Faith&Friends
FAITH BUILDERS
At First Sight? Redeeming Love novel and movie adaptation paint an unhealthy picture. by Laura Van Schaick
W
ith more than three million copies sold worldwide, in more than 30 languages, Francine Rivers’ 1991 novel Redeeming Love debuted on the big screen last month. Set during the California Gold Rush of 1850 and loosely based on the biblical story of Hosea, we meet Sarah, who is sold into prostitution at the tender age of eight and is given the working name Angel. After a decade of living as a sex slave, she catches the eye of farmer Michael Hosea. God tells Michael, who is described as “a man who seeks God’s heart in everything,” to marry Angel.
That command is not so easy to carry out, and Michael struggles against Angel’s resistance until “her frozen heart begins to thaw,” as the novel’s dust cover triumphantly describes. On the surface, this would appear to be a truly beautiful story of unconditional love: Michael “looked at a harlot and saw someone worthy of love.” But is it really that simple? Troubling Behaviour Despite its overwhelming popularity, there are elements of this romance that paint an unhealthy picture of love.
faithandfriends.ca I FEBRUARY 2022
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