In the delightfully entertaining Walt Disney and Caravan Pictures film, “Angels in the Outfield,” Coach Knox (played by Danny Glover) spoke these memorable words at his team’s press conference following their inexplicable rise from worst to first, “You can call it angels; you can call it faith. You can call it whatever you like.” Folks, let me call it what it really is: “Reality!” Granted, the movie wasn’t written or produced as an apologetic to argue for the existence of angels. If anything, it probably persuaded viewers to move in the opposite doctrinal direction – because the film made “miracles” look rather silly.
But having said all this, I liked the movie – a lot. It was entertaining and makes for an enjoyable family fun night. However, I would advise you not to build your theological foundation about angels upon this dubious theological source.
Meantime, I’m thinking about writing the film producers to suggest they make a sequel that proves to be a tad more biblical. (I’m sure they’ll jump at this cue.) Now if they took me up on my idea, how would they better conform it to Scriptural revelation? In the original movie, you remember that angels helped the ball club pitch blazing fastballs, make circus catches and put together an amazing winning streak. But to make for a more realistic plot, I recommend they add an occasional fat pitch, a sprinkling of errors and a decent winning streak. This could be accomplished with the introduction of demons, because in real life, this is how it really is! This is what routinely goes on behind the observable, material world: an all-our war between angels and demons.
Want to know more about this subject? Please accept this invitation to attend this Sunday morning as we peer into “The Battle Beyond.”
