Last weekend I went to see the new Matt Damon and Emily Blunt film, a romantic thriller called The Adjustment Bureau (PG-13*). Loosely based on a 1954 short story by Philip K. Dick called the “Adjustment Team,” the film’s themes center around “God,” free will and determinism. The film causes viewers to wonder does God exist and if so, does He change His mind? Do human beings have free will? Is there a plan for human lives that has already been pre-determined by God before we were born? Do we have guardian angels watching over and affecting our lives? And can human choices change the mind of God?
Even though director and screenwriter George Nolfi had no intention of making a movie with explicitly religious or Christian themes, he nevertheless raises the age-old question of do we truly have free will?
In the upcoming Volume 34 No. 3 issue of the Christian Research Journal, contributing writer Brian Godawa will offer his take in a review of the film and its themes. You won’t want to miss Godawa’s analysis so please subscribe to the Christian Research Journal (a 6-issue subscription is $39.50). Or give a gift subscription.
—Melanie M. Cogdill, Managing Editor, Christian Research Journal
For further study we recommend:
Book: Hollywood Worldviews: Watching Films with Wisdom & Discernment
Review: God of the Possible
Article: Neotheism: The Dangers of Making God in Our Image
Book: God Under Fire
Book: Their God Is Too Small: Open Theism and the Undermining of Confidence in God
* Film contains strong language, an implied premarital sex scene, female lead in short skirt/plunging neckline dresses.
