Light of the World

From SPARK

Contents 1 Unpublished 1.1 One-sentence summary 2 Description 3 Considerations 3.1 Limitations 3.2 Guidelines for Use 4 Where to Obtain 4.1 Link to Producer or Source Organization 4.2 Cost 4.3 Producer/Owners 4.3.1 Author/Artist/Producer 4.3.2 Current copyright owner 4.3.3 Other Information 4.4 Reviewed by 4.5 Date

Unpublished

One-sentence summary

A chronological storytelling overview of Old and New Testament in the media types of Video, DVD, and audio cassette originally written in English.

Description

Light of the World is an 80-minute production made up entirely of 360 still drawings. Most, but not all of the drawings depict scenes from Scripture. The DVD is divided into nine chapters:

1. Creation & Fall of Man

2. God's Laws & Man's Rebellion

3. This Was Your Life!

4. The Birth of Jesus Christ

5. His Youth

6. Ministry

7. Betrayal & Conviction

8. Crucifixion & Resurrection

9. Invitation to Receive Christ

Considerations

Frequent additions are made to the Biblical text such as:

Every virgin was watched (by Satan) after Isaiah’s prophecy (referring to the prophecy that the Messiah would be born of a virgin). This may be true but is not explicit in Scripture.

Satan moved Caesar to tax the whole world. This may be true but is not stated in Scripture.

Satan summoned his dark forces to the trials of Jesus. This may be true but is not stated in Scripture.

Christ could have called on 72,000 angels. The number 72,000 is not mentioned in the gospel accounts.

Satan made the crowds… during the sentencing of Christ. Satan is not mentioned in the gospel accounts of the trials, sentencing, or crucifixion.

…poisonous thorns used in the crown of thorns. Scripture nowhere identifies the thorns used as poisonous. The plant commonly thought to be used is poisonous, but the poison is in the sap and not emitted by the thorns. The reaction to the sap on contact of the skin is mild. Unquestionably the thorns were painful due to their sharpness, but not due to any poison.

Each soldier present hit Jesus in the face without mercy. Jesus was no doubt hit by the soldiers and in the face, but the gospels do not describe each soldier doing so.

Satan underestimated the power of God. If he had known it, he would have never crucified the Lord. (Narration with Satan below the cross after the crucifixion.) This is not part of the storyline. See 1 Corinthians 2:8 for the basis of quote.

Jesus’ beard is pictured as being torn out as he goes to the cross. While Isaiah describes this in prophecy, the gospels do not tell of this event. This is confusing to those in the audience who look up in the scriptures what they saw in the film and don’t find it.

Included are several examples of fulfilled prophecy. However, understanding prophecy is very difficult for those unfamiliar with the Bible. No explanation is given of what prophecy is and how it fits into the Bible.

Limitations

The list above reveals how the progression of the film is not completely chronological. After the first two sections covering Adam and Eve, Abraham, and Moses, the film transitions to a modern day American couple who have a successful, happy life. The husband dies suddenly, and his eternal judgment before God is depicted. While Luke 12:20 is quoted, this story is significantly different from the parable of the rich fool, and chronologically and Biblically out of order. The scenes in this story, depicting success with a new car and a big American-style house, will not necessarily communicate success to viewers in other cultures. Many non-North Americans may see this man and wife impoverished since they are not pictured with any children.

This is not the only deviation from the Biblical story track that is likely to confuse viewers. In the middle of Jesus' ministry there is a scene that 'interrupts' the story and 'flashes' out to hell. A similar scene of judgment on a cliffside is sandwiched between Jesus' death and resurrection. There is also an interruption after Jesus is whipped, referring back to when God cursed the earth with thorns. This flashback not only interrupts the story, it asserts the thorns represent sin. This symbolization is not stated in Scripture.

Insertions in a story, whether to tell another story or make an expositional or doctrinal point, break the train of thought for many oral communicators. They are used to the narrative progressing without interruption and draw their conclusions from the uninterrupted flow of events in the story. Light of the World frequently halts the progression of the main story to tell another story or make a doctrinal point. These interruptions are likely to confuse many viewers. An example of this is the digression into medical explanations of crucifixion.

The colorful, vivid, and highly-detailed drawings in the film may confuse some viewers, especially those without significant Bible background and those who are oral communicators. Oral communicators can experience great difficulty in comprehending these types of pictures. Cluttered pictures with too many colors or lots of people or objects can lead unfamiliar viewers to scan the entire picture trying to visually take in the detail. They usually miss the main focus of the picture.

In some cultures viewers may find the vivid reds, yellows, and other colors clash, mentally distracting them from the focus. Another type of visual clash can occur when mixing two types of objects that do not normally appear together. This makes an abstract relationship that is difficult for less-sophisticated audiences to comprehend. An example of this is a scene showing the stars and a hand while the narrator says, "This is how the Bible describes Jesus". The viewer might conclude that Jesus is a disembodied hand somewhere in the stars. Another example of abstract and confusing color use is a scene of the crucifixion tinted in green framed in binocular view (two slightly overlapping circles side by side). This scene stands out not only because of its extreme color, but because it is so completely different from the preceding and following more naturally-colored scenes of the crucifixion.

Light of the World also presents some visual exaggerations. Leprosy is depicted as extreme white, swollen swellings completely covering the face. Most appearances of this disease involve the extremities first. When the face is involved the eyes or nose are affected with red swellings, not profuse white ones. White patches are also shown on Christ's face on the cross, where red blood seems more realistic. Other close-ups of faces seem exaggerated. Angry Pharisees are pictured with large unnatural beads of sweat on their faces. The scene where Christ's "sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground" (Luke 22:44) is shown not as falling drops, but as smeared red brush marks on his face. The marks don't resemble sweat, blood, or dripping, but look like brush marks. The spitting on of Christ is pictured 'unrealistically' with a man who manages to squirt a large continuous stream of liquid from his mouth to Christ's face. These types of exaggerated or unnatural representations confuse and distract viewers, especially oral culture viewers unacquainted with Scripture. They focus visually on the extreme or unusual visual elements of the picture, instead of the main event the picture represents. Distracted visually, viewers easily miss details in the audio content that might be essential to comprehension.

While Light of the World claims to be directly from Scripture, many verses are quoted out of Biblical sequence. For example, Hebrews 10:31 "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God", and Luke 12:13-21, Parable of the Rich Fool, told by Christ. These Scripture quotations are used during the This Was Your Life cut-in segment before going on to the Birth of Jesus segment. These verses may be used correctly in the context of the modernized Rich Fool story, but they were not included in the Bible prior to the New Testament.

Guidelines for Use

Media with criticism of other religions has seldom been effective or helpful for evangelism. The only scene in Light of the World that is not a drawing is a photo of the Catholic Pope praying before a statue. Islam and Buddhism are also directly criticized. Such overt criticism will limit the distribution of Light of the World. Christian workers, in areas of the world where these religions are common, most frequently use friendship evangelism to build relationships in which the gospel can be shared. The film cannot be used within this approach as it would offend and not help build friendships.

For these reasons, it seems unlikely Light of the World will be effective. Translations of this film seem likely to confuse audiences concerning events in Christ's life. The theme of the need for salvation is overshadowed by the details of the spectacular cosmic struggle between God and Satan.

Where to Obtain

Link to Producer or Source Organization

Light of the World Project

Cost

Producer/Owners

Author/Artist/Producer

Author: Jack Chick, Chick Productions

Current copyright owner

Other Information

A large tract set is available to accompany the video. These may also be translated into vernacular languages. See the website for samples.

Reviewed by

VMS Resources Section

Date

Summer 2003

Entered by SPARK staff, Oct. 2007