Arkansas Blog

Xians just need to shut up and get the hell out of this country...I'm tired of them trying to control my life. Xianity should be banned from everything to do with politics and state. If they don't want to see that film..fine. They just don't need to try to keep the rest of us from seeing it based on their so called "moral" values.

Seeing yet another Christian film wasn't on my agenda this weekend but I have been overcome 'd! The pull and thoughts of missing an opportunity to observe some of "my-dam-way or you're going straight to hell" acquaintances squirm is just to great. Especially after enduring that arduous sob-soaking and suck up Passion of the Christ film with them.

I didn't see "Passions" (which had the blessings of the orthodox) and I have no intentions of seeing "Da Vinci." Do people really get this worked up over art that is labeled "fiction"? Reminds me of "The Last Temptations of Christ." There is always someone who is trying to tell me what I should read/see and what I shouldn't.

The Catholic Church's Dark Age roots/insecurities are showing. Can't let the flock start thinking for itself, after all, or all those contradictions/half-truths will undermine the flow of gold to the Vatican's coffers.

It's just movie for crying out loud. It's not going to undermine anyone's faith/beliefs that are built on a solid foundation.

And, yeah, 'just don't see it.'

I have much more respect for Christianity now knowing that Jesus may have been married for it adds a little of that old fashion human natural -- like he wasn't gay -- Wheeeee!

Moreover, the thought of him being married to the one person, Mary Magdalene, the Christian faith has demonetized for centuries as the ultimate female evil adds salt to the wound.

Maybe the church should suggest that people boycott movies which depict rape and murder. Or drug use. Or something like that.

I loved the book and look forward to the movie. Great adventure story. Lots of good puzzles. I don't know if the movie will be any good, but the book is great if you like any of the Indiana Jones movies.

The book is purblind nonsense but no more so than the "Left Behind" series. The fact that such claptrap can fascinate the popular culture speaks volumes about how ignorance of history and bad religion are the current coin of the realm. What the hell. I may go see the film. I may not. But all of the furor and, conversely, the intense interest in what really is an old story (The notion that Jesus married and begat offspring) that has been kicked around for years and which, up until now, has mainly been subscribed to by the weakminded and the gullible is just beyond me.

Ah so good to see that the hate of Christians that the right claims exists, thanks for crapping on my denial efforts geniuses.

There have been no calls of boycott by any non-marginal group in the US and you fabricate by trying to indicate such has happened.

Thanks so much for the reminder that as a Christian I am utterly unwelcome by the progressive movement just as I am unwelcome to be a conservative.

If a film-maker produced a movie about you that disparaged what you stood for - lets say it shows that, although you are a nice, pleasant person, you also secretly cheat on your taxes, abuse your spouse and you're a pedophile -- but the film-maker claims "It's not ALL true - its both fact and fiction", what would your response be?

That's kind of the position that "The Church" is in. What part of this movie is fact and what part is fiction? There's just enough fact mixed with the fiction to make it interesting, and sometimes believable.

To those hostile to the church, it provides an opportunity to gloat and savor what they would like to think is true.

These days, nothing proves your point better than a phony story that you wish was true! Small minds love this stuff!

To those who attend church - well, WHO CARES WHAT YOU THINK?

So, how should "the church" respond?

Some churches will be upset enough to call for people to avoid the movie and that is their right to do so.

If the movie was identifiably about you and portrayed you as something you weren't (a pedophile for instance), it would be understandable if you expressed your objection and sought to discourage people from seeing a false story about you - especially when it is clothed as money-making entertainment.

But most church-goers have learned that you just try to ignore these types of entertainment-attacks and let your deeds speak for themselves.

After all, there is no safer target in America to attack than the church.

I have no intentions of seeing this movie. I'm still having trouble sleeping at night because of the sacrilege done to my personal savior, Spiderman.

Doesn't matter how many millions those movies took in, to even imply that my Spiderman is wishy-washy and weak, almost nerdy when he is hiding as Peter Benjamin Parker! Well.....I'm sure each and everyone of you understand my distress because you must feel it deep down in your heart too.

The Bible, well....you may call it Marvel Comics #96-98 (May-July 1971), but I call it the Bible tells me that sure young Peter was a lonely, timid teenager but as he took his anti-drug message to the youth of America he wizened and matured to a point way above America's other Super Heroes and religious figures.

Spidey is stronger than Jesus, Spidey is younger than Jesus, Spidey has more Super Hero friends than Jesus.

Spidey can fly, Spidey can spin a web, which Falwell has to admit beats the living daylights out of water walking and that loaves and fishes trick that David Blaine debunked during his 8 days in that big fish bowl in NYC a couple of weeks ago.

But out of respect for all Super and near Super Heroes I cannot in good faith go see Tom Hanks doing the anti-Catholic dance on Jesus' head. I know in my heart though, that all of Jesus' children and grandchildren and so on love Spider Man, so for no other reason I will not watch the Da Vinci Code.

When fiction is outlawed, only outlaws will have fiction. NSA that for a while!

"After all, there is no safer target in America to attack than the church."
And what planet have you been on Coyote? What about gays being attacked - did you read yesterday about a Senate committee voting to enshrine bigotry into the Constitution - again? Did you miss the current brouhaha over immigration and speaking the English language [the attack on Browns you might say!]? How about the attacks on the middle class through disproportionate tax cuts? Or the rape of the environment? OR.......if I remember most of your posts correctly - the attack on Liberals.
No institution should be immune from critical analysis. The movie, if it's like the book, is a fast paced murder mystery novel. What is the church so afraid of -- that people will start looking back at the political decisions made centuries ago and recognize them for what they were -- political decisions? So what if Jesus was or was not married? That only becomes important if you've based your priesthood on an unmarried leader. Then you have a political position to defend -- and that can get particularly ugly regarding religious institutions. Witness the centuries of wars in Europe. Boycotts are tame by comparison.
Wake up and smell the coffee - the church contributes to more oppression than it receives.

>>No institution should be immune from critical analysis. <<

If you think Da Vinci or the much more boring "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" are critical analysis you have a serious lack of understanding of what critical analysis is.

You can get a deeper more complete and closer to accurate analysis of the Internal Revenue Code from one of them crazy black helicopters are coming tax protestors.

Save my...,

I agree. The "Davinci Code" is no more than a book that was written to entertain -- just like the other books Dan Brown wrote were written to entertain. Was a fuss made by various government agencies when Brown wrote quasi-spy novels abou them?

People, get over it. The book and movies are simply modes of entertainment, and are pure fiction.

sheesh

I don't recall lawyers coming out in force against "The Firm" or "The Devil's Advocate", although those films certainly portrayed the legal profession (something people involved in it can be quite passionate about) in a negative light. I don't recall businessmen protesting "Wall Street" even though the average person could be led to believe that all business execs are greedy slime.
I don't recall police officers boycotting "Training Day" over Denziel Washington's portrayal of a very dishonorable detective.

"The DaVinci Code" is yet another piece of fiction. Yes, it portrays organized religion--the Catholic church specifically--in a negative light. Rather than moan and protest, why don't ALL Christians (self included) show their belief through love, acceptance and doing unto others as we'd have done to us.

If you are Arab and try to control others by thumping the Koran you are called Radical Muslims.

This behavior of trying to control the actions of other is the same as the Taliban keeping women from having property and jobs or forcing all men to grow beards.

Do the Falwell's and Pat Robertsons of the religious right notice when they attack Muslims it is for the same actions they are doing, it is simply a matter of degree?

I wonder why Christians are worried about the speck in other's eyes but do not notice the plank in their own.

Where did I get that comparison?

Every artist hopes to communicate personal creative ideas. A mature and honest artist will go out on a limb time after time without pandering for public acceptance.

Those artists who pander are eventually forgotten.

Those who inspire controversy are those we remember.

Mature artists have developed a thick skin. They know that their ideas will be most severely criticized by smallest-minded people. But they must continue expressing their ideas despite harsh criticism.

Any artist who lives for good comments is destined for the trash heap.

--Qui Invidet Minor Est.

So far there have been how many riots on the streets of the US and France because of this movie?

The only governmental action regarding Da Vinci was the failed civil lawsuit by the "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" people to stop it to extort money.

Rather unlike the muslim nation "allies" of the US that banned by government action the showing of The Passion of the Christ because it depicted resurrection in conflict with Islam.

The smattering of church leaders who have advocated a boycott includes how many pronouncements of death warrants against Dan Brown and Ron Howard? Oh yeah, the number is ZERO.

Islamic leaders have issued death warrants on Salman Rushdie, Taslima Nasreen, Isioma Daniel, Jerry Falwell, along with various and sundry calls for violence against whichever nation has pissed someone off.

Citizen you have failed analogy 101.

Religion has always been manipulation. Anybody who hasn't caught on to that after some simple self introspection is not likely to be enlightened by a movie or a book.

Christian leader Brother Pat has called for assassinations when he's taking a break from having his private conversations with God.

Ah give Pat a break. After all he didn't call for the last execution until the goomer from Venezula said we were planning it.

Besides Pat turned a hurricane once :)

Ole Pat is one of my favorites. His regular conversations with God are funnier than the Daily show and about as accurate as...the Bush administration's pre-war guesswork.

Yeah, Russia's going to invade Israel about the same time Iraqi oil pays for the war.

He really is a hoot. Our very own comedic Khomeini.

My all-time favorite, though, was Oral Roberts declaring that God had told him he better raise $8 million by such and such or he'd take him home. Asking for money---how American of him.

...and we make fun of religious fanatics elsewhere!

Has anyone seen Angels in the Outfield? That's a pretty good movie. It has that Danny Glover in it.

"Besides Pat turned a hurricane once :)"
So he says. But he said in 1988 that if he could command a hurricane to turn he could also govern this nation and threw his hat in the GOP presidential quest.
When Pat sold his network to Mudoch for one billion dollars he had a clause inserted in the contract he would be allowed to have fund raisers on the channel. Always wondered why a guy with one billion dollars would need tv fund raisers.

It's fiction! Why take it so seriously? It's just a romp, like so many movies.

I didn't go to the "Passion" movie because it was just too bloody, from what I could see from the previews. I draw my line at too much violency and blood, regardless of whose it is.

Here was my response to an ultra-conservative person who told me she read three chapters of this "trash" and put it in the garbage can where it belonged:

My faith isn't that easily shaken.

The amount of fiction in 'The Da Vinci Code' is about the same as in any parish church's annual Christmas pageant. Historical events that took place in different times and places are compressed and rearranged and embroidered into a narrative for the sole purpose of entertainment.

Reading Mr Brown's book, I chuckled and shook my head repeatedly when I recognized how he tweaked and omitted and embellished to further his plot.

I do the same thing at a christmas pageant. The rows of whimpering toddler 'angels' with tinsel halos and runny noses are deliciously entertaining, but hardly 'factual' in any sense of the word. The scene of the bathrobed shepherds and wisemen posing around the manger is totally manufactured--they do not appear together in the Gospels.

Oh, and the obligatory ox and ass? Not in the canonical Gospels. They are, however, found in (GASP!) the apocryphal gospels, wherein they play a talking role--a phenomenon I have observed in more than one pageant, and which is preserved also in the mountain folklore surrounding 'Old Christmas' when the beasts speak at midnight. (I discussed this with Vance Randolph at length.)

Folks, the Christianity of modern Americans is so riddled by Swedenborgianism, gnosticism, legend and demagoguery that it's no wonder they have trouble defining 'christian'. What's really troubling is that they have come to believe it can be defined by majority. How sad a misunderstanding.

See the movie or not. It's really no big deal. Either way, I'm pretty sure it won't affect the state of your soul anymore than if you ate a hot dog on Friday. People *so* don't get spirituality.

Swedenborgianism? I thought Bjorn hung up his racquet years ago.

Were movie and novel, which good? As for me, a novel was better.

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