On a certain level, this film is about people of faith being confronted by something they perceive as a threat not only to their belief system but to their way of life. They respond with fear; they pass laws against the threat; they get whole communities worked up about it. The premise is, I guess, that if they let this threat continue it will likely destroy them.
Which now brings up some other questions. Are they not confident that their beliefs are strong enough to survive such attacks? Are they afraid because they've never been tested? (How would the Three Little Pigs have known if their houses were wind-worthy if the Big Bad Wolf had never come along?) Are they afraid of what might happen to them if it turns out their beliefs are not quite what they thought they might be?
Yes, people of faith need to be on guard. Yes, Christians need to watch out for false teachers and unclean spirits. But not every teacher who brings something new out of his storehouse is a false teacher, and not every teacher whose work is accompanied by an unfamiliar spirit is in league with Beelzebub. Just ask Jesus!
Purity is good, and ought to be pursued. And yet - pure iron is strong, but iron alloyed with carbon is stronger (it's steel!). I don't think it would be amiss for people of faith to take careful, faith-filled looks at some ideas that might be out of their "comfort zone" and ask "if I accept this idea, how might that make my faith stronger?"
Not all companions on the journey are the most comforting. Sometimes they are the ones that make us uncomfortable, but stronger because of it.
