Review of "Audacity"

A couple of days before the Supreme Court gave their stamp of approval of homosexuality by declaring homosexual marriage to be legal in all 50 states by federal law, Ray Comfort and the Living Waters ministry released Audacity, a new film dealing with the issue of homosexuality.  Unlike the previous films done by Living Waters in the last couple of years, Comfort and his team decided to move away from creating a documentary, and they created a fictional story that was acted out using actors.  Since they haven't released the movie itself to YouTube yet, you can watch the movie trailer here.

From the technical side of things, this was a very well-done movie.  The high-definition of the cameras was very impressive, and the special effect used to show text messages on cell-phones was very top-of-the-line.  One thing I noticed, as someone who at one time used to watch a lot of the Living Waters videos on YouTube, is that they took a lot of footage from old street interviews that they have done, and they mixed it into the movie to serve as the witnessing tools along with some of Comfort's books.  Some people might see something wrong with that, but I see it as a smart move that saves money; no need to go out and buy a bunch of Christian books and shoot new interviews when you have plenty of it in storage.

The movie starts out with a bang as Peter (Travis Owens) has a dream where he talks with Dianna (Molly Ritter) briefly about homosexuality before going to an office building where he encounters a lesbian couple in an elevator who are on their way to become legally married.  After the couple leaves, the elevator has a malfunction where Peter is asked to stay and prevent anyone from getting on until it can get fixed.  After going away for a brief moment, the lesbian couple gets into the elevator and are plunged to their screaming death as Peter is seen running to the elevator door while screaming.  It is at this point where we realize that up until this dream, Peter is a new believer who doesn't know how to respond to the emotional attacks of homosexual advocates, and he's scared to share his faith.

Over the course of the movie, the story alternates between showing clips from Comfort's old street interviews with different people from the Living Waters YouTube channel, and what's going on with the characters.  At times, it honestly felt like we were observing the life of believers who follow the Living Waters ministry on a regular basis and uses their witnessing tools to witness to others; this added to the movie's believability. 

The movie was also very realistic in its portrayal of homosexuals and those who advocate for homosexuality as people who jump the gun and get very emotional when you bring up the topic of homosexuality.  As someone who has personally talked to homosexuals and their advocates in recent years, I can see the cultural brainwashing that occurs with these folks; they've been taught by our society that homosexuality is good and normal, and they've been taught that if anyone disagrees with that, they are to be silenced by any means necessary, regardless of how good the evidence that shows that homosexuality is detrimental to the human race is.   The methods of silencing dissent on homosexuality range anywhere from interrupting the dissenter and not letting them make their case for why they are dissenters, all the way up to calling them a bigot and hatemonger, and sometimes pursuing legal action against them.  

When watching the interview footage, the main point that Comfort seems to be communicating is that all homosexuals and those who advocate homosexuality are going to Hell on the basis of being lying, blaspheming thieves, regardless of their stance on homosexuality.  By showing them that, Comfort seems to be softening their heart to make them more receptive to what the scriptures teach about homosexuality and the Gospel message.  1 Corinthians 6:7-11 and Revelation 21:8 seems to be the strongest passages that Comfort uses in support of that:

1 Corinthians 6:7-11:  "The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?  Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers and sisters.  Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.  And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."

Revelation 21:8:  "But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

It was after their hearts had been softened that Comfort would explain the good news of the Gospel to the folks being interviewed.  One lesbian in particular talked about how nice it was to talk with Comfort and not feel judged and disrespected. 

Later on in the movie, Peter saves a gay couple from being shot by a store robber, and they meet up at a restaurant to talk about why Peter saved them, and they talk briefly about homosexuality.  Peter explains to them about his dream that he had in the beginning of the movie, and he basically states that by not warning homosexuals about the consequences of their sexual lifestyle (going to Hell), he is not being loving.  Over the course of this conversation, we see Peter becoming a more confident and bold witness, which was the problem that he was having at the beginning of the movie.

There are actually two problems that I have with this particular part of the movie.  The first one is that Peter not only needed to tell the gay couple that not saying something would be incredibly unloving, but he needed to actually quote the scripture that states that if he didn't warn them about the consequences of their sexual lifestyle and they went to Hell, their blood would be on his hands.  I'm refering of course to Ezekiel 3:16-21:

Ezekiel 3:16-21:  "At the end of seven days the word of the Lord came to me: 'Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me.  When I say to a wicked person, "You will surely die," and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood.  But if you do warn the wicked person and they do not turn from their wickedness or from their evil ways, they will die for their sin; but you will have saved yourself.

Again, when a righteous person turns from their righteousness and does evil, and I put a stumbling block before them, they will die. Since you did not warn them, they will die for their sin. The righteous things that person did will not be remembered, and I will hold you accountable for their blood.  But if you do warn the righteous person not to sin and they do not sin, they will surely live because they took warning, and you will have saved yourself.'"

I think the dream itself actually did a good job of subtly referring to Ezekiel 3:16-21; it just would have been nice if Peter had actually explained it to the gay couple.  The other problem I have with this scene is that there is something Peter could have done before talking to them about homosexuality.

Since the movie already established that lying, stealing, and blasphemy will get you to Hell just as quickly as homosexuality, I would have taken the time to crack out the lists from 1 Corinthians 6:7-11 and Revelation 21:8, and I would have told those gay people which of those items applied to me.  In my case, I would have pointed out to them that I am an adulterer at heart, that my flesh gravitates toward lusting after women regardless of their relationship status, and that even though I don't act out on those feelings, the lust in my heart will send me to Hell just as quickly as their homosexuality, and the only reason I'm not going to Hell is because I accepted Jesus' offer of forgiveness and submit to him.  I would then conclude by telling them that I'm not coming to them as a holier-than-thou person, but that I'm coming to them as an equally broken and fallen human being who needs a savior just as much as they do.  

That approach may seem extreme and bizarre to everyone, but the homosexuals need to know that we're not commenting as someone who is better than them.  It could also open the door for the homosexual to ask you why you would embrace a worldview that condemns your natural urges, and that could lead into an amazing discussion about Christian Apologetics. Of course, that's another matter for another time.

Don't get me wrong; the restaurant scene with Peter and the gay couple was good as it was.  I just think it could have been even better if Peter had done those two things, and I think it would have developed Peter's character even more if we could have known what his pet sins were before he became a believer. 

Conclusion:

Considering that this was Comfort's first attempt at making a movie, it was very good.  The technical aspect of the film was top-notch, and the characters were portrayed in a very realistic manner; none of the movie felt cheesy in any way.  This movie would never convince a close-minded person, and the mainstream hates the message of this movie due to the fact that it goes against the societal narrative, but if you're looking for a Christian film that deals with the topic of homosexuality in a non-confrontational yet non-conformative manner, then watch Audacity.

Final Grade:  A