss below). The story follows a man named Eli after an assumed catastrophic war which people apparently blamed on religion. All Bibles were burned after the war, and Eli possesses what is apparently the only remaining copy. The story chronicles his journey west to see the Bible republished so it can be distributed. Along the way he comes across highway men seeking to steal his possessions, and a ‘super evil main bad guy’ that seems to think if he gets the Bible it will give him power over people… go figure. In the end Eli prevails and the bible is republished.

Where the story falls short is that the scripture is never really presented for what it is – the word of the one true God. Really it’s hardly presented at all. The book might as well be the Koran, the Torah, or even the Guinness book of World Records for all that matters. The book is only important because it can give hope – but they never explain what that hope is in, or where it comes from. Eli is reluctant to read the Bible to the other characters, and Scripture is only quoted twice; once when he recites Psalms 23, and another time reciting a curse, which I’m not sure of its’ reference. Notably he leaves out a few key phrases, such as ‘The Lord prepares a table before me in the presence of my enemies’ and a few other omissions. The message the movie communicates seems to be that the bible is simply another ‘good book’ and is equal in importance and relevance to other famous religious books. Another expected failing is the strong emphasis on humanism in the movie, or at least deism – that God doesn’t really care about us down here, and it’s up to us to make things happen. Eli is presented as being a person with great moral character, yet he fails to intervene when four men attack and kill a couple on the road, and is selfish until near the end of the movie. When asked to explain faith, he is unable to communicate why he does what he does, other than ‘It’s just something you feel, you just have to trust’. Trust in what?

Anyway, if you’re looking for some intense action, it’s an interesting movie but not for the faint of heart, and it has some potentially dangerous undertones.

A movie review isn’t really where I was going with all this though. The movie got me to thinking about what people think about religion today. Many people have the mindset that ‘The main thing is just to have faith… It doesn’t matter what your faith is in, it’s just good to be spiritual.’ That’s humanism in its worst form, because it allows man to remove any idea of a sin nature, or a God who is absolutely righteous and has an absolute standard. If I find my spirituality by sitting out in nature, listening to the birds and wind, there’s nothing to rebuke my actions and attitudes. That’s a pretty comfortable place to be, huh? No condemnation, no hell – ‘course there’s a heaven, what would my faith be without something to hope for? But hey, the important thing is to be a good person and do what feels right to me. Actually it’s a pretty uncomfortable place. What are you basing your confidence in? Nature? Man? Your inner self? All those things die and wither, they can’t promise you anything. It’s a hollow religion, and deep inside its proponents seem to realize they’re stuck – that’s why they’re always seeking for deeper truth and meaning, just in all the wrong places.

I’m grateful that I can trust in the promises of the eternal God, who has the power to wash away my sins. His son came and died on the cross for my sins, then was resurrected to demonstrate his power over death. The least I can do for such a great savior who not only created me, but in light of my flagrant sin chose to die for me to offer salvation, the least I can do is repent of my sins and commit my entire life to him and the plans he has for me. “⁷ But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. ⁸ Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; ¹⁰ that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, ¹¹ if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.” Philippians 3:7-11

I have so much more I want to discuss about religion and Christianity in the world today, but in consideration of the length of this post, I’ll stop here for now. I urge you to be always cautious to the subtle lies distributed everywhere that dilute Christianity and bring in worldly concepts and deceptions.