The following two paragraphs were posted yesterday:
The reviews make me wonder if everyone had watched the same movie.....Bonhoeffer: Pastor Spy, Assassin.....which opens today.....and of which Lord willing....I will see tomorrow. Some of the reviewers see in the film a call for Christian Nationalism....while some others see it more as a warning against blindly following any man or cause. I have a few concerns about the film....from what I have read....and I would naturally compare this film to some very good movies on Bonhoeffer that have already been made.
I will though give a little review on this. Here's a little background. Apparently, the Martyn Lloyd-Jones Trust found some previously unknown sermons. If you Google....MLJ Trust Sermons....you will find an extensive and categorized list of Martyn Lloyd-Jones sermons and talks for which to listen. The first category is those....Newly Found Sermons. I had listened to all of them previous to this morning except one. The one I had not yet listened to I thought might be more of an informative teaching than a powerful message....for the title of it is....The Mayflower Pilgrims. I should have known better....for I have never listened to a Martyn Lloyd-Jones tape without being blessed. So I recommend that....conference talk is what it was....to you....for it speaks directly to us in the church today!
Thoughts On The New Bonhoeffer Movie
OK....We just returned from the theater and watching....Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Spy, Assassin. The definition of hagiography is a biography that idolizes and glorifies a person. It must be hard not to make a movie about a Bonhoeffer or a Spurgeon or a Wilberforce....somebody like that....without fighting that tendency to glorify them. This particular film is very different from a 2000 film......(that I highly recommend you Google up and watch on your computer)....titled....Bonhoeffer: Agent Of Grace. The subtitles alone.....Pastor, Spy, Assassin....vs....Agent of Grace....give more than a hint as to the Bonhoeffer you will meet.
I didn't see a leftist message in the film as some others apparently have. I did see a strong warning about blindly following a man to make a country great again....although the main message it seemed was in how the church let this ideology take over.
The character of Martin Niemoller....German theologian and pastor....plays a significant part of the film. I referenced him numerous times in past posts as he at first could not see a great problem with National Socialism and the church....but he did later see that problem....and spent quite a bit of time in a concentration camp for this later opposition to the Nazis. Surely you have heard or read of his poem...."First they came for the socialists....and I did not speak out....because I was not a socialist....then they came for the trade unionists....and I did not speak out.....because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews....and I did not speak out....because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me-and there was no one left to speak for me."
The theater was filled....as were all the other showings. I tried to gage who it was that were filling these seats. I'm the type that I'll at times look at someone....and hold the look....hoping that they might give some smile or something....encouraging me to start a conversation....but that wasn't working today. Everyone seemed to be all business. Does that say anything about the film? I don't know.
