I am ecstatic about this movie.

“But Elijah, this film is rated R! It contains violence! It even has crude language! =O Why would you condone this?!”

Good point. Allow me to elaborate.

First of all.. the trailer kind of focuses more on the action side of the movie, which I guess is kind of good. But i’ll focus on why in a bit. If you didn’t get it from the trailer, it’s set in a post apocalyptic where nothing is how it used to be. People fight over the simplest things (water, soap, food), things we take for granted. Eli (Denzel Washington) is heading west on a quest to protect a book that he has in his possession. Guess what the book is!? Yeah, I know, the trailer gives it away. It is, in fact, The Bible.

“=O *shock and awe* The Bible in a secular movie?! It must be blasphemy!”

No, no it’s not.

I absolutely loved “The Book of Eli”! It was so inspiring to me! Maybe it won’t be like this for everyone, but it really made me think about things. It really hit hard on the subject of faith and trusting in God (among other things). There are just so many opportunities in the film for Eli to stray from the beaten path, yet he doesn’t. He is tempted by things such as lust and hatred but does not partake. No matter what, the character trusts in God completely and doesn’t give up.

“But.. wait.. It’s rated R!”

Yeah, so was “The Passion Of The Christ.” A simple letter doesn’t make a movie evil. While it’s a great guideline for parents, to me it’s all about your maturity level. If you can take the violence and language and not let it invade you, then by all means, see the movie. If you can’t, then don’t. It’s that simple. But still, it’s definitely not for the children.

“But there’s violence! And what about the language!? Surely no good could come from this!”

Oh, come on! The Bible is filled with stories of horrendous violence and gore! It also contains it’s fair share of cursing! Does that mean the Bible is bad? No, of course not! The thing is, the Bible uses these things in ways that better us. Here, J.D. Walters explains it better than I can.

“Skeptics’ reaction to the Bible very often… resembles very much the reaction Christian ratings groups have to ‘unwholesome’ movies. How can the Bible be the sublime Word of God, they ask, when it has such unwholesome content as adultery, war, torture, cursing and plague?… The Bible features such content because it is God’s message to a fallen world. The only reason it is relevant to so many people is that it rings true to our experience. A G-rated Bible is a Bible that cannot speak to fallen man where he is. No one could take it seriously if it laid out a drama in which nothing bad ever happens to good people, everyone always makes the right choices and God never has to judge those who disobey Him. Like the best movies with explicit content, the Bible tells the truth about the world, but thankfully it also offers hope for a better one even as it takes this one absolutely seriously.”

That was taken from his article “A CleanFlix World?” which I encourage you to check out.

Just as J.D. Walters stated, the violence, sex, and coarse language is in the Bible for a reason:  So we can relate it to the real world.  The truth is, we do live in a fallen world and there is no reason to sugar coat what’s really out there.

“Ok, but how is it good that the trailer focuses so much on the other stuff?”

Good question!  This movie isn’t for Christians, it’s for the nonbelievers!  Let me put it this way, If “The Book Of Eli” were a lovey dovy, in your face, give me a hug, movie with the same concept, it just wouldn’t be seen outside of the Christian community.  That’s what I think is so awesome!  It can appeal to nonbelievers and have such a deep meaning at the same time!

In just over a week the film has grossed $38,437,553.  In a worst case scenario where everyone saw it at a non matinée time at about ten dollars a ticket (slightly above the average), about 3,847,755 people have seen it.  To some it may have just been another action flick.  Those people probably left no different than they came in.  No more evil, no less.  Yet, just think.. If this movie left just one person thinking about God, if it only brought one person to ask that one Christian guy at work, who is always bugging him about his faith, a question that could spark a whole new life, would it not be worth it?  I bet it left MORE than one person wondering what it’s all about.

As far as i’m concerned, “The Book Of Eli” is one of the most productive secular films I’ve ever seen.  There is potential for so much good to come out of this movie during times when films are filled with such horrendous waste.  I encourage you to go see the film.  I challenge you to bring along a friend who may not know Christ.  It may be just “another action flick” to that person, but there’s always that chance that it could spark something that could change his or her life!

Remember, God does move in mysterious ways!