Complementarian Blockbuster Coming
The movie, THE FORGE
The Kendrick brothers, who are radical patriarchals and fundamentalist complementarians (synonym for patriarchy), are releasing a new movie next August, THE FORGE, that emphasizes the importance of men, fathers, and male mentors at the expense of women and mothers. I don’t simply imagine that this will be a theme of the movie, they boldly state it through the mouths of characters and include it in the movie trailer.
Having done that, can you imagine what else will be sandwiched between a lot of what will likely be really good stuff. Having said that, I predict that, like the rest of their movies, THE FORGE will be a smash hit.
Like all of their movies, it will be hugely entertaining, inspiring, and emotionally moving. The film will be filled with breathtaking scenes, great acting, and genuinely good and much needed messages. The Kendrick brothers are truly amazing talents.
Sadly, they use their boundless passion, along with vast financial resources from complementarian coffers, to shove male governance, male supremacy, and male bestedness (Yes, I think I just created that word) down the throats of a largely unsuspecting viewing public.
Movie watching is a passive activity. We do it for enjoyment. We watch movies largely to relax and be entertained and do not generally connect relaxation activity with attitudes of active analysis or critical thinking. So, the film platform is a natural for activists to promote ideas and set-up unsuspecting movie audiences to passively and unconsciously absorb opinions and beliefs.
People who watch THE FORGE without understanding the creator’s goal of promoting male domination, will passively absorb the rat-poison of the complementarian/patriarchal paradigm.
Did you know that rat poison is 98-99% good stuff (oddly enough, I learned that from a complementarian)? That’s why rats love it. But it’s miniscule the 1-2% of bad stuff that kills.
Complementarian movies are generally loaded with much more than 1-2% of propaganda.
With the exception of the movie, Facing the Giants, which will always be one of my all-time favorites (despite the portrayals of so-called “soft complementarianism” it portrays) every movie produced by the Kendrick brothers has progressively become increasingly more radical and hardcore patriarchal.
Before watching THE FORGE, or any other Kendrick brother movie (War Room, Fireproof, Overcomer), read my review of their blockbuster film, COURAGEOUS. It is a must-read for advocates of gender equality or anyone else interested in the propaganda contained in it—both subliminal and overt. This what the vast majority of the Christian population is being force-fed by the Kendrick brothers, whose over-arching message is the importance of men, of male governance in the home and in the church as contrasted with the dispensability and general ineffectiveness of women … outside of their relationships to men and duties in the home.
Read my review and tell me if I exaggerate.
Without disparaging single parents, of which there are many, I can say with confidence that God gave children two parents—mothers and fathers—who are equal in importance. This is God’s perfect design for raising children. But the Kendrick brothers, in their movies, not only ignore the fact that both parents are equal in importance, but actually deny it.
Although I am positive there will be lots of good stuff in what promises to be an emotional and highly entertaining and inspiring Christian film, in the end, men and women who “drink the Kool-Aid” of complementarianism will be doing their families no favors.
Graphic evidence of this is seen in the 2018 movie, The 15:17 to Paris, which is the true story of three American heroes, one of which was a devout Christian raised by a single mother … that is, raised by a single mother until his complementarian church and church-school leaders called social services and gave a bad report about a good mother, for the unthinkable reason that their complementarian theology convinced them that the boy had behavioral issue simply due to being raised by a single mother.
It was the influence of the church-school depositions that convinced the family court to remove an adolescent boy, against his will, from a loving mother’s home.
Keep reading. This is not Hollywood anti-Christian or artistic license.
It is affirmed that the child had a good mother who was never found by the courts to be unfit. Through-out the proceedings, no one ever tried to claim this—not even the non-custodial father.
And, more importantly, until the complementarian church-school decided to meddle in this family’s life, the boy’s father was not pursuing custody of his son. The father was unilaterally contacted by the school, who planted the complementarian idea that a single mother is deficient for no other reason than that she is unmarried, and if a boy must be raised by a single parent, then it should be the father. That was it. Full Stop.
This was all done without alerting the unsuspecting mother that the church-school, that she was paying for her son to attend, was conspiring—for theological reasons—with her ex-husband to take her child from her.
The complementarian church and its church-school’s heartless interference was the over-riding reason that an adolescent boy, against his will, was torn from the arms of a good, loving, and fit mother. The cruel interference, for religious reasons, with this family, was the over-riding reason that a good mother had her child taken from her in a court case that should never have happened.
Her child, a man now, attested to this when he approved those graphic and gut-wrenching scenes in the movie, The 15:17 to Paris.
Watch The 15:17 to Paris, which, without the producers even knowing what complementarianism is, vividly portrays its cold heart and the awful damage inflicted by it. And, afterwards, while watching Kendrick-brothers movies, remember what you saw in “The 15:17 to Paris.”
It is telling, that in The 15:17 to Paris, when this young man received the French equivalent of the American Medal of Honor for bravery and heroism, it was his mother who was there as her son was being honored. As a consultant in the movie, the son so cruelly snatched from his mother’s arms, had a say in how his ceremony was portrayed, and he made sure that his mother was prominently featured in that scene.
It cannot be emphasized enough that this mother’s loving and heroic son—a man’s man by any definition of the word—approved the agonizing scenes depicting the callousness of a complementarian church-leaders toward single mothers and their children. This was emphasized in traumatic scenes of complementarian church-instigated and court-ordered separation of mother from child and visa-versa.
This amazing young man not only starred in the movie (as himself) but also acted as a consultant to the producers and approved the content of the movie, The 15:17 to Paris, which showed the world exactly how the complementarian church and their associated church-school viewed and treated single mothers and their sons. His mother lived to regret thinking highly enough of the church-school to send her son to it, and, by the way, worked two jobs to be able to afford to do so.
The movie made it clear that it was the complementarian church-school, which initially reported that good mother, who then testified or gave deposition against her (favoring the father) to the court.
The movie was not anti-Christian nor even anti-church school. It simply portrayed the story as the real-life people in it wanted the world to see how the events of their lives unfolded.
After watching THE 15:17 TO PARIS, I took the trouble to research this church and church-school. It is named in the movie. I was surprised that it was not considered to be fundamentalist. It was (and probably still is) part of a large denomination that affords women a great deal of freedom in the ministry. It ordains women to preach and to pastor, but sadly still pushes male-governance and female submission (gender-role-religion) at home. As of 2018, when the movie was released, it was still an active church fellowship with the same pastor and the same church-school as portrayed in the film.
There was no doubt of its complementarian theology. It was not only shown in the film, but Its website, at that time (2018), featured men’s and women’s groups dedicated to teaching and reinforcing gender roles. I watched Mother’s Day and Father’s Day videos created by the church and posted on their YouTube Channel (which they removed a few years ago). In these videos, Mother’s Day videos revolved around mothers being praised for baking cookies and Father’s Day videos revolved around fathers being praised for being heroes to their families.
I do not exaggerate.
The message touted in Kendrick Brother movies is the same.
I feel certain that lots of good stuff will be in the movie, THE FORGE. There will be poignant scenes where inspiration is truly deserved and there will be complementarian scenes, full of propaganda, where hearts and emotions will be played like fiddles.
People will watch and recommend the movie. Complementarian churches will hold movie nights that feature THE FORGE. The film will be advertised by word of mouth, in church bulletins, on church websites, and on thousands of complementarian blogs. It’s already launched a massive advertising campaign on all the streaming platforms and apps.
THE FORGE promotes the good and much needed message that fathers need to become more involved with their families and male mentorship for boys without fathers is a good thing. Men and boys committing their lives to Christ are good things.
I brook no argument there.
But, beware, those good message will be laced with both overt and covert complementarian propaganda—rat-poison.
I would never tell anyone not to watch the film. I will likely watch it myself, but I do advise to watch it with eyes wide open. Be prepared to be moved and inspired. I fully expect there to be plenty to applaud. But here are some other, not so praise-worthy things you will see and hear in that movie:
You will be given disinformation, shown in almost unarguable terms, that mothers, no matter how good they are or how hard they try, are just not capable of raising good boys or “manly” men. And you will hear this from the mouths of female characters.
You will see and hear gender-roles taught and reinforced in many different ways and scenes.
You will watch the importance of fathers being touted and portrayed as the most important influence in a boy’s life, while being contrasted with single mothers, who will be portrayed as sub-par. No matter if they be good people or how good their intentions are or how hard they try.
Illustrating this, is a quote from a female character in the movie: “No matter what I do, it’s hard for a woman to call out the man in the son.” This statement, meant to elevate the influence of men over women, comes from a patently false premise (disinformation) that fathers are meant to call out “the man” in their sons or that mothers are meant to call out “the woman” in their daughters.
Who comes up with this stuff? The Bible certainly does not teach it. I challenge you, search, and show me a verse that teaches such a thing.
What the Bible does teach, is that if we simply acknowledge our Creator in all our ways, then HE will direct our paths. Parents—both mothers and fathers—are commanded to live godly lives and to teach their children how to do the same. Those who do this are promised blessings on them and on their children. These blessings are without gender qualification.
I know a woman who was supernaturally protected by the righteousness of her mother. I know this firsthand. You can read about it here. In her case, dad was ineffective. But that doesn’t mean Mom was God’s second choice. Mom was definitely first choice. The Bible says God’s plans for good were made before the foundation of the earth.
Our beloved Ten Commandments honor both parents equally. Complementarians do not.
So, if you decide to watch THE FORGE, prepare to be thoroughly entertained, and by all means, enjoy the good stuff. But, please, do not let that influence you to disregard the complementarian rat-poison that will be laced and layered throughout the film … rat poison that that will be made palatable to the unsuspecting viewing audience through the seasonings of humor, heart, and faith-focused, “family,” content the Kendrick brothers are known for.
Don’t drink the Kool-Aid. Help spread the word. Share this post. Subscribe to this column, if you haven’t already.
If you watch THE FORGE, and recognize the things written about in this article, maybe seeing them for the first time, write a review of your own and post it to your website or social media. Whatever you, do not sit in silence and say nothing about this unscriptural, and very harmful, doctrine of complementarianism.
Jocelyn Andersen is the author of several non-fiction books and is currently working on her first novel. She writes and speaks on a variety of topics with an emphasis on the subject of God and Women. Her work in that respect has been featured in magazines, newspapers, radio, and television.