- Aug 29, 2003
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I got this e-mail today.
>
> MOCKING CHRISTIANS THE ONGOING HOLLYWOOD TREND
>
> A new film is coming under criticism from a Christian film and television
> organization because it mocks Christianity and depicts those who follow
> Christ as foolish and irrational.
>
> According to Ted Baehr, founder of the Christian Film & Television
> Commission ministry, the film "Saved," which will be released on May 28,
> purposely ridicules Christians. I watched the movie trailer for this film
> today and was saddened to see that the Christian characters are portrayed
as
> virtual nitwits.
>
> In one scene a girl argues that Jesus is "of course" a white man. Another
> Christian character, I have learned, comes to believe that she should not
> remain chaste, thinking that God has led her to have sex with a homosexual
> student in order to convert him. Mandy Moore and Macaulay Culkin star
> in the United Artists release that is being advertised as a dark teen
> comedy.
>
> "'Saved' is a hateful, politically correct movie," Dr. Baehr warned. "It
> is being heavily marketed to the community it mocks to lead Christian
youth
> astray and make them resent their own faith."
>
> "The one character who tries to preach the Gospel in the movie," he
stated,
> "is actually the villain."
>
> Dr. Baehr, publisher of MOVIEGUIDE (www.movieguide.org), formulated this
> scenario: "Imagine if this movie were set in an Orthodox Jewish school
with
> faithful Jewish children cast as the villains and a Christian girl shows
how
> legalistic the Jewish girls are. Or, what if it were set in an Islamic
> school with faithful Muslims cast as the villains and a Christian or
Jewish
> Girl exposes how legalistic the Muslims are? The outcry in the press
would
> be tremendous! Not to mention the righteous outcry from Jews or Muslims!"
>
> But this is modern-day America and Hollywood frequently takes on a
singular
> and hostile temperament in regard to Christians. It is the equivalent of
> reckless racial profiling that endangers people solely because of their
skin
> color. In the same way, when Christians are habitually illustrated as
> hate-mongers and religious tyrants the end result can only bring about
> trouble for believers.
>
> Many in the film community were up in arms about potential violence
against
> Jews prior to the release of Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ."
> Those false alarms never came to be; but it is troubling that those who
were
> concerned about potential violence as the result of one film do not have
> similar apprehensions regarding the anthology of movies that habitually
> depict Christians as cruel ogres.
>
> Films like "Saved" wouldn't be so alarming if Hollywood had a semblance of
> balance in its treatment of Christianity. But in today's Hollywood, there
> are rarely positive depictions of Christians. I admit that there are a
few
> crazies in the Christian community, but Hollywood chooses to falsely
depict
> us all as Fred Phelps-types who hate homosexuals and indignantly push our
> beliefs on others.
>
> Two years ago, Michael Medved, writing in USA Today and commenting on the
> film "Frailty" (about a man convinced that God has instructed him to
murder
> several strangers), noted how some respected movie critics used the film
to
> condemn what one of them termed the "intolerant fundamentalist faith."
>
> In the article, Mr. Medved said there was a "prevailing Hollywood bias
> against intense religiosity." Several years ago, he scrutinized
Hollywood's
> obsession with portraying prostitutes in a positive light. The connection
> here is that Christians - who hold to the absolute truth of the Bible -
are
> seen as adversaries of the situational ethics that have come to define
> Hollywood. Instead of addressing their own moral ambivalence, Hollywood
> leaders instead assault those who choose to walk with Jesus Christ.
>
> It's a childish tactic, but I insist that it is also very dangerous.
>
> Don Feder, in "A Jewish Conservative Looks at Pagan America," wrote,
> "Christians are the only group Hollywood can offend with impunity, the
only
> creed it actually goes out of its way to insult. Clerics, from
> fundamentalist preachers to Catholic monks, are routinely represented as
> hypocrites, hucksters, sadists, and lechers. The tenets of Christianity
are
> regularly held up to ridicule."
>
> Given the fact that "The Passion of the Christ" was so popular (as of May
> 11, according to Box Office Mojo it had made $368,205,546) one would think
> that Hollywood would put its collective biases against Christians on hold
in
> order to enlist more Christian moviegoers. But I fear that the hatred
> against Christianity has so invaded the Hollywood culture that insiders
> cannot see past their predispositions against us. The end result is that
we
> can expect more movies like "Saved" to bitterly revile those who love the
> Christ of the Bible.
>
> And they say Christians are the ones who are intolerant and divisive.
>
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> This list is owned and operated by http://falwell.com.
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>
> MOCKING CHRISTIANS THE ONGOING HOLLYWOOD TREND
>
> A new film is coming under criticism from a Christian film and television
> organization because it mocks Christianity and depicts those who follow
> Christ as foolish and irrational.
>
> According to Ted Baehr, founder of the Christian Film & Television
> Commission ministry, the film "Saved," which will be released on May 28,
> purposely ridicules Christians. I watched the movie trailer for this film
> today and was saddened to see that the Christian characters are portrayed
as
> virtual nitwits.
>
> In one scene a girl argues that Jesus is "of course" a white man. Another
> Christian character, I have learned, comes to believe that she should not
> remain chaste, thinking that God has led her to have sex with a homosexual
> student in order to convert him. Mandy Moore and Macaulay Culkin star
> in the United Artists release that is being advertised as a dark teen
> comedy.
>
> "'Saved' is a hateful, politically correct movie," Dr. Baehr warned. "It
> is being heavily marketed to the community it mocks to lead Christian
youth
> astray and make them resent their own faith."
>
> "The one character who tries to preach the Gospel in the movie," he
stated,
> "is actually the villain."
>
> Dr. Baehr, publisher of MOVIEGUIDE (www.movieguide.org), formulated this
> scenario: "Imagine if this movie were set in an Orthodox Jewish school
with
> faithful Jewish children cast as the villains and a Christian girl shows
how
> legalistic the Jewish girls are. Or, what if it were set in an Islamic
> school with faithful Muslims cast as the villains and a Christian or
Jewish
> Girl exposes how legalistic the Muslims are? The outcry in the press
would
> be tremendous! Not to mention the righteous outcry from Jews or Muslims!"
>
> But this is modern-day America and Hollywood frequently takes on a
singular
> and hostile temperament in regard to Christians. It is the equivalent of
> reckless racial profiling that endangers people solely because of their
skin
> color. In the same way, when Christians are habitually illustrated as
> hate-mongers and religious tyrants the end result can only bring about
> trouble for believers.
>
> Many in the film community were up in arms about potential violence
against
> Jews prior to the release of Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ."
> Those false alarms never came to be; but it is troubling that those who
were
> concerned about potential violence as the result of one film do not have
> similar apprehensions regarding the anthology of movies that habitually
> depict Christians as cruel ogres.
>
> Films like "Saved" wouldn't be so alarming if Hollywood had a semblance of
> balance in its treatment of Christianity. But in today's Hollywood, there
> are rarely positive depictions of Christians. I admit that there are a
few
> crazies in the Christian community, but Hollywood chooses to falsely
depict
> us all as Fred Phelps-types who hate homosexuals and indignantly push our
> beliefs on others.
>
> Two years ago, Michael Medved, writing in USA Today and commenting on the
> film "Frailty" (about a man convinced that God has instructed him to
murder
> several strangers), noted how some respected movie critics used the film
to
> condemn what one of them termed the "intolerant fundamentalist faith."
>
> In the article, Mr. Medved said there was a "prevailing Hollywood bias
> against intense religiosity." Several years ago, he scrutinized
Hollywood's
> obsession with portraying prostitutes in a positive light. The connection
> here is that Christians - who hold to the absolute truth of the Bible -
are
> seen as adversaries of the situational ethics that have come to define
> Hollywood. Instead of addressing their own moral ambivalence, Hollywood
> leaders instead assault those who choose to walk with Jesus Christ.
>
> It's a childish tactic, but I insist that it is also very dangerous.
>
> Don Feder, in "A Jewish Conservative Looks at Pagan America," wrote,
> "Christians are the only group Hollywood can offend with impunity, the
only
> creed it actually goes out of its way to insult. Clerics, from
> fundamentalist preachers to Catholic monks, are routinely represented as
> hypocrites, hucksters, sadists, and lechers. The tenets of Christianity
are
> regularly held up to ridicule."
>
> Given the fact that "The Passion of the Christ" was so popular (as of May
> 11, according to Box Office Mojo it had made $368,205,546) one would think
> that Hollywood would put its collective biases against Christians on hold
in
> order to enlist more Christian moviegoers. But I fear that the hatred
> against Christianity has so invaded the Hollywood culture that insiders
> cannot see past their predispositions against us. The end result is that
we
> can expect more movies like "Saved" to bitterly revile those who love the
> Christ of the Bible.
>
> And they say Christians are the ones who are intolerant and divisive.
>
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> This list is owned and operated by http://falwell.com.
> To unsubscribe, e-mail: fc-unsubscribe@list.falwell.com
> For additional commands, e-mail: fc-help@list.falwell.com
