- Content: “Raised from the Rubble”
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Watch:
What You Need To Know:
THE FIRST HYMN offers a compelling, wholesome documentary that captures many different angles, from the production of both modern and ancient music to the history of the early Christian church. While it covers these areas well, it sometimes feels a little tedious and muddled because of all the different topics and angles the movie covers. THE FIRST HYMN contains a strong Christian worldview with many references to God, Jesus, the Bible, church, and the Holy Trinity.
Content:
Very strong Christian, biblical worldview with many references to God, the Bible, the early Christian church and the culture of their worship of God and Jesus, with a strong emphasis on the Holy Trinity;
No foul language;
Violent persecution and torture of Christians are briefly mentioned;
No sex;
Upper male nudity is seen in some pictures and statues;
No alcohol use;
No smoking or drugs; and,
Nothing objectionable.
More Detail:
John Dickerson, a professor of biblical studies at Wheaton College and a man fascinated by music, takes on the task of reviving the most ancient Christian hymn in the world. The hymn appears on a scrap of parchment in the ruins of an Egyptian city outside Cairo mere inches in length and only partially intact, but John believes he can still bring it back to life. He first travels to the ruins of the Egyptian city to get a feel for the setting and to get a first-hand glimpse of where the song first echoed.
John then meets up with one of his friends, Ben Fielding, an Australian songwriter, to ask for his help. Ben examines the few lines of lyrics and melody that remain visible on the paper and feels immediately drawn into the depth of the song. The song talks about how there stands just one God, and he consists of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Ben brings in help and reaches out to Chris Tomlin, a world-famous Christian artist, who partners with Ben to write and sing the song. The most important thing to John is that they adapt it to modern music culture but also keep the root and core of the song as it stood so long ago.
While Ben and Chris tackle the song, John travels and interviews different individuals about the meaning of the song and the culture in which it formed. He gets a better idea of the theology behind it and the impact of the words.
Before long, Ben and Chris have completed the song. Once John hears it, he immediately falls in love with it. He approves it, and they send it to the recording studio. With the song written and recorded, the only thing left comes down to releasing it to the world and see if the body of Christ will sing it once again like they did so many hundreds of years ago.
THE FIRST HYMN does a great job and explains in detail the history and depth of the hymn. It doesn’t just tell viewers about the culture and setting; it shows them. The movie shows where the parchment came to light, and the story behind what happened to it after Oxford professors first discovered it in the 1800s. The movie also includes an intro into the world of music and Nashville. The movie visits different recording studios and gives a rundown on the different jobs that make up the recording of songs. While it is all interesting, the segments sometimes feel a bit disjointed. For example, the movie shifts focus too fast and too often. It feels like it should be split into two different documentaries. The merging of the three different topics of history, theology and music production over the course of 87 minutes makes THE FIRST HYMN sometimes seem muddled and tedious.
THE FIRST HYMN supports a strong Christian worldview with many conversations and interviews about God and the Holy Trinity. The movie’s purpose aims to bring back a beautiful piece of worship from days long past to modern Christians for the continued praise and worship of the God of the universe. If this stood as the goal of the movie and song, then it succeeded. God loves when we bring forth praise and worship to Him and it’s an amazing thought to think we have been doing it for thousands of years and will continue to lift praises up to Him until He returns.
