I watched a great great film this week that was made by Christian producers titled The Riot and the Dance. It is free to watch on Amazon Prime if you have it. I absolutely loved this film! Many of you will remember when the film Series Planet Earth came out a number of years ago. That film series showed in incredible detail the richness of the diversity of species and habitats on our planet. I can still remember a number of the scenes from that first Planet Earth series that captured the animal kingdom in all of its raw force. While I loved Planet Earth, I also recognize it was written and produced from a non-Christian worldview. All throughout Planet Earth and other documentaries like it, the worldview of ‘atheistic evolution’ is assumed and as viewers we are taken on a journey of exploring all that atheistic evolution has accomplished on this planet.
That is where the Riot and the Dance offers a truer and more accurate telling of history. This film is just as powerful in capturing some of nature’s most incredible sights. But the narration takes you on a journey of seeing nature through the interpretive lens of Scripture. The opening scene is narrated by a reading of Genesis 1. And all throughout the documentary the narrator explains and informs how we as Christians ought to think about what we see in nature. How we ought to marvel at the complexity of the variations of species, and how we ought to shudder at the reality that even the animal kingdom has been impacted by the effects of sin. As Romans 8 reminds us:
“… the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now… ”
Romans 8:20-22
Using scripture as its interpretive lens, this documentary helps us as Christians wrestle through questions of what it means for us as humans to truly live out the commands of Genesis 1:28 to “have dominion” over God’s creation. What is our role in that great command? And how can we as Christians living in our modern world navigate the bombardment of secular voices that assume a non-Biblical perspective? I love it!
I’m recommending this film for a number of reasons. First, I genuinely loved it and want you to see it and tell your friends about it. Secondly, I’m realizing more and more how important solid Christian film-making is. I love how unashamed this film is to present a Biblical Worldview as the starting place for proper interpretation of our world. We need more of that. We need more Biblical voices shaping how we think, and even how we see. I’m excited to see the resurgence of solid Christian film-making taking place. These types of films don’t always get the publicity that they should, but we can support their work by watching their product.
