I posted earlier about a movie reviewer giving an overtly Christian movie a bad review based on the fact that it seemed to be evangelizing. Now, let me say from the start- if a movie is bad, its bad. Regardless of Christian or not, a work of any type needs to be honestly regarded. If a movie is good, say so. If its bad, say so. But this specific review bases its dislike of the movie solely on the fact that it seeks to convert.
Hypocritical? You decide.
The same reviewer called ‘WALL-E’ one of 2008′s best. No disagreement here. But to say that the movie wasn’t eco-propaganda is foolish at worst and deliberate at best.
The same reviewer puts ‘Avatar’ in his top films of ’09. ‘Avatar?’ You mean James Cameron’s ode to panentheism?
It’s sort of like when ‘The Passion of the Christ’ came out. I remember, vividly (oh how I wished I’d saved it!) reading in the NY Time’s movie review the (different) reviewer BLASTING P. o. t. C. because of it bloodiness. ON THE SAME PAGE, the EXACT SAME REVIEWER could not stop praising Tarantino’s ‘Kill Bill’ movies as ‘stylized violence.’
I don’t want to be one of those believers who bemoans not getting a fair shake in our society. Christ said we’d be hated. What do we expect? That is not my point here. My point is that it used to be that meaningful dialogue happened when you were exposed to different ideas, interacted with them, and accepted or jettisoned them by evaluation. It is becoming more and more socially unacceptable to put out an idea with the point of converting, at least if they are the wrong ideas. Didn’t like the movie’s message? Then attack the idea, not the sharing of the idea.
Freedom of speech means nothing if there are no ideas being spoken.
March 16, 2010 at 3:25 pm |
Good post. Interesting. And you are correct, there’s little to no patience these days concerning Christian ‘talk’.
Times are changing. The restrainer has losed His grip, somewhat, on the advisary in order for the ‘days’ or ‘age’ to be full. Man continues, after all, towards the preordained ‘End’ of our designated time on earth. And the advisary is his usual mean destructive self. HE HATES GOD AND ALL THAT IS GOD’S..especially the Gospel of Christ. The time is coming when the spreading of the Gospel will not be tolerated and those carrying and living that Gospel…will be killed. Happens often, today, around the world. Praise God. They, like Steven and other, just go to be with the Father.
Again, good post.
Carolyn /internetelias.wordpress.com
March 16, 2010 at 4:55 pm |
Hey Greg,
G.K. Chesterton says something similar in “Heretics” (1905): “The old restriction meant that only the orthodox were allowed to discuss religion. Modern liberty means that nobody is allowed to discuss it.”
The proliferation of pluralism often means that no ideas are evaluated on their own merit. I totally agree with you.