Beware of Christians

Reviewed by Marshall Hughes

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"Sometimes serious and sometimes bordering on juvenile, “Beware of Christians” is a coming-of-age story of four U.S. college students who want to test their comfortable Christianity with that of the 'real world.'"

Beware: verb (transitive).
An imperative or infinitive.
Definition: To be cautious, or alert to danger.

Those hoping that “Beware of Christians” is about a bunch of believers taking on the world, or at least causing a little mayhem and fear in the heathens, are bound to be disappointed by this DVD, released early this year.

“Beware of Christians” is instead an introspective look by four American college students who travel to Europe on a summer vacation to see what happens when “we give up on religion and try following Jesus.”

Sometimes serious and sometimes bordering on juvenile, “Beware of Christians” is a coming-of-age story for the four students who want to test their comfortable Christianity with that of the “real world.” Among topics broached is the prosperity gospel, which is popular in some churches in America.

The DVD opens with the quote, “The single greatest cause of atheism today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and deny him by their lifestyle.” There is no proof offered for this, but it is an interesting, discussion-worthy idea nonetheless.

While traveling through a number of countries on their road trip, the four guys talk with the locals of various countries about subjects such as sex and relationships, wealth and poverty, media and entertainment and materialism as related to Christianity. They then toss in some Scriptures and have informal round table discussions.

There is no real new ground covered, and long-time Christians may be a bit bored with how basic some of the material and thoughts are. It seems best suited for the under-25 crowd, and those who have not thought greatly about their lives or yet had many of life’s typical experiences. During the entire 93-minutes it takes to watch this, you may not see anyone over the age of 40 on screen; or even over 30.
Although it’s target audience seems pretty narrow, it will still be well-received among certain demographics (think young).

You might assume that given the age and presumed budget of the group that the film would be of poor quality. You would be very wrong. The production and editing are of very high quality. It is a fun film for those, like the four, who are ready for some new experiences.

One interesting note is that this DVD is distributed on a “name-your-own-price” basis from an on-line store of Riot Studios. Of course, you can also buy it on Ebay, where prices currently range from $12 to $16.

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Marshall Hughes is a former sports writer for the Honolulu Advertiser. For most of the past 22 years he has taught English in Japan. He has taught at the university level in America, Japan and China. Among his hobbies are sports, traveling and photography. He has been to 41 countries and is always hoping to go somewhere new. He is an award-winning photographer in both Japan and America. His bi-lines include The Washington Post, The Pacific Daily News (Guam), The Contra Costa Times and several sports publications.