During the conversation about evil, the participants agreed it’s not so much the devil who’s in the dark but people. Describing how “Nefarious” impacted him, Jase Robertson pointed to the “provocative dialogue” about powerful topics such as life. Also, in the movie the demon speaks about God as “the enemy” or “you know who.” The point, Deace noted, is that demonic forces “can’t bring themselves to pronounce something of holiness from their own lips.”
“Nefarious” is aimed at two groups of people, Deace said. First, it’s for “Nineveh-ites,” or people for whom “repentance is potentially still on the table.” Second, it’s for Christian brethren who don’t realize we’re fighting a spiritual battle. And as Lord Nefarious explains in the movie, “That’s why you’re losing!”
“We talk about the woke,” Deace said, “but are you awake?” Referencing the great cloud of witnesses in Hebrews 12:1, he said martyrs received their eternal reward for speaking out and taking risks. “En masse, the church [of today] doesn’t have any of that courage or toughness at all,” said Deace. “It still thinks that America is just looking for a purpose driven life.”
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Reaching Culture Where It’s At
By using Hollywood’s top genre of horror, Deace said, “Nefarious” can speak directly to the people who need to hear its message. “This culture loves darkness,” he said. “This is where Gen Z goes.” In 2023, an estimated 35 horror films will be released.
“We wanted to go to Nineveh,” Deace said, “so we made a film that looks and sounds like what they are attracted to, but it is a full apologetic of our worldview. But from a figure that frankly they’re much more accustomed to listening to.”
These days, Western civilization is “about to belly-flop into Abaddon,” said Deace, referencing the destruction and abyss mentioned in Revelation 9:11. “Everybody feels affirmed for everything,” he said, but instead they must be shown the true origin of ideas they assume are smart and progressive. Those are really “pagan, regressive, and destructive choices,” Deace said.
Steve Deace: Churches Have Drifted Too Far Toward Grace
For too long, Deace said, Americans have been hearing the “soft sell” from churches and from “Hawaiian-shirt-wearing” suburban pastors. Meanwhile, darkness continues to grow. “It is time for some old-time religion now,” he noted.
Describing a theological pendulum that swings from grace to truth, Deace said the modern American evangelical church has mistakenly put the two concepts “at loggerheads,” leading to an imbalance. These days we’re “nicer than God,” said Deace. “We’re drowning out [God’s voice] with niceties [and] with programs instead of preaching.”
