Bruce Almighty

The film Bruce Almighty depicts both Grace and Salvation in a way that everyone can enjoy without even noticing they are receiving a religion lesson. It is evident from the beginning of the movie that the main character, Bruce Nolan, lacks both Grace and Salivation. Bruce found himself to be a martyr and believed that it was God’s fault for why his life was the way it was. However, throughout the movie Bruce began to gain a new light on life. In the following paragraphs Grace and Salvation in the film will be discussed.

Grace was defined for us as “another word for God’s life and holiness, which he shares with us. Grace is free, unconditional, and undeserved help that God gives us.” There are two types of Grace: actual and sanctifying. Actual Grace is a gift from God that helps us to do what is right, and Sanctifying Grace is a gift from God that reinforces our ability to live and do God’s Will. In Bruce Almighty, Bruce’s girlfriend Grace seems to represent the Grace in the movie. She was a gift from God and tried to influence Bruce to do good representing Actual Grace. She also began to represent Sanctifying Grace as the movie went on and Bruce realized that she made him want to be good and do God’s Will. The end of the movie showed Bruce realizing that it was Grace he needed to live on.

Salvation was defined for us as “being made whole by God; made right with God; saved from the power of sin and everlasting death.” Salvation is very clear in the film. Bruce gains Salvation by the end of the movie after he is given the opportunity to ‘be’ God. In the beginning of the film Bruce continuously blames God for everything that goes wrong in his life. He believed that the most important thing going for him was be to become an anchor on channel seven news, and he also believed that until then everything was mediocre. This upset Grace because she felt that their love for each other and their life was more than that and would tell Bruce to pray to God. It wasn't until Bruce was given the opportunity to grant his wishes that he started to realize that maybe that’s not what he needed after all. Even though he seemed to have been given everything he had wanted he start letting go of his Grace, and with God’s help he realized that she was everything to him and he was nothing without her. After being hit by the truck and he went to God and he told him to pray God seemed satisfied that Bruce learned to appreciate what he had and the importance of faith in him, so he saved Bruce from death and sent him back to live his life as a new person.

In conclusion, Bruce Nolan learned that love and helping others was more of a reward than being a television anchor. It may have taken him awhile, but his experience made him realize that he needed Grace and Salvation to fulfill life. It was clearly evident in the last scene where he not only professed his love for Grace but was about to help many others through the blood drive that was taking place that Bruce became a different person. Bruce was given a new light on life, just like many others that find God. Bruce Almighty was a clever way to make even the most nonreligious person realize that Grace and Salvation need to be present in order to fully live.