Is Disney Anti-Christian?

Disney removed Jesus completely from a story that was all about Jesus. Madeleine L’Engle publicly stated that her Newberry Award-winning novel, A Wrinkle in Time (1963), was about Jesus Christ and her understanding of Christianity.

“If I’ve ever written a book that says what I feel about God and the universe, this is it,” L’Engle reportedly wrote in her journal about the book. “This is my psalm of praise to life, my stand for life against death.” (CBN)

In 2018, when Disney produced a movie based on the children’s novel, the company purposefully removed all Bible verses and references to God or Jesus Christ. The scriptwriter claimed that she did this in the name of inclusivism. Yes, this is the same Hollywood industry that, in the name of artistic integrity, has repeatedly sued companies like Pureflix for muting foul language and editing out inappropriate scenes. Yet L’Engle’s version of Christianity was the intended theme of the book.  Artistic integrity seems to matter for every detail EXCEPT Christianity.

There is only one conclusion to draw from this. Hollywood–even Disney–is not just NOT Christian, it is anti-Christian.

It’s hard to take on Disney. This is a company that has made its bread and butter on the beauty and joy of childhood innocence and hope. Not only do the traditional Disney offerings appeal to children, they also appeal to adults with the wonder of childhood. How could that be anti-Christianity? Completely eradicating Christ from existence in your product cannot be understood any other way.

The purpose of this blog is not to criticize Disney or criticize the movie (it ended up a box office flop anyway). It is to remind believers about the nature of the world in which we live.

Madeleine L’Engle’s version of Christianity is different from ours. When the book was originally published, it was not received well by conservative Christians. Her Episcopalian beliefs were theologically liberal and ecumenical. Her’s was an inclusive form of Christianity that sought to find common ground and values in all the world’s religions—a Christianity that wanted to accept and find acceptance in a broader world. Such seemingly noble ambitions will never work. The secular world practices inclusivism by excluding Christ and all who claim to follow Him—even the inclusive followers of Christ.

It is a fool’s goal to love and be loved by an anti-Christian world.

Satan is still the prince of this world and he and it will always be the enemies of Christ. We like to be liked. We hate to be hated. We are called to love the lost and reach the world with the gospel, but we will only find common ground with those whom the Spirit calls out of sin into the light of salvation. We are called to love the people of this world, but not the system and values of this world. We should not marvel when an anti-Christian world does anti-Christian things. If we seek to be loved by an anti-Christian world we will only find ourselves disobedient to our Lord and still despised by the world we seek to please. John warned us about this.

Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him (1 John 2:15).

So, why do we spend so much time, energy, and resources entertaining ourselves with the anti-Christian offerings of the world? I am not saying that watching a Disney movie is sin, but Christianity–even fundamental Christianity–is choosing to increasingly immerse itself in an entertainment culture that is clearly opposed to our Lord and to us.

It cannot be good for us.  Maybe we ought to pause and consider what “loving the world” actually looks like from God’s perspective.