Persecuted – A Movie Review

Imagine a world where you are being persecuted for your faith.

A world where the government controls the messages of faith and rather than abolishing religion it seeks out to unify all religions under one common order.  In doing so the government persecutes any that go against their new world order. That means Christians, Muslims, Jews all are forced to worship openly and publicly therefore granting access to everyone, even the government.

In the movie Persecuted, James Remar stars as an evangelist by the name of John Luther, a former alcoholic and drug addict that turned his life around to the Lord.  He created an evangelical ministry that had an enormous following and therefore were a threat to the governments plan if they were not on board.  Luther of course refuses to side with the Faith and Fairness Act that his Senator friend majority leader (Bruce Davidson) is promoting.

Through the course of the movie, Luther is framed for the assault and murder of  a sixteen year old girl in order to remove the opposition to the legislation.  This bill promises to protect religion and yet underlying allows the government full access to all religions they suspect may be part of terrorist activities , granted this sounds harmless but i turn would destroy the fabric this country was founded on.

Luther chooses to run and hide and fight for proof to clear his name.  With the help of his father (Fred Dalton Thompson) who plays  a Catholic priest, whom the secret service assassinated when he uncovers evidence clearing Luther.

There are some symbolic images in the movie like a shower that represents Luther’s cleansing of his past.  There are also a few mixed messages when you have a preacher carrying a rosary and a gun , then again it does symbolize the way religion is under attack.

We can all take away from Persecuted a few lessons learned

• Martin Luther Jr’s quote in the opening says it all “A man who won’t die for something is not fit to live. “
• Even the most innocent of legislation can bring our country to its knees
• If we stand up for our faith we may lose our life, then again how else is it worth living
• Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, you never know who your true friends are.
• Freedom of speech and religion are what this country is based on and what should remain.
• Beware of wolves in sheep’s clothing even when they have campaign speeches and ask for funding.

Persecuted was a bit over the top with its message, yet had some better acting than some Christian movies of late.  The story-line itself was pretty solid, though it too seemed to get blurred along the way.  The conspiracy theory along with the Clintonesk President may hit a little close to home for some.  Then again the Faith and Fairness Act is also known as H.R. 4493 so we may want to be a bit leery.

Overall the movie had a strong story and could easily be part of our reality.  We have witnessed in our own time religious and political leaders being silenced one way  or another.  Then again, if you are like most of the people I have talked to after seeing Persecuted, you too may not even be aware of its existence.

Have you had a chance to see Persecuted? If so what did you think?  Can you see this type of thing happening in today’s world?

For more on religious persecution check out this article in a recent issue of Relevant magazine