What is an Adventist Filmmaker?

[Stephen Eyer]

At one point in time being an Adventist meant you didn't go watch movies in the theater. I can remember when I was 14 years-old my aunt brought me to see my first movie in an actual theater - "Stand By Me" - not only was I a bit nervous because I was actually watching a movie in a real theater, but to make matters worse the movie was rated "R".

I remember wondering, once I got a chance to look around, why this could be considered such a bad place. Afterall, they served delicious popcorn, had comfortable seats, and the movie was bigger than anything I'd ever seen - and sounded great! The whole experience was amazing, life changing. I was hooked.

Almost 20 years later, I'm now not only watching movies in theaters (along with most of the rest of Adventism), but also making them. The power of story, like it captivated me back then, still moves me today. And what is even more exciting is that there are many other Adventist who have caught the bug and want to be a part of this magical experience called filmmaking. I'm looking forward to meeting the storytellers of the future on this site and seeing their work on the big screen one day.

So what is an Adventist filmmaker? What stories do we have to tell that are relevant today? What do we bring to the table from our religious experience that others might benefit from? How does our faith impact the work we choose to make? I encourage you to join the discussion on this site, with your peers, and in the stories you choose to create.

[MIke]

Truth is a funny thing when combined with filmmaking. Direct cinema probably gets as close as possible, but it's like that shot in 'Gimme Shelter' when the Rolling Stones are listening to the playback of 'Wild Horses' and Charlie Watts looks directly into the camera. That shot creates a realization that the subjects are aware of the camera, and no matter how close you can get to the truth, whenever a camera enters the scene you've altered, by whatever unperceptive amount, the truth.

[Timothy Widmer]

An adventist filmmaker: An Adventist who makes films. Pure and simple. If you are a true adventist, it wont matter what kind of film or what content you consciously put in your films, but if it is truly who you are, it will have your values and your themes in it. Regardless of content. My forte is not film it is theatre, but this is very much the same thing. An Adventist Theatre Maker is an adventist who makes Theatre. You CAN be both/and. you do not have to be eaither/or.

[MIke]

If you are a true adventist

I'm wondering what that means? A true adventist? Sounds scary to me. I'm pretty sure that I'd fail that test, and be pretty happy about failing it. Like Soren Kierkagaard said, "Once you label me you negate me." I don't even like to call myself a Christian anymore, as soon as I do that it's assumed that I'm a Republican, anti-abortion, anti-gay rights, pro-war, bible thumper who's only concerned about converting someone and saving their soul. Maybe we should change the name Christian to something that doesn't pigeonhole us so much.

[Thomas]

To quote you Mike, and I think you have brought to our attention a very important issue,

I'm wondering what that means? A true adventist? Sounds scary to me."

That is scary, but why do we think this? Is it because we are so free thinking and independent in spirit [and that is the way God made us,] so we don['t like others defining us?

Or could it be like so many free thinkers, and do I dare say, "New Agers" [since the 60s actually] we have come to the point where we do not believe in "absolutes"?

Is God, God, or just another being we make like as one so like us, as the Greeks did, to where we have lost our awe, and do not want to believe in the idea of a being so powerful, and perfect that we are frightened of this?

The creation story becomes myth, and the reality is, we end up enshrining man as god.Face it, I learned this from being a theology major at Southern years ago [SMC] that intellectuals will engage in higher criticism of God's Word, questioning it [which is fine, I think the almighty invites this, He made us to be rational beings and He does not expect any loyalty unless He earns it from us,]
But then these same "higher critics" take it to the next level, telling God how he should have worded it, or better yet, telling us mere laymen what God intended to say, or replacing what God said with a nice thus sayest man just because they happen to not like the realities God points out.

We are faced with the prospect that maybe we are not so wise, or good as we thought, or even that we are held accountable to a higher power.

These are scary thoughts and ideas. But I would add here, if we come to the realization that this all powerful being is not like us, not selfish, not vendictive, but only wants the best for us, His creation, then that changes our relationship. But this involves acknowledgement of our lack of wisdom, goodness, and even motives at times.

.......and this brings us around to absolutes, God points out to us that there are absolutes, absolute good, absolutes in law and justice, absolute standards of how we relate to God and our fellow human beings.

Even nature teaches the existence of absolutes, without them our whole universe would come apart at the seams.

"I'm pretty sure that I'd fail that test, and be pretty happy about failing it."

OK, depends on what your definition of an Adventist is then. Like popular Christianity today, the meaning has been degraded into something far from its original meaning. As Gandhi said, I like your Jesus, but I don't know about you Christians?

And I'm sure generations of American natives got a terrible lesson in Christianity from some of our forebears who murdered, enslaved, and destroyed them in the name of Christ, while stealing their lands in the name of Him who said a lot about fairness, not stealing, and how to treat the stranger?

Its not surprising that the term "Adventist" has suffered from the same fate,...the question is, what are we going to do about it, what am I doing about this?

A lot of what is called "Adventist" today disgusts me.

I come from a very conservative Calvinist background. Adventism, as originally taught was a breath of fresh air and dispelled so much of the hellish doctrines and attitudes I had thought were so great.

Over the years I have become aware of attitudes and ideas, even the suppressing of original thought and creativity, and I find myself always at odds with those who think this is OK.

"Like Soren Kierkagaard said, "Once you label me you negate me."

Depends on the label and what it means. I engaged in a conveersation at the health food store with a mother who wanted her son to go to a Christian film school. I suggested Southern's film school, to which she replied that she had no problem with Adventist beliefs per say, but hated the cultish, elitish mentality?!?!?!?!

That hurt, but I've heard this very sort of attitude taught from our pulpits.too many times, whatever happened to humility as a "Christian" virtue. We need to get out of the compound and act like normal humans, the better sort of course!

"I don't even like to call myself a Christian anymore, as soon as I do that it's assumed that I'm a Republican, anti-abortion, anti-gay rights, pro-war, bible thumper who's only concerned about converting someone and saving their soul. Maybe we should change the name Christian to something that doesn't pigeonhole us so much."

Amen to this, so true, I would hate to travel to any country and tell them I'm an American even! That label has sure lost its charm!

I think the moral is, skip the labels, if they don't reflect reality, and just be the substance you know in your heart is right. Study the words of Jesus, forget the comentaries of learned men, and let them speak to you personally.

And if I can quote that 'heathen' Gandhi again, "be the change you wish to see in the world."

Sorry for mounting the bully pulpit again, I get carried away, OK, let's get back on set!

Oh, and there is nothing wrong with saving their souls, if you truly are helping them out and not "making them twice the child of hell, you get my drift!

[MIke]

Hi Thomas, nice post. I think it's great that it seems many of us come from varied backgrounds and find ourselves in different places currently (theologically speaking). Makes for good discussion.

Love the Ghandi quotes, some of my favorites. I like this one too, “If Christians would really live according to the teachings of Christ, as found in the Bible, all of India would be Christian today.”

"I would hate to travel to any country and tell them I'm an American even!"

I lived in another country for a couple of years and the greatest compliment that I ever received was when few friends told me that I wasn't like an American. I've had the opportunity to shoot in 5 different countries over the last couple of years and I've found that if you're quite, respectful, try your best to understand the culture and just listen to people they'll probably like you despite being an American. Of course it probably helps that I despise the current administration, but nonetheless.

[Thomas]

Isn' that true!

"I've found that if you're quite, respectful, try your best to understand the culture and just listen to people they'll probably like you despite being an American."

Know what you mean, I've been interactive with lots of non Americans, especially Asians, Hispanics, and Euros. We get along great, but they know me too. Its when you get amongst foreign strangers and they find out your an American, then you have to earn their respect!

As for Gandhi, I think he was a great person, so was Buddha, and Von Goethe!

As for my journey of faith and understanding, it started with the Vietnam War, it was the beginning of a process of total perpective change, I also finally realized that I needed to follow my artistic instincts.

[Timothy Widmer]

What i meant by that is that If you consider yourself a true adventist. I think you cannot label spirituality, but you can label religion. Religion is your community the people of like-minds that you identify with. And although i am not a "Republican, anti-abortion, anti-gay rights, pro-war, bible thumper..." In reality i am a fiscal republican and social democrat, i voted no on Prop 8, i'm anti-war, all for abortion if the woman's life is at stake. But regardless of my political views. I still call myself an adventist.

A lot of adventism disgusts me and i have grown up in this church, my father is an adventist minister. I am the "black sheep of the family." I have seen the dirt of this church, i have seen converts been pushed out of the church because, they were not "perfect" enough, or "the church just couldn't love them. I have seen church politics tear apart congregations. I have seen the divorce of a pastor (not my father) destroy a congregation, i have seen...i have seen...i have seen...(And I am still young).

But regardless, I still identify with that label. i still identify with those people. I still call myself an Adventist. Thus the theatre and film i create shows my community and where they are at. We are all members on a site called "Adventist filmmaker" after all. We acknowledge that.

They say, write about what you know, and i feel that is the only way one can write. Regardless of what you produce, when you identify yourself with the label of adventism you will be making a self reflexive piece of art that comments on the view of your community, and certainly the view of yourself.

[MIke]

Timothy, I think I agree with you on just about everything. Sounds like we have a lot in common, I also grew up in the "church" and can still identify with adventism (which helps since I work at an SDA institution) although I no longer consider myself an adventist. I'm just not comfortable labeling myself anything other than Christian, even that can be uncomfortable at times. I think that religion is something that man has created and has duly screwed up and the basics of Christianity are what we need to get back to. I'll stop before I go off on some diatribe.

Also, I just have to say that I am unbelievably confused with the people of California, I too voted no on Prop 8. I may be wrong but I believe it's the first time Americans have actually voted to take rights away from people. No matter what you think about gay marriage, marriage is regulated by the state and by passing prop 8 (or any such similar measures in other states) you're condoning state sanctioned discrimination. Not to mention polygamists, why should that be illegal? Perhaps it's just the libertarian in me coming out.

[Thomas]

Tim, Mike, alright, this is getting interesting!

"What I meant by that is that If you consider yourself a true adventist. I think you cannot label spirituality, but you can label religion."

Not to quibble over words, but I am into spirituality, not religion as it is understood today. And I differentiate between institutional Adventism, and the original movement or spiritual idea. The church institution has wandered way off course in many ways, but that is not to say that God did not inspire His servants to organize for service. Its just like most institutions God inspired men to start, it gets hijacked by politicians, like our constitutional republic today.

And this was foretold in Revelation about the lamb like beast becoming a dragon, what a transformation!

Today the church institution has become a political beast, with its leadership being a mix of "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly" [forgive me Clint Eastwood!] man made ideas about everything have to a great degree supplanted the simple teaching s of Jesus.

Theology has replaced the Word, and selfish ideas about life in general have been "sanctified" as holy?!? [yuck]

What to do about this? As Gandhi said, be the change you want to see, that is the first step.

Also, be supportive of any person in a leadership role who is a true believer and has not sold out their soul for gain, or praise.

So, what does this has to do with film, well for me this means that if I am an Adventist, and I mean in the truest spiritual sense, then my work will reflect truthfulness, no apologies, no compromises, fairness, love for humanity, and everything in my life will reflect the principles of heaven, not the tender mercies of the wicked!

With that, let's talk about Prop. 8. How do I relate to Gays, Homosexuals? The same way Jesus would, He loved everyone, the only people He was ruff with were the howling hypocrites.

As long as marriage is a state affair, not just a spiritual institution, then ALL citizens are entitled to it, its that simple. You can't define an institution of government [at least not under our constitution we are not a theocrasy] by religious or theological standards.
As a spiritual community or church, we have a right to define morality, but we have no right to enforce our morality through the power of the state.
Therefore voting against Prop 8, as long as this does not take away from me my right to disagree with the Gay life style, both in what I say publically, or in the policies of a private, religious institution, well then I could never support anything that deprives anyone of the same rights anyone else enjoys, equality before the law, that is what America is all about.

I always hated hearing a minister of God, in a church saying, 'by the power vested in me by God, AND the state of,..." like bringing the idolaltrous standards of the Romans into the sanctuary.

The only thing I do not like about Gay Rights is where the state then turns on the churches and tells them who they can hire, and what they can preach. How would the Gays like to have their institutions closed down, or their speakers jailed for saying anything against the straight people?

Everyone has freedom of speech, at least that what is said in the Bill of Rights last time I looked, is it still there?

By the way, Libertarians are pretty well right on, like those folks!

“Everyone has the right ... to hold opinions without interference
and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas
through any media and regardless of frontiers. “
— Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 19

[MIke]

Theology has replaced the Word, and selfish ideas about life in general have been "sanctified" as holy?!?

Absolutely. What erks me perhaps the most is this gospel of prosperity that is being preached. The early Christians thought that if you had 2 coats you were a thief because there was someone out there without 1. Today you pull into a church parking lot and it's full of Mercedes and Lexus etc. The early Christians also said that if a child dies of hunger and you have food you're a murderer. Something like 20,000-30,000 children die every day in this world of malnutrition or related diseases. Are we doing everything we can to prevent that? You have to ask yourself at what point does it become murder when those children die. After MLK jr. was assassinated a church in Philadelphia mortgaged it's building to help the poor in it's community, there's our example. Imagine what would happen if all Christian churches mortgaged their buildings and used those resources to fight poverty.


The only thing I do not like about Gay Rights is where the state then turns on the churches and tells them who they can hire, and what they can preach. How would the Gays like to have their institutions closed down, or their speakers jailed for saying anything against the straight people?

I agree with your first sentence here, it's the rest that I have a problem with. I would guess that you didn't mean to come across this way, but I think that saying things like "their institutions" and "their speakers" is a big part of the problem. It should be out institutions and our speakers. This might be unrealistic, but I think that as long as it's us and them and not we, there are going to be problems. Recently there was a thing called the Great Family Outing where GLBT Christian families went around to these mega-churches (with forewarning) and just wanted to have a meal with a few families from those congregations. Some of the reactions that they received from some of the most well known pastors (like Rick Warren) were very disappointing. I really don't understand how this became such a huge issue in Christianity. People just lose it about the gay issue and then on the other hand are not condemning wars where innocent people are being killed everyday. I don't get it.

How does this relate to film? Well I think like Thomas said, what we believe (negative or positive) is probably going to be reflected in the films we make.

[Thomas]

OK, good answers, thanks!

[Gary Reece]

This discussion has covered quite a bit of territory since I looked at it last. As I read it, several disassociated thoughts came to me that I will share.

Christian Cinema...

Do Christians make a different kind of movie? After seeing Fireproof I know they do. Here is an example of sidestepping the influence of Hollywood to produce a movie that stays on course to the values of those who produced it.

The story...

If I am a good story teller I can entertain my audience with any good story. As a Christian I become more selective about the stories I choose to tell. Making films is all about telling a story.

Working on my film degree, I took a scriptwriting class where we submitted ideas for approval. I submitted the topic of the conflict between God and Satan. The teacher refused to approve it saying it could not produce a compelling story.

To this day I still disagree. The story has a protagonist, as any good story starts out with. Then the antagonist is introduced and we have a recipe for disaster. As the "raft goes down the river" the plot thickens and the drama of the story is in proportion to just how big the disaster might become. Is there anything that tops the potential loss of all human life, for real, not just fiction! And then to essentially put the creator of all life on trial and kill Him.

This story is so over the top it almost seems absurd. Yet we are living in the story, we know what is going on, and we have a vehicle called cinema that can be used to tell it and perhaps persuade nonbelievers to accept.

Adventist...

So what separates an Adventist story from just any story. This has become a core topic in many of our Adventist churches where the weekly sermon could have been given from the pulpit of any denomination and no one would know the difference. Church leaders say they are scared of driving seekers away before these visitors know who we are. As a result, the passion of our purpose has become lukewarm.

Separating the organization from the message... the message of Adventist beliefs is, in my opinion, the most comprehensive insight into how we came into existence, how the original plan was fouled up, what was/is at stake, the steps taken by Divinity to put a corrective plan in place, and how we can participate in that plan for not only our own salvation, but for the salvation of others.

What we see happening to the disciples following the resurrection is a group filled with such passion for telling the story that they devoted their lives to telling others as they were led by the Holy Spirit. Nothing, including their own lives, took on higher importance.

At that time in history there were those who could call themselves true Israelites. There were the Pharisees and other leader, including the High Priest, that had all the doctrines and the rules. In fact they were the ones that identified Christ as a blastphemer and pursued the "proper" course of action; put blastphemers to death. But history shows that this is not the behavior of those who have a Spirit Filled experience with the Creator. With this understanding, it is my observation that it is time for many "Adventists" to put their disharmony aside; put their judging attitudes aside; seek to be filled with the proper Spirit; and reignite the passion once seen with the disciples. Adventist filmmakers have a role in this!