Although I agree with your theological points pertaining to our understanding of Christian doctrine, I did find some very significant parts of the movie that made it worthwhile for me to see and enjoy. The story line wrestled with themes of forgiveness and atonement. Can a kidnapper and murderer be forgiven by God? How does one come to grips in forgiveness in the midst of such a horrible loss?

Likewise, I was very intrigued when the main character was asked to choose which of his two children he would send to heaven and which to hell. He was forced into making a choice and he chose that he would rather bear the punishment of hell himself than have one of his own children do so. The response of the character portraying wisdom was that he now had begun to understand the heart of Papa (God).

When I encounter a piece of literature like this movie, I remember my seminary days with Rev Rossow in his class entitled, "Literature and the Gospel." The premise of that class was the theme of sin and the need to redemption in some form of a savior is so basic to our human nature and identity that it bleeds over into secular literature. Thus, this seminary professor was able to show us how to use literature as an entrance point or bridge in presenting the real gospel as it is outlined in Scripture and central to our Lutheran theology.

It is in this context that I see redeemable (sic?) qualities in this movie. I appreciated the struggle with sin and grace, even in the context of some theology that we acknowledge would fall outside of orthodoxy. At the end of the movie it is state that the main character forgave more and asked more for forgiveness as a result of his encounter with Papa (God). I see this movie as an excellent tool to lead in and present the Gospel in a strong way, as the issues dealt with by the main character are true to those encompassed in our human nature.

Blessings . . .

Chaplain (LTC) James Freitag