While some Christians are raising objections over the casting of actor and homosexual activist Chad Allen to play two Christian characters in the movie End of the Spear, producers approved the homosexual actor's selection for the part and one of them even dared to consider the possibility that God may have been behind it.
End of the Spear, which opened in theaters on Friday, January 20, tells the story of five young Christian missionaries, pilot Nate Saint among them, who were brutally murdered in the jungles of Ecuador 50 years ago by members of the fiercely violent Waodani people.
The film goes on to depict how the martyred pilot's son, Steve Saint, who was five years old when his father and friends were slain, returns to the Waodani as an adult and befriends them, even becoming a good friend to one of those involved in the murder of his father and the other missionaries.
Playing the role of both Saints, father and son, in the film is Chad Allen, an openly homosexual stage and screen star who has spoken publicly on same-sex marriage and other 'gay civil rights' issues. In an interview with In L.A. magazine, the actor noted that he has a Catholic Christian background but now embraces a spirituality that encompasses Buddhist, Hindu, and Native American influences as well.
Christian Bloggers Blast Casting of Homosexual Lead Actor
The choice of Allen to play the part of the Saints has been met with strong reactions ranging from surprise to outrage among evangelical Christians. On January 13, Jason Janz posted an article in the blog at SharperIron.org, stating his concerns over the End of the Spear producers' casting decision and asking concerned pastors to add their names to his letter to Mart Green and Every Tribe Entertainment, thus expressing their objections.
Since its posting, the article has been viewed over 20,000 times and more than 100 pastors have signed the letter, which has now been sent to the addressees. Meanwhile, blogger Tim Challie, a Baptist who lives in Canada, has opened a lively discussion of the issue on his website by expressing his personal concerns over the selection of Allen for the film and the opportunities it has created for the activist to spread his viewpoint.
Challie notes that Allen appeared on an installment of "Larry King Live" this week, during which Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Al Mohler also appeared and defended the biblical view of marriage against the actor's more permissive and relativistic beliefs. Recently, the Christian blog founder wrote, "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 hopethat 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."
Challie says it is rare that a movie of this type, one based on "one of the most important missionary endeavors in the last century," is produced. On his blog, he writes that he has gauged the reactions of many Christians who "were eagerly anticipating seeing the film and were disappointed to find that the producers had made such an odd choice in casting."
Saint Supports Allen as Possibly God's Choice for the Part
In the midst of the controversy, support for Allen has emerged from what may seem to many to be a surprising source. Steve Saint, who acted as a producer, played a bit part, and served as a stunt pilot for the production that dramatizes his father's Christian life and martyr's death, says he feels it was God's plan for the homosexual actor to be in the film.
Saint admits that he was shocked the first time he learned of Allen's orientation. "I could feel physical pain," he recalls, "thinking [that] somebody that lives a lifestyle like that is going to depict my dad."
However, upon further reflection, he began to see the actor's involvement as possibly God-ordained.
Although he realized many Christians might be offended by Allen's role in the film, the Christian co-producer says, "I thought, 'What happens if I stand before God someday and He says to me, "Steve, I went out of my way to orchestrate an opportunity for Chad Allen to see what it would be like to live as your father did.' And then I could picture Him looking at me and saying, 'Steve, why did you mess with my plan?'"
End of the Spear's director suggested a similar belief in the important and transforming power of being a part of the making of this movie. In an interview with the website "Hollywood Jesus," filmmaker Jim Hanon - who also directed Beyond the Gates of Splendor, the documentary version of the true events on which the theatrical film is based - said participating in the film was a life-changing experience for all involved, including the gifted actors chosen to convey its message to movie audiences.
Every actor has "a gift of empathy which allows them to truly feel and therefore truly communicate what a character is feeling," Hanon observed. "In this way our actors experienced, and vicariously lived, the reality of this story before any one else."
Was Gospel Message of Spear Not Pointed Enough?
But despite the impactful nature of the events depicted in End of the Spear, Steve Saint acknowledges that some Christians may be disappointed that the movie is not a sermon -- that is, that the gospel is not more overtly presented in the film. "The theater is not a good venue for doing that," he asserts. Instead of going to hear preaching, he explains, "People go into the theater and they open up their 'cultural heart' -- and that's where new trends in our society start; they start in the theater."
And that, Saint contends, is why Hollywood has had such a powerful influence in contemporary culture, as well as why he believes the makers of theatrical films need to be sensitive to the difference between saved and unsaved moviegoers. "My biggest fear," he says, "was that this would end up being Christians telling a Christian story to non-Christians that non-Christians wouldn't go and listen to."
In Jim Hanon's interview with Hollywood Jesus reviewer Greg Wright, the film's director opined that the theology of the story is presented not in sermonizing, but in the character's actions. "In a motion picture, what characters say doesn't necessarily make you believe them. The audience only knows the truth about a character from the choices the character makes while under extreme pressure," he observed.
Hanon said the common saying that "actions speak louder than words" is at work in the structure of every film, including End of the Spear. "I think the audience is smart," he told Wright. "I think the audience can perceive the theology behind the story -- and what's more, they can experience it emotionally rather than just intellectually. For many, this will cause them to rethink what they hold to be true; for others, this will affirm what they already know to be true."
End of the Spear, which opened in theaters nationwide Friday, has been endorsed by several Christian evangelical and pro-family leaders, including Jerry Falwell, James Robison, Kay Arthur and Dennis Rainey.
(c) 2006, Agape Press
