Streaming Review: Postcards from Babylon
Streaming Review: Postcards from Babylon
29 October 2022
Based on Brian Zahnd’s book of the same name, Postcards from Babylon focuses on the state of the North American Evangelical Church. Yet, says Others writer Jessica Morris, Australian Christians can also learn some valuable lessons from this heart-wrenching and thoughtful documentary.
When Pastor Brian Zahnd released his book, Postcards from Babylon: The Church in American Exile, the world was unwittingly on the verge of a global crisis. Pre-COVID-19, his book acted as part-sermon, part-prophesy, and focused solely on the nature of the North American Evangelical Church and its love of nationalism and politics.
It was around this time that Zahnd went on pilgrimage, walking the 800km Camino de Santiago in Spain to coincide with his 60th birthday. He used the pilgrimage to shed himself of political bias and cultural comforts, instead realigning his heart and mind to the upside empire of Jesus.
With the inspiring and thoughtful footage from that pilgrimage completed, he and director David Peters set out to complete a documentary using this footage, and they began interviewing religious-thought leaders across the United States about the state of the Evangelical Church. Yet, three days after they spoke to author and activist Shane Claiborne, the world shut down, and what followed was a series of Zoom interviews.
All that to say, Postcards from Bablyon could be a mishmash of theological thought and sub-standard camera quality thanks to dodgy Zoom reception. Yet, Zahnd and Peters have instead weaved the messy, authentic and rather holy moments they experienced into one 77- minute documentary. And the end result is a thought-provoking, heartbreaking and hope-filled documentary that challenges the audience to pick up the cross of Christ and follow in his counter-cultural, non-partisan, peace-filled steps.
Featuring interviews with experts including scholar Walter Brueggemann, author Lisa Sharon Harper, Professor Scott Hancock, Professor Kristin Kobes Du Mez and journalist Jonathan Martin, this documentary does a better job of sharing the expert opinions of a diverse and inclusive church than most (although the ratio of male: female and ethnicities does lean towards Anglo-Saxon heterosexual males).
And instead of vilifying one side of politics over the other, Zahnd’s thoughtful narration and editing clarifies the need for the Church to lay down its idols, come together, and dismantle the empirical narrative American Nationalism has juxtaposed with the Christian faith. The results of this toxic and divisive fruit are shown with conviction and power in the film. We hear the words of George Floyd as he died due to police violence. And we meet Jacob David George, a US war veteran who dedicated his life to anti-war activism after three tours. We later learn he died by suicide in 2014. His message is eerily heartbreaking with the knowledge that most of this documentary happened prior to the 2020 Capitol riots in Washington DC, where many rioters used the name of Jesus to substantiate their violence.
Please, don’t ignore this documentary because it positions itself as a narrative about the American Evangelical Church. While it references history and political parties, the wrestle between faith, power and politics is just as rife in Australia. While many Americans may struggle with Zahnd’s belief that the US isn’t akin to the ‘promised land’ but is rather a Babylon, the fact Australia is a post-Christian society means we have walked the shores of Babylon for many years. As many seek to take back power or country for Christ, the warnings and teachings found in this documentary are worth heeding.
The politics of the Lamb of God were to sacrifice himself on the cross. He is not a scapegoat or, as Zahnd says, a chaplain to those in power. Jesus is Lord, and this documentary will challenge you to ponder how politics has changed your own heart.
Postcards from Babylon is streaming for free on Youtube for a limited time here. It is available for purchase on Apple TV.
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