Warner Bros.
“Suicide Squad,” the latest offering of DC Entertainment, is about a group of super villains who were hired by the government to carry out an impossible mission of defeating a witch who plans to wreak havoc in Midway City.
Writing for Charisma News, Jim Denison, founder of the non-sectarian “think tank” Denison Forum on Truth and Culture, notes that moviegoers made it the highest-grossing August movie release in history even though the movie has been slammed by critics.
Denison says although the movie has a group of villains as protagonists, its core message is about redemption.
“There’s something in human nature that applauds redemption,” he reflects. “When athletes overcome grave challenges to compete in the Olympics, we cheer especially hard for them. When politicians come back from defeat to achieve success, we often admire them. When celebrities are released from prison, many become even more popular.”
It’s good that even villains are given a second chance to do good, but Denison says the problem with today’s culture is that people easily forgive sinners without holding them accountable for their sins.
“This is self-serving. It says, ‘If I tolerate your failures, perhaps you’ll tolerate mine.’ But it’s also unfortunately true that many in the church forgive sinners only when they earn our grace. Grace, by definition, is not earned—or it’s not grace,” he says.
Denison did not ultimately reveal whether or not he thinks it’s acceptable for Christians to watch “Suicide Squad,” but he did say that he understands the connection people have with the movie. He says people resonate well with redemption stories because they can relate to it.
Denison only hopes that Christians will share with others the best redemption story there is. “Now let’s offer others the redemption of a Father who doesn’t tolerate sin but transforms sinners. Every human heart longs for the grace He alone can give,” he says.
