*Spoiler alert: This article contains the details of the introduced films.

Most people believe in a higher being. The search for God has always been the biggest mystery and in each religion, people try hard to portray their own God in the form of mural paintings or hymns and to commune with their Gods somehow.

For this September issue, I have selected these two films, Left Behind and The Brand New Testament. The two films both represent Christianity, and do it in their own unique way. The Brand New Testament has a satirical approach to the theme of God and religion. On the other hand, Left Behind has a more serious approach to the theme of God. By juxtaposing God and Humanity, we are able to see how both films interpret God.

1. Plot

Left Behind is about the rapture, which is an eschatological concept in Christianity. One day suddenly all the good Christian people in the world disappear, leaving behind all the non-believers on Earth. It’s not a surprise that only chaos remais, and crimes such as robbery and murder were left exposed to the main characters of the film. The film is thematically heavy and quite serious.

The Brand New Testament is a comedic approach to how religion was created and how God created the world. God is a very powerful figure and is portrayed as an abusive father with a submissive wife and a rebellious daughter. The father controls everything that goes on, on Earth, using his computer. He can manipulate the world any way he wants. The rebellious daughter visits the chaotic world her father built and with the help of JC(Jesus Christ) creates a set of rules for the humans of her father’s world, helping them escape the chaos her father created.

2. Symbols to communicate

The most remarkable feature of Left Behind is that the key to heaven was right in front of the non-believers the whole time. The believers would always encourage others to communicate with God by following the Bible. However, the sinners always found a way to not accept religion and doubt the events they were experiencing were even biblical at all. They constantly denied the Bible so God chose to constantly deny them. Acceptance also came with sincerity. Since God is all seeing, he is able to read people with transparency. For example, when the main character, Chloe comes across a pastor, she is surprised to see him because of all the people who deserve to be in heaven, she thought the preacher had a reserved seat. But the preacher she came across confesses that he did not preach the Bible with sincerity. He communicated with God in a hypocritical way.

On the other hand, The Brand New Testament showcases the step by step process of creating religion. In the beginning of the movie people were clueless about God, until the daughter of God gathers her own disciples and creates a set of rules that humanity should follow. Through these texts humans are able to make the world a better place and not only satisfy God, but satisfy themselves as well.

3. God and Humanity: Who is God?

God is seen as the judge of nature and humans are subordinate to him. In the film Left Behind, humanity is given hope that one day they will be able to enter this paradise called Heaven. However, those who choose to sin and to not accept God and Jesus Christ, will be left behind, and God will choose who he believes deserves to be in Heaven during the Rapture. This is the biblical event that is occurring during the film. The main character Ray is a sinner and he shows it by cheating on his wife and lying to his kids. Humans always have the opportunity to ask for forgiveness and not commit the same sin again. However, the sinners in the movie refuse to accept the opportunity, and are never permitted into heaven. After the rapture the people who were left behind finally realize that the believers were right, but when they realize it, it is too late and they have no choice but to continue to live in the abandoned world.

In The New Brand Testament, God is portrayed as a cruel joke, and life can sometimes be really cruel and seem like it is indeed a cruel joke. He creates pain and misery for humans for fun, and is able to sleep well at night after harming hundreds of thousands of people every day. Humans are unaware that the misery is randomly generated by an abusive father sitting at his computer. They are hopeless, and no matter what they do, pain can be right around the corner. After Ea, the daughter, runs away from the house, God goes down to the human world to find his daughter. However, because of his brutality and incompetence, he is not welcomed by the people he created and although he says he is God, people never trust him and eventually treat him as a mental defect. In the end he is sent to a prison in a community that he created, and the God powers are transferred to a more loving and caring person; the wife of the abusive father. The humans are introduced to a new testament. Giving hope to a hopeless world.

Films are doing their own job not only to provide people a sense of joy but also as a medium to strengthen their belief or to express their opinion on God. The two films have different features in that they have different opinions on God, still I believe they managed well the curiosity of God.

Cho Aruem  aruemcho@gmail.com

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