Why I am Producing a Series Based on the Sodom and Gomorrah Story
The truth will set us free. But we have to be willing to face it.
The look is always the same. Eyes grow big, eyebrows raise, and heads tilt to the side. And then the question: “You’re going to do what?!”
“The Sodom and Gomorrah story. But in a contemporary setting – a fictional present day resort town in the American West. It’s a character driven drama series like you watch on cable, but with good theology.”
Then comes the awkward pause, as the person tries to decide just how concerned they need to be about my craziness, and whether they are going to try to talk me out of my latest project.
Those that do offer a variety of reasons why this is a bad idea.
“It’s such a negative story. You should focus on God’s love and acceptance rather than his judgment. We need to build bridges with people, not tell them they are sinners.”
“That’s Old Testament. New Testament Jesus is all about grace, not punishment.”
“You will be seen as a hater and kill your career.”
“The subject matter is just too controversial. Nobody is going to work with you on this. It will be impossible to get funding or distribution.”
“The Sodom and Gomorrah story has been widely misinterpreted in history. I don’t think you should perpetuate old fashioned interpretations of that passage.”
“America may have its problems, but I really don’t think you can compare our present culture with Sodom and Gomorrah. God would not judge us the same way he did them.”
The list goes on, and I genuinely appreciate the effort to spare me from tackling a project that people see as flawed from the start. Indeed, it is for that reason that I decided to offer this written justification right up front. As much as I realize we face many obstacles trying to get this series made, I believe it is well worth the effort. Here are a few reasons why.
1. Sin hurts people. And we do a lot of sinning.
We are fed non-stop propaganda about how happy people are who engage in sinful behavior, and how it has no negative consequences. Hollywood and the mainstream press continually tell us:
“The hook-up culture is fun and life affirming and everyone loves it!”
“Adultery and divorce are fine and don’t affect the kids at all.”
“Giving up marriage and family to chase money and promiscuous sex is the best thing a person can do.“
“The homosexual lifestyle is just as healthy as any other.”
“Abortion is health care.”
“Pornography is harmless entertainment that even helps couples grow closer.”
“Giving 13 year old girls testosterone and cutting off their breasts and telling them to identify as a boy is simply letting them be who they really are.”
Again, the list goes on.
These are all diabolical lies that are destroying lives and leading people to hell.
The fact is that every one of these practices not only harms the person doing the sinning, but destroys innumerable people around them. Sometimes the consequences are obvious and immediate (the dead baby, the sexually abused child, the trafficked teenager) while other times they show up more subtly and in future generations. (The drug and porn addicted twenty-something whose genealogy hasn’t included a married mother and father in a stable relationship for generations.)
This is why Americans are so miserable. Study after study tells us that every demographic on the American spectrum is less happy now than they were 10, 20, or 50 years ago. Unfortunately, because of the propaganda, nobody is making the obvious connections. The sexual revolution has made people depressed, but they continue to partake in it because they are told that it will make them happy, and then it only continues to make things worse. They are drinking the poison that is making them sick, thinking it is the antidote.
This story will help clear things up. Rather than present sinful practices as life affirming and joyful, like Hollywood does, it will show them in all their soul crushing reality.
We need to see what is actually causing the problem if we are ever going to be open to a solution. Which leads to my second reason:
2. God’s judgment is an act of grace.
In Genesis 18:20 the LORD said “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.” Have you ever wondered who was crying out against Sodom and Gomorrah? I believe at least part of the answer must be the victims of the sins that the people were committing. For example, rape was obviously a part of culture; does it not make sense that rape victims were among those crying out to God for justice? His act of judgment stopped any more crimes from being committed.
God always gives sinners time to repent, but at some point the evil must be stopped. This was God’s mode of operation at the flood, at Sodom and Gomorrah, and during the various judgements he brought on Egypt, Babylon, and Israel itself (among other nations) throughout history.
It is also a foreshadowing of what will happen at the final judgment. God is right now giving us a chance to repent and he has graciously offered us an opportunity for salvation through Jesus, but for those that do not accept it, judgment awaits. God’s judgment is not the arbitrary action of a capricious God, it is the benevolent action of a loving God. This series will be very clear about all of these points.
3. If we won’t tell the truth, who will?
Since I released my latest documentary, Dysconnected, I have received overwhelmingly positive feedback from viewers. Almost everyone at screenings is very kind and tells me how glad they are that I made a film that so clearly and powerfully described the evils that are being perpetrated on young girls in the name of progress and inclusion.
However, I also hear some version of this a lot: “I wish I could do more to share your film on social media or spread the truth about what is going on with the transgender craziness, but I just can’t. I would get in trouble at work or some family members would get upset with me or [fill in the blank.]” Basically, the cost of standing up for truth in our country has just become too high for many people. But somebody has to do it. We can’t just sit back and let another generation get sucked into the death vortex of the sexual revolution. Somebody has to tell the truth, and if not us, then who?
In Ezekiel 3, God tells the prophet that he has been called to be watchman for Israel. God then instructs Ezekiel to warn the people about the consequences of their wickedness, and warns Ezekiel himself about the consequences of not following through with his assignment: "When I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. But if you do warn the wicked person and they do not turn from their wickedness or from their evil ways, they will die for their sin; but you will have saved yourself." I believe this warning from God can be applied to American Christians like us. The culture is perishing, and we need to warn the people.
That is why I am making this series, and that is why I am asking for your help to get it made. The truth will set people free, but we need to tell it to them.
The series is called Libertyville, and you can learn more about it here. I am convinced that the naysayers who think a biblically sound “prestige” style television series can’t get made or won’t get watched are wrong. I believe there are enough of us that care about the truth, and enough of us that are feeling the pain of sin, that this can have a huge impact.
Please support with a donation and spread the campaign and this post with your friends.
[June, 2024 update: we have everything in place to be able to shoot this summer, but we are currently short $10,000. Please help today if you are able.]
Thank you and God bless.