Movie Review: "A Great Awakening"
Movie Review: "A Great Awakening"
Lesley and I just returned home from seeing the premier showing of the movie, "A Great Awakening." It was really good--one of the best movies she or I have ever seen. The casting is outstanding; the acting is fantastic; and the plot line is wonderful. I do not know who produced this movie--but they should be congratulated on doing excellent work; and; more than that, for being unashamed of the gospel of grace.
The way the producers weave the themes of the American Constitutional Convention (held years after the end of the American Revolution), with savory effects of The Great Awakening, is masterful. The man who plays Benjamin Franklin is so well-cast, that you could almost imagine this being the original Benjamin Franklin.
George Whitefield is the main character in the movie; and he is also spectacularly-cast. His voice, his demeanor, and his ways are completely convincing; and one would think you were hearing the "trumpet call of God" from his voice. The movie "pulls no punches" on the gospel message; and it portrays Whitefield as a faithful proclaimer of the good news of liberty in Jesus' blood and righteousness.
As mentioned earlier, one of the refreshing aspects of this movie, is the fact that it makes the organic connection between The Great Awakening, the American Revolution, and the Constitutional Convention quite apparent. This was very nice to witness.
One really interesting aspect of the film, is that (from my reckoning) Jonathan Edwards' name was only mentioned one time; and there was no actor-portrayal of him at all. This really surprised me--since I went into the movie expecting to see as much about Edwards as Whitefield, (if not more). Still, the thrust of the story line is not diminished--even without the aspect of Edwards' ministry (which was very great, of course).
Being a clergyman and a theologian, I have to "nit-pick" just a little bit; and I think my only observation of historical/theological inaccuracy, would be when John Wesley (and the Holy Club guys) were baptizing Whitefield by immersion. (I told Lesley that I think that is highly-unlikely.)
Praise God for this movie. It is really good. I do not want to be a "spoiler" of it for any of you--but those of you who are concerned about that probably have desisted from starting to read this little "review."
This movie would be great in a church context. What can I say? God be blessed! This movie is just plain outstanding.
Rev. Mark J. Henninger
Treatise #89
3 April 2026
This movie is propaganda for the most part. Because...
ReplyDeleteThe so-called “great awakenings” were historically never great because they were only minor temporary awakenings.
It's the SAME today.
Because nearly all people who ALLEGEDLY are waking up, almost ONLY see the evilness of the authorities in power.
"I've come to realize that the biggest problem anywhere in the world is that people's perceptions of reality are compulsively filtered through the screening mesh of WHAT THEY WANT, AND DO NOT WANT, TO BE TRUE." --- Travis Walton, Author
However, the fact that evil people rule is only ONE part of the equation. The pack of leading criminals do not operate in a vacuum, and never have. There are 2 destructive human forces and they are MARRIED --- https://www.rolf-hefti.com/covid-19-coronavirus.html (that special report also explains WHY the majority of people anywhere at anytime are always asleep and never really permanently wake up)
The criminals in power are in those positions and do what they do ONLY because of the mostly willful activities, or inactivities, of the majority of self-entitled "good" or "decent" or "awake" or "spiritual" or "religious" people --- the 90-95% of the herd.
"The world is the way that it is because most people do not care enough (even if they SAY they want things to be different) to change it through their actions." --- Mark Passio, Spiritual Teacher
Here's more reality that no "great awaking" is anywhere in sight.. BILLIONS of people are still using social media, google, and youtube. Or most "awake" (U.S.) people STILL believe the U.S. (=a genocidal regime/empire) is the "greatest nations on earth", or that there is a democracy, or there's a US vs China or Russia dichotomy, or a "democrats vs republicans" dichotomy, etc
Or how most people welcome AI with open arms, or how most people still trust their allopathic doctor and blindly flock to them, also proves there's no great awakening anywhere.
Or that lots of "smart" people buy/promote the books of Yuval Harari, a psychopaths partnered with psychopath Klaus Schwab's WEF, and "think" he's an intellectual genius, also proves there's no great awakening anywhere on the planet. Or that there are still hundreds of millions of people who believe in and vote for Trump and other "leading authorities" also proves there's no great awakening anywhere on the planet. Or that the vast majority of people in the Western world still use google as their primary search engine, or use google-owned youtube to upload videos also proves there's no great awakening anywhere on the planet.
"The masses have never thirsted after truth. They turn aside from evidence that is not to their taste, preferring to deify error, if error seduces them. Whoever can supply them with illusions is easily their master; whoever attempts to destroy their illusions is always their victim." --- Gustave Le Bon, in 1895
"Growing up means realizing that none of the worst villains are in prison." --- Caitlin Johnstone, Independent Journalist (https://archive.ph/zDqoh)
If you have been injected with Covid jabs/bioweapons and are concerned, then verify what batch number you were injected with at https://howbadismybatch.com
“A slave is one who waits for someone to come and free him.” --- Ezra Pound
"Ignorance is the root cause of all Evil. Since only Knowledge eradicates ignorance, it is our duty and moral obligation to educate ourselves, as well as the masses around us." --- Anonymous
Dear Truthbe:
DeleteThank-you for interacting with this post; and thank-you for sharing some of your passions. I think I understand some of your concerns; and I have a heart for your zeal. Still, the fact that the world is not what *we* want it to be, does not mean that there *was* not a Great Awakening, nor that God in Christ's gospel is not still today "awakening" His dead and lost elect people--whom He will bring into His church. The world is a mixture of light an dark; and Jesus is certainly its only Light. May He bless you with Himself and His gospel grace.
Regarding Truthbe’s conviction that the world is run by evil people, it is as he quoted the Hollywood personality; ‘people see the world as they want to see it’. I would suggest to Truthbe that if the entire world is run by truly evil people, then they are doing a very poor job of it. Lifesaving technologies are constantly being invented. Social media allows people to connect with loved ones with immediacy. The internet allows doctors to direct doctors on the other side of the earth through operations to save patients. A ministry in Parkview, Ohio can reach people in need of knowing the Gospel of Jesus nearly anywhere in the world. People have the impulse to help each other. PayPal was just one instance of the democratization of money by providing instant escrow accounts so individuals who had no basis for trusting one another in a transaction, had a means of doing business.
DeleteAs far as people in positions of government are concerned, there rise the questions of intention vs competency and self interest vs altruism.
“The road to hell is paved with good intentions” comes to mind. We often see some ideologue come along who sees only one side of a situation (remember: ‘people see the world as they want to see it’) and declares it is wrong or evil, and proposes to fix it. Yet despite their noble intentions, they are nowhere near competent to do so. Quite often because they lack the competency to fully understand the situation as well as the competency to solve it if they did understand it. Are they evil because they lack competency despite being well intentioned?
As far as self interest vs altruism goes, Jean Monet, creator of the French Common Market (1950’s) put it this way. “There are two sorts of men; those who want to be somebody and those who want to accomplish something.”
In terms of people ‘ruling the world’ via Government, we do see the demagogues far more easily. Those who want to be somebody are doing all they know how to achieve their personal goal of ‘being mayor’ or ‘being sheriff’, or ‘being council member’, etc. As well, there are people who have pledged to make their part of the world a better place and recognize that joining and influencing civil government is the most appropriate and effective way of doing so. You seldom hear of those people in the trenches.
Technology is a two edged sword. What is created for good can be used for evil. Alfred Nobel created dynamite to make mining and tunneling far less laborious. Albert Hofmann synthesized LSD in trying to create an analeptic. His discovery was used to successfully treat psychological illnesses. PayPal helped democratize the market place. The internal combustion engine has virtually eradicated famine by the ability to farm far more acreage. It has allowed fire engines to rush to buildings to put out fires before they become conflagrations, and ambulances to rush people to hospitals to save lives.
Yet individuals could choose to blow up bridges or buildings with dynamite. Individuals could choose to abuse the psychotropic properties of LSD recreationally and warp their perception to the point of psychosis. Individuals could chose to use PayPal to transfer money for illegal purposes. An individual can choose to drive down a crowded sidewalk in their automobile.
If one’s perception is that they live in a jungle, they will be ever vigilant against being destroyed by plants or animals in the jungle.
If one’s perception is that they live in a garden, the will be ever diligent at weeding out those plants which harm or do not serve them, eradicating what insects or animals would destroy what they have chosen to grow, and build a wall to keep any jungle animal from taking their bounty.
And when harvest comes, they’ll share with their fellow gardeners.
Ultimately, the only place the individual needs to worry about the presence of evil is in their own soul.
Thank you for these insightful comments. I essentially totally agree with you. Truthbe's problem, I think, is that he puts too much importance on temporal (scary) things. Christ, His gospel, and His church are the only entities that "matter." Still, your good comments remind us of the savory effects of the expanding kingdom of God on earth!
DeleteHi I noticed you mentioned wanting to learn more about the company that made this film.
ReplyDeleteIt is Sight and Sound.
They are mostly known for making stage musical adaptations of Bible stories. With many of them available to be watch online or on dvd.
They have also made one other theatrical film “I heard the bells” about Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
Anyways just decided to comment in case if you were interested in any of their other work.
Thanks for filling me in on Sight and Sound. Let's pray that they keep this quality of truth and excellence up!
DeleteHave not seen the movie yet, but the casting for Whitefield is wildly off the mark - he suffered from squint and crossed- eyes, and was not a male model! Franklin on the other hand looks right on IMO. If you want see my substack at steveburdancprw.substack.com Thanks!
ReplyDeleteWhen you see the movie, you will notice how Whitefield's eye disability is handled and portrayed. I think it would have been tough to duplicate his cross-eyedness; but they used an effective contact lens to communicate the issue. I am in Europe right now, and I sense the continuing effect of The Great Awakening even here and now. Pax Americana is very much evident.
DeleteHi Mark. Did you think the film inferred that Franklin became born again? I don't believe he ever was. Blessings, Bill
ReplyDeleteBill, I do think the movie infers this (though not irresponsibly). Like you, I do not know of any concrete evidence of this. Let's hope to see an elect Franklin in heaven!
Delete