There were very serious consequences for misrepresenting God in the Bible because false representation led to false worship of a false god. If you take “Is it true to the Book?” seriously, then you also run smack into the 2nd commandment. (Ex. 20:4-6) The law in general gets a bad rap these days, as though the God of the Old Testament delights in being a killjoy. But Jesus warns the disciples about wolves in sheep’s clothing, too, (Matt. 7:15) so this wasn’t just an OT thing. And have we stopped to consider that this commandment may be for our own good so we will not be deceived nor deceive others by our own potential misrepresentations?

I have an uneasy relationship with movies that are made out of books that I love. Maybe I’m not creative enough to understand a director’s art, or I’m just a critical wet blanket. But a book purist I will remain, and my standard will be  – “Is it true to the book?”

A few months ago, I watched part of the 3rd Hobbit movie. I was disappointed with some of the adjustments that occurred in the older Lord of the Rings epics. (Okay, Faramir’s character assassination was more than just a tweak.) But regarding the Hobbit, was this even the same book? I probably should have just ignored it and gone back to my knitting, but I continued to watch in grim fascination curious to see how far the film makers would go. There were great special effects and all sorts of angst and violence to satisfy a modern audience, but it was a disservice to Tolkien and his beloved novel in my opinion.

But what I find even more interesting are so-called Christian movies and books that are supposedly about God. In many cases, it doesn’t take a D.Min. to realize that the deity depicted bears absolutely no resemblance to the Triune God of the Bible. Too often it is “different God who sent a different Jesus to fix a different problem in humanity.”¹ But woe betide if you offer any criticism. You will have to dodge accusations of being judgmental and legalistic. If people argue about fiction turned into movies, they aren’t afraid to admit up front that the movie was not true to the book. And besides, all you need to do is flip the pages and point to where the film has taken liberties. But when it comes to God, it’s as though we think He doesn’t care if He is misrepresented as long as He can reach a wider audience from the big screen or The New York Times’ bestseller list. Thus we see no problem in tweaking Him to suit our fancy and pandering to what really seems to be the ultimate arbiter, our emotions. But an immutable God adapts for no one.

Lest we forget, false prophets were not given a pass. There were very serious consequences for misrepresenting God in the Bible because false representation led to false worship of a false god. If you take “Is it true to the Book?” seriously, then you also run smack into the 2nd commandment. (Ex. 20:4-6) The law in general gets a bad rap these days, as though the God of the Old Testament delights in being a killjoy. But Jesus warns the disciples about wolves in sheep’s clothing, too, (Matt. 7:15) so this wasn’t just an OT thing. And have we stopped to consider that this commandment may be for our own good so we will not be deceived nor deceive others by our own potential misrepresentations?

My life doesn’t hang in the balance if Thorin Oakenshield is cast as a heartthrob instead of a spry 195-year-old², but eternity is at stake if I fall for a “God” of someone’s making which may lead me to believe a false gospel. As my daughter said, an imaginary Jesus is not the real Jesus, and only the real Jesus can save. So at the risk of being called a wet blanket, I would rather play it safe and keep asking, “Is it true to the Book?”.

1. What Christians Ought to Believe: An Introduction to Christian Doctrine Through the Apostle’s Creed, Michael F. Bird, Zondervan, 2016, pg. 24.
2. Thorin lived from 2746-2941. You can check my math. The Return of the King,Appendix A, Ballentine Books, 1994, pg. 398.

Persis Lorenti is an ordinary Christian. You can find her at Tried With Fire and Out of the Ordinary. This article appeared on her blog and is used with permission.