From Mars Hill To The Movie: Preaching With Cultural Icons To Engage Culture
By Marc T. Newman
Ever since the Iconoclastic controversy arose in the 8th century, Christian preachers have been worried about using images in church. Now I will be the first to admit that the icons St. John of Damascus defended in On the Divine Images are far removed from the kind of images produced by Hollywood, but one of the reasons given by iconoclasts for not using images — that all images are idols — is the same reason I would like to advance for using them. People in the West idolize Hollywood. That is why preachers should follow Paul's example on Mars Hill by taking what people worship, and using it to lead them to Christ.
In examining the use of film clips in preaching, I recognize that some objections will need to be addressed, particularly the fear that images are supplanting ideas in the pulpit. I want to argue for the advantage of speaking and seeing, as opposed to speaking alone or seeing alone. Images are not only a point of connection with the secular world (and the entertainment-oriented Christian one as well); they can be outstanding visual aids, vividly supporting truth claims in the text. But clips must be used well to be effective, so I'll make some recommendations for clip placement and the logistics of video or DVD usage.
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For anyone wanting to reject the use of images in preaching, there are plenty of writers willing to support them. In a previous article in Preaching, David Larsen laments the lowered status of the text, arguing that when the text of Scripture is in decline, preaching loses its "edge." He writes: "The contemporary preference for images over ideas must be challenged at its root: images without ideas are vapid and vacuous impressions to be wrecked on the shoals of subjectivity." Cultural critic Neil Postman comments on how the ascendancy of visual imagery is responsible for the decline in linear, typographic thinking (44-80). Historian Daniel Boorstin presents the Eeyore-like assessment that there is no cure for our image-soaked culture (261).
When Paul walked through Athens, the Scriptures leave little doubt about his attitude toward the Athenians' images: "Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he was observing the city full of idols" (Acts 17: 16 NASB). Paul did not like the idols. The idols angered him. But when he was given an opportunity to preach to the Athenians at the Areopagus he did not rail against the idols; he found a way to take the images and the art prized by Athenians and incorporate them — turning them into touchstones from which to present the Gospel of Christ. We walk through a culture awash in images, many as idolatrous as the Athenians. But if we care for the people who produce and consume these images, can we do less than Paul? If there is a way to turn these images to good use, can we neglect this great storehouse of cultural consciousness? I think not, but we must take care.