The Alien, Paul, and the Crazied-Eyed Christians

June 25, 2011
It is no secret what the writers and producers of the sci-fi comedy, “Paul,” think about Christians.  But the pressing question is this: How do we respond as Christians?

 

The main female character of “Paul”, Ruth Buggs (Kristen Wiig) is a crazy-eyed, conservative, Christian living in a trailer park.  According to the film, she needs “enlightenment.”  That enlightenment consisted of a clean cut from her constricting faith and embracing of science and her sexuality.   Midway in the film, she sees “the light” and frees herself from her religion.

 

The first reaction of so many Christians towards this movie was to raise their fists in the air in protest.  Was this warranted?  Is this how a Christian ought to respond?

 

I propose that there is a better way.

 

Many Christians become upset or frustrated when people that aren’t Christians don’t act like Christians.  I feel they fail to realize that being a Christian is not a list of morals and rules that someone can apply to their lives, but rather, it is a complete change in identity that subsequently leads to different actions (2 Corinthians 5:17).  People outside of Christ cannot and will not act like Christians.  Nor should they be expected to.  Don’t be offended, instead response in a loving way.  Otherwise, the negative depiction of Christians in this film may not be far from the truth.

 

The writers of the movie did stumble onto a great nugget of truth nevertheless.  In fact, that piece of gold in the script occurred in the same scene that Ruth left her faith.  During the introduction of Ruth’s character, we find out that she suffers from an eye disease in her left eye that has left her blind.  To her luck, her path crosses with the alien named Paul.  Paul serves almost as a missionary for atheism to Ruth.  He tells her the “good news” of freedom from religion and sexual restraint and offers to heal her eye.  She agrees and Paul heals the blind eye.  There is something significant about how Paul heals her.  When the healing is taking place, the deformity of Ruth is taken away and briefly appears in Paul’s own left eye.  He takes the blindness onto himself and dissolves it.

 

Though it may not have been the goal of the writers, we are invited to think upon Christ.  Jesus Christ took our sins upon Himself and absorbed the wrath of God that we deserved because of our sins.

 

How do we respond as Christians?  We turn to Christ.  More than responding with the expected hatred and frustration to those that poke fun at Christianity, we ought to think of Christ.

 

Always look to Christ.

 

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10 comments on “The Alien, Paul, and the Crazied-Eyed Christians

  1. Great article, Brady! I wholeheartedly agree.

  2. Good stuff Brady! I totally agree, but at the same time it’s still a huge shame the movie had to go in that direction. It could have been much funnier without that crap.

    That said, I still kinda want an Evolve This shirt!

    • Wow, Ben, I had no clue that this shirt exists. Amazing. I sort of want one too… : )

  3. haha! that shirt! great post. i would add that i would “vote with my feet” in this case, and just not go, no complaints needed. and of course, always look to Christ! 😀

  4. daniel Jun 26, 2011

    I was really excited about this movie, but I came out completely disappointed mostly due to the spiritual storyline. For me it felt like a high horse agenda that someone added in the end and really didn’t add to the story.

    For me, I will vote with my recommendation where I will never mention Paul and Hot Fuzz in the same breath. But I agree, shaking my fist at it is not the way to go.

    • I see where you are coming from Daniel. It wasn’t necessary for the story at all.

  5. Personally, I find offense in the “ham-fisted”, sophomoric writing that occurs more and more… quantity over quality. Just inexperienced, lazy minds I suppose. I just cringe even more when its on the same theme I’m writing and try to create real character in…

    but then again, is it hatred or righteous indignation? I suppose if those Christians wanted to really be like Jesus they wouldn’t shake their fists…
    They’d make a whip and sit on the steps…

    • Scott, Thank you for your feedback.

      I would say that Christian made the whip in response to the religious leaders that were too self-righteousness to see Christ for who He is. To the sinner, He was gracious.

      I agree there is an element of righteous indignation, but I believe Romans 12:19 would remind us to leave the vengeance to God.

      Thank you again for your feedback. I checked out your website and you are very talented!

      If you have any more questions or comments on this, I would love to go deeper into the conversation with you. If you have Facebook, message me. I’m always open to constructive criticism and it would be easier on Facebook.

      Peace.

  6. Fists and whips aside, I’d have a hard time comparing that deformed sub-human rubber fart [alien Paul] to our Lord. Indeed, they copied the healing procedure and had their pathetic Paul mimic it. This is what they do best: copy and mimic.

    Of more interest is for us to notice how religious those atheists are. This movie is yet another proof of atheist fanaticism. Because evolution is their religion. Man, evolved or not, is a religious beast after all. For good or for bad.

    Peace indeed!

    • You are making some great points. They have to copy and mimic because the Gospel is the greatest story ever told.

      Thank you for your feedback!

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