Terms

Here are terms that will be useful in a discussion of theology, ethics and the movies.

Discernment. The dictionary defines discernment as keen perception or judgment; insight; acumen. As a spiritual practice, discernment "is a decision-making process that honors the place of God’s will in our lives. It is an interior search that seeks to align our own will with the will of God in order to learn what God is calling us to. Every choice we make, no matter how small, is an opportunity to align ourselves with God’s will.”

Art refers to creative work or its principles; a making or doing of things that display form, beauty, and unusual perception; art includes painting, sculpture, architecture, music, literature, drama, the dance—and the movies.

Genre refers to “different types of varieties of literature or media. In the interpretation of texts, particularly the Bible, most exegetes agree that identifying the genre of the text to be interpreted is crucial and that the text must be understood in light of the common conventions that typified that genre at the time of its writing. Thus, poetry is not to be interpreted in the same manner as historical narrative, nor is prophecy properly read in the same manner as an epistle (letter)” (Pocket Dictionary of Theological Terms, by Grenz et al, 55). Although this blog is a discussion of the genre of movies, not writings in the Bible, the definition is useful in emphasizing the importance of interpretive conventions with respect to a genre.

A text, in narrative theory, is “a finite structured whole composed of language signs. It is directly accessible. The meanings, effects, functions and background presented in the text are not finite” (from a website that is no longer accessible). Most definitions of text restrict it to the printed word. This one allows for an understanding of the spoken words in a movie.

Theology, generally speaking, is a “religious belief system about God or ultimate reality. Theology commonly refers to the ordered, systematic study or interpretation of the Christian faith and experience of God based on God’s divine self-revelation. Theology also seeks to apply these truths to the full breadth of human experience and thought” (Grenz et al, 113). In Reel Spirituality: Theology and Film in Dialogue, Robert K. Johnston explores the idea of a theology of the movies.

Ethics. This is the biggie. The term ethics refers to the “area of philosophical and theological inquiry into what constitutes right and wrong, that is, morality, as well as what is the good and the good life. Ethics seeks to provide insight, principles or even a system of guidance in the quest of the good life or in acting rightly in either general or specific situations of life. Broadly speaking, ethical systems are either deontological (seeking to guide behavior through establishment or discovery of what is intrinsically right and wrong) or teleological (seeking to guide behavior through an understanding of the outcomes or ends that ethical decisions and behavior bring about)” (Grenz et al, 47).