'Left Behind' leaves true Christianity behind

In the last couple of weeks, two events that happened worlds apart highlighted just how far Christianity in America has fallen. The first was the cinematic premiere of the film "Left Behind," the movie based on the runaway best-selling novel by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins (the first in a long-running series yet to run out). The second event was a devastating earthquake in India that buried thousands in rubble, leaving only a handful of survivors.

Here in America, thousands of miles away from the tragedy in India, the producers of "Left Behind" were busy coordinating a full-court press of the American evangelical community. Tapping into the loosely connected underground network of Christian bookstores, churches and evangelical ministries, the producers' e-mails and promotional literature urged Christians to fill every seat in local theaters.

One e-mail read, in part, "We're in a race with some real Hollywood heavyweights. A race as close as the Florida election campaign. So what does that mean? It means that EVERY SINGLE OCCUPIED SEAT counts (emphasis in the original). You can literally make the difference. Every occupied seat, every advance ticket sold, every sold-out screening is a gigantic vote for the future of Christian movies."

Meanwhile, across the oceans, Indian citizens were busy digging themselves out of one of the most devastating national disasters ever. While amazing stories of survivors continued to make headlines, the basic plot remained the same: thousands upon thousands were dead or missing.

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Back home, promotional materials promised that attending "Left Behind" would lead to more family-friendly movies from "industry leaders" in Hollywood. But the advertising blitz didn't quite shake up the movie industry: "Left Behind" only pulled in a bit over $2 million in its opening weekend, light years behind the top draws.

Hopefully the reason "Left Behind" tanked is that Christian families chose to send their $7 to relief efforts in India. But it's at least as likely that they weren't willing to sit through a truly bad movie simply because its producers professed a similar faith.

I'm not suggesting that Christian producers should give up on making movies and send all their money to India. But the true point of Christianity is to serve people, particularly those who are hurting and faced with unspeakable tragedy. And Christian involvement in culture should be in a way that ultimately serves that end -- not merely to pour $17 million into a poorly adapted feature that does not contribute toward leading viewers into a deeper relationship with their eternal Creator.

It is a sad truth that too often American Christianity suffers from a self-centered worldview that blinds it to all but the most token efforts on behalf of fellow human beings. Instead of dedicating their lives to taking care of the poor and needy, American followers of Christ too often ignore His example and instead look for cheap thrills in an increasingly superficial world.

Thus, instead of centering their hopes, prayers and financial resources behind the tragedy in India (or, for that matter, simply helping the poor in this country), much of the American Christian community was busy hyping a movie that one reviewer called "unintentionally hilarious."

In truth, authentic Christianity demands that believers reach out to their neighbors at all times, particularly in times of great need. Truly Christian films embody this aim by exploring the human dimensions of loving thy neighbor as thyself, portraying servants in a world where everyone seeks to be a master and by encountering the Divine in unexpected places -- not by pasting a B-movie gloss on one of the most incredible pieces of apocryphal literature ever written.

Constitutional attorney and author

John W.
Whitehead is founder and president of

The Rutherford Institute and editor of

Gadfly magazine.