I think the unintended moral of this film may be, don't blame GOD for making stupid choices based upon erroneous assumptions. Otherwise, The Rapture is so confused in its depiction of Christianity as to render it's "message" irrelevent and greatly overpraised.
Anyone who thinks this movie somehow makes an "important" statement about so-called Christian Fundamentalism has apparently never heard of a straw man argument. These characters are purely fictional creations following the path of a contrived storyline. They espouse a cultish theology that is at best only superficially Christian. I have been a Christian for most of my life and read the Bible completely through several times. What was shown in this film was so far removed from Biblical Christianity that it left me wondering if Tolkin did this intentionally, trying to connect with the average person's hazy familiarity with Biblical prophecy, or was just too lazy to do any research. Regardless, it takes the sting out of any supposed message other than that Mimi Rogers' character needed counseling and should have chosen her spiritual leaders more wisely.
I am tempted to recommend that sincere Christians might think about watching this film just to see how we and our beliefs often look to others. I might even recommend viewing it alongside Robert Duvall's film The Apostle for contrast. I can credit Duvall that I felt like I had actually met some of the characters in his film, which is something I cannot say for The Rapture.
Anyone who thinks this movie somehow makes an "important" statement about so-called Christian Fundamentalism has apparently never heard of a straw man argument. These characters are purely fictional creations following the path of a contrived storyline. They espouse a cultish theology that is at best only superficially Christian. I have been a Christian for most of my life and read the Bible completely through several times. What was shown in this film was so far removed from Biblical Christianity that it left me wondering if Tolkin did this intentionally, trying to connect with the average person's hazy familiarity with Biblical prophecy, or was just too lazy to do any research. Regardless, it takes the sting out of any supposed message other than that Mimi Rogers' character needed counseling and should have chosen her spiritual leaders more wisely.
I am tempted to recommend that sincere Christians might think about watching this film just to see how we and our beliefs often look to others. I might even recommend viewing it alongside Robert Duvall's film The Apostle for contrast. I can credit Duvall that I felt like I had actually met some of the characters in his film, which is something I cannot say for The Rapture.