Nancy and I got to see Saving Christmas last night, and I wanted to say just a few things about it right away. I plan on writing more about it in detail after the movie releases in a few weeks, but here are just a few anticipatory thoughts.
First, I recommend you make a point to see it. We saw it with a fairly large group last night, half of which had to have been under ten, and everybody had a grand time. In one sense, this is just what it purports to be — a seasonal flick. Enjoy it on its own terms.
Second, it is probably not going to be what you expect. This is not about saving Christmas from the secularists, but rather from overly conscientious Christians. This is not about saving Christmas from “them,” but rather from “us.”
Third, before anybody reacts to the “typology,” make sure, especially if you are not familiar with typology, that you grasp the actual point being made — e.g. it is not that the tree of life is the type and the Christmas tree is the antitype. It is that Christmas trees should be understood the way trees are understood throughout the Bible. Don’t treat Christmas trees any differently, in other words.
And last, this movie is the right kind of subversive. I expect a pretty big ruckus, and the two guys in the car are on the right side of it.
You should find a way to charge for your movie & book reviews — they’re entertaining, challenging & informative.
Just watched the trailer. Looking forward to this. Did Nate have anything to do with this one?
Well,I went from not having heard about it to hearing about it (from your blog),to not being interested in it (my default position on movies in general, “Christiany” movies in particular), to now rubbing my hands together with subdued excitement.
Christian movies sometimes aren’t very well thought out from a scriptural standpoint and I’m afraid Christians tend to consume them without the critical eye that they might have when viewing secular films. Fireproof, for example.
http://dalrock.wordpress.com/2013/01/03/how-fireproof-lowers-the-boom/
Hopefully this one is better.
Praise God that we live in a world where Doug Wilson gives the thumbs-up to a Kirk Cameron flick. Doug, you’re just making us postmils more incorrigible.
“Christmas trees should be understood the way trees are understood throughout the Bible. Don’t treat Christmas trees any differently, in other words.”
Are trees really understood in one specific and unwavering ceremonial manor throughout the Bible? Whenever one sees a tree in any poem, ceremony, or narrative in scripture, is there one specific and defined theological idea that must needs always be associated with it? I obviously have not seen the movie and don’t know the specific argument, but I am not so sure that I buy this.
Luke,
Trees may not be understood in one unvarying way throughout the Bible. But if you’re interested in the symbolism and typology often attached to trees in the Bible, Chapter 7 of James Jordan’s book Through New Eyes is all about Trees and Thorns.
@Barnabas I searched ‘Fireproof’ on Doug’s site. He did write a review. There were zero comments. Found that kind of odd.
Ode to a Dead Tree By Gary North August 21, 2000 I think that I shall never see A sight as lovely as a tree: A tree cut down for pulp and boards, Cut down for profit and rewards. Whenever forests disappear To fill a bookstore front to rear, The angels sing a glorious song, Especially if the books are long. When trees grow high above the earth I love to estimate their worth. I praise the chainsaw and the axe, Converting trees to paperbacks. I love to contemplate bare hills, Solutions to society’s ills. For every tree dragged out… Read more »
I can’t testify to whether the review of “Fireproof” received any comments when it was originally posted, but I suspect what happened is that was posted when the blog was on a different platform, and all comments from those days were lost when it was moved to the new platform. I know I didn’t comment on it, but that’s because I’ve never seen it.
Jane, as usual, is correct. When I switched from Joomla! to Word Press, we lost the comments.
and also maybe … as usual, Jane is getting serious.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhkQiJ4SrvY
I thought that that the plan was to eventually import the comments from the old platform, and that the comments were not actually lost?
If you still have a copy of the old Joomla! database sitting around somewhere and just need help with getting that data into WordPress, please drop me an e-mail.