A Future Without the Bible? 'Disciples in the Moonlight' Movie Explores This Startling Concept
Have you ever stopped and wondered what life would be like in the United States if certain freedoms were taken away from us? Essential tenets like voting, saying what we want when we want, or the right to bear arms are just a few that come to mind.
What about faith? Did it ever occur to you that in the not-to-distant future the Bible could be compromised or even banned from our native soil. It seems crazy to think such things but there could come a day when people must be willing to risk it all for the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.
This is the exact premise that director Brett Varvel (American Underdog)and screenwriter Josh Strychalski present in a new Fathom Movie event called Disciples in the Moonlight. Releasing in more than 1,100 theaters nationwide on July 17th and running through July 24th, the movie follows a team of seven Christians intent on smuggling Bibles to underground Midwestern churches in a not too distant America where the Bible is illegal.
Sound chilling? It is.
I recently sat down with Varvel and Strychalski to discuss how this scenario could realistically play out in the United States, why Christians in the Western world struggle with this concept, and some practical steps to take to prevent it.
For every actor, there always seems to be a trigger, a tipping point, a moment where you say to yourself, “I have to be part of this project!!” For Disciples in the Moonlight what was that moment for you?
Josh Strychalski: Initially, I just wanted to write a movie that I want to watch. I like movies that are fast-paced, challenging, make you think, and have some twists along the way. And so for me, I approached Brett because he was really the only director that I knew. And so I just said, ‘Hey, how can we make this happen? He said that this was a movie he wanted to watch too. Then it became a spiritual challenge of how is my Bible valuable to me? Does it matter to me on a day-to-day basis? There are places all over the world that don't have the freedom that we do. And I feel like I take that for granted regularly. And so this was more of a challenge not only to our audience, but to me as the writer and one of the actors, to Brett, and the other people in the cast. That’s the thing that made me want to jump in feet first. It was a question of does this matter to me? Is my faith important? And this is just a way to get people to think about that.
Brett, you are the director and the lead actor in this movie. Why did you opt to take on both roles for this project?
Brett Varvel: When Josh and I first started this whole experience together, he mentioned to me that the character of Nate that I ended up playing, he had me in mind for that character. And so, that was one of those wanting to honor the original intent of the writer type moments. But this was a project that I could so vividly see and feel in my heart and mind that being able to dance from behind the camera to in front of the camera and do that simultaneously, felt like one continuous effort for me. This project has become so much a part of who I am. That, and the character I play, has become so much of who I am. It became very organic to step in front of the camera, do the scenes that I was in, and then step behind the camera and continue to direct.
This movie really explores what it is like to smuggle Bibles into territory that is somewhat foreign. This has been happening for years in other countries like China. But in Disciples in the Moonlight, Bibles are being smuggled into the Midwest here in the United States in the not too distant future. Personally, I find this concept to be a bit troubling. Why did you choose to have this scenario playing out on U.S. soil?
Josh Strychalski: I think the reason we chose to do it that way was because it isn't a reality. It's not the challenge that we face. And as believers, I can't speak for everybody, but I know for myself, that I get complacent sometimes. I just assume these freedoms that I have within this country are just a given. Whereas other places in the world, their day-to-day reality is quite the opposite. And so, we wanted to imagine how that would work. And we initially had some trouble with those concepts because we had to build a completely new world that doesn't exist. And that was the biggest challenge. But once we kind of cleared that hurdle, then it really just became an exercise of how do we get these Bibles to these places?
Brett Varvel: One of the things that has convicted me for years is when I look at the persecuted church and other parts of the world, and I hear these stories. I hear stories of pastors being imprisoned, of people being shot in the streets simply because they're a Christian, and people separated from their families. I hear these stories and there's just this disconnect in my mind. I have no comprehension of what these people go through, yet I see their faith. It's bold, it's zealous, it is unashamed, and it's filled with joy. And that is deeply convicting for me as an American Christian. I don't necessarily see that vibrancy in my own faith all the time. And so we wanted to portray a version of our country that looks closer to some of the countries and other parts of the world right now. We wanted to show a closer connection with what these people go through day in and day out, to ultimately ask the question, if this was your reality how would you respond?
We are now in a society that is entrusting others to govern us. And so, I think that we saw this happen during the pandemic when the government issued statements to the country, and a lot of it was based in fear. People just got in line with it. I can remember when I was in the middle of the pandemic having a hard time thinking, well, the government wouldn't lie to us. They wouldn't do this to us because we live in America. But we fail to realize that men by their nature are evil. We should first and foremost be entrusting ourselves to the law of God, what God has to say, and compare and contrast that with what man is telling us to do. And then, that is where the rub is going to be. It's already happening now in this country, and it's going to continue to happen in the days and years ahead of us.
In this movie, people must choose between following the law or honoring and trusting God. Do you believe this is a tough concept for Christians here in the Western world to get their heads around?
Josh Strychalski: It really is because we've never had to really do that. Some people would argue, “Well, Covid made us do that.” Well, I don't know. But if you look in the New Testament, Jesus is confronted by the Pharisees and they're like, ‘Hey, should we pay taxes?’ And He says, ‘Well, render to Caesar what is Caesar's.’ But I think once we cross the line into making us do things that are completely against the tenets of our faith, I think that's the challenge that we face. And because the authorities that we have over us, they are God ordained and He has allowed them to be in positions of power. We're called upon to pray for our leaders.
But once they cross that line into violating tenets of what God says, I think that's the challenge for Christians. How do we do that? But also doing it in a loving fashion where we're doing this because we feel God has called us to do something greater. And so in our story, we just change the Bible a little bit. We don't completely ban it. We just change it to something more palatable. And so, I think when Christians see that, whoa, now you're usurping the authority of God's Word. I can't abide by that. I think that's the challenge that we present. I won't argue that there is an easy answer there, there isn’t, but it's a challenge that we present.
This movie is is an edge-of-your-seat thriller that asks the question, ‘What would you give your life for?’” Is your goal as the director to have people find the answer to that question and live by it?
Brett Varvel: My goal is really to pose those questions to get people thinking not just simply that question, what would you give your life for? But also going back to how would you respond? We pose different realities in this version of America where some people just choose to remain silent to the government order. Some people comply with it, some people resist it. Some people have dysfunction in their family over the government order. What I want to see happen in this society is for people to stop giving into relativistic truths. Stand firm on what you believe and why you believe it. And again, get back into the Word of God, because I believe that the only way that we're going to stand in the midst of a decision, like giving our life for our faith is going to be preceded by being grounded in our faith. And the only way that we can be grounded in our faith is by digging into God's Word and seeing what the Bible has to say.
After audiences have had a chance to see Disciples in the Moonlight what would you like to see people take away from the viewing experience? What is your greatest hope for the film?
Brett Varvel: I really do hope that they have a great time. But my ultimate desire is that it would cause people to want to find the closest Bible that they can and read it. Just see what it has to say. I've sat through so many different church groups and Bible study groups where people openly admit that they just don't read their Bible. And as someone whose life has been transformed by the Word of God, I can tell you that it is life transformational. And if people would just simply submit themselves to read it and to see what God has to say, watch out. Your life can be greatly improved. My ultimate desire is that if people say, “I'm not a follower of Jesus. I want nothing to do with Christianity. I'm not religious.” Whatever the case would be, that they would become curious about this Jesus we speak of in the movie and that they would seek to have a relationship with Him.
Josh Strychalski: I think if people will walk away cherishing that Bible, then I think it starts here and then slowly works itself out. That's the takeaway. It can be a revival. I hope that it can be because we believe the Bible to be God, and that God's truth is given to us. And so, I want people to take away that you've got God's Word in your hands. Cherish it, love it, read it, enjoy it.
WATCH A TRAILER FOR DISCIPLES IN THE MOONLIGHT:
