“Be Fruitful and Multiply”:
Movies that Build Faith and Family
By Dr. Ted Baehr, Publisher
Movie after movie today portrays mothers, fathers, grandmothers, grandfathers, and children as either dysfunctional, wicked or evil. VACATION, SINISTER 2 and THE VISIT are just a few examples.
This popular perception in movies and television is carried through with so-called studies claiming that marriage doesn’t make you happy, children don’t make you happy, and people want to be bisexual because they are confused by the media induced lust of the eyes and the lust of the flesh. Some close friends have been influenced by these studies.
On the other had, God says:
“Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.”
– Genesis 9:1b
and:
“See, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.”
– Psalm 127:3
Could God be wrong? Could children not be the only lasting reward from the LORD that He promised in His Word written? Could it be dangerous for us to be fruitful and multiply? Are the advocates of demographic winter and the depletion of humankind on the right side of history?
The fact of the matter is, there are plenty of intelligent and insightful studies that God’s way produces a better life. The Atlantic (not a Christian news outlet) pointed out that Chris Herbst of Arizona State University and John Ifcher of Santa Clara University noticed that the studies claiming that children and marriage cause unhappiness were severely deficient and often asked the wrong questions. Their study, “The Increasing Happiness of Parents,” showed that the happiness quotient of non-parents continues to fall and that parents are happier than non-parents. Another study from the European Journal of Public Health showed that men with children live longer, and children lower the risk of an early death. Finally, Robert Putnam, in his book BOWLING ALONE, showed that Americans are becoming increasingly unhappy as they are isolated from family and community.
So, how do we help the next generation realize that the fruit of the womb is a reward from the LORD and, for civilization to flourish, we need to be fruitful and multiply healthy, intact biblical families? Perhaps we can start out by recommending the great movies from yesteryear, such as IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE, CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN, LITTLE WOMEN, and I REMEMBER MAMA, and also encourage people to watch movies that build faith and family, such as BLIND SIDE, THE INCREDIBLES, ELENI, HOME, THE ODD LIFE OF TIMOTHY GREEN, SPY KIDS, and many more.
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