From a friend (who is a rural pastor):

We don’t get to see many new release films up here, but I saw Jim Carrey’s new one Bruce Almighty this week. As I headed out the door, my son said it would raise interesting theological issues about prayer and God. The idea of the plot is that Bruce has a couple of bad days and yells at God for allowing them and in the usual Hollywood fantasy method gets to meet a bloke who is actually God who says, Since you don’t think I’m doing a good job, I’m giving you all my powers to do my job for two weeks. Only thing you can’t do is override anyone’s free will. The first week he uses the powers for totally selfish ends, and God reappears to point this out to him and remind him that there is a backlog of prayers waiting to be answered. Meanwhile his de facto wife walks out on him. He decides to short-circuit the prayer-answering business by granting all prayers waiting in the backlog. This causes so many people to win the state lottery that they only get $17 each. The other prayers apparently answered are things like people becoming taller, prettier, etc. All his powers however cannot make his ex change her mind to come back to him (the free will thing) and so he has another interview with God who explains that “people don’t need Us to intervene in their lives. They have the power to answer their needs and problems themselves. We just have to help them see how.” Bruce becomes a changed man – a nice guy, the girl comes back, love prevails, forgiveness harmony and cheesy community spirit prevail for the “feel-good” ending.

I tell you it got my theological back up. This is popular religion for atheists. This is a non-interventionist God who is essentially impotent and superfluous. I did not enjoy the irreverence, the lack of respect for our God, the obvious construction of god-in-our-image, the immorality which God appears to condone. But what distresses me more is the teaching that we hold all power, answers, hope and help within ourselves. This message was powerfully promulgated by The Wizard of Oz in the year 1900, in which at the end, the wizard turns out to have met the needs of the little band of seekers not by any power of his own – he has none – but by setting them tasks which have brought out their innate powers – courage, brains, heart, unity. The message insinuates there is no supernatural, there is no Power beyond our own, there is no intervention or Source of strength without – it is all the strength within. The Gospel -as modified by this presupposition – becomes: believe in yourself and your goals (that’s faith), and God will help you reach them as you practice the principles of success God has built into the universe (- that’s Christian obedience and sanctification). This is the new religion only the language of which may offend the Scientific (Post-)Modern mind – the content surely won’t. I sniff such a Gospel in many contemporary presentations. So do I recommend you see Bruce Almighty? Nope. For a youth group discussion starter? Maybe but will they discern the problem or be sucked in by it?

Anyway, that’s what I reckon.

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To which another pastor responded:

This is an interesting comment, and I see your point. I guess I don’t take this sort of fluff as seriously! I laughed all the way through the movie in spite of some of the aspects you mention. Who of us hasn’t questioned whether God ‘runs’ things in the best way, and whether he answers prayers or not? The film shows that it’s just not as easy as the average person would imagine – in fact I think it encourages the questioner to have a little more faith – I’m not sure we will do our cause, or Gods much good if we take it any more seriously than that.

David O’Brien

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And another:

An interesting perspective is also found at this Christian movie review website: http://christiananswers.net/spotlight/movies/2003/brucealmighty.html