CHRISTIAN Movies That Aren't Really Christian Movies

OK, we had a thread about Christmas movies that really weren't Christmas films.  What movies would you consider a "Christian" film that isn't really in that market?

I'll throw out a couple:


Signs - This Mel Gibson film is about an alien invasion on the surface.  However, the real story is about this one man, a former priest/pastor, and his struggle to get his faith in God back after losing his wife to a major tragedy.

The Book Of Eli - While a violent film, it is the struggle of a blind man expressing his faith in God to deliver a book.  What book?  The Bible.  He's memorized the whole thing and is doing his best to live by it.  Great message!

OK, your turn.  Just try to keep it where it is something that can easily be seen.  If not, you are going to have to take time to explain why you feel this movie has a strong Christian message.

Great thread idea. For those who haven't seen Book of Eli, you might want to put a spoiler tag on part of your description.

AS long as it has been out, I am not worried about it.  Most folks around here have probably seen it.  If it were in theaters, I would have.

The original Tron. It's about the creator coming down to his world that has been taken over by a malevolent force. In the end he sacrifices his life to save his creation.

deathisgain wrote:The original Tron. It's about the creator coming down to his world that has been taken over by a malevolent force. In the end he sacrifices his life to save his creation.

Never thought of it that way! That's a great view of it!

deathisgain wrote:The original Tron. It's about the creator coming down to his world that has been taken over by a malevolent force. In the end he sacrifices his life to save his creation.

Now that is a cool swing to it!  While I am sure that there are many movies that you could find a Christian based theme in somewhere, there are others that will stand out to us.  This is the kind of thinking and observation I was hoping for with this thread!

Probably a stretch but what about Star Trek V? 

And I didn't see it, but that movie with Nicholas Cage. Dang, I already forgot the name of it. The book series which had already been made into a movie series. Left Behind maybe?

And I didn't see it, but that movie with Nicholas Cage. Dang, I already forgot the name of it. The book series which had already been made into a movie series. Left Behind maybe?

With the Nick Cage version of Left Behind, it is a poorly executed version of the novel by LeHaye & Jenkins.  The only Christian in the film is shown as judgmental and hateful.  Almost no explanation of where the people disappeared to is given.  A believer could almost have sat through that and not realized what they were seeing.  It came off as not much more than just a "we are having problems in the airplane and can't land" movie.

For all the bad reviews, I will take the Kirk Cameron version any day.

Probably a stretch but what about Star Trek V?

Possibly.  You get the mystic Vulcan who goes looking for God and he thinks he has found him.  Well, until Kirk asks why God would need a starship.  You could probably get a message of testing the spirits to see if they are from God out of it.

If we make that kind of stretch, then Star Trek: Generations would also have to count.  The people end up getting snatched up (like the rapture) into the Nexus where there is peace, tranquility, and joy.  It is kind of symbolic of Heaven.

Fairly or not, Christians claim the Chronicles of Narnia movies and anything based on a Tolkien book as "ours" too.

eatbugs wrote:Fairly or not, Christians claim the Chronicles of Narnia movies and anything based on a Tolkien book as "ours" too.

Narnia, yes because the books are very much Christian, and C.S. Lewis was a devout follower

Lord Of The Rings...........................eh not really

Lord of the Rings isn't overtly Christian, but it was written by a Christian (Tolkien led C.S. Lewis to Christ). Tolkien didn't like Lewis' blatant Christian imagery used in the Chronicles. I love both series and can see a lot of the Christian influences in Tolkien's literature. The Hobbit to me is a great story that parallels how Christians can become complacent in our walk and desire to live a comfortable life, but if we are willing, God can use us to do great things.

deathisgain wrote:Lord of the Rings isn't overtly Christian, but it was written by a Christian (Tolkien led C.S. Lewis to Christ). Tolkien didn't like Lewis' blatant Christian imagery used in the Chronicles. I love both series and can see a lot of the Christian influences in Tolkien's literature. The Hobbit to me is a great story that parallels how Christians can become complacent in our walk and desire to live a comfortable life, but if we are willing, God can use us to do great things.

Gollum, for me, is a brilliant picture of the double life we lead. A life in Christ, where we have His identity and His righteousness, and at the same time, we live in this "body of sin" as Paul called it.

There are a million-and-one movies with Christian parallels though I think a) themes of love, sacrifice, good vs evil, etc. are all pretty broad, and b) as God's creation, we humans are wired to be drawn to those themes.  So it's only natural that many, many movies inadvertently have Christ-type figures, stories of redemption and self-sacrifice, and the like.  I remember kids in private Christian school watching The Matrix in Bible class.

I *think* the OP is focusing more on secular(ish) films with overt Christian themes?

I'm not sure if The Exorcism Of Emily Rose would count or if that's just a straight-up Christian movie, but it had relatively big-name actors, a professional budget, etc.

Also, Calvary is spectacular.  It earns its R-rating for dialog/language and some brief but graphic violence, but it's an amazing character study of a priest holding (and/or not holding) to his beliefs in a world where the church's [perceived] relevancy is waning.  Surprisingly it paints the church in a pretty good light overall I think.

No other movies are coming to my mind at this time... but if I think of any more, I'll post 'em. 

deathisgain wrote:The original Tron. It's about the creator coming down to his world that has been taken over by a malevolent force. In the end he sacrifices his life to save his creation.

Sark even makes a reference to "Religious fanatics" at one point. OTOH, it's been a while since i've seen the sequel, but didnt that one have one of the programs becoming evil?

WildWorld wrote:

deathisgain wrote:The original Tron. It's about the creator coming down to his world that has been taken over by a malevolent force. In the end he sacrifices his life to save his creation.

Sark even makes a reference to "Religious fanatics" at one point. OTOH, it's been a while since i've seen the sequel, but didnt that one have one of the programs becoming evil?

Yes it did.

deathisgain wrote:The original Tron. It's about the creator coming down to his world that has been taken over by a malevolent force. In the end he sacrifices his life to save his creation.

You just described MAN OF STEEL too. My fave movie of 2013 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0770828/?ref_=nv_sr_1

Decided to bump this thread, would Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade count? Raiders is about the Ark of the Covenant and Last Crusade is about the Holy Grail, and their holy power is portrayed as real.

I think the original Star Wars has been seen as having biblical qualities.

“Logan’s Run” clearly resembles an end times story. The main character is running from a mandatory suicide society (which is expected when a person reaches the age of 30). They even have some kind of implant in their hands. 

It’s basically what depopulation elites would like to achieve.

WildWorld wrote:Decided to bump this thread, would Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade count? Raiders is about the Ark of the Covenant and Last Crusade is about the Holy Grail, and their holy power is portrayed as real.

Ooooo good question.  I could see arguments for both.

I don't think anyone mentioned Hacksaw Ridge, The Blind Side, or The Ten Commandments (or the cartoon Prince of Egypt) yet.

I think The Matrix is a good example.

Also, there's a movie whose name escapes me now, but it is with Morgan Freeman and Jim Carrey, a great Christian movie without being a Christian movie.

KaramKaram wrote:I think The Matrix is a good example.

Also, there's a movie whose name escapes me now, but it is with Morgan Freeman and Jim Carrey, a great Christian movie without being a Christian movie.

Bruce Almighty

The movie Knowing with Nicholas Cage.  (Spoiler alert) The identity of the "villains" are a mystery for much of the movie, but turn out to be aliens who are judging the earth for it's many sins and taking a chosen group of children to re-populate another planet in order to start over.  

It was not a popular movie, but it has some very Christian themes about sin, judgment, sacrifice, reconciliation, forgiveness, hope, election, and new birth.  And the ending when the world gets destroyed by fire blew me away when I saw it.  It brought to mind everything the Bible says about how the world will end.

Most the movies that might be interpreted as having Christian themes or a Christian message are just Gnostic stories.  Really its just the devil in disguise.

Movies that fall into this category are The Matrix, Knowing, and The Truman Show.  Gnostic even means 'to know' thus its in the title of the film.

However, the movie that has a legitimate Christian interpretation is actually Pulp Fiction.  Jules is saved by a miracle and intends to turn his life around embracing the reality of the Almighty.