"Disclosure Day" Thoughts

I have been seeing a lot of buzz about Spielberg’s new film. I have not seen his last several films in theaters and have even found myself not following up and watching them at home as I intended to. It seems I have been losing interest in one of my favorite filmmakers for the past 10 years or so. (I have only seen two of his movies since War Horse came out.) However, the buzz around this one has me thinking about going back. Then, I see the rage-bait headlines a la “Spielberg Hopes New Film Shakes Christians.” This does not bother me the way it is intended to. I actually enjoy seeing films that push faith to be examined.

Think about it. We all have faith in a worldview that often goes beyond evidence we have available to us:

Many believe the universe follows certain laws and rules in a predictable fashion that enables us to study it, test it, and learn how it works.

Many believe that the universe is a product of chance, despite all the evidence of design and precision.

Many believe that a man, who might have lived 500 years after Christ, who showed clear evidence of mental health issues, who told people to trust and follow the teachings of the Jewish and Christian Scripture, and then dictated a series of visionary teachings that contradict those scriptures, and even themselves, was the true prophet of God.

Many believe that the evidence and outcomes of a resurrection 2,000 years ago is not to be trusted.

That is the thought experiment that I hope “Disclosure Day” does well. What would happen if it were suddenly obvious that alien life existed beyond Earth? I think we know the answer to that. Many would believe. Even more would not. Some would think it radically changes the way we understand the universe. Others would see how it fits into their worldview.

The point is similar to what many wish would happen regarding God. “Why doesn’t He simply make it plain and obvious that He is real?” There are two answers to that:

First, He has. If a man like Jesus, fulfilling the entirety of Scripture, rising from the dead, and radically changing the world like no other human in history doesn’t scream, “God is who He says He is!” Then what would?

Second, He can’t be the God He says He is if He makes His existence so obvious that it denies our ability to exercise free will and trust on our own terms. He desires a relationship based on autonomous love, not robotic programming.

So, I suspect that “Disclosure Day” will both fall short of its own aims and disappoint Spielberg. But hopefully it will be a fun thought experiment that generates a lot of meaningful discussion of faith.