by Edwin L. Carpenter, Senior Film Reviewer

kirkheadshoKirk Cameron, the well-known actor who first became famous years ago on the TV comedy series, Growing Pains, and has gone on to make big-time Christian films such as Fireproof  and Unstoppable, recently spoke with us about his latest release, Saving Christmas. It is scheduled to open November 14, 2014.  It is a quality film and received a five out of five Dove rating from us in our review of the movie.

Dove: Thanks for doing quality work.

Kirk: “I so want America to come out and hear the gospel at Christmastime.  And I thought I could find a fresh, new set of glasses for people to put on their nose, when they look at Christmas trees, Santa Claus and the Nativity. “

Dove: We loved your teaching in the movie, even on the almond tree and its relevance to salvation and Christmas.

Kirk: “With a lot of people, they’re still so stuck in what they think they know about Christmas, with the paganism and all that kind of stuff, and they’re still so nervous about Santa Claus that they miss a lot of those details like the almond tree and the fact that God’s been giving gifts at the base of trees all throughout the Old Testament. You always hear about Abraham at the Oaks of Mamre, and the cedars of Lebanon. Why in the world is God putting these details in there? Jesus gets hung on a tree—we always talk about standing at the foot of the cross. You just go like ‘Wow!’ We’re missing a lot of the symbolism here that God’s just telling us over and over and over.”

Dove: The movie brings out some things that people had not heard before.

Kirk: “Yeah, and the idea that the first Adam stole fruit from God’s tree and was unable to put it back because it had become part of his body—Jesus hung on a tree, making us right with God. He was called the last Adam who reconciled us back to the One that Adam separated us from. I hope Christians grab onto that stuff—that they don’t just look past it.”

Kirk added he appreciated The Dove Foundation being on board with Saving Christmas because some organizations, as he put it, “have a cow over things that make no sense to me. So seeing you guys do that (stand with Him), I appreciate you.”

Dove: Some people want to split hairs over things.

Kirk: “Some people have a Phariseeical wedgie, after they watch the movie, over the toast at the end of the film.  The funny thing is that we’re Christians and while I understand Jesus made fantastic wine at the wedding of Cana, and that the entire New Covenant is symbolized by wine, we didn’t use any wine in the movie–all of that was Smart Nellie’s Sparkling Apple Cider and Welch’s Grape Juice that I use at my church for communion! Some people had a cow that we made a toast with apple cider, and thought that it looked too much like champagne.  The funny thing of it is–It wasn’t even champagne! There wasn’t a drop of alcohol in the place! (He chuckles and so did I). Thank you for seeing what the plan of the movie is. Thank you.”

Saving ChristmasDove: The release date is November 14, right?

Kirk: “Yes, November 14. The statistics we have show we have over a million views of the trailer, it’s just gone through the roof. It’s outperforming all of our expectations so we expect a wonderful turn-out. It’s coming to theaters for at least two weeks hopefully all the way through to Christmas and even to New Year’s. It’s just a great time of year.

Dove: Where did the idea to do this come from?

Kirk: “It really comes from my love for Christmas. It’s my favorite holiday–it’s my favorite time of year. I feel people are nicer–people are more friendly–people want to bring those less fortunate into their comfort and prosperity and help them. It’s just a great time of year, and I love everything from Bing Crosby singing ‘It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas’ to the trees and the cookies and singing the carols, and the stories of the Nativity. I’ve seen so many Christians influenced by those that want to suck the joy out of Christmas—from the atheists that want to pull down the manger scenes in the public square to what I like to call the legalistic religionists.  They they say pagans claim ownership to things like Christmas, the winter solstice, and using decorated trees as part of their celebrations. I mean, that is so ignorant. I think it’s often well intentioned, it’s people that really do want to honor Christ, but the problem is Eve listened to the serpent in a great argument, but it was wrong. She didn’t obey the word of God. A lot of well intentioned Christians are being deceived by pagans who claim ownership to things that God made and they choose to see everything through those lenses rather than the lens God gave us, which is, that the earth is the Lord’s and all that it contains.”

Dove: That’s some great preaching, Kirk. Isn’t it about grace and liberty, really?

Kirk: “Yeah, it’s about grace and liberty and it’s about the fact that Christ is Lord over all. Pagans couldn’t even make these arguments if God didn’t create them and allow them to wander into their paganism without snuffing out their life. Pagans should have nothing but gratitude to the God of the Bible because they owe Him everything.”

When listening to Kirk talk about Christmas and the joy he derives from it, one can understand why he opens the film sitting at a fireplace with decorations all around, and talks about his love for Christmas while enjoying such things as drinking hot chocolate. It all revolves around his love for the birth of the Savior and he delights in celebrating it. His new film, Saving Christmas, does just that and is, in our opinion, a must see film for the Christmas season.

Read our Dove Review of Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas