Are Mainstream Hollywood Films Embedded With Biblical Messages?
Are biblical messages being interwoven into some of Hollywood's most popular films?
Joe Kovacs, the best-selling author of Shocked by the Bible 2: Connecting the Dots in Scripture to Reveal the Truth They Don't Want You to Know, believes that movies like "Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory" contain biblical lessons.
"We all need to remember that during His earthly ministry, Jesus Himself would teach by using parables — cinema-like stories conveying secret messages," said Kovacs, according to WND. "If Jesus told us to consider the lilies of the field and the birds of the air to understand the Kingdom of God, then why shouldn't we consider the messages aired today?
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In his book, Kovacs says, "important Bible themes are secretly embedded" in popular movies like "Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory," "The Matrix," "Star Wars," "The Big Short," "Blade Runner," "The Shawshank Redemption," "Groundhog Day," "The Truman Show," and TV shows like "The Walking Dead." The author explained his belief that God uses Hollywood as a platform to spread His message.
"God tells us countless times in the Bible to 'pay attention' and 'take heed,'" he said. "He wants us paying attention because He is showing His entire plan of salvation through a wide variety of His creation, and that includes what is created in Hollywood."
While Kovacs has explored biblical concepts in stories like "Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory," author Kris Rasmussen made a similar comparison in her 2005 book, WonkaMania.
In a previous interview with BeliefNet, Rasmussen listed some of the biblical lessons that can be found in the story of candy creator "Willy Wonka."
"I look at the tension between hunger and satisfaction quite a bit in the book. Augustus, Veruca, Mike Teavee, and all of the other people trying to win the Golden Ticket are trying to fill themselves up with something, but none of them acts very happy or fulfilled," she said. "They only want more. From a biblical perspective, that is certainly a dilemma we see in our society today — trying to fill a spiritual hunger with more material things, or with status or success — and still feeling empty."
