Passing-Thought

Finding Faith in "Christ"

Few evangelicals today would find fault in the Church of the Latter-Day Saints' 30-minute movie production on the gospel of Christ. "Finding Faith in Christ" is narrated from the perspective of Thomas who counsels a friend embittered over the death of his Christian wife and carries a doubting-Thomas attitude towards the Christian faith. Much of the dialogue between Thomas and his friend consists of quotes from Scripture weaved into the conversation. Thomas's story seems to cover all the main facts about Christ that call for faith in him: the OT expectation, his ability to heal the sick and perceive thoughts of others, his surpreme example of love and service, his authoritative teachings, his blood atonement[*] and resurrection. When asked, "Why did most not believe in him?" Thomas begins with "I don't know" and proceeds to explain the significance of his crucifixion and death, which most saw as a failure of his power: "he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him." The only major incongruity, in my mind, is nothing I can particularly verify: the blue-eyed, King-James-only Jesus seemed stereotypically sentimental and soft-spoken.

Thomas's conversation with the man seems like a conversation we might have today with an unbeliever. This, in my opinion, is both the movie's strongest appeal and greatest weakness. Thomas's manner seems far removed from the events he speaks about, as if it had happened long ago, as if they only thing he had to go on was his "faith". On the one hand, this helps their conversation about "faith" seem more relavent to us living 2000 years later. Thomas summarizes "faith" as "the belief that good will come of whatever happens to us" is perhaps not so much an absolute definition, but geared towards the condition of his friend in the loss of his wife. However, Thomas' character lacks the confidence that Jesus is ruling and present in a mighty way and abiding way with his apostles. Gone is any sense of Acts and Paul, and their foundational work on His behalf.

What we are left is the feeling that we need to find "faith in Christ" more than we need to find Christ. This sense of existential "gap" between us and the Jesus we've heard "rumors" about, serves well to introduce people to the "Church of the (so-called) Latter-Day Saints". The movie ends fading with (something like) these words:

The crucified, resurrected Jesus still lives today...
He still loves us...
and has again reached out with his gospel to restore the church in our day.
To find out more about the teachings of Christ and his ministry...(call 1-800-666-WOLF)

To fill the void of some faithfuless sense of the absence of Jesus from His church for hundreds and hundreds of years is what these cult-restoration movements all have in common. Resurrection equals absence: an absence to be bridged by our faith plus some new work of His revelation, new apostles and prophets, new people, new religion. A divided kingdom cannot stand. You cannot say with one side of your mouth, "the Bible has the gospel" and on the other side of your mouth, "Jesus has again reached out with his gospel to restore the church." Listen, folks! That is not a "Lord" worthy of the worship that belongs to the Son of God Omipotent. That is resurrection Impotent. Gospel resurrection and ascension means that God has once-and-for-all installed his king upon his throne forever to bring about a new creation which is, was and shall continue through His church until He returns to finish what He began. Resurrection equals once-for-all restoration. Can we lose a "gospel" that has always been with us? Can a House standing on a Rock remove the Rock upon which it stands? We cannot rid the victorious presence of Christ from His universal church on earth any more than we can cast him from his authority of heaven AND earth and crucify Him again. Do you think He needs to die for his church a second time?

[*] Note: I'm pretty sure that the Mormon church ascribes more atoning signficance to Christ's "shed blood" at Gethsemane than at Golgatha. This may be subtly hinted at in the movie.