I ran across this very provocative blog post questioning the message of the movie. I’m really not as fussy about this sort of thing as some can be… but the guy does make a good point overall regardless of what you thought of the film.
Bethany Hamilton’s story is inspiring and encouraging, and I’m sure she has real saving faith in Jesus Christ, but the message of the movie Soul Surfer appears to be “I can do all things through moralistic therapeutic deism which strengthens me.” This doesn’t make it a bad movie; it just makes it as easily a Mormon or Jehovah’s Witness movie as it does a Christian one.
The reason I think the post is provocative is due in part to the reality that in our Christian culture we don’t seem to be able to critique something, point out it’s strengths and weaknesses, and accept it for what it is. Instead many tend to freak when a believer offers a good criticism of something that is well intentioned and has the potential (or the reality) of touching people’s lives. Read the whole blog post.
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