Christianity Elmer Gantry Style
February 17th, 2007 at 11:44 am by Dee O'Neil Andrews
How many of you have ever seen the movie Elmer Gantry?
Tom and I watched it a couple of nights ago, again, and it is one of the most powerful and fascinating movies about religion, religious fervor and the ministry I've ever seen, and I've seen it several times. But it had been a long while since I'd last seen it so I was reminded once again of its value and intrigue.
The movie was based on the Sinclair Lewis book of the same name published in 1927. The book was a scathing satire of religion in America at the time, but you know what? It seems totally fitting and appropriate for today.
I'm not going to go into Elmer's character or what was in the movie. You can read the book and watch the movie for yourself.
Instead, the question I have is - where are we in our Christian walk and how do such portrayals of Christianity apply? What does Elmer Gantry have to say about our own Christianity and spirituality?
The problem that many "outsiders," including out and out unbelievers, agnostics and atheists, have with Christians is that we lead lives of hypocrisy. Just like Elmer, who was a minister, but also a boozer (which is an "old-fashioned" word, isn't it, but appropriate) and a womanizer, we preach one thing but live another.
I mean, let's be honest and "get real" here for a minute.
How many of us really practice what we preach?
My thinking on the subject is that we are all sinners, but that what we need to do more than anything with all others and even with ourselves is to show humility toward all and to think of others more highly than ourselves, even those unbelievers, agnostics and atheists we so disdain.
Another thing I got from Elmer Gantry is that I hold a very different view toward Christianity than Elmer does. Elmer preaches eternal hell and damnation, while I would preach God's love for sinners and eternal life, not torment. Eternal death - yes. Eternal torment - no.
I've been thinking on and studying the topics of death, dying and the hereafter for a while now and have come to believe that Elmer Gantry's view of such things, and that of Christianity as a whole, has been misdirected. I have come to believe that we need to hold to and preach God's love and life eternal as opposed to hell and damnation. Of what profit is that?
I know that for me, it was through God's love that I was called to be His child so that I might feel secure in His everlasting love in the end. It did not dawn on me all at once, nor did it dominate the living of my life until mid-life. Even now as I age and grow older it continues to grow in me so that it resonates and completes my Christian walk.
As for you "preacher types" out there who some think I lambasted last Saturday, I would urge you to study on these things, seeking a true understanding of life as God's child, death, dying and the afterlife, and to exhort and encourage others as best you can with the really great news. God give His children - all believers - eternal life! I find it to be of great comfort and joy in thinking of eternal life as opposed to death for all of those in this world who have not deliberately turned away from God.
I don't know about you, but for me this is thrilling news!
I agree with a “but”
we have to preach sin.
if people come to Jesus and love him and worship him but don’t realize they are totally lost and destitute without him, they are not and cannot be saved.
lots of people get wet and say prayers but are simply trading one philosophy of life for another.
we do need to emphasis God’s love and eternal life, but those things are much more beautiful, powerful, and majestic in light of God’s Holiness and Wrath.
if we get rid of the penny, how can we add our “two cents” worth? that was mine
I agree with you Brian. On all you said (which makes you a brilliant man, of course!).
I’m just against the Elmer Gantry style lambasting about “eternal hell and torment” and the evils of “booze and women”, etc, and this idea that the worm is going to turn and fires will burn for eternity hereafter if one doesn’t rush to be saved that second.
I think we need to stress the difference between eternal life in God, who gives life to all creation, including satan and all of his angels, as opposed to permanent destruction and death in the absence of life as God gives it. Does that make sense?
In other words, we shouldn’t scare people to death even when we talk about what it means to be God’s child and a Christian. You are right when you say:
“we do need to emphasis God’s love and eternal life, but those things are much more beautiful, powerful, and majestic in light of God’s Holiness and Wrath.” I agree wholeheartedly.
Let me throw out a question for all of you “preacher types!” What is perdition and is that a Biblical term or idea? If so how does it fit in here? If not, what do we make of it?
Cheers! Dee
Dee, I enjoy your posts and wisdom. Even though my DH, a preacher, generally preaches only about 20 minutes, I enjoyed and agreed with your post last weekend. I enjoyed reading all the rebutals, too.
I also appreciate and agree with this post. However, I think we MUST also teach eternal torment. It will be eternal torment to be separated from God! To me, that is what true hell is. Heaven will be an incomparable blessing simply because we will be united with Him forever. That is the blessing we need to teach.
It does take time once we become His child to “learn to yearn” for what we are missing as sinners, the relationship. We start our Christian walk being grateful for sins forgiven. As we grow in Him, it becomes inconceivable to live eternally without Him.
Blessings,
Pat
Hi, Pat -
Welcome to the conversation! I understand exactly what you are saying and agree with you about all you said. I also agree with your thought that “It will be eternal torment to be separated from God! To me, that is what true hell is.”
My point is, and maybe I haven’t stated it very clearly or need to clarify it here, is that condemning people in everything they say and do and for being how they are, which most know all too well, anyway (I think - I certainly don’t need anyone else telling me my own faults because I’m all too aware of them), is NOT the way to “convert” them (and I don’t really care for that description) or to bring them to the point that they want to be safe and loved and redeemed (and baptized) and given life forever as God’s child.
In fact - let me interject this point of view into the discussion. I’ve done a series of posts in the past here on my blog I call “View From the 80’s”, which are all notes and the voice of wisdom from my 85 year old mom (hi, Mom!) who has been a Christian for way more than 60 years.
My mom reads my blog. She read this post this afternoon and called me. She said she had been thinking along the very same lines for the past several days as to what I wrote. My thoughts. In other words, my mom is some 750 miles away in Abilene, Texas and we haven’t talked in four or five days, but what we both have been thinking was the same when it comes to the topic at hand.
She called me because what I wrote stirred her thinking and brought to mind a scripture she thought summed up what I said here today in this post. It is John 3:16 and the very next verse - John 3:17.
Here it is:
“16For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
My point is that we reach others by being positive, not negative and that is where we should concentrate our message.
Pat - With regard to all you say, I think that it is only AFTER we become Christians that we become so sensitive to eternal life as compared to being without God - the life-giver - for even one second.
What we need to be preaching is the GOOD news! If we turn to God, if we put our faith and our trust and hope in Christ Jesus, we will, indeed, have life forever and ever because our Father God is the creator of all that is or will ever be. Without Him we have no hope and that, more than being a condemnation, is a terrible, terrible tragedy that those who turn away will face in the day of judgment.
I urge you all to see the movie Elmer Gantry and think about all that it has to say to all of us about living a Christian life before everyone around us. We see examples of all kinds of Christians with all kinds of shortcomings in the movie and I think we can learn a lot about life and ourselves if we will think about it for a while.
In the end - even in the movie - it is through the good news - through God’s love - and God’s grace that we are saved and not through ourselves or through condemnation.
Hi Dee, hope ya are doing well!
thanks for the visit, and comment
I got some thoughts on this, but right now I got a bad headcold, so if ya let me , i will come back later and give my thoughts on this!
take care
huggs
I believe in dealing with reality — in other words, telling people about sin, warning them about consequences, but attracting them with God’s love. Love is more powerful than fear or law. We do not ignore sin, but we understand that the power of God is found not in perfection, but in love.
By the way, Dee, I have the 3rd chapter up of Tribes and will try to get the fourth up before I take off and enter incommunicado land for nine days.
Whatever Patrick says is what I think!! I want to line up with the smart people. I never saw the movie, but I know the message of the gospel is not the way out of hell, but the love of God. Something I think we’ve failed to teach is the transforming power of the Holy Spirit within our lives. Not the showy stuff of emotionalism, but the settled peace and joy of the Spirit within that truly enables us to live a life we could never pull off of our own power. In my opinion, we have spent generations substituting programs and busyness for transformation. And every now and then a well known preacher will end up on the news or in prison and add fuel to the accusations of hypocrisy. That notwithstanding, we still walk humbly before the Lord and try to be a light where we are. Knowing all the while that we have the capability of falling just as far and just as hard if we try to fake it with religion rather than transformation.
I agree but I do think eternity without God or the ability to ever be in His presence would be eternal torture.
Good post,
Peace
Neva
Patrick, And Brian, do make good points here.
I belive that both need to be preached ,
this is my thinking, God is our heavenly Father, a Father show us love, takes cares of our needs, watches over us, and disciplines us when we have done wrong.
I think i saw that movie a longggg time ago,