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IMAGINE A WORLD WITHOUT ANY BIBLES
By Julian Mann
Special to Virtueonline
January 27, 2010
That is the world of the latest Denzel Washington film, The Book of Eli - apart from one copy of the King James version in Braille.
During January there have been two films portaying a violent, anarchic post-apocalyptic world in the cinemas here in the UK - The Road and The Book of Eli. I didn't manage to sit through all of The Road - it was a bleak January day and it was the cannibals that did it.
But Mr Washington's performance as the iterant warrior-monk, Eli, charged with the task of preserving the last remaining copy of the Bible on earth was magnificent. He has some great lines - including a quote from Johnny Cash.
The film won't be favourably received in the United Kingdom - it's too supportive of the Bible. It's bound to fare better in America.
But despite its tremendous reverence for the Christian Scriptures it cannot be said that the film is untarnished by political correctness. Eli quotes the words of Jesus - do unto others as you would have them do unto you - claiming that they summarise the core message of the Bible. But as far as I recall the Name of the Lord Jesus is not mentioned and certainly not his atoning death for the sins of the world.
At the end when a dying Eli finally makes it to Alcatraz, which has been transformed into a fortress of human culture and where he dictates the Bible from memory, the film shows a freshly-printed copy of the New King James being placed on a shelf next to the Koran.
So, it is not a film that reflects the exclusive truth-claims of the Christian Scriptures but it does provide a reminder of the incredible privilege of having ready access to God's Word and of the courageous sacrifice men such as William Tyndale made to that end.
----Julian Mann is vicar of the Parish Church of the Ascension, Oughtibridge in the United Kingdom. His weblog is Cranmer's Curate - www.cranmercurate.blogspot.com
