A voice spoke to Ray Kinsella one day while he was working out in his cornfield. The voice said "If you build it he will come." These words set him off; they began his spiritual journey. If you"re a teacher looking for the perfect movie to show your class, look no further than Field of Dreams. This move is perfect for showing examples of religious themes and ideas.
The back-story is about a man named Ray Kinsella whose father loved baseball. When Ray grew older and became a teenager Ray and his father got into a fight and he said some things that were very harsh. He told his father that he could never respect a man whose hero was a criminal. His father's hero was a baseball player named Shoeless Joe Jackson. He said that because Jackson was kicked out of the Major Leagues because he was suspected of throwing a game. He and his father never made up after that argument and Ray took off. The next time Ray saw his father was at his father's funeral. Ray has now moved to a farm in Iowa and lives there with his wife Annie and daughter Karen.
The interesting story line and humor in Field of Dreams will entertain your students and at the same time you will be able to teach them some of the most important religious ideas. The major religious references are an important part of the movie. The main theme is forgiveness. The movie is about one man's journey to forgiveness. Ray needs to forgive himself, his father, and gain his father's forgiveness for the angry things that were said. Most of the movie focuses on this idea of reconciliation. .
The movie has smaller religious symbols within the larger religious theme. The voice Ray hears could be interpreted as a symbol representing the Holy Spirit leading him through his journey. Baseball is a symbol pointing to the past that he and his father had before the fight. After the fight Ray even refused to play catch with his father. Along the way Ray meets several characters: one of which is a former activist writer named Terrance Mann.