Body of Evidence

I love the fact that the imaginary—or stories—can trigger deep, contemplative thought and reflection. To me that is the true heart of fiction. When it’s well done, it makes you think. About life, about faith, about the way your world interacts and overlaps the worlds of others.

“The Body” came out in 2001, a film that starred Antonio Banderas as a Catholic priest investigating what could have been the archaeological discovery of the remains of Jesus’ body. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen the movie, but this was my “take away”: Would you still believe in the resurrection if all the current evidence seemed to point in the opposite direction?

In the movie, the priest continues to believe, despite the archaeological evidence, and it looks like blind faith. Then, in the very last scene, the viewer (but not the priest) learns that the evidence that challenged the resurrection was false.

That movie, for all of its cheesy melodrama and bad reviews, made an impact on me that I won’t forget. I believe that fiction has the ability to take the Christian worldview into places we, as ministers of the gospel, might not be invited. The world might not want to meet us, but they might want to hear our stories.