The film centers on two Catholic priests: the veteran Monsignor Jefferson Wicks and the young Father Jud Duplenticy. Wicks is a manipulative bully who controls his small band of faithful congregants through his angry judgment of American society. As a former boxer who found Jesus, Jud wants religion to be less combative and more loving. These men of faith are contrasted with master detective Benoit Blanc, the self-professing “proud heretic,” who boldly states: “I kneel at the altar of the rational.” Thus, Wake Up Dead Man presents three competing views of Christianity: the Church as embattled with a hostile culture, the Church needing to be more loving and welcoming, and the claim that religion itself is ultimately meaningless.
Anti-Christian or Honest Critique?
Some viewers, especially believers, may feel that the film is anti-Christianity. Many critics of the faith may think that people like Wicks are the norm and not the extreme, that Christianity is inherently hateful and bigoted. Thus, some may feel that Wicks is intended to represent all Christians, not just the worst offenders. Meanwhile, detective Blanc delivers a rant against Christianity that would make Richard Dawkins proud, saying Christianity is “built upon the empty promise of a child’s fairy tale filled with malevolence and misogyny and homophobia and its justified untold acts of violence and cruelty while all the while, and still, hiding its own shameful acts.” Wake Up Dead Man appears to be attacking Christianity on all fronts.
Instead of seeing the film as anti-Christianity, however, viewers may see it as an honest critique of modern religion. People like Wicks do exist. But there are also sincere Christians like Jud, who truly do seek to bridge the gap between the world and the church. Instead of viewing Wicks as a negative Christian stereotype, we can see him as a warning: “Don’t be like him!” Because, sadly, there are many people like Wicks in the world, especially online: self-professing Christians who have become consumed with anger and bitterness. This is especially true in our culture, where partisan politics has overtaken too many things, even some churches. When Jud first enters Wicks’ church, he notices that there is no cross on the back wall of the church and seeks to replace it. Wicks refuses, using it as a constant reminder of his mother’s terrible act years prior, in which she ransacked the church, destroying the crucifix hanging on the wall. Yet, the symbolism is clear to the viewer: Christ is not in this church. Wicks rules here, not Jesus. It’s a terrible thought, but it’s also a powerful warning. Have we eliminated Christ from our church? Have corrosive politics, potluck dinners, or people-pleasing taken the place of the gospel?
However, our fear of becoming a church of Wicks takes us to the opposite extreme: never discussing the big issues that plague our culture. Sometimes the proper response to evil is anger. The Bible is never passive about evil but commands us to hate it (Psalm 97:10, Proverbs 8:13, Amos 5:15). Jesus harshly condemned the self-righteousness and hypocrisy of the Pharisees in Matthew 23. He flipped tables and chased the money-changers out of the temple (Matthew 21:12–13). Yet many Christians use these episodes as an excuse for all types of bad behavior. Jesus did get angry, but he wasn’t perpetually angry. And if there was anyone who would have a right to be angry at the sin and suffering of the world, it would be Jesus. However, there are far more examples in Scripture of Jesus being kind and compassionate than of him showing righteous anger.
The Bible tells us it’s okay to be angry but not to allow anger to lead us to sin (Ephesians 4:26). Yes, the church is at war, as Wicks constantly reminded his congregation. The world may hate us and persecute us for following Jesus (John 15:18–25). Like soldiers, we must wear the armor of God to defend against the Devil. Yet, our battle is not “against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:11–12). Scripture commands us to “destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God” (2 Corinthians 10:5). We must defend against false teachers and “contend for the faith” (Jude 1:3). But remember, we are called to destroy ideas, not people. Jesus said to “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). It can be hard to separate people from their beliefs, to destroy false ideas while loving the people who hold them. Yet, this is what we are commanded to do as Christians.
While Wicks was an example of how to keep people out of church, Jud showed us how to get people into church. He didn’t want to fight people; he wanted to embrace them. He wanted to show grace. Jud modeled this by taking the time to listen to a woman in need, time he could have spent searching for evidence to prove his innocence. He teaches a woman consumed with hatred to let it go and to forgive. This is the heart of the gospel: love, forgiveness, mercy, and grace.
All Are Welcome
By the end of the film, Jud has assumed leadership of the church. He creates a new cross and affixes it to the wall, letting us know that Christ is once again in the church. The church sign now reads “All are welcome.” This is the goal: to welcome people in, not to alienate them. This does not mean that we compromise on unpopular moral teachings in the Bible. All people are welcome, not all beliefs and behaviors—it’s a tough balance. But the Bible reminds us to be filled with grace and truth.
Wake Up Dead Man may be seen as an attack on conservative Christianity, which is understandable. But if we can see beyond the surface appearance, we’ll find the key message embedded in the story. Like the characters in the film, we all may face hatred in our hearts: hatred against a person, against the world, or against our circumstances. The question is: How do we deal with this hatred? Wicks embraced it and used it to bully and coerce others. Jud acknowledged he could not defeat his hatred on his own and surrendered it to Jesus. And while ace detective Benoit Blanc may have solved the murder mystery, Jud understood the true problem facing humanity and how to conquer it: not through fighting but by God’s grace.