Showing R Rated Movie Clips in Church
- Posted by: Todd
- Posted on: Tue, November 27, 2007
- Viewed 63
- (9) comments so far
So what do you think? How have you handled this in your church?
A great post by Nancy Beach recently on R rated movies. She writes: "I heard from an arts leader in California this week who was struggling with whether it’s advisable or not to show a scene from an R-rated film in church, assuming the scene itself is appropriate. Would the church be seen to be endorsing the entire movie, and is that ok? I thought back to some of these decisions at our church, and remembered that we showed clips from We Were Soldiers and Saving Private Ryan, and I think those are R-rated. My friend wondered if the decision was to go ahead, do we need some kind of verbal or written disclaimer, stating that we are not necessarily recommended the film, acknowledging its rating, and leaving the decision to the discernment of each attender?"
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Jan on Tue, November 27, 2007
I think we would refrain. Because no matter how many disclaimers you made from the front or in writing, people tend to think you’ve given your stamp of approval.
I would rather err on the side of being a bit too conservative, then encouraging someone to stumble.
I’m sure it depends on the movie, but most R movies in my opinion are inappropriate, at least for my family.
David E Thomas on Tue, November 27, 2007
We evaluate based on why the movie has been given a specific rating. If it was rated due to graphic violence (e.g. The Passion of the Christ), we MAY use it because God’s own Word describes some pretty violent scenes. I’m sure any accurate depiction of the Day of Atonement would be rated R. God saw value in families experiencing that transaction on a regular basis. If a movie was rated based upon crudeness or values contrary to Scripture, we would choose another illustration.
Peter Hamm on Tue, November 27, 2007
It’s not just the rating. One of the most insidious anti-christian messages ever in film was, imho, the movie “Pleasantville”. The message was basically that all the good in life comes from rebellion, if you will… But it wasn’t an offensive movie, really… “Chocolat” was similar. They were both PG-13. Star Wars (the whole series) is a mostly PG-rated celebration of Hindu philosophy. (Yes, I love the movies, and I can get past this…)
So… the line is so hard to draw.
Gman on Tue, November 27, 2007
The more I think about it ..the more I would reframe from doing so. Afterall - people don’t want us to be more “Hollywood” and there is enough Rated R in the Bible that needs to be preached about than showing something that makes a minor pt ....
I’d like to see more pastors preach on the Rated R stuff in the Bible than showing movies anyday!
Randy Ehle on Tue, November 27, 2007
I guess I would evaluate on the basis of whether or not the clip clearly illustrates the biblical text or principle I am trying to communicate - and whether the possible “offense” some people might take is going to cloud the illustration beyond effectiveness. As Peter said, that question goes far deeper than the rating; I think there may be some R-rated films that have a much more profound spiritual message to them than some G-rated films. (“Little Mermaid”, for example, is pretty much focused on a selfish, greedy, materialistic girl who gets her way. I’m not excited about my young daughters watching that one.)
jim on Tue, November 27, 2007
good question! I opened my sermon on sunday by talking about a scene in the recent movie american gangsters.
It of course is not out on DVD but I don’t think I would have shown the scene even if it was…at first I wasn’t going too, but as I spoke on sunday I did feel the need to issue a bit of a disclaimer.
One thing we need to consider (at least in mainline churches) is that we have a lot of kids in our services. I try not to let that limit what I will speak about, but at the same time I strive to be careful in how I say and speak of things.
someone mentioned pleasantville, I did hear a pastor one time use that in a somewhat positive way in a sermon, but I still found it revolting since I had seen the movie myself and was disturb by it.
HEATHER on Tue, November 27, 2007
Recently, our message was about sin crouching at the door (Gen. 4). To help people grasp the brevity & depth of this subject, we showed a 2-min. montage of scary/popular scenes from R-rated horror flix where the bad guy (or Jaws) was crouching…No scene was inappropriate, or disclaimed, but it helped. Personal note: an estranged 2nd cousin of mine watched it online…said it was something she really needed to hear. In retrospect, I’m grateful we used this medium.
utech on Wed, November 28, 2007
I don’t recall if we have used any R rated movies in the past 2 years, but we have used clips from shows like Desperate Housewives and The Office. Actually we did show a clip or two from Office Space a while back. Everything has worked really well and to my knowledge has not been an issue.
We also use a lot of popular music that ties in to the theme of the day, Jack Johnson, Goo Goo Dolls, John Mayer - just to name a few. We have the following statement in our weekly program and also show it on the screen just before service starts.
“Media Disclaimer: We all love music, television and movies and we often use these elements to illustrate our point. However, please do not take our usage of these items as wholesale endorsements of the artists, programs, or films.”
bobby on Wed, December 05, 2007
I’m weighing in a little late on this, but I see it this way. I guess I’ve noticed that the people we’re trying to reach, the non-Christ followers, usually don’t even notice. And I’m way more concerned about using a relevant clip to help them understand God’s truth than I am what the conservative Christian looking for something to jump on is thinking.
Now that being said, I also don’t have a big issue with rated R movies myself. If I did, perhaps that would color my response quite differently.
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