Bob Fuhs

Movie Review: The Invention of Lying

Spoiler alert! Read no further if you don't want to know more about this film. Okay, consider yourself warned. Just saw "The Invention of Lying" on an airplane. It stars Ricky Gervaise (of the UK version of "The Office") in a world where everyone tells the truth. He becomes the first person to utter a lie. The key scene comes as Mike (Gervaise's character) sits with his dying mother. To help her feel better about dying he explains to her that you go to a very happy place when you die and everyone gets a mansion. Mike becomes an instant celebrity as the only one who knows anything about "The Man In The Sky." The point being: God is made up. It's all a lie told to help make us all feel better. This part of the film didn't come as a huge shock since I had read about Gervaise being an atheist before. Honestly, I think this film can be an incredible springboard for spiritual conversations. One scene even shows the folly of a works-based salvation. Mike is explaining what it takes to get to the good place after you dies and he says you need to do good things and not bad things. Someone in the crowd asks, "What if I do even one bad thing?" And then they start asking about specific behaviors. Mike takes the typical line of argument and says basically, "Be nice, don't kill others or steal." He neglects to say anything about lying of course. The scene does show how difficult it is to draw the line if our getting to Heaven is all about doing good things. For me, this is pretty much what I used to think about Christianity. I thought it was all made up. Then I learned more about things like the historicity of the Bible and other philosophical arguments for God. I think that's why this would make a great springboard to discuss spiritual things with a skeptical friend. It opens the door to ask, "Do you think it's all made up?" "Have you ever looked into some of the evidence for Jesus and the Bible?" If anyone has been able to use the film as a way to discuss God I'd love to hear about it. Post a comment and let me know your thoughts.

Movie Review: The Invention of Lying

Spoiler alert! Read no further if you don't want to know more about this film. Okay, consider yourself warned. Just saw "The Invention of Lying" on an airplane. It stars Ricky Gervaise (of the UK version of "The Office") in a world where everyone tells the truth. He becomes the first person to utter a lie. The key scene comes as Mike (Gervaise's character) sits with his dying mother. To help her feel better about dying he explains to her that you go to a very happy place when you die and everyone gets a mansion. Mike becomes an instant celebrity as the only one who knows anything about "The Man In The Sky." The point being: God is made up. It's all a lie told to help make us all feel better. This part of the film didn't come as a huge shock since I had read about Gervaise being an atheist before. Honestly, I think this film can be an incredible springboard for spiritual conversations. One scene even shows the folly of a works-based salvation. Mike is explaining what it takes to get to the good place after you dies and he says you need to do good things and not bad things. Someone in the crowd asks, "What if I do even one bad thing?" And then they start asking about specific behaviors. Mike takes the typical line of argument and says basically, "Be nice, don't kill others or steal." He neglects to say anything about lying of course. The scene does show how difficult it is to draw the line if our getting to Heaven is all about doing good things. For me, this is pretty much what I used to think about Christianity. I thought it was all made up. Then I learned more about things like the historicity of the Bible and other philosophical arguments for God. I think that's why this would make a great springboard to discuss spiritual things with a skeptical friend. It opens the door to ask, "Do you think it's all made up?" "Have you ever looked into some of the evidence for Jesus and the Bible?" If anyone has been able to use the film as a way to discuss God I'd love to hear about it. Post a comment and let me know your thoughts.