"the wrong way definitely includes the permanent state of umbrage that many Christians seem to exhibit"

One of the rebukes of God's people in scripture is that we do not even know how to blush.

Now we have definitely got to try hard not to be always be offended by everything but we also can't always be worried about how we look to a world that will misconstrue us.

Ideally we Christians would have people into our homes and be good friends etc. This is the ideal. However, it isn't always possible and part of the cross of Christ is that we will risk people seeing us as curmudgeons and cosmic killjoys.

After all, how does one speak about the holocaust of abortion without seeming like this?

As far as Blind Side - I can't see that it should have been pulled.

Ellen - I think she's funny as heck. I was deeply sorry when I heard that she turned to a life of depravity - scripture refers to these folks as "accursed children" in 2 Peter 14 and my heart goes out to her.

She is blinded (as Eric alludes to in his prayer breakfast talk) and I do not hate her - but in my love for her and others like her, I speak against this life of darkness.

Folks who don't know me personally will assume I'm a bigot, but no one who knows me would likely think this. I have to be okay with it either way, if my goal is to honor Christ in faith and I'm doing my best to speak with discernment and love.

I suspect I'm coming too late to this debate. I have to say, though, that I agree wholeheartedly that Lifeway should not have pulled Blindside from the shelves. Is Christian art forever to be denied the right to honestly represent Christians behaving in a Christian way in a fallen world? Are Christian writers, filmmakers, and artists to whiteout the ugly parts of the environments they depict, or by some self-denying ordinance show only the Christian ghetto? Let creative Christians operate in the world, but not be of the world -- and let our young people be prepared for the realities they will inevitably, eventually, be faced with. Would not a far better response have nee for Lifeway to provide a discussion guide to go with the DVDs?

I have been very impressed by Eric's thinking and worldview critique in his columns, and I totally agree about the movie in this "Blind-Sided" article. But his critical faculty failed with JC Penney's useof Ellen DeGeneres. While correct that her talk show appeal has little to do with her homosexuality, Penney's choice of her does have to do with it. They could easily have chosen some neutral celebrity which made no sexual orientation statement, but they did not. Penney's wants the affirmation that they are gay-embracing and the image that gays affirm their company and products.

The fact that Penney's followed through with a Father's Day ad tends to confirm their pro-homosexual orientation. That's the reason Christians objected to her choice--b/c they believe Penney is precisely supporting that lifestyle, and it is hard to argue otherwise.

This is not parallel to the pulled movie case which is indeed shallow and petty.

Until we start addressing the weightier concerns of Christ and the apostles (gossip, pride, avarice) instead of ranting about homosexuality and profanity, irrelevance seems certain. The New Testament uses far more content warning Christians against these perversions than it does condemning the other issues.

. . . And that somebody is Eric Metaxas. Cogent, well written, thoughtful, provoking, heart-checking prose. From one writer to another, Kudos.

I also really appreciate the well thought out responses from Mark Borja and Shawn McEvoy. Reprint worthy and quotable thoughts from the both of them! Kudos.

OK, my thoughts: I work within the Juvenile Justice Court System as an educator. There's an unbelievable amount of foul language and bad habits and behavior exhibited by the juvenile inmates incarcerated within the camps I work at. Do I, as a believer in Jesus Christ and a follower of The Way he exemplified stop and turn around and head back home because these youth are acting the way they are? NO! My task is to be Jesus to them. . . be the Jesus they never knew, even. Not Pharisaical and condemning, but caring and life giving, the way Jude mentioned in his letter. This verse from his letter seems appropriate to consider:

23 save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.

That is the distinction we must always remember and consider when working with the lost world in which we live in. Show mercy with fear, yet hating even the garment stained by the flesh. . . and hating the flesh, which is corruptible and wholly sinful.

Thanks for the discussion here at Breakpoint and for all who have taken the time to share your thoughts. More material to write about at my own weblog. . . Thanks again.

This movie is rated PG-13- meaning probably best not viewed by a 6 year old child. We watched this movie as a family minus our 6 year old. She will watch it later down the road. As to the issue of how the mother depicted in the movie dressed- really this was an issue for people walking past this movie in the bookstore? Would a berka have been a better outfit as to not accidentally cause lust? Seriously, is the woman less Christian because she's not wearing a sweet little Mennonite costume? If you are so lusty that tight pants do something for you then I'd say it's you with the sin issue not the one dressed this way. I know we aren't supposed to 'cause our brother to stumble' but it's getting so that it doesn't take much to cause a man to stub his toe much less stumble. Look away if you are so tempted by the shape of a woman that you can't even see a movie cover without thinking sinfully.

I think Mr. Metaxas is right with regard to both situations he speaks about here (Ellen and the Blind Side) with regard to how we Christians often approach them - with moralistic umbrage.

At first when I read this post, I was a little shocked myself when I read what he said about some Christian's response to JC Penny using Ellen DeGeneres as their spokesperson. However, as I read it again and thought about it, it has become clearer to me that protesting the selection of Ellen as spokesperson probably is counterproductive and makes us as Christians appear whiny and bigoted. I also wonder - if Ellen was in a "cohabiting" heterosexual relationship, would Christians raise such an outcry, because ANY extramarital sexual relationship grieves God. But somehow, I think that wouldn't happen, and it makes us appear as though homosexuality is somehow worse than all other sins. If you look at the actual words that were used by the organization that started the protest, they do come off as bigoted (see: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/01/ellen-degeneres-jc-penney_n_1247657.html). If you don't believe me, try replacing the word "open homosexual" with "open Christian" and I think you'd have many Christians crying foul.

I am NOT saying that we should be silent to the homosexual agenda because it does condone sinful behavior and we are called to expose it. However, I think we need a more thoughtful, more gracious approach. JC Penny probably is trying to push a certain agenda, but to protest in this way plays straight into their hands.

To be culturally relevant is hard. It means that we actually have to engage the culture and meet people where they are, much as Jesus did rather than quickly condemning them. When the prevailing culture declares that certain behaviors are morally good (homosexuality, cohabitation, gambling, etc.), it becomes counterproductive to keep shouting, "That behavior is morally reprehensible!" It's a turn-off for people to the gospel. Jesus didn't approach the people the Pharisees regarded as "sinners" by telling them, "Your behavior is morally reprehensible," as the Pharisees did. Rather, though teaching them and dwelling with them, they became convicted of their sins in his presence. To be Christ in our generation requires a similar approach, not to quickly condemn, but to befriend, to dialogue and to invite people to investigate our Lord and Savior and pray that He and His eternal word would convict them of sin.

Eric,
While I do agree with your comment about LifeWay, I couldn't disagree more with your comment about JC Penny and Ellen De Generes (“Back in February, JC Penney named Ellen De Generes as one of its spokespersons. The move sparked some controversy which, frankly, struck me as ridiculous. De Generes is openly gay, but her appeal as a talk show host has little if anything to do with her sexual orientation. I’m afraid the uproar over her selection made the protestors seem, well, petty; and it certainly reinforced the widely-held stereotype that Christians’ objections to “gay rights” are a matter of prejudice.”)
Neither do I think many consumer’s displeasure with naming De Generes as the JC Penny spokesperson had anything to do with their decision of running that Father’s Day ad featuring a same-sex couple. They are firmly seated on the homosexual agenda bandwagon.
Honestly, your comment sounds like something I would hear from the far left. I am not sure you have been keeping up with the “gay movement” and homosexual agenda over the last 20 years, but your assertions play exactly into their hands. To the homosexual agenda, you hinting that her appeal as a talk show host is OK because that has nothing to do with her sexual orientation places you in their camp. That’s exactly what they want to hear. Little by little, that agenda plays out to more and more acceptance.
A verse of scripture is probably most appropriate: Ephesians 5:11 - And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. This is what JC Penny needs to hear.
P.S. I don’t think Chuck would have written a similar column. Keep it up, and I will no longer subscribe to Breakpoint !!

Bob Thompson, Stafford, VA

Thank you Mr. Metaxas for delivering this swat to our backsides before we become culturally irrelevant (too late?). If we continue to demand that every piece of art be morally perfect and odor-free before we consume it (something the Bible doesn't do with its own stories or our testimonies, by the way), what will we be left with other than watching paint dry and grass grow? How do we tell stories of redemption, love and sacrifice if there is nothing to redeem, if love is easy, and sacrifice is unnecessary?

I wonder who might be offended at a film that portrayed Moses as a murderer before he became God's leader, or David as a lusty murderer despite being a man after God's heart, or Jesus hanging out with drinkers. Or, would all of that be okay, just so long as nobody dropped a Hebrew or Greek F-bomb on the proceedings? I'm 100% certain, Fellow Christian, that you or I or anyone we know have a story to tell that is only a Story because it has conflicts and challenges, which usually come about because of sin or other objectionable occurrences.

I can envision the circumstances around Lifeway agreeing to remove this "offensive" film. I would guess that the dissenting pastor and his folks made an argument along the lines that anything sold in a Christian bookstore should be able to be watched by any 5-year old. And since most people don't want their 5-year-old hearing ghetto-speak, the movie is therefore "inappropriate." Thing is, there's this Bible I have, and I don't send my 6-year-old to the parts (yet) where Mrs. Potiphar screams rape, or where the rapists of Sodom demand to have their way with Lot's guests, or so on. But I don't see the bookstores removing the Bible. And, soon enough, I WILL read those chapters with my kids, and talk to them, and direct them. Just like when they start to hear F-bombs at school or elsewhere. What does that mean, Dad? Why don't we talk like that at home?

Going back to something I said earlier: "If we demand that every piece of art be morally perfect and odor-free before we consume it..." Well, it applies to more than movies and books and music and the like. It applies to people, artistically made in God's image, who were loved while still filthy sinners. Who have been "consumed" by God and their need for Him, and led to see the value in ourselves only after accepting what He did for us through a bloody, horrific, yet glorious and loving act. We can not, on a well-intentioned but deceived pursuit of moralism-for-moralism's sake, afford to forget this, to be afraid, to be graceless, to continually play "be careful little ears what you hear" with our own grown-up selves. People's stories - whether told in a living room, sanctuary, coffee shop, or on the big screen - contain horrors and tragedies.

Now, should we seek out the corrupt and sin-glorifying for corruption's sake? No! But must we understand that in the best stories the corrupt and sinful is always going to move the plot towards the hopeful and redemptive? Yes, a thousand times yes, and sometime soon we're going to need to understand this or forfeit our voice!

I believe Ellen DeGeneres constitutes a serious threat to the well being of unaware children who watch her and are so easily influenced by her attempts to promote homosexual attitudes. Children need kind and loving protection from people like Ellen. I personally knw of a child who was influenced in a morally reprehesible way by watching her show. We can do this gracefully, but children need to know that attractive celebrities like her are not okay and not worthy of our attention.

regarding 'The Blind Side', here's the message i'm receiving from the original commentary and user comments:

"we condone using the Lord's name in vain to further the cause"

i've been looking in my Bible trying to find where i can sin in order to 'bring them in'. i'm having trouble finding anything on my own.

would someone please help me?

Lifeway needs to be held accountable on many issues and many topics. Put the pedal to the metal my friend.

I have not been able to listen to all of the broadcasts of your ministry but I have listened to many and while I have sincerely appreciated and agreed with your all the commentaries I have heard thus far-today's disheartened me greatly. I could not believe such a well known ministry was condoning illicit language on a movie which was being sold at Lifeway Christian stores. Cursing is bad enough in itself-but to use the name of our Lord in vain? How many of us would be OK with a movie being sold anywhere which used our personal name in a statement of vulgarity or disrespect such as ______(insert your name) can go to ____!" let alone a movie being sold at a store which we believe -based on our faith -is our "friend" in that it promotes purity and Truth and not corruption and lies? I wouldn't want a movie depicting my name being cursed or disrespected sold at the local non-Christian dept. store let alone in a Christian store I greatly respect and trust. How can we be alright then with movies depicting this blatant disprespect to our Lord, King, and Father? Would we allow them to speak so disrespectfully of our earthly parents? If we are any kind of child at all-I would think not. So how, then, can we allow this with our Creator? And to make matters worse-demonize those who have the audacity to stand for Him? There are ways to get the message across that a young boy comes from a rough part of town without propogating the filth which unfortunately comes along with it. Courageous did a fine job of this very thing. Yes-we live in a sinful world-yes we unfortunately have to endure immense profanity, immorality, and evil on a daily basis but we should not be subjected to it within Christendom. We should be able to go to a chain of Christian stores we know and trust and purchase a video with full confidence that it is family friendly. Believers have very few options as it is-how sad that among these options few in number we cannot escape the depravity of our current society even while shopping in what we believe to be "safe territory". How many parents purchased the movie trusting the decency of it based on the store chain from which it was purchased it-thus allowing their children to watch it -only to discover that there are no guarantees of purity-not even from those which profess to be on God's side? It is one thing for a movie company to produce a movie of non-Christian origin and sell it under the guise of it being a Christian film at a non-Christian store chain but it is quite another for a Christian store to sell it and then yet another for a "ministry" to demonize one who dared speak out against it. Furthermore, my husband is a recovering porn addict and has shared with me the different levels of immorality which led him to the total enslavement of his soul. Jesus Christ has set him free but the enemy of every human soul will continue to remind him of what had him in his bondage esp. if he is exposed to similar images etc. I have never had a remote interest in viewing the movie because of this. Time and again, when we go into Lifeway I experienced discomfort knowing that while my Christian husband was browsing the "Christian" movies at a Christian store he would most likely come across the movie box and the inappropriate attire of the character in the movie and possibly have a battle on his hands. Incidentally, in football, the "blind side" is that area behind the quarterback. How ironic that the actress is depicted in her tight "Christian" clothing which incited lewd comments from characters on the movie according to Jennifer's earlier post-from none other than the "blind" or "back" side-very inappropriate for any one to have to view. It should not be this way. We should be able to shop with ease in a Christian store such as Lifeway but with situations such as these occurring-this will not be the case.
I heard this broadcast on my lunch hour and was appalled at your stance. I shared my concern with my husband this very evening and played the commentary for him. I hadn't heard the whole commentary- only the part about the movie. The part about JC Penney fueled the righteous wrath within me. I have been an avid JC Penney shopper but no more. My hard earned money will not fund the support of those who are "bed fellows" with such blatant friends with the world and all its perversion-on any level. Sin is sin and I would be just as anti this dept. store if it propogated and promoted lying as the acceptable and proper thing to do because of the multitudes of souls it continues to aid in keeping in bondage by excusing the sin and thus the chains of the sin. Then to hear that again those who dared express their opinion and were demonized for doing so-were subjected to the "father's day" ad as a response of a "we really don't care what you think-let's see how you like this" mentality. I do not blame JC Penney for this kind of behavior although I will not support them. They do not profess to know better. LIkewise, I do not blame the spokesperson for her chosen lifstyle although I most assuredly do not agree with it because again, in Truth, she doesn't know better either. I do however blame ministries which profess to be doing the work of the Lord and which do (should) know better and spend their time instead demonizing those who stand for the purity and Truth of the one they claim as Lord -in a culture of depravity and deception. It is no wonder our nation is in the state it is in. What is salt? What is light? Salt preserves. It prevents corruption and rottenness from taking place-as in immorality of any form. What is corruption other than that which our Lord reveals in His word is a disgrace to Him-sin of any kind? Light reveals. Reveals what? Truth. Truth based on what? The Word of our Lord. If the word of our Lord is anti-sin of any kind how can we defend it at any level? I submit to you it is impossible to do so. Our nation is almost a lost cause due to the fact that professing Christians are no longer salt and light. They do not shed His light of Truth and do not preserve decency and purity because the world -such as in this scenario-is no longer decent and pure and movies have to be made depicting this in all its various facets of vulgarity. I suppose if a Christian store sold a movie depicting the radical transformation of a former porn actress who had been delivered by Jesus Christ thus blatantly reenacting her former lifestyle for 1/4 of it but the remaining 3/4 was considered by professing "Christian" viewers to be clean in comparison- that the Christian store should just ignore the outcries of a lack of a decent portrayal (which even in this case could be done), continue to sell it and that disgruntled Christians should keep their mouths shut about it? I realize how absurd this scenario sounds but is this sin not going on in our culture today as well as the profanity in language? I ask another question-do we all not agree that our culture today is a far cry compared to that our grandparents, parents, and even we ourselves experienced in former years? Why is that? The answer is -there was more of an intolerance for the corruption of society. In today's version of "Christianity"-we either say nothing -or if/when we do-we stand up for and defend the wrong side. Sounds like some of the comments before mine were from those so disgusted with Lifeway they may boycott and stop shopping there altogether due to their decision to pull the movie. Could it be that those who would be outraged enough at Lifeway to boycott and stop shopping there will continue to shop at JC Penney? I ponder if this statement is offensive to some of the prior commentators based on how personally they make take it and apply it. Perhaps then they of all who commented can understand the disrespect shown to our Lord when not only a general objection is made which could be percieved as possibly directed at Him-but the comments themselves are unmistakenly and quite deliberately mentioning his name in a very crude manner. This should not happen in any movie-I stress-ANY MOVIE-let alone one being sold at a Christian store as a Christian movie for professing Christians-and professing Christians should not excuse it on any level of the imagination. Something is greatly wrong with the way many American Christians view their role as salt and light. Those Christians who dare attempt to preserve morality and speak up in defense for His purity and Truth are demonized by those professing to be of their own. We have got to start seeing sin for the enemy it is-total enslavement to an uncruel taskmaster-imprisonment by an unmerciful warden. Once we view it in this manner, we will assist in administering the only cure the lost so desparately needs for the fatality which undoubtedly awaits each of us and as a result- we will be willing to speak the Truth which will set those in blindness and bondage free from the chains which bind them so tightly because Jesus Christ loves them and died for their sins as well as ous and wants so greatly to set them free to live the life He created them to live-life at its very best. Two thumbs up to Lifeway's decision to live up to their name and reputation-may many more businesses follow suit!

Appreciate the article and your concerns, but it looks more like Mr. Metaxas has allowed the world to lower his own standard to that of the world. There was a time in the movie industry that criminals, bad guys, etc. and their onerous ways were portrayed without the explicit graphics of today. Was that so wrong? Was it so wrong to show shadows of gun fights instead of graphics of today with blood splattering everywhere? Bad guys were bad guys without the graphic language. Was is wrong to not have them use such expletive language? Don't think so. The world is coarse enough, there is no need to bring that coarseness into the Christian realm and make it commonplace, even when depicting the world.
Mr. Metaxas speaks of stereotying and whatnot, but does not this movie stereotype the world with this depiction of coarseness? Many of us grew up in the coarser parts of the world before Christ and never heard or saw what he has said was in the movie (granted I have not seen the movie in question, and am highly unlikely to see it). We can depict the coarseness of the world without the explicit language or images that do exist. Mud tossed, whether by a loss person or a believer imitating/re-enacting the loss person, still soils the sheet on the clothes line.

One of the challenges of being a Christian in this culture is trying to balance more than one legitimate concern with another. With Ellen and with the Blind Side, there are legitimate concerns on boths sides of the issues. It can sometimes be difficult to address one concern adequately and not dismiss the other at the same time. Inevitably, we won't always agree with our fellow Christians on how a certain issue should be addressed. But as we try to find balance, it is imperative that we remember to extend grace to one another! Love in Christ to you all!

I generally don't make it a habit of stating my opinion on blog pages, but this article compels me to say something.
I have read other news articles on LifeWay's decision and sat there, shaking my head. Upon reading Eric's blog today, I have to just stand up and say - Wahoo! Someone gets it!! I was so disturbed when I read of Life Way's decision to remove The Blind Side from their shelves. I'm sure the decision was based on a handful of disgruntles. That's the way these things go, you know. The fact is this: we live a sinful world where sinful people will cuss and have bad behavior. So, where is Jesus in that picture? Is He sitting in the corner watching, waiting for the young man on the couch (as in this movie) to gather up his nerve to put down the bottle, stand up for his new friends and then walk out? You see, Jesus is sitting in corners like this everywhere - watching, moving among the people there, waiting for the right time to reveal Himself as God to someone. The question is if it's YOU sitting in the other corner with your finger pointing, your jaw flapping and your nose stuck up in the air? That young man could be YOU, had it not been for the grace of God. So, I find that we are long on judgment and short on mercy. This is a heart issue between you and God, one that involves some repentance and brokenness.

Which all then leads to how you look by those who are not Christ-followers. Do the words coming out of your mouth and does the attitude of your heart work as a catalyst to bring them closer to Christ? Or does it act as an agent to turn them further away? If you want something to REALLY be concerned about, this would be the better issue.

Well, I think that's it. We can be salt and light in a responsible and decent way. As Christians, we need to find out how we can do that better.

I appreciate Mr. Metaxas' point of view and argument for right responses from Christian's to our culture. I've been concerned by our collective attitude as well. I was willing to give LifeWay the benefit of the doubt though. A responsibility to family morality, or wanting to be respectful to their patrons or whatever. I get that. But Mr. Rainer's response, we didn't want an election to be overshadowed. Really? Sounds like church politics and self serving Christian attitudes yet again. Why not respond from a strong sense of wisdom and Christ like conviction? What is your purpose, vision, mission as a ministry? Shouldn't that shape your response above all else?

Mr. Metaxas,

I disagree with your opinion about JC Penney's recent advertisements depicting homosexuals. It seems to have been a thought out plan and one executed to appease sinful living.

RE: "The Blind Side" film. One would think Christians would be more offended by Sandra Bullocks tight and revealing clothing that is noticed by young men in the film, as well as the misuse of God's name.

Mr. Rainer, What is the likelihood that reaching people with the illustration of the Gospel message through the "Blind Side" movie would take precedence over denominational appeasement? I mean no disrespect, but perhaps heaven rejoices more when a lost soul is redeemed, than when church polity holds an historic vote. Thankfully, other media outlets make this fine movie with the message of redemption available; its not too late for LifeWay to come back around!