A Culture Starving for Truth: How King of Kings and the 917 Society Echo the Same Cry for a Nation to Return to God
- Rich Washburn
- 6 days ago
- 3 min read
As Americans pour into theaters to watch King of Kings, Angel Studios’ faithful retelling of the life of Christ, it’s clear something deeper is happening than a simple cinematic success. This isn’t just a film beating a corporate giant like Disney at the box office—it’s a sign of a cultural and spiritual hunger that’s been simmering under the surface for years. Families are choosing meaning over mockery, truth over trendiness. And it echoes something we at the 917 Society have been saying all along: America is ready to return to God.
Just two weeks ago, we published An Open Letter to President Donald J. Trump: A Call to Rededicate America to God. That message, penned from the heart of our founder Joni Bryan, called upon President Trump to follow in the footsteps of George Washington—to lead this nation, not merely politically, but spiritually, back to its roots. Back to the sacred ground where our first president dedicated this country to Almighty God in 1789.
That moment in our history, when President Washington walked to St. Paul’s Chapel and knelt in prayer, wasn’t performative—it was profound. And as we watch a new generation flood theaters to see a film about Jesus Christ while rejecting Hollywood’s hollow, woke caricatures of our heritage, we are reminded: that same spirit is alive today.
When King of Kings outsells Disney’s Snow White by nearly three to one in pre-sale tickets, it’s not just a win for a studio—it’s a win for values. When theaters sell out across the country, it's not just a good box office story—it’s a clear message that Americans are tired of being told their faith is outdated, their morals are bigoted, and their Constitution is irrelevant.
This is what the 917 Society stands for. We put copies of the Constitution into the hands of eighth-grade students, not because it’s a dusty document of the past, but because it’s the bedrock of our freedom—freedom that flows from the truth that our rights come not from government, but from God. And this current cultural moment affirms what we’ve always known: America still believes.
In Joni Bryan’s open letter, she reminds us of how God spared St. Paul’s Chapel on 9/11, while the Twin Towers fell around it. That chapel became a place of refuge—a sanctuary in the storm. Isn’t that what King of Kings represents today in our cultural storm? A sanctuary of truth, in the middle of chaos and confusion.
We are now less than 30 days from April 30, 2025—when we’ve asked President Trump to make a public call to rededicate America to God, just as Washington once did. And watching the momentum behind King of Kings, we believe the time is right. The Spirit is stirring. And this wave of revival is rising not in the halls of Washington, but in homes, in hearts, and yes—even in movie theaters.
Let this be a turning point.
Let it be the moment where we connect the dots between cultural renewal and national restoration. Let it remind us that revival doesn’t begin in government chambers—it begins in the human heart.
King of Kings is not just entertainment. It is a call to remember who we are.
The 917 Society is not just a nonprofit. It is a movement to reawaken the next generation to the truth of our founding.
And the call to rededicate America to God is not just a symbolic gesture. It is a spiritual imperative.
So as we stand in awe of a film that draws crowds for telling the truth, let us rise to the greater challenge: to live that truth, to teach it to our children, and to proclaim it boldly in the face of a culture that desperately needs to hear it.
America is not lost. She is longing.
And the time to answer that longing—with faith, courage, and conviction—is now.
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