Book of Eli?

I don’t generally use my blog for movie or book reviews, but after watching Book of Eli last weekend, I knew I would revisit it here. The film stuck with me long after the credits rolled, and as much as I enjoyed it, there are inherent points of contention there as well. Beware, this post will contain spoilers, so move on if you still haven’t seen it!

You can watch the trailer below.

Right away, you can see the draw and the problems here. The draw, obviously, is that in a world after a nuclear war where every Bible has been destroyed, where there is no hope, no color, no joy in being alive, both good and evil see the ultimate value in the Word of God. Denzel Washington, or Eli, is a man fighting to protect the only Bible left in the world. After the nuclear holocaust, a frenzy erupted and every Bible was burned because people blamed God for the war. However, God spoke to Eli (much like God spoke to Samuel, Eli’s charge in the Old Testament) and led him to the last Bible in the world and told him to take it West (to eventually be reprinted again).

Gary Oldman plays a villain who has been searching for a Bible for years, knowing he can use it to manipulate people. Eli kills again and again to keep the Bible out of his hands.

As an allegory of spiritual warfare, perhaps this film could work. Of course protecting the Word is a metaphorical battle. Forces of evil attack it consistently, and the protection of the truth is a daily, eternal war with many casualties.

However, to take life in order to protect a physical copy of the Bible is like spitting on the words within it. Though this is addressed briefly in the film when Eli gives up the Bible to save his friend’s life, the overwhelming violence seems to cancel out Eli’s confession that by “killing so many to protect the book, I forgot what it taught me.”

Eli’s murders are justified by the film; it suggests that in order to protect the Bible and to eventually reprint it so it can help bring the world back to hope and order that sacrifices had to be made. However, I can’t abide this notion. Where do we draw the line? It’s okay to kill the human scum of the earth in order to save the people who are truly searching? The ones on Oldman’s side were searching for truth, too; every life is precious.

Though I loved that the value of the Bible was emphasized in this film as the way to bring hope to a desolate, chaotic world after a devastating war, I can’t help be see the danger in it as well. As followers of Jesus, we can’t afford to abandon our morals in order to spread the Good News. If we do, we become conquistadors, not Christ-followers.

Jesus rebuked Peter for cutting off a man’s ear in attempt to protect His life; in the same way, I believe He would rebuke Eli for murdering to protect a copy of the Bible, and us, for consistently abandoning his commands to spread His name. No one can be led to truth that way; only through love can we bring hope to this world.