Rosebud Theatre’s The Christians asks stirring question

By Laureen F. Guenther

The Christians, a play by Lucas Hnath, opened at Rosebud Theatre Sept. 22.
It opens in the Sunday service of a large North American church, where the lead pastor, Pastor Paul (David Snider), is announcing that he – and the church – will now believe something very different than they believed before. In short, he – and they – no longer believe in hell.
Pastor Paul seems unprepared for the furor that follows. Some church members loyally follow his new teaching, but others – including Associate Pastor Josh (Jordan Cutbill), and Paul’s own wife Elizabeth (Heather Pattengale) – aren’t so eager.
The Christians then depicts, with painful realism, what happens when people who used to love each other suddenly, and strongly, disagree.
I was so drawn in by this church service and these characters’ church behaviour, I felt like I was in an actual church. Under the direction of Morris Ertman, they greet each other with hugs, open their palms in surrender, raise their hands in praise, jump with enthusiasm – just like I’ve seen (and sometimes done) in my own church attendance. I had to hold myself back from singing with the worship trio (Caitlyn O’Connor, Cassandra Garbutt and Stephanie Lanting).
The Christians has no intermission, but Rosebud Theatre has scheduled a moderated discussion after every performance. Director Ertman calls this “Act Two,” which seems appropriate, as the discussion might be as thought-provoking as the play itself.
On opening night, some audience members asked how the actors made it through performing the toughest parts of the play. Some affirmed their own beliefs on either side of the existence of hell. And others addressed the play’s toughest question – how we respond to others who believe differently than we do.
That’s the question I’m still wrestling with, days later. Whatever I believe, about any issue, what does it require of me to extend acceptance and fellowship to those whose firm beliefs are the opposite of mine? What will happen if I accept them – and what will happen if I don’t? And, most disturbingly, do I sometimes use our differing beliefs as a self-righteous excuse to dislike those whom I find it inconvenient to love?
Beyond its portrayal of a church service, The Christians is such a realistic picture of human interaction, the story felt to me like non-fiction. At times I felt I was sitting in the presence of a living conversation, listening to loved ones engage in sharp conflict.
Those moments make the play challenging, but they also make it a play we must see. The Christians doesn’t tell us what we should believe one way or the other, on hell or any other theological point. But it does challenge us with that deeper question – whether we’ll love those on the other side of the debate.
The Christians runs Wednesday to Saturday until Oct. 28 in Rosebud Theatre’s Opera House. You can get tickets at rosebudtheatre.com or 1-800-267-7553.