James Bond Goes to Church

Imagine seeing James Bond at church… Yes, it was hard for me too. A man with a license to kill and promiscuous lifestyle is the last person you would expect to see sitting in the front pew at Mass, let alone being a religious educator to the youth. Does he even like children?

I can only imagine his face when teaching the Ten Commandments — especially the fifth and sixth commandments — but then again, his poker face is second to none. Card games, wild chases, and illicit liaisons aside, even the great story of salvation reveals itself in one of Bond’s many dangerous missions.

Daniel Craig is the James Bond of my generation, and the film Skyfall is my favorite. In Skyfall, I saw aspects of the story of salvation come alive, albeit inexact. I am uncertain as to whether observed parallels to the faith were intended by the director, Sam Mendes, but it is difficult to completely write them off as coincidental given their number.

The beginning of the movie has you gripping your seat as you watch M make a difficult call, ordering agent Moneypenny to “take the shot” as Bond fights his adversary on a moving train. Unfortunately, he gets mistakenly hit, falling into a rushing river below, everyone assuming that he was dead.

As dispassionate as M appears to be, Bond is special to her. Yet, she gives him up as the sacrificial lamb to save others, saying to him, “It was a possibility of losing you or the certainty of losing all those other agents.” Sound familiar? Did not God also sacrifice His only beloved Son so that we may have salvation?

Falling into the river, similar to baptism, Bond figuratively dies unto himself and stuns the world when he “comes back to life.” Reminiscent of Jesus’s forty days in the desert, Bond lands on a dry, abandoned island where he meets the main villain, Raoul Silva.

Taking advantage of his vulnerability, Silva tries to turn him against M and to tempt him into joining forces to gain power over the world. Unperturbed, Bond refuses to take the bait, retorting, “Don’t forget my pathetic love of country.” When Silva asks him his hobby, he quips, “Resurrection.” Great answer.

Here, we have a juxtaposition of the protagonist and the antagonist. They had similar beginnings as top MI6 agents under M, but the choices they made on their respective journeys lead to different destinations. M “betrayed” both of them, but their individual responses reveal their true character.

Long ago, then-agent Silva, emboldened by his superior rank and ego, went rogue on an unsanctioned mission. Eventually, M gave him up to the opposition in exchange for imprisoned MI6 agents. Silva must have thought his initiative at the time was in great service for the agency, so he held a hard grudge for many years, telling M, “Think on your sins.”

As for Bond, he was understandably entitled to grievance. Obedient to M, he followed her orders. How was it fair that she chose the other agents over him under such pressured circumstances? It evokes the words Jesus spoke as He hung on the cross,

“My God, my God, why have You abandoned me?”
~ Psalm 22:2

However, Bond’s steadfast loyalty to M far outweighed his bitterness, and he promptly returned to London upon hearing of the attack on the M16 headquarters. Keep an eye out on the English bulldog motif throughout the movie. You’ll understand why Bond smiles in the end.

Bond eventually leads Silva back to his father’s house, Skyfall, for the final battle. Silva and his posse succeed in destroying Skyfall, but he is not yet satisfied. He finally confronts M in the adjoining chapel. However, blinded by self-interest and revenge, he fails to see Bond’s triumphant return.

This brings us back to that question of seeing James Bond at church. You just did. And the best part? You know it. He defeats evil in the guise of Silva, the fallen angel. The Church with God as head is victorious, for “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18).