www.TheOldSchoolhouse.com
used parables in two ways: either to illustrate a didactic point He has making, or
to actually keep His hearers from understanding what He was saying: “And the
disciples came, and said unto him, Why
speakest thou unto them in parables? He
answered and said unto them, Because it
is given unto you to know the mysteries
of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it
is not given” (Matthew 13: 10-11).
It is not an issue about using stories to
aid our teaching, it is that I am troubled
with the modern overwhelming emphasis on fictional stories among Christians.
I think we, as parents, should take Dabney’s two concerns into consideration as
they pertain to fiction in general and to
fictional movies in particular.
Point One
Dabney’s first point is that creating fiction
properly is very difficult. He writes, “To
paint the springs of conduct and the pas-
sions in their causes and effects, to draw
correctly the results in the life proceeding
from dispositions in the heart, requires a
high wisdom and experience very rarely
possessed.” 6 Basically, don’t try this at
home, leave it to the professionals. And
I think Dabney makes a great point here.
What does a young writer, or a young
and enthusiastic Christian filmmaker,
know about the issues of life at his age?
King Solomon, the wisest man to ever
live warned us to “Keep thy heart with
all diligence; for out of it are the issues
of life” (Proverbs 4: 23). This morning my
wife and I were reading Proverbs 20, and
came across verse 29: “The glory of young
men is their strength: and the beauty of
old men is the gray head.” Young film-
makers would be better served doing an
apprenticeship with someone with the
gray hairs of experience and wisdom. The
Apostle James tells us, “My brethren, be
not many masters, knowing that we shall
receive the greater condemnation. For in
many things, we offend all.” (James 3:1-
2a) This is a verse I have used often when
speaking to young people. Let not many
of you become filmmakers, for God will
hold you to a much higher standard, due
to the potential harm you can cause so
many. A couple of verses down in James
we read, “the tongue is a little member,
and boasteth great things. Behold, how
great a matter a little fire kindleth!”
Christian filmmakers should be mature Christians first, Kingdom-minded
filmmakers second. As Dabney put it,
“The ignorant stonecutter, looking at
some model of classic beauty from a
master’s chisel, may imagine that surely
he could make a statue like that, so utterly free from exaggeration and point, so
exactly like a real man or woman. But his
idea only shows his utter ignorance of the
sculptor’s art.” Yes, professional Christian
filmmakers can make it look easy, but
e Faith Survival Guide is a 12-part study on Christian Apologetics,
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“...Glander’s workbook is a handy item for introducing young people
to some of the apologetic resources available to the Christian. The
more this sort of information is available...the more we will be
vaccinating our folks against factual attacks on their faith.”
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An Entry-Level Apologetics Curriculum For Ages 12 and up
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The frequent engaging
the mind with fictitious
scenes . . . will produce a
morbid affinity for mere
feelings, to the neglect of
actually engaging in real
things in the real world.
