On Valentine’s Day I had the pleasure of watching a great movie with my amazing wife.(1)

Against the backdrop of Fifty Shades of Grey (a film and book series that glorifies sadistic fornication), a movie by skoche films / Pure Flix was intentionally released the very same weekend.

The name of the film is Old Fashioned, and I highly commend it to all viewers seeking an actual love story portrayed in the medium of film.

My only regret about the movie is that it was only released in select theatres rather than in every theatre in which 50 Shades was darkening the culture. Of course I know God is sovereign and that even the tiniest light can scatter a great deal of darkness (Jn. 1:5; Eph. 5:8-14).

As someone who enjoys engaging stories, comic relief, and the exaltation of virtue, I thought the movie did a wonderful job in all three areas. As a Christian who enjoys the above - especially when done in a fashion that is consistent with a Biblical worldview, I couldn't be happier with a film.

The critics of course will mock (well, they are mocking). And why wouldn't they? Instead of portraying the need (or should I say "right") for women to get out of the house and out from under the "yoke" of their husband and "make something of themselves" in a career of their own, this movie glorifies the difficult and yet important Biblical role of women working in the home, being submissive to their own husband, and taking care of their families (Prv. 31:27; cf. Ti. 2:4-5).(1)

Overall, I found this to be an excellent trilogy, a good work of literature, and an engaging story.

As to whom I would recommend it, it really depends on one's age, maturity, and personality. If you have a difficult time with violence, death, or war, then this is not for you.

On the other hand (if you can handle those things), this story is a great telling of how violence, death, and war can be when Jesus Christ is not given honor as both Savior and Lord, not only for individuals (and in the church as a whole), but also in society.

A TV series (presumably meant for family viewing) set in Oxfordshire, England at the end of the 19th century, depicting the daily lives, experiences, and dramas of people from that era.

A movie (meant for a mature audience) set in an alternative 1980s where America had won the Vietnam war yet is still struggling in the arms race with Russia. ...oh and there are vigilantes (?)...

Atrocious Violence. Inappropriate Nudity. Abusive Profanity.

At first glance it would seem this book is not fit to be read. But lest we judge the book prematurely, it would be good to remember the Bible contains the same things - and in their rightful context of what happens when sin corrupts human nature.

While it doesn’t appear that Moore (author), Gibbons (artist), or Higgins (colorist) produced the work with a Biblical view in mind, it doesn’t change the fact that the work does a truly masterful job of showing the struggle of man, in and of himself, to determine good from evil. Even at the end of the book [SPOILER ALERT] while there’s a slight sense of “hope” for humanity, it’s tainted by the lie that caused it. And so the redemptive element (or at least the only thing that’s remotely close to a redemptive element) ends up being the conclusion the audience will draw as the last scene seemingly promises to be the discovery of Rorschach's journal. Truth will out!