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The omissions prompted E! Online to scream, "AFI Praises Spielberg, Snubs Jesus."

An alien's in the top 100, but not the Son of God

Indeed, it would seem so. The great director had five films on the list, including three in the top 10: Schindler's List (3rd), E.T. the Extraterrestrial (6th), Saving Private Ryan (10th), The Color Purple (51st) and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (58th). But whither Jesus?

I wouldn't argue for all of the Jesus movies to make the list. And I'd even consider arguing that The Passion was rightly omitted, because "inspiring" isn't the first word that comes to mind for Gibson's brutal, bloody film. "Redeeming" indeed, but "inspiring"? In some respects, I suppose, but I tend to associate "inspiring" a bit more with "warm" and "feel-good." The Passion is hardly either.

But then, the AFI obviously wasn't going for "feel-good" when it put Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan in the top 10. Both are, for long stretches, quite difficult to watch.

'The Mission' was among the missing

But it's not just Jesus movies that are absent from the list, which was, according to the AFI, chosen by "a jury of 1,500 film artists, critics and historians." Other terrific movies with spiritual themes—some of the stories overtly "Christian," some less so—were omitted, such as The Mission (1986), The Robe (1953), Dead Man Walking (1995), A Man for All Seasons (1966), A Christmas Carol (1951), Joan of Arc (1948), The Keys of the Kingdom (1944), The Inn of Sixth Happiness (1958), A Nun's Story (1959), and Quo Vadis (1951).

Why?

I wouldn't go so far as to suggest that AFI should now stand for Anti-Faith Institute, but hey, one would think that a list of history's most inspiring movies would indeed include more films of faith. Right?

To learn more about the American Film Institute, visit their official website.

Photos © Copyright New Line Cinema (LOTR), Paramount (Ten Commandments), Universal (E.T.), Warner Home Video (The Mission).

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