Charles Brammall
I showed “The Truman Show” to my year 12 English kids this week, a rare end of term treat. It’s several decades since I saw it, and I was captivated. As were they. It viscerally and existentially moving, and I cried at multiple points.
And the oh Biblical (and Hollywood) imagery, allegory and irony!
The Director-within-a-Director is “Christ-of” (Ed Harris). He is a Christological figure of sorts, with sovereignty over his world-within-a-world-within-a-movie. But his omniscience is complicated by questionable moral and ethical decisions. He is a kind of antichrist- Director-cum-Creator-cum-Messiah. He controls and sustains ALL things in his world, including the sun, moon, stars, light, wind, oceans and weather. In a suggestively God-like act he even one pauses time at one stage (see Josh 10:13-14).
James (Jim) Eugene Carey (he of the impossibly rubber face and guffaw-inducing hilarity) plays straight in this outing- the lead role, “Truman Burbank”.
Truman is alledgedly the “true-man”. But he incrementally discovers that through others’ marionetting of him, his “life” is far from true, or truthful, or the truth. It is a grand, orchestrated farce, from the uterus to now, his 30th year.
And his surname, “Burbank”, is Hollywood epitomised, writ large. Burbank, just a few km from Hollywood, is the headquarters or significant production facilities of many media and entertainment companies. Known as the “Media Capital of the World”, Burbank is home to Warner Bros., Disney, Nickelodeon, the Cartoon Network, and Universal Studios theme park. And “Burbank” the town synonymous with fantasy, facade, grease paint and 2D sets, is Truman’s surname.
And the real Jim Carrey, a TRUE man, has spoken about Jesus, THE true man.
But as with all of us weak, foibled humans, what he says is confusing.
He talks about salvation, and he does have this, what led him to a relationship with God?
- His own deep suffering- his darkest moment.
Even as an unbeliever, the star of “ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND”, “ACE VENTURA: PET DETECTIVE”, “The Mask” and “Liar Liar” had a deep sense of the numinous, the spiritual.
But one day a life changingly tragic event turned his life around, and Jim has spoken about it.
In 2015, his Irish make up artist girlfriend of 3 years, 30 year old Cathriona White, suddenly passed away. She took her own life in an intentional drug overdose. Especially within her family (but among others as well) her death stirred up rage, pain and chaos. The family accused Carrey of being the cause of her ideation. They took him to court accusing him of mistreating her, exacerbating her already low self-worth. Also they filed charges of exposing her to “harmful substances and degrading environments.”
In 2018 Jim won the legal battle and was acquitted. But despite winning the case, he admitted that he still felt empty and broken- his life’s darkest moment.
Cue Saviour Jesus?
(The TRUE man; the ACTUAL Christ; the UNIVERSAL Director.)
As a result of his desperation Jim embarked upon a journey of personal reflection, which may eventually lead him to Christ. Possibly he found meaning and direction in life through the LORD?
In a quite Christocentric message to his fans he said, “… ultimately, I believe that suffering leads to salvation… we made one of two decisions… to go through the gate of resentment, which leads to vengeance, self-harm, harm to others. Or we go through the gate of forgiveness, which leads to… grace. Just as Christ did on the cross. He suffered terribly, and He was broken by it to the point of doubt and a feeling of absolute abandonment.”
Note that his here is Jesus’ suffering, not His substitutionary, atoning punishment in our place. World famous for his genius comic roles, Jim is NOT so famous for his theological and philosophical musings on forgiveness, grace and God’s omnipresence.
But… while addressing ex gang men and women at Homeboy Industries in LA (the largest gang rehabilitation and re-entry program in the world), he did just that:
“I believe that this room is filled with God… forgiveness- That’s what opens the gates of Heaven for us. I wish that for all of you.”
He alludes to deeply soteriological and salvific Scriptural truths- that Jesus’ death and return to life win salvation for anyone who relies that “God raised him from the dead” (Romans 10:9).
I admit that arguments from silence CAN be illegitimate. But I can’t help wondering if what Jim DOESN’T say about Jesus’ means of salvation might be instructive?
Never has he said publicly that someone’s salvation is found in Christ alone. He seems to merely use Jesus as an example by whom we can learn to transcend (a favourite word of his) suffering, and embrace salvation and inner healing. Sounds a bit Zen?
And in his 2009 keynote talk for the Global Alliance for Transformational Entertainment, Jim said he was “puzzled” about how Jesus saved the world from sin:
“He freed the world from sin from His perspective. It’s up to each one of us to free the world from sin, from our point of view. And, with that comes freedom.”
I think many believers could resound to this empuzzlement, especially on their way IN to Jesus.
But sadly, saying “it’s up to each one of us to free the world from sin” misrepresents one of Christianity’s central tenets- that apart from Jesus, there is no freedom from our sin predicament.
But his Homeboys speech DOES contain Biblical concepts of mercy and forgiveness.
He also raised another doctrine in his speech- omnipresence. But not in a way that affirms the doctrine of the Word:
“They talk about omnipresence in church, and nobody really thinks about what that means. What it means is every cell of your body is God.” (Pantheism- ed.) “Everything is God. Everything is divine.”
This new age thinking- that God is in everything and all things are one (monism)- claims there is no difference between God and man. We and He are one and the same. But in the Bible “omnipresence” means that the Creator is PRESENT TO and WITH all of His Creation, not PART OF it (Rom 1:25). He is distinct from, outside of, and sovereign over it, because He CREATED it. He is outside it. That which He created is NOT Him.
So Carrey’s words are “Christ-focussed”, in that he says Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection are that which drove home to him the idea of grace and forgiveness. But then he stops short at saying they “lead us to overcome resentment and vengeance”.
In our good and Godly joy that someone has surrendered to Christ, we Christians need to have great caution and spiritually wise discernment. Discernment before hailing ANYONE (including high profile performers) as Christians, or Godly role models. (And not just discernment, but humble honesty about our ultimately imperfect knowledge of someone’s relationship with Jesus.)
Because SOME of people’s words may sound Biblical-ish, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they depend on Jesus’ death alone for their rescue.
And John and Luke exhort us to test the spirits,” (or spiritual messages- 1 John 4:1 and Acts 17:11).
In a 2004 “60 Minutes” interview Carrey took correspondent Steve Kroft to a secluded spot on his property where he goes to “hang out with Buddha and Krishna and you know, all those guys.” Kroft asked Jim if he was Buddhist. He said:
“I’m a Buddhist, I’m a Muslim, I’m a Christian. I’m whatever you want me to be. It all comes down to the same thing. . . . You are either in a loving place, or you are in an unloving place. If you are with me right now, you cannot be unhappy. It’s not possible, just try.”
This universalism is quite contrary to the Scriptures. Jesus is almost trenchantly clear:
HE is “the way, the truth and the life” and “no one comes to the Father except through [Him]” (John 14:6).
If there were other ways to the Father and multiple paths to eternal life, God wouldn’t have had to send His only Child to bear sin in our place. Jesus wouldn’t have had to be forsaken by His Father. Or experience the horror of His Father turning His face away.
Instead He would have left us to our own God-substitutes and futile sophistry. That would have worked equally well, or better.
Because no matter what road we took, and who or what we followed (or didn’t follow- your choice), we’d ultimately find Heaven.
Believers are never able to peek inside another’s heart and know for sure if they have a relationship with God. Same with Jim’s heart.
So I pray for him, dear man that he is, who has suffered much-
That God by His Spirit of truth will reveal that truth to Jim, and reform him to Jesus’s likeness.
WhatEVER he believes, our privilege (and duty?) as followers of Christ is to pray for him with gentleness and love, as God is gentle and loves him. Thousands of people listen to what Jim says. So I pray that in time his words point others to the life-changing power of the Gospel of Jesus.
Prayer:
Our gracious God and loving Heavenly Father,
By Your Spirit of truth, please reveal that truth to Jim, and reform him to Jesus’ likeness.
For the magnification of Your wonderful name,
Amen
Dear Heavenly Father,
Please allow Your Word and Jim’s words to point others to the life-changing power of the Gospel of Jesus.
In His glorious and mighty name,
Amen
Dear Father of power and love,
I beg You to bring many entertainment workers into saving relationship with You,
For the sake of Jesus’ gracious and pure name.
Amen
Image: Jim Carrey by vectorportal.com