Imitators of Christ: Why You Need to See End of the Spear
by Dr. Marc T. Newman
January 20, 2006
(AgapePress) - - I can't wait until the end of the article so I'll just say it: End of the Spear portrays Christians in a better light than any other Hollywood film since Chariots of Fire. I have been following cinematic clergy for decades. They are usually window dressing -- handy to have at a christening, wedding, or funeral, but otherwise disposable. Often they are anachronistic, troubled, demon-possessed or worse. There is the odd sympathetic portrayal, like Jeff Daniels' Preacher in last year's Because of Winn-Dixie, but none that captured the key characteristic present in the portrayal of Eric Liddell -- Christ-likeness. End of the Spear dramatizes the true story of the Waodani, a fierce tribe living in the rainforests of Ecuador. Their culture of revenge spearings translated into a homicide rate of 60 percent. A missionary team, led by Nate Saint and Jim Elliot, are desperate to make contact with the tribe so that they can show the Waodani a better way of life in Christ before they drive themselves to extinction. After a friendly series of gift exchanges, the team decides to meet with the Waodani in person. What follows is probably one of the best-known stories of Christian sacrifice in the modern Church. The Waodani slaughter the mission team on the beach, but the relatives of the slain men choose to continue their work, moving to the Waodani village to minister.
The word Christian literally means "little Christ." Jesus commanded His disciples to take up their own crosses and follow in His steps. End of the Spear invites viewers to visualize the sacrificial lives of Christians. These missionaries are not Christ in disguise, as is Aslan, but Christ writ small enough for even the most jaded theater patron to recognize, sympathize, and connect. The consistency of their witness -- in death and in life -- shines a light into the darkened space of a cinema near you.
Choosing to Die Once
Film is filled with reluctant martyrs. When William Wallace cries, "Freedom!" in Braveheart, it stirs the audience. But I always thought that Wallace would have rather continued fighting. He was dying well, but dying as a captive. There wasn't much he could do about it other than to use his last words to ignite his remaining followers.
What makes the deaths of the five missionaries in End of the Spear so remarkable -- particularly by gun-slinging western standards -- is that they didn't have to die. In the back of their airplane were multiple rifles. On the hip of one missionary sat a pistol. And while some of the missionaries attempted to restrain the Waodani from killing their colleagues, they were unwilling to use lethal force. As Nate Saint explains to his young son before he leaves for the fateful trip, Nate cannot shoot the Waodani, even in self-defense, because they "aren't ready for heaven; we are."
The attack is unprovoked. A generation raised on the cowboys-and-Indians western expects the missionaries to exercise their "right" to self-defense. That these men choose to literally lay down their lives for their enemies is startling. The Apostle Paul explains, "For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:7-8). Prepare to be challenged and moved.
Choosing to Die Daily
If the story ended there it likely would have led to someone building a monument to which faithful pilgrims could flock and mourn. But Rachel Saint (Nate's sister) and Elisabeth Elliot (Jim's widow) were not looking to place a marker, they wanted to bring the Messiah. Led by a Waodani woman, Dayumae, who they had befriended years before, they leave their homes behind to give their lives to the Waodani.
In the west, we are accustomed to deriving tension in films from the anticipation of a violent conflict between the "good guys" and the "bad guys." Normal expectations are that the heroes will decimate the evil-doers in a climactic battle and justice will be served. There is plenty of dramatic tension in End of the Spear. But the source of it -- women willingly putting their lives, and the lives of their own children, in peril in order to save the people who killed their loved ones -- is more thought provoking than any cathartic shoot-'em-up movie. The living sacrifice stuns us almost as much as it does the Waodani. It also sparks within each viewer the noble hope that in similar circumstances that kind of sacrifice could be repeated. We can't all be William Wallace, but each of us can choose the path of self-sacrifice for others. Each of us can choose to be a Saint or an Elliot by imitating them as they imitated Christ.
Shining a Light in Dark Places
The Gospel is presented briefly in End of the Spear, and its reframing in a tribal context is both disarming and powerful. More importantly, the Gospel is lived out on the screen in the lives of the missionaries and their families. Now comes the hard part.
Some Christians seem to think that in order to be useful, movies with a Christian story have to lead the audience through the details of complex theology and end with an altar call. Movies could do that -- but no one would come to see them.
Film does not "tell" -- it "shows." Dramatic explorations augment expository explanations -- they don't replace them. End of the Spear shines a light in a dark place. It is the responsibility of Christians to take that story from the theater to the diner, or back to the house, or the fellowship hall to explain what it means. And if we want more opportunities to use this medium, we need to see these films and talk about them. [MovieMinistry.com has a Bible study guide to facilitate reflection about what it means to risk all for the Kingdom.]
If End of the Spear is showing locally -- take friends with you. If it is not showing locally, get dozens of folks from your church together and take a convoy down to the manager's office. If the theater sees that End of the Spear will sell out on a Wednesday night, it will happily bump a film that is performing poorly.
Here is our chance. A very good film, a moving story that presents a positive, heroic image of Christianity has come to a theater near you. It is more than just riveting entertainment, it is a tool that can be used to talk about faith. Whether more such films are made will be determined by the buzz and box office generated by this one. You know what to do. Go.
Marc T. Newman, PhD (marc@movieministry.com) is the president of MovieMinistry.com -- an organization that provides sermon and teaching illustrations from popular film, and helps the Church use movies to reach out to others and connect with people.
