Movies And The Bible.

Part 2- Iconic Bible Story Retold in Series of Blockbuster Films

X-Men Film Features Bible-Quoting Super Hero

Comic books have always imagined the seemingly impossible, and in doing so have often invoked storylines of biblical proportions.

Superman, for instance, has been commonly referred to as a messianic figure and likened to Jesus.

There are other heroes like The Incredible Hulk that exercise acts of strength,

and might be compared to Samson, the Old Testament judge, or Angel who is stylized after angelic figures described throughout the Bible.

Then there are demonic characters (i.e., Hellboy, Mephisto, and Trigon) that imagine what the biblical devil or his demons might look like in alien or mutant form.

While these comic book characters have allegorical ties to the Bible,

Marvel Comics created a superhero with a more direct connection and made him a member of the iconic X-Men.

Kurt Wagner, a German-born orphan, is depicted as a demon-like mutant,

but is ironically a devout Catholic who quotes Bible verses and at various times in his storyline serves as an ordained priest.

Movies And The Bible.

When Nightcrawler (as he is known) made his big screen debut in X2 (aka X-Men Unlimited and X-Men 2),

his knowledge of the Bible was brought to the forefront during one of the film’s most harrowing scenes.

Just before teleporting into a room where Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) is being held captive,

Wagner begins to recite The Lord’s Prayer (from Matthew 6:9–13):

“Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on Earth as it is in heaven…”

Matthew 6:9-13 KJV

[9] After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

[10] Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

[11] Give us this day our daily bread.

[12] And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

[13] And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

https://bible.com/bible/1/mat.6.9.KJV

Movies And The Bible.

In another dramatic moment,

Nightcrawler finds solace in another iconic Bible verse following the loss of a team member:

“The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures…

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou are with me.” (Psalm 23)

X2 isn’t the only time the Bible has served as inspiration within the X-Men film franchise.

X-Men: Apocalypse (2016) takes much of its thematic material from the book of Revelation.

While Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee) doesn’t quote Revelation in the film, he does say a prayer during a difficult moment.

Apocalypse (the name of the movie’s powerful villain who fancies himself a deity) instead utilizes end times imagery,

and references “The Four Horsemen” of Revelation 6, among other biblical themes.

“You can fire your arrows from the Tower of Babel,”

he mocks those trying to defeat him while referencing a Bible story found in Genesis 11:1–9.

“But you can never strike God!”

“I’ve been reading the script a lot and trying to come at, for me, an interesting angle,”

actor Oscar Isaac (who plays Apocalypse) said prior to the film’s production.

“Definitely focusing on the fact he is the embodiment of the second coming of the judgments of God and that energy going in.” 

Movies And The Bible.

Blockbuster War Films Feature Bible-Quoting Soldiers

War movies have been a Hollywood staple since the early 1900s,

but it wasn’t until nearly 100 years later before the brutal reality of combat was most graphically portrayed.

One of the most powerful examples is found in legendary director Steven Spielberg’s classic Saving Private Ryan (1998),

which features Tom Hanks as United States Army Rangers Captain John H. Miller ,

who takes his squad to retrieve Private First Class James Francis Ryan (Matt Damon),

whose three brothers have died in battle.

Known for its relentlessly violent 27-minute opening depiction of the assault on Omaha Beach in Normandy, France,

the Academy-Award recognized film also stood out thanks to Private Daniel Jackson (Barry Pepper),

a hillbilly, left-handed sniper who quotes Bible verses during some of the film’s most intense scenes.

On Omaha Beach, for instance, he quotes Psalm 22:11 while lining up a rifle shot to take out a German machine gunner.

Later, while hiding on a street in an abandoned French town, Jackson quotes Psalm 25:2 while aiming at a German sniper positioned in a tower.

Then, while occupying a tower, he lines up another rifle shot while reciting Psalm 144:1–2:

 “Blessed be the Lord my strength, which teaches my hands to war, and my fingers to fight.

My goodness, and my fortress; my high tower, and my deliverer; my shield, and he in whom I trust…”

Before he can finish the verse, a German tank gun is fired, and he and a fellow soldier are killed.

The shocking scene serves as a stark reminder of the brutality of war.

Movies And The Bible.

More recently,

Fury (2014) highlighted the Bible’s impact on military culture through the lens of characters such as Boyd “Bible” Swan (Shia LaBeouf) and Don “Wardaddy” Collier (Brad Pitt).

Trying to survive the final days of World War II, a tank crew in Europe waxes philosophical about the meaning of life and death.

Moments before their last battle, “Bible” Swan shouts out a prayer of submission taken from Isaiah 6:8:

“‘Who shall I send, And who will go for us?’ Then I said, ‘Here am I! Send me.’”

Towards the end of the film, Wardaddy paraphrases John 2:15–16 as “Bible” Swan tends to a fresh gunshot wound:

“If a man loves the world, the love of the Father ain’t in him.

For all in the world, lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, the pride of life, is not of the Father, but of the world.”

“The world and its desires pass away, but he who does God’s will lives forever,” Swan responds while reciting John 2:17.

“I once had a long spell with nothing but the good book and my conscience,”

Wardaddy says, as Swan finishes patching up his arm.

According to LaBeouf,

his interaction with Pitt during production was particularly impactful as the two had deep conversations about religion and the Bible—

a topic with which Pitt was very familiar thanks to his upbringing in a Methodist family.

Pitt’s past appreciation for the Bible was noted by fellow actor and close friend Jason Priestley in the book Jason Priestley:

A Memoir while retelling a story about a Christmas party Pitt hosted and a gift he gave everyone in attendance:

“Brad had returned from Missouri with a box of Bibles,” he wrote.

“There was one for each of us . . . Brad was so pleased with himself he could not stop smiling.”

Movies And The Bible.

The Bible Featured in Films that Tackle a Difficult Theme

The United States of America is more than 150 years removed from the Emancipation Proclamation,

abolishing slavery throughout the country.

But slavery’s relevance remains today—particularly on the big screen.

Since the early 2000s, a diverse set of films, including 12 Years A Slave, Django Unchained, Lincoln,

Something Whispered, and Amazing Grace, have brought the challenging topic back to light.

In 2016, director and screenplay writer Nate Parker starred as real-life character Nat Turner in the controversial movie Birth of a Nation,

and one of the film’s most prominent co-stars was the Bible.

Early on, Turner is depicted as a young slave boy who can read.

Elizabeth Turner (Penelope Ann Miller), the slave owner’s wife, mentors her prodigy using the Bible as her primary teaching tool:

“It’s the best book ever written,” she says. 

Soon thereafter, Turner meekly reads James 4:8–9 during a church service.

The people are amazed.

As he grows into a young man, he takes on the role of preacher for the plantation’s slave community.

In one scene, Turner concludes his sermon with Psalm 27:14, and later counsels his friend Hark (Colman Domingo), who is fearful for his family’s future:

“The Bible says, ‘take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.’” (Matthew 6:34)

Things take a shocking turn,

however, when his owner Samuel Turner takes money from other area slave owners to have him preach their slaves into submission.

Nat Turner is given certain Bible verses to use (e.g., 1 Peter 2:18, Ephesians 6:5, and 1 Timothy 6:1)—some of the same verses that slave owners quoted to justify their actions.

After seeing the horrible treatment of the other slaves,

and experiencing two awful situations of his own (including the rape and brutal beating of his wife, Cherry),

Turner gravitates towards Old Testament passages written as a rebuke against God’s enemies (like Psalm 149). 

In another scene, Turner looks after his bruised and battered wife,

but this time she is the one giving her vengeful husband advice from the Bible: 

“Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.” (Matthew 26:52)

“You taught me that,” Cherry adds.

“I need you here. Joanna too. Promise you’ll leave this to the Lord. Promise.”

Ultimately, Turner can no longer contain his anger.

While holding a worn Bible above his head, he gives an impassioned speech to his fellow slaves that invokes Matthew 20:16,

and Bible warriors such as David, Gideon, Joshua, and Samson.

Then, inspired by 1 Samuel 15, Turner leads an insurrection in which an estimated 55 to 65 slave owners and their family members are killed. 

“This was his attempt to throw a wrench into a system that would not only decimate him but would decimate his children’s children,”

director and lead actor Nathan Parker told Variety magazine.

 “That’s biblical.

In the Bible, it says a good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children.

So, the question is, at what point will you break a system that not only oppresses you but is sure to oppress generations to come?

That’s not revenge.”

Birth of a Nation and the surplus of slavery-themed films from the early 21st century came on the heels of another heart-wrenching movie that featured a poignant Bible-inspired moment of its own.

In 1997, Amistad told the true story of a mutiny that took place aboard a slave ship in 1839.

The slaves ended up in America where a court battle leading to their freedom went all the way to the Supreme Court,

with oral support from former President John Quincy Adams (played by Anthony Hopkins).

While sitting in jail awaiting trial, a slave named Yamba (Razaaq Adoti) curiously thumbs through a Bible that one of the townsfolk had given him.

Lead character Cinque (Djimon Hounsou) mocks his friend for pretending to take interest.

“I’m not pretending,” Yamba responds in his native tongue. “I’m beginning to understand it.”

He then invites Cinque to look through the pictures as he explains what he has learned.

Yamba retells the story of the enslaved Israelites (Exodus 1) then jumps ahead to the birth of Jesus (Matthew 1) when “everything changed.”

He continues through the life of Jesus as the Bible depicts his arrival in Jerusalem (Mark 11:1–11),

and his healing miracles, also his defense of a prostitute (John 8:1–11), and his love of children (Matthew 19:13-15),

how he walked on water (Matthew 14:22–36), and how he was falsely accused (Luke 23:1–25),

his crucifixion (Luke 23:26–49), and how he rose from the dead (Luke 24:1–12), and his ascension into Heaven (Luke 24:50–53).

“This is where the soul goes when you die here.

This is where we’re going when they kill us,” Yamba says while pointing at a picture of the split sky. “It doesn’t look so bad.”  

Matthew 26:52 KJV

[52] Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.

https://bible.com/bible/1/mat.26.52.KJV

Movies And The Bible.

Critically Acclaimed War Film Espouses Seminal Biblical Teachings

It took 11 years to develop, but the true story of World War II hero Desmond Doss finally came to the big screen in the 2016 drama Hacksaw Ridge.

Unlike most traditional war films,

the lead character is a Seventh-Day Adventist Christian who served as a combat medic despite his unwavering commitment to pacifism and the Sabbath.

Hacksaw Ridge is an example of a film in which the Bible is not just being quoted prominently in a film but serves as the impetus for the entire plotline.

After opening with Isaiah 40:28–31,

the movie takes you into Desmond Doss’s childhood where he develops an affinity for the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1–17) as depicted in a framed poster hanging in his house.

The sixth commandment, “thou shall not kill,” especially seems to grab his attention due to his personal experience with domestic violence.

Movies And The Bible.

Now a young man, Doss (played by Andrew Garfield) elects to enlist as a medic in the US Army even though he is eligible for deferment.

He refuses to carry a gun and instead relies on a Bible that he has in possession at all times.

Although a staunch follower of the Fourth Commandment (“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy”),

Doss justifies his service on Saturdays, (the day that Seventh-Day Adventist’s observe the Sabbath)

because “Christ healed on the Sabbath,” a belief that stemmed from Mark 3:1–5.

This decision makes Doss the target of bullying and outright persecution within his brigade.

The other soldiers see him as a liability and want him to be sent home.

“What’re you gonna do, hit ’em with your Bible?” an Army official mockingly asks.

But Doss proves to be more of a hero than anyone expected.

In the brutally violent Battle of Okinawa, he singlehandedly rescues 75 men who have been injured during the fight.

His brave actions illustrate why he would later become the first conscientious objector to be awarded the Medal of Honor.

The film’s biblical themes resonated with audiences and critics as well.

Hacksaw Ridge took in $175 million at the box office and was nominated for six Oscars, winning two. 

In an interview with The Tennessean:

Daniel Weber, the director of communication for the Seventh-Day Adventist Church in North America explained the significance of the film’s portrayal of two biblical tenets.

“(Doss) really felt that he needed to hold to those commandments,” he said.

“He felt he needed to stand up for his country and defend his country, but at the same time help save life, not take it.” 

Movies And The Bible.

Also Read: Abejoye: Highly Inspirational Message & Serious Humor – Diademng (thediademng.org)

We would like to thank Museum of the Bible for providing this message.

For more information, please visit: http://www.museumofthebible.org