Kirk Cameron’s new film Monumental used dubious history to plead with Americans to return to the era of the Pilgrims and therefore restore faith, liberty and freedom. Cameron didn’t approach the project with much critical thinking, which should surprise no one based on his last, failed attempt at American history, but history wasn’t the point of Monumental. The point of the film was to present a Religious Right view of history that will encourage current conservative activists and make converts of new ones.
The overriding theme of Monumental is that America’s problems are a result of secularism, which leads to the loss of freedom and a dependence on government rather than God, and while promoting the film Cameron warned that secular humanists are “importing their secular humanist faith and religion and morality and imposing it on everybody else” as part of their “anti-Christian agenda.” He used his interview with Piers Morgan, where he was roundly criticized for his remark that homosexuality is “destructive,” to claim that his rights are literally being taken away, which he says confirms the point of his movie. Cameron, who earlier on the 700 Club compared criticism of him to a public stoning, told WORLD Magazine that “secular totalitarianism” is intent extinguishing freedom and the Founders’ “principles of freedom they found in the Bible”:
While Cameron acknowledges that many teachers and professors may simply be repeating what they were taught when it comes to the pilgrims and the founders that followed them, he maintains that others are intentionally mischaracterizing them. "They are contending for a different worldview, they're contending for a politically correct, secular-humanist worldview where it's necessary to erase and rewrite history," he argues, adding, "The greatest threat we face today is the secular totalitarianism of our current system."
Cameron defines secularism as a form of religion where the highest authority is man himself, and insists that the modern convention of a government and culture scrubbed free of all Christian influence is the opposite of the original American dream. "[The founders] wanted a system that allowed individuals to live out the principles of freedom they found in the Bible. They believed if they could govern themselves according to God's ways, to raise their families to love God and others, it would produce the sweet fruit of liberty and blessing and freedom, and other people would be attracted to their success and want to come join them," he says. "So their idea was to build the country from the ground up, not the top down, and build it from the inside out."
Like the subjects of his film, Cameron is adamant that he's willing to bear whatever personal and professional hardship he must in order to uphold the integrity of biblical doctrine on all matters, including sexuality. "One of these things I noticed when I went on Piers Morgan is how few people are willing to answer clearly on some of the questions that I was asked. ... It's been a great life lesson that Jesus was right," he laughs. "He said the world will hate you because of Me, and don't be surprised because they hated Me first. So it just confirms my confidence in God and in His goodness. I continue to want to love people and speak the truth and trust God for good results."
