End Of The Spear

[Troy7]

I was just about to.

Ian Mckellan is openly gay and also admitted in the past to tearing out pages from the Gideon Bibles he comes across in hotel rooms.

And as sorry as I am to hear he does that, I’m not about to stop watching LOTR, NOR the X-Men movies.

As sorry and annoyed I am that Elton John got publicly married to another guy, I’m not gonna stop listening to his music…nor Garth Brooks music despite the fact he cheated on his wife with Trisha Yearwood whom he denied he was doing so.

Whats next? Lets all stop going o the movies cause actors are divorced and remarried, or gasp…worse yet, live together and say so in magazines?

Not me…life is too short to be bitter about how I think other peoples relationship with God should and shouldnt be.

Thats between them and God. My choice is in what movies I will see and not how people in them live their lives. Anyways, if everyone in the world di that to sinners, then YOU are sinning as well by denying them ability to make a living.

 

[AmyS]

AmyS:

I found this posted on the website forum by

Dear inquirer,

We are the filmmakers of End of the Spear. We cast Chad Allen because he had the best audition of anyone else by far. We know that the character in the film and the actor are not the same. If as a film company we could only work with people who were completely sanctified then the film would never have been made. We do not agree with Chad over homosexuality. End of the Spear is not about Chad Allen, but rather it’s about remarkable people who lived their faith against all odds, and dared to reach out at the cost of their lives.

The discussion over sin and working with sinners has been in the body of Christ from the beginning. We are glad that our lives are not being compared with Nate Saint. We don’t believe we would stack up.

The story is greater than the storytellers and it would be an enormous disservice if great stories of faith like this one were reduced to the human shortcomings of the filmmakers. We invite you to experience End of the Spear and then judge for yourself the message you are left with.

In Christ,

Jim Hanon
Director/Writer End of the Spear

Bill Ewing
Producer/Writer End of the Spear

Tom Newman
Producer End of the Spear

Mart Green
Producer End of the Spear
Founder/CEO Every Tribe Entertainment

Did anybody read this? This is from the film makers. Unfortunatly Chad Allen is trying to use this movie to promote his agenda. Do you think that it is always easy to see good… Do you not think that Satan uses things like this to steer people away from a thing that is good. You can make it your problem, or keep it Chad Allen’s problem. He could call himself anything, that doesn’t make it true. We are Catholic, I feel strength in my faith… They hired him because of his acting ability, not his sexuality.

 

[kamz]

clleblanc2:

I find it funny no one has mentioned Lord of The Rings and Gandalf.

I didn’t watch any of the Lord of the Rings movies for exactly that reason and my children will not be allowed either.

 

[AmyS]

kamz:

I didn’t watch any of the Lord of the Rings movies for exactly that reason and my children will not be allowed either.

There is nothing wrong with consistency, it often takes integrity.

 

[dljl]

Troy7:

I was just about to.

Ian Mckellan is openly gay and also admitted in the past to tearing out pages from the Gideon Bibles he comes across in hotel rooms.

And as sorry as I am to hear he does that, I’m not about to stop watching LOTR, NOR the X-Men movies.

As sorry and annoyed I am that Elton John got publicly married to another guy, I’m not gonna stop listening to his music…nor Garth Brooks music despite the fact he cheated on his wife with Trisha Yearwood whom he denied he was doing so.

Whats next? Lets all stop going o the movies cause actors are divorced and remarried, or gasp…worse yet, live together and say so in magazines?

Not me…life is too short to be bitter about how I think other peoples relationship with God should and shouldnt be.

Thats between them and God. My choice is in what movies I will see and not how people in them live their lives. Anyways, if everyone in the world di that to sinners, then YOU are sinning as well by denying them ability to make a living.

Awesome post, amen.

 

[kamz]

I could also say, well, people are going to abort babies and I have no right to say anything about that and I have no right to stop the abortion doctors from making a living etc.

It is not an easy path to walk with God and to not go to many movies if any and to turn the t.v. off but for me and my family we will do just that but that is my family.

 

[Troy7]

As long as you realize your walk with god isnt better than anothers cause they dont view certain films or people who star in them like you, then thats fine.

 

[Eliza10]

tamccrackine:

I’ve seen the previews of this movie and I’d really like to see it. Jim Hanon was right… the movie isn’t about Chad Allen. I could care less about Chad Allen and his lifestyle… it’s the material that interests me. Unlike Brokeback Mountain that has straight guys playing gay guys with a gay agenda. Regardless of how beautifully made/acted, it’s the material that is questionable. Not in the case of End of the Spear.
just my two cents.

Me too! i am not going to see the straight guys act in that dispicable film Brokeback Mountain (even if the scenery and music is beautiful! Dress a wolf in sheeps clothing and its still a wolf!).

I not interested in Chad Allen and his scandalous personal life, but, I am hoping that the man is a good actor. I am going to see a movie about a truly inspiring story of saintly people who love the Lord and die for Him. I am looking forward to seeing it with my son.

If we hold out till we get perfection from our culture, we aren’t getting anywhere. But we can reward baby steps in the right direction. And this is in fact a giant step, even with the choice of actor. And perhaps, hopefully, Allen’s skill will overshadow his personal life and agenda.

And if we all pray for him, maybe his eyes will be opened.

It would be great if this movie made way more money than Brokeback Mountain, the one everyone in Hollywood loves because of its agenda. Lets tell Hollywood THIS is the kind of movie we want, in a language they understand.

P.S. I wonder how many people here know that along with Nate Saint there was Elizabeth Elliot’s husband there, a well-known Evangelical writer and speaker. Elizabeth Elliot’s brother is Tom Howard, who is a well-known convert to the Catholic faith. Here is one of his books:

amazon.com/gp/product/1586170287/qid=1138052830/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-3495462-3149650?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

 

[kamz]

We are all called to carry our cross in the way God see’s fit, I consider walking away from the media my call for me and my family and sometimes it is hard and I have to tell my kids no to many movies, t.v. shows and books or they will watch them at a friends and I have to explain why we won’t be watching these shows.

It is a persons individual decision and one each person must make for themselves.

My sister in law doesn’t even have t.v. in her home and her children only read books and she is very careful about that and they simply don’t go to movies, if you are not used to it you simply don’t know what your missing out on.

End of the spear may be a great story and I would love to see something by the actual family, a book by them or interview by them but I certainly don’t need to see the movie to know how wonderful, amazing and powerful God is in our lives.

 

[kamz]

Last week I posted an article in which I pointed out that Chad Allen, the actor who plays Nate and Steve Saint in the upcoming film The End of the Spear is homosexual. In the article I simply posted the information without providing much commentary upon the decision of the producers to cast a homosexual as a Christian missionary.

There has been a lot of discussion about this article (65 comments and counting), showing that this is a contentious issue. Justin Taylor recently posted a short article in which he took issue with people somehow judging the movie based on a casting decision. “I have trouble seeing the big deal here,” says Justin. “Film acting is a sophisticated form of make-believe. Good-looking people who talk and memorize well are paid lots of money to act out stories. In my mind, the main issue is whether they do a good job with the task.”

Taylor draws a tidy little line between the actors and their roles. He suggests that what actors believe is irrelevant to their roles within the films they create.

“Most of Hollywood is out of step with most of America. But at the same time, most of us simply don’t care about the political or moral views of Hollywood. What does Sean Penn think about the Iraqi insurgency? What does Alec Baldwin think about the President’s legitimacy? What does Tim Robbins think about civil liberties? What does Barbra Streisand think about the ethics of House Republicans? Few care! Most of us want to send them a copy of Laura Ingraham’s appropriately titled book: Shut Up and Sing.”

This is, to some extent true. But Justin is missing something important here. There are plenty of people who do care what Sean Penn believes about Iraqi insurgency, what Alec Baldwin thinks about the President’s legitimacy and what Tim Robbins thinks about civil liberties. The very fact that Taylor can list these people and the issues they stand for shows that people care! The names of Hollywood bigwigs are constantly polluting adorning newspapers, magazines and tabloids. Far too many people care what these celebrities believe. Many people allow their opinions to be formed by celebrities. Penn, Baldwin, Robbins and countless other Hollywood personalities have made a stand for a wide variety of issues. Sometimes these people throw their weight behind charities or causes that do good work and behind issues that are truly important. Yet, more often than not, these people advocate what is unbiblical and even despicable. All three of the men Taylor listed advocate rebellion against God’s appointed authorities.

So here’s the rub: these Hollywood stars and starlets would not have a platform if we did not provide it to them. We provide them a platform when we support their films. The more popular a film becomes, the greater the platform we provide for the actors. Does no one else remember how often we saw interviews with Jim Caviezel and Mel Gibson before, during and after The Passion of the Christ? Evangelicals provided a platform for these committed Roman Catholics to share their unbiblical theology with millions and millions of people. The success of The Passion and the subsequent popularity of Gibson and Caviezel owed almost entirely to Evangelicals. We gave them a platform. The “success” of Brokeback Mountain (it has made little money but has garnered a huge amount of attention and praise) is another example. The actors and other people involved in the production have had many opportunities to share their pro-homosexual agenda because of the platforms provided to them through the film.

So what Justin seems to fail to understand is this: when we accept a movie, and thus accept the actors who act in a movie, we provide them a platform. This may be unintentional, but it is also undeniable. So the question we must face is, What will Chad Allen do with the platform we provide him? The answer is obvious from his web site. He will plead for tolerance to be extended towards homosexuality. He will teach what he taught through a previous production which featured a homosexual Christ-like figure. Here is what he said was the message of that production:

It’s one line in the play. It’s early on when God is talking to his son before Joshua comes to realize himself as the son of God and [God] whispers to him, ‘All men are divine.’ And he [Joshua] says, ‘What? I can’t hear you?’ And he [God] says, ‘All men are divine. That is the secret that you will teach them.’ [Then] Joshua says, ‘What if I don’t want to teach them?’ and God says, ‘You won’t be able to keep the secret.’ That’s the message of the piece as I see it. That we are all capable of the same kind of divine relationship with God that Joshua comes to find.
Allen will use the platform to teach the very opposite of what those godly men believed and gave their lives for.

cont…

 

[kamz]

Taylor concludes as follows: “On a personal level, of course, I wish that Chad Allen would find satisfaction in the way that God has designed him. But in watching the film, my concern will be with whether or not he is doing his vocation well. As one commentator pointed out on Tim’s site, Ian Charleson–who famously played Eric Liddell in Chariots of Fire–was gay. (He died of AIDS in 1990.) But I don’t believe that the messenger is the message.”

Justin goes on to toss something of a red herring, stating that Ian Carleson, who played Eric Liddell, was homosexual. Yet I do not believe that we can equate these two situations. While Chariots of Fire was made only 25 years ago, it was made in a different culture than today. Charleson was not provided a platform to share his views. At the time I don’t believe that anyone knew that he was homosexual and, unlike Allen, he was not an outspoken advocate for homosexual causes.

In the comments section at Taylor’s site Steve Camp asks a good question. “If Dr. Piper went home to be with the Lord say thirty years from now and a Christian based film company wanted to make a movie about his life and ministry…would you want an actor who was also a gay-activist to play John’s life story?” What if Elton John were to portray Charles Spurgeon? Or what if it was your life or the life of your brother or father that was portrayed by a homosexual activist? It seems a little bit more dishonoring when it is the life of someone you know and love.

At any rate, I can’t help but conclude that the producers of this film erred when they hired a known, proud, activist homosexual to portray a man who gave his life for the Lord. I just hope that we, as Evangelicals, haven’t provided a platform to a person who will share a message that dishonors the One whom this movie ought to honor.

this basically sums it all up for me and my family

 

[Zooey]

Eliza10:

Me too! i am not going to see the straight guys act in that dispicable film Brokeback Mountain (even if the scenery and music is beautiful! Dress a wolf in sheeps clothing and its still a wolf!).

I not interested in Chad Allen and his scandalous personal life, but, I am hoping that the man is a good actor. I am going to see a movie about a truly inspiring story of saintly people who love the Lord and die for Him. I am looking forward to seeing it with my son.

If we hold out till we get perfection from our culture, we aren’t getting anywhere. But we can reward baby steps in the right direction. And this is in fact a giant step, even with the choice of actor. And perhaps, hopefully, Allen’s skill will overshadow his personal life and agenda.

And if we all pray for him, maybe his eyes will be opened.

It would be great if this movie made way more money than Brokeback Mountain, the one everyone in Hollywood loves because of its agenda. Lets tell Hollywood THIS is the kind of movie we want, in a language they understand.

P.S. I wonder how many people here know that along with Nate Saint there was Elizabeth Elliot’s husband there, a well-known Evangelical writer and speaker. Elizabeth Elliot’s brother is Tom Howard, who is a well-known convert to the Catholic faith. Here is one of his books:

amazon.com/gp/product/1586170287/qid=1138052830/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-3495462-3149650?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

Yes, I think that this may be a good opportunity to turn to prayer for Chad Allen. It is very possible that, despite his trying to use the film to promote his lifestyle, that the prayers of believers may be able to soften his heart.
I very much respect those who have decided not to see the film. As a Methodist Christian, I have grown up with a great respect for the personal convictions of other Christians. It would not occur to me to try to argue that all should see the film. For myself, I am delighted that this story of 20th Century Christian martyrs is being told to a wide audience. I pray that many may be drawn to a closer walk with God as the result of viewing it.
God bless.

 

[AmyS]

kamz:

I could also say, well, people are going to abort babies and I have no right to say anything about that and I have no right to stop the abortion doctors from making a living etc.

It is not an easy path to walk with God and to not go to many movies if any and to turn the t.v. off but for me and my family we will do just that but that is my family.

Acutally, I think it would be more like saying I am not going to tithe because there are child molestors that are priest, and I don’t want to support the Catholic Church because they ordained these preist in the first place. Even some that had homosexual tendencies. (this is purely an example of what some people might say).

Homosexuals are sinners, but, do you think that they shouldn’t have jobs?

 

[AmyS]

Zooey:

Yes, I think that this may be a good opportunity to turn to prayer for Chad Allen. It is very possible that, despite his trying to use the film to promote his lifestyle, that the prayers of believers may be able to soften his heart.
I very much respect those who have decided not to see the film. As a Methodist Christian, I have grown up with a great respect for the personal convictions of other Christians. It would not occur to me to try to argue that all should see the film. For myself, I am delighted that this story of 20th Century Christian martyrs is being told to a wide audience. I pray that many may be drawn to a closer walk with God as the result of viewing it.
God bless.

Great post… I agree 100% I respect people’s convictions. I think we all have our reasons for not seeing it, and seeing it.

 

[kamz]

AmyS:

Acutally, I think it would be more like saying I am not going to tithe because there are child molestors that are priest, and I don’t want to support the Catholic Church because they ordained these preist in the first place. Even some that had homosexual tendencies. (this is purely an example of what some people might say).

Homosexuals are sinners, but, do you think that they shouldn’t have jobs?

they can have jobs but why should my money have to support them? And I tithe my money to my church, the Catholic church is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, my tithe doesn’t pay for my priest and if I found out he was gay I would be the first in line to get him out of the church.

 

[Ryan_King]

Personally, I watch movies not based upon the beliefs or lives of the actors involved, but rather the merits of the particular film.
The USCCB has given a favorable review of this movie, as has Al Kresta of Ave Maria Radio.

 

[DeniseR]

Warning: Part of my post may contain some spoilers…

My husband and I went to see this movie yesterday. I didn’t know much about it ahead of time or about Chad Allen being actively homosexual until I read this thread. As far as I’m concerned, most of the people in Hollywood fornicate, live together out of wedlock, promotes abortion, and routinely cheat on one another. Homosexuality is in that category. If I were to boycott all movies with anyone who publically sins, I would never see another movie again.

It was a good movie and is worth seeing. The story is inspiring and I love the title – I thought at first it meant the tip of the spear. After seeing the movie I realized it meant the end of the killing by the spear. I would love to read the book to get more details on the story and people involved.

If you see the movie, be prepared to read sub-titles. My husband didn’t enjoy it for that reason but it made it more real. I had to chuckle at two parts. First, the tribesmen called the airplane flying over a “wood bee”. The second was when the missionary women lived with them and later brought the son to live with them, the tribeswomen thought he was a girl. But one of the tribeswomen checked by peeking under his shorts – no, he is a boy.

Did anyone else see the movie? I was fascinated about the miracle of the angels explained at the end. I wish they would have gone into it more. As I said, I knew nothing about this story before yesterday.

Also, at the end of the movie it said that 1/2 the profits from the movie were going to the Waodani tribes.