Think about your favorite film. Now, think about any and all ideas you have about the Bible.

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Growing up, I heard God described by many adjectives. One that stuck in my mind was the word author. As a child, I figured that by author people meant that God wrote Scripture by hand. With time, I learned that God wrote Scripture through others. The stories of Eve, Hagar, Rahab, Esther, Mary, and Sarah are sub-plots breathed to life by God to help tell the greatest story of all. They represent pictures and pens that forever wrote history.

Today, I am delighted that there exists an entirely different means of portraying story: motion pictures. I can’t imagine a life without film. And, I don’t believe film would be what it is today if it didn’t have Scripture as a guideline. I personally cannot deny the beautiful similarity between Scripture and script.

Take the Old or New Testaments—even consider just the Gospels— it doesn’t matter which section of Scripture one looks at first, it is evident that God’s story follows a pattern, and that pattern bears a clever resemblance to the beat sheets that exist within the film industry.

For those of you who don’t know, stories (especially the good ones) require structure. Movies need protocol, even if it seems as if someone just picked up a camera and called action. A beat sheet is essentially a general guideline of how a story will progress.

Before I go on, I’d like to make it clear that I in no way claim the similarity between Scripture and script writing as my own idea. Past professors of mine are responsible for presenting the similarity to me. They even lectured on the existence of the divine within the mundane in regards to film content. While I wish that I could point you to the first person to make the connection, all of my searches involving the words script writing and Scripture led me to a list of how-to books for writers, so...

Anyway, let's get back to making the comparison that I love so much --

Script Structure

1. Opening Image: This is the before image.
2. Theme Stated: The tone and voice of the story.
3. Set-Up: The surroundings.
4. Catalyst: The moment that sparks the need for a decision.
5. Debate: What is the protagonist going to do? A decision must be made for the story to progress.
6. Break in Two: Since a screenplay follows a three-act structure, think of act-two as the meat to the story.
7. B Story: Subplots that compliment (if not complicate) the main story.
8. Fun and Games: Essentially, the good that the protagonist experiences. All will usually feel right with the world at this point in the story.
9. Midpoint
10. Bad Guy Closes In: The antagonist will seem as if he/she is catching up to the protagonist.
11. All is Lost: Everything seems ruined. What was once right in the protagonist’s world is now all wrong.
12. Dark Night of the Soul: The story seems as if it won’t have the happy ending.
13. Break Into Three: The end is near!
14. Finale: The protagonist experiences a resolution of some sort.
15. Final Image: The image the audience is left with.

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Once more, think of that film you love – think about the plot line. Does it seem to fall in line with this format, if even a little?

Now, let’s look at Scripture. I’m going to use the New Testament as my example here (I used this source for reference).

Scripture Structure:

1. Opening Image: Birth of Christ – this opening image is striking. Here a virgin is divinely impregnated, and she gives birth to the one true God in the most humble location.
2. Theme Stated: A variety of themes can be drawn from the picture of the birth of Christ and throughout his early life. From my perspective, I see a theme of grace and humility, as well as one of accessibility and unconditional love.
3. Set-up: The Roman Empire and a flawed world
4. Catalyst: The Baptism of Christ
5. Debate: Jesus really wrestles with the enemy in the desert. Though the focal point of his debate regards the decision to die for the world.
6. Break in Two: Miracles are had, and Disciples are chosen
7. B Story: Accounts of the lives of those who know and experience Christ.
8. Fun and Games: Christ’s ministry sees the outcome of countless miracles and lives saved.
9. The Midpoint: By now, readers know that Christ’s life causes tension amongst those who want to find fault in him. Judas Iscariot (though not the antagonist) becomes a means of propelling Christ toward death.
10. Bad Guy Closes In: Christ is arrested and put on trial.
11. All is Lost: Christ is crucified on the cross.
12. Dark Night of the Soul: For three days, it appears as if the sin of the world has won out. The disciples wrestle with their own depravity, and family and friends truly believe that Christ is indeed dead.
13. Break Into Three: Christ rises from the dead.
14. Finale: The Holy Spirit comes, and the Church is born.
15. Final Image: Christ’s return, and the eternity which follows.

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I realize that certain moments and “beats” can be swapped around or traded in for other moments during and after Jesus’ life on Earth. I also understand that my minor in theology does not make me a theologian, so I won’t act as if it does.

My (very rough) point is to simplistically state that I see Scripture as the first, key outline for what we now have as a screenplay format – which comes back to the adjective of God as an author. Leave it to the God of the universe to leave all storytellers a general outline to follow as a means of expression and communication…and perhaps even praise.

Since Scripture is a means of conveying stories, stories surely have the ability to be divine. And, if the divine is not limited to a particular mode, then surely film is a perfect meeting place for the human creativity and divinity to form together for the sake of creating a lasting picture of grace and humanity, and even eternity. This isn’t at all to say that a film must be deemed religious to achieve this combination.

What I am further suggesting is that—intentional or not—each script/story possesses the potential to take storytelling a step beyond mere entertainment. Films that have impacted me the most typically deal with only secular ideas. Yet, in the honesty of the story and the beauty of the craft of filmmaking, a piece of humanity is captured that feels sacred and even other worldly. I relate to a protagonist who is honest with his or her humanity, which is precisely what Christ did so that he could fully relate to people -- he became 100% human.

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As of late, I’ve learned that creativity is only possible with solid boundaries. I believe that Scripture is the boundary that allows every person to creatively and individualistically tell a story throughout his or her life.

I oftentimes wonder why stories? Why is the act of writing and telling stories so vital to my joy?

I’m learning with each day lived and page written that it has so much to do with the way I’m wired – the way we are all wired. Though not everyone enjoys the act of writing, we are each active participants in that second to last beat of the story called life. We are all our own story lines intersected by the story lines of others.

Should you look closely—no matter who you are or where you come from or what you believe in—there is something divine about the details of your story. And so, the film keeps rolling – the script keeps on telling.