AFA Staff
AFA Journal staff reviews movies, books and other resources
June 2014 – Old-style western, great family drama
The Redemption of Henry Myers is a movie that successfully combines the contrast between a riveting cops-and-robbers story line with the simple frontier lifestyle. And its old west setting makes it stand out from the growing inventory of solid Christian films.
In opening scenes, bank robbers get separated during their escape, one with the money and two with nothing. Henry Myers is hiding the stolen stash under floorboards in the church when the pastor enters, startling Myers so that he stumbles and shoots the minister by mistake.
As Myers kneels beside him, the dying pastor tells the bank robber, “You can change.” Those words haunt Myers as he flees, and as he recovers from his own gunshot wounds under the care of the Sullivans, a widow and her two young children who find him unconscious in the desert.
The Sullivans’ kindness to Myers reflects the parable of the Good Samaritan, and Myers is soon listening in as Sullivan reads the Bible to her children each day. He begins to struggle with guilt, but is convinced that God cannot forgive him for the life he has lived, so it is not an easy road to faith. Still, he cannot forget the preacher’s words: “You can change.”
From vengeance to repentance, from bitterness to forgiveness, the moral of the story is not preached in words so much as demonstrated in the heartfelt actions of its characters. Parents will want to remember that it is a western – so, of course, there are gun fights, but no gratuitous or graphic scenes.
Producer Chad Gundersen is noted for other strong films such as The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry and Like Dandelion Dust, which also carry strong moral messages.
AFA president Tim Wildmon said, “We have come to appreciate Chad’s commitment to producing quality films with Christian themes and family-friendly stories.” The DVD will be available June 10.
Review by Randall Murphree
Uncommon: Find Your Voice
After Aaron Chase loses his brother in a school shooting, he is determined to live up to his brother’s example of character and leadership in the Liberty Counsel film Uncommon: Find Your Voice. Despite mockery from other students and the intimidating opposition of his anti-Christian civics teacher, Aaron initiates a Bible study group. He also takes the responsibility of writing a Bible-based script for the school drama department production.
His Christian activities land him in hot water with his teachers and principal, who order the Bible study and play to stop. With the help of former law student turned janitor Marc Garcia, the students turn to an attorney for help in defending their freedom in court.
The students learn to take a stand for their beliefs and their rights. Along the way, they also encounter inspiring examples of love, self-sacrifice and humility, which lead them to exhibit greater respect, grace and forgiveness even in their own struggle.
Parental concerns in Uncommon are minimal. In one scene, the sounds of gunshots are heard as people run away. Aaron and another boy have a brief shoving match. Teenage girls dress in formal wear that borders on immodesty. Available at jcfilmsstore.org.
Review by Stacy Long
Unite the USA
Stacie Ruth and Carrie Beth Stoelting are sisters with a deep passion for the Lord and for the United States of America. The multi-talented young ladies are founders of UnitetheUSA.org, a website designed to help educate and activate people to make a positive difference in our culture.
In their recently published book, Unite The USA: Discover the ABC’s of Patriotism, they cite America’s moral drift clearly. Through stories of American heroes, little known facts about world and American history, tackling subjects like abortion, quality of life, the elderly and veterans, Unite the USA aims to equip readers with tools for action.
Appendices include historical documents and a series of 31 short devotionals. Available at online booksellers.
Review by Debbie Fischer
Noah and the Last Days
In March, Hollywood released a blockbuster film loosely based on the Bible’s account of Noah. However, the director admitted it was the “least biblical, biblical film ever made.”
To portray the true story of Noah, Ray Comfort has produced a 30-minute documovie titled Noah and the Last Days.
In discussing Noah, Comfort offers Scripture to demonstrate we are living in the last days. He quotes 2 Peter 3:3-6 which says scoffers will say there is no second coming, and that God did not create the heavens and the earth. Other references point to the societal acceptance of homosexuality, blasphemy becoming commonplace and religious hypocrisy.
In an attempt to illustrate hypocrisy, Comfort conducts his familiar man-on-the-street interviews asking people if they are Christian. Some say yes, which leads him to ask if they have had illicit sex or watched an R-rated movie. He then has a frank discussion about their response to pornographic scenes.
Noah and the Last Days was produced as an evangelistic tool in the same fashion as earlier Comfort titles. Parents should be aware of candid discussions of sex and a conversation with a lesbian couple. Multiple curse words are bleeped.
View Noah and the Last Days free here; or order your own copy at afastore.net (877-927-4917).
Review by Teddy James
Life in the Balance: Biblical Answers for the Issues of Our Day by Joni Eareckson Tada and Friends
Christ has called His followers to be salt and light in their spheres of influence and in their relationships. That call is all-important if we want to see change in our society because the issues have become increasingly more difficult and solutions are not easily found.
In her book Life in the Balance: Biblical Answers for the Issues of Our Day Joni Eareckson Tada and Friends address some of the most difficult social, moral and family issues of our day – issues such as violence in the streets, autism, self-image, the stem cell debate, abortion, eugenics, genocide and end of life issues, all considered from the perspective of God’s Word.
Life in the Balance is not just for personal edification, but is designed as a Bible study for readers to dig deeper into these issues and into the Word of God, and thus becoming part of the solution. Joni concludes with her challenge to the church to engage the culture and begin living out Christ’s call to be salt and light.
This is a book that can easily be used in a small group or a Sunday School class. Available at bookstores or online.
Review by Debbie Fischer
