How to Share Your Faith Using Saved!
Don't you just hate it when something that could have been so good turns out so bad? Like a perfectly marinated steak that gets fried to a crispy critter on an overheated grill. Or maybe like the ‘ultimate match up of the century’ type of competition that ends up being as exciting as watching paint dry.
When I heard about the movie Saved!, I was extremely hopeful. I had heard that it was going to be a parody of a certain slice of American Christianity that oftentimes comes off as self-righteous and legalistic. I thought “Finally! A movie that could help us see ourselves through the eyes of the world we are trying to reach with the gospel!”
And then I watched it.
I’ll admit that the film took some fair (and pretty funny, actually) shots at some of the more quirky perceived behavior of some believers, but those scenes accounted for oh about eight and half minutes. Sitting through the rest of Saved! was like viewing a ‘how to’ film on the classic mistake in debate called “straw man.”
How do you set up a straw man argument? Easy. Just invent a fictitious “person” or group of people, then unload a boatload of criticism towards their actions or beliefs, then pretend that that person or group of people truly represents the real life folks that the speaker (or filmmaker in this case) pretty much can’t stand.
Yep, that’s exactly what happens in Saved!. Welcome to a wacky world where middle aged pastors do mid-air flips, worship services look like deleted scenes from “Dawn of the Dead”, and all Christians everywhere are the most self-seeking narrow minded hypocrites ever to walk the earth.
Except for the characters in the film who reject Christianity of course. These teens are the ones who are loving, kind, and accepting.
Is it just a coincidence that the students in the film who act most like Jesus are the ones who apparently can’t stand him?
Of course not. That’s why by the end of the movie one is left with a strong urge to round up all Jesus freaks everywhere and deprogram them into post-modern pluralistic pansies who fit the more tolerable “why can’t we all just get along” mold.
But then again, I’m reminded of the words of possibly the most un-politically correct person who ever lived:
"When the world hates you, remember it hated me before it hated you. The world would love you if you belonged to it, but you don't. I chose you to come out of the world, and so it hates you.” (John 15:18)
The world’s hatred is brewin’ and spewin’ in Saved!, I guess I should have seen it coming?
So if you haven’t seen it, I wouldn’t. I’ll ‘save’ you the wasted time and money and give you the single redeeming message from the film: Christians are supposed to act like Jesus. If you are being ‘persecuted’ for sharing your faith, make sure the opposition is to the message and not to the method or the person. In other words, as believers we are being closely watched, so don’t be a self-righteous judgmental jerk to those around you who need to see the real Jesus, not you pretending to be Him.
If you have seen it, I’m sorry. Believe me- I feel your pain. It’s bad enough that Saved! has about as much connection to the real world as Bugs Bunny. It’s even worse when the shots go beyond Christians to Christ Himself. But the good news is that you can use the movie to help spread the good news to those who need eternal life. Here are a couple suggestions:
- Ask your friends if they think Saved! paints an accurate picture of what Christians are really like. This could then lead to a discussion of the misrepresentations and half truths that the movie dished up with annoying regularity. Of course there are a few believers who act hypocritically, but how would they feel if their group, nationality, etc. was completely twisted beyond reason on the big screen? Ask your friends questions like: “What do you think the real Jesus was like?” “Do you think Jesus would be happy with the way these students acted? Why or why not?” After getting their responses, ask if you could share what the Bible says about who Jesus is and why He came.
- At the end of the film after Mary has her baby, she concedes that "life is too amazing to be random and meaningless." "There has to be a god, you just have to feel it.” Ask your friends if they feel the same way about life, and if there is a purpose, what is it? You could also discuss whether or not finding God is a matter of feelings, or truth, or both. After discussing these issues, ask if you could share how you discovered a purpose in life and God through the truth of Scripture.
Bottom line: Lord, please save us from the unsaved thinking that the saved act like the folks in Saved!
