Jason Janz has written a very informative critique of the movie, “End of the Spear,” the movie being released tomorrow about the 5 missionaries murdered by the Auca Indians in Ecuador in 1956. The story of those men and their families, told brilliantly in Through Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot, has inspired untold numbers of men and women to give their lives to the work of missions. Steve Saint, the son of Nate, one of the 5 martyrs, is behind the movie project, having released a book by the same name a few months ago.
As Janz writes, however, this incredible story now has a huge blemish that will forever be attached to the movie. Chad Allen, who plays Nate Saint, is an outspoken homosexual advocate for the gay lifestyle. The way that this came about and the response of the production company to expressed concerns is sad.
Obviously, it does not change the fact that 5 young men and their families made the ultimate sacrifice in order to make Christ known to the most murderous people that anthropologists have ever studied. What is tragic, it seems to me, is that the implicit stamp of approval on homosexuality that the casting of Chad Allen inevitably gives, will now be associated with this story.
This is not about “homophobia” (interestingly, I was charged with that yesterday in a very long phone call from a homosexual activist, talk show host that started out as an interview, moved quickly into verbal assault, calmed down into a sane conversation and ended with a friendly recognition of our respective concerns and beliefs; maybe I will blog about it soon). It is not a suggestion that a homosexual cannot be an accomplished artist. It is about Christians promoting a film not only as a faithful retelling of an important story but as a “Christian movie” that Christian churches should support. I find it very sad.
HT: Steve Camp
