Salvation History Through the Eyes of Cinema

What is “Salvation History”? 

As per the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “51. What is the importance of affirming “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1)?

The significance is that creation is the foundation of all God’s saving plans. It shows forth the almighty and wise love of God, and it is the first step toward the covenant of the one God with His people. It is the beginning of the history of salvation which culminates in Christ, and it is the first answer to our fundamental questions regarding our very origin and destiny.”

As per the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology,

Understanding the Bible requires an understanding of its ‘plot.’ And the Bible’s plot is the story of salvation history. It is the story of human salvation unfolding in history according to God’s plan….

The Emmaus road story draws our attention to the role of the Scriptures and the Sacraments in the Christian life. Reading and interpreting the Scriptures caused the hearts of the disciples to burn, and the breaking of the bread caused their eyes to be opened. This is precisely what should happen to us during the celebration of every Mass….

Relying on the Spirit’s guidance, the Church’s teaching authority is tasked with giving authentic interpretations of the Bible and with safeguarding the people of God against misunderstanding its message….

salvation history is a two-part story. It’s an account of God’s promises before the coming of Jesus; and it’s an account of God fulfilling those promises in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, so that all of human history after His coming is marked by the redemption He accomplished” (Salvation History: the Plot of the Bible, 2/6/19).

Introducing Some Salvation History via Movies

The best resources for learning salvation history are the Bible itself and the Catechism (and/or the Compendium of the Catechism).  On the website of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) are links to the Bible (New American Bible translation) itself, as well as an “Understanding the Bible” background piece.

While they cannot replace the Bible and the Catechism (and/or the Compendium of the Catechism), commercial films about the Bible do have value.  While we need to be alert for any over-the-top use of a poetic license, films may encourage people to delve further into what the Church teaches.  While I am neither a scripture scholar nor a cinema scholar, I previously posted on Amazon some alternatives to The Bible: The Epic Miniseries.  While these are admittedly my own picks, I believe they are the best in their respective categories.

Old Testament

Early World

1. The Bible: In the Beginning – As per the USCCB, this film depicts “Six episodes from Genesis (Creation, Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah, the Tower of Babel and Abraham).” People may recognize “Adam” as Then Came Bronson’s motorcycle riding adventurer, the great Richard Harris as Cain, George C. Scott as Abraham, and John Huston (Anjelica’s dad) as the voice of God, the narrator, and Noah.

Patriarchs

“God chose Abram, calling him out of his country, making him ‘the father of a multitude of nations’ (Genesis 17:5), and promising to bless in him ‘all the nations of the earth’ (Genesis 12:3). The people descended from Abraham would be the trustee of the divine promise made to the patriarchs” (Compendium of the Catechism, #8).  Abraham was father to Isaac and Ishmael.  Isaac was father to Esau and Jacob.  Jacob (aka Israel) had 12 sons, including Joseph.

2. Abraham – The great Richard Harris makes his second appearance on my list as Abraham, the father of many nations!
3. Jacob
4. Joseph

Egypt and Exodus / Desert Wanderings

It was through Joseph that Israel was able to escape famine in Egypt.  Eventually, Israel’s fortunes turned in Egypt.  “God formed Israel as His chosen people, freeing them from slavery in Egypt, establishing with them the covenant of Mount Sinai, and, through Moses, giving them His law” (Compendium of the Catechism, #8).

5. Moses

Conquest and Judges

6. Samson & Delilah (1996) “There is plenty of poetic license in this film and changing details does NOT add to the film. Be that said, this production does recount the basic aspects of Sansom’s being beguiled and betrayed – but never forgotten by God” ( Tevington, 6/9/13 Amazon review)
7. The Story of Ruth – “Upon the death of her first husband, her mother-in-law (Naomi) initially urged Ruth to return to her own people. Ruth beautifully responded, “Do not ask me to abandon or forsake you! for wherever you go I will go, wherever you lodge I will lodge, your people shall be my people, and your God my God” (Ruth 1: 16)….‘Ruth’s piety (Ruth 2:11), her spirit of self-sacrifice, and her moral integrity were favored by God with the gift of faith and an illustrious marriage whereby she became the ancestress of David and of Christ. In this, the universality of the messianic salvation is foreshadowed’ (old(dot)usccb(dot)org/nab/bible/ruth/intro.htm). ( Tevington, 6/29/13 Amazon review)

Royal Kingdom / Divided Kingdom

The prophets proclaimed a radical redemption of the people and salvation which would include all nations in a new and everlasting covenant. From the people of Israel and from the house of King David, would be born the Messiah, Jesus” (Compendium of the Catechism, #8)

8. David
9. Solomon (EXTREME POETIC LICENSE ALERT! There is NOTHING in Scripture to indicate that King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba had an affair and a son!)

Exile

10. Jeremiah – “While allowing for plenty of artistic license, this film seems to cover the essentials of Jeremiah’s birth in the 7th century BC, his call to prophecy, his opposition to idolatry, and his prophesying against policy toward Babylon. As God’s warnings through Jeremiah went unheeded, the prophesies indeed came to pass.” ( Tevington, 3/20/12 Amazon review)
11. The Book of Daniel – Daniel] “was allegedly among the first Jews deported to Babylon, where he lived at least until 538 B.C. Strictly speaking, the book does not belong to the prophetic writings but rather to a distinctive type of literature known as ‘apocalyptic’” (USCCB)
12. Esther – Similar to “One Night with the King,’ this film shows how Esther became queen and how God used her to rescue her people.

Return / Macabbean Revolt

13. The Old Testament– As this film focuses on the Maccabees, the name seems misleading.  “The name Maccabee, probably meaning ‘hammer,’ is actually applied in the Books of Maccabees to only one man, Judas, third son of the priest Mattathias and first leader of the revolt against the Seleucid kings ….The two Books of Maccabees contain independent accounts of events (in part identical) that accompanied the attempted suppression of Judaism in Palestine in the second century B.C. The vigorous reaction to this attempt established for a time the religious and political independence of the Jews” (USCCB).

New Testament

Messianic Fulfillment

1. The Nativity Story – If it somehow eluded anyone, this movie reminds us that Jesus was truly human and truly divine from His very first moment. It should also remind us of the inestimable value of each and every human life from her/his own first moment of conception/fertilization.
2. The fate of John the Baptist – This was not actually a commercial film, but a half-hour episode of a 1951 television production. John the Baptist was already in prison for denouncing the “marital” situation of the already divorced King Herod and the already divorced Herodias.  Further complicating matters was that Herodias had been married to King Herod’s half-brother!  In return for Herodias’ daughter’s dancing for Herod and his pals, King Herod ordered the execution of John the Baptist.  John the Baptist was put to death for his criticism of this immoral “marital” situation.
3. The Gospel According to St. Matthew– Pier Paolo “Pasolini became consumed with the notion of filming the life of Christ straight from one of the Gospels, shooting without a screenplay and taking no editorial license with the text….there’s none of the spectacle of a Hollywood biblical production and virtually no special effects….No other life-of-Christ film is so contemplative, inviting the viewer simply to meditate on the life and teaching of Jesus” (Deacon Steven Greydanus).

The Church

4. Peter – “this is considered by many as the best film portrait ever made of St. Peter” (EWTN Religious Catalogue).
5. Paul, Apostle of Christ – “This is a magnificent film, based on the last days and death of St. Paul the Apostle….While artistic license was employed in this production, it was NOT abused. The end result is faithful to essential elements known from scripture and tradition. Dialogue seems quite believable” ( Tevington, 3/20/12 Amazon review).
6. The Apocalypse – Toward the end of the actor’s own life, the great Richard Harris makes his third and final appearance on my list as John the Evangelist on the Island of Patmos. In conjunction with this film, treat yourself and read Scott Hahn’s The Lamb’s Supper