"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path."ť Psalm 119:105
Paganism repackaged for children
posted Monday, December 3, 2007 :: 7:16 AM
Chuck Norris' column this week is about the new movie coming out this week, The Golden Compass, which he gives a big thumbs down. The reason is the author's message:
"[In the end] …"God" gets overthrown and the "fall" becomes the source of humankind's redemption, not failure."
This is ancient paganism's fundamental message: that humankind must struggle against, instead of submit to, God; that human redemption, progress, and exaltation is by self- determination instead of submission to the Creator. Among the Cush-ites, Eve was a heroine because she received wisdom from the gods (the knowledge of good and evil from the tree, prompted by Satan) which she then passed on to mankind as a benefactress! This is why Athena, the deified Eve, is the patron goddess of the Greeks, who venerated wisdom, Athena's defining characteristic. Notice the authoritative statue depicting her (made by the ancient Greeks and kept in the Parthenon, her temple) has a serpent by her side, incidentally lifted up instead of on his belly. It is the glorification of rebellion against YHVH; the elevation of man as his own god, with the serpent as his guide and mentor.
This same message has been repackaged in beautiful wrapping for children, and it opens this Friday. Or children are being asked (tempted) to open it this Friday. Don't be sucked in; the message underneath the garment of light is pure poison.
"I want the public to be very scared by what they see. I want them to see a very bleak future. I want them to feel disillusioned halfway through and feel hopeless."
I want Hollywood celebrities to stop telling the rest of us what they want us to do and how they want us to live, but unfortunately, Leonardo, we can't all have everything that we want.
Ted Baehr of Movieguide: the Family Guide to Movies and Entertainment has seen Spider-Man 3, which opens tomorrow, and has posted a detailed review. The bottom line: Spider-Man 3 extols Christian values, he says, specifically, the innate sin nature, the destructiveness of unforgiveness and revenge, the folly of pride, the virtue of forgiveness and self- sacrifice. We are going to see this movie next week.
My sweet dh and I were out last night getting some errands done, and since we finished early we decided to see if any movies were playing. At the theater, we saw the poster for the new Disney movie, Meet the Robinsons. We decided to give it a try.
Wow. Not only was it a great movie, it was unashamed to be wholesome, positive, encouraging, uplifting, and family- friendly. And by family- friendly, I mean the animation was beautiful, but also from an era gone by. It wasn't hard, or shock, or edgy, or cool (although I thought it was cool) or any of those things that modern stuff for kids tries to be these days - as if anything appropriate for six- year- olds was something to be ashamed of, and everything for six- year- olds has to seem like it is really for twelve- year- olds instead. Know what I mean? The movie was not ashamed to be appropriate for six- year- olds, in the old fashioned sense. There was no bathroom "humor" anywhere. How refreshing!
The story was enjoyable, I thought, even for adults (we enjoyed it) and it wasn't a preachy movie by any means, but like the best literature, the story did contain a positive, biblical universal truth. I won't spoil it for you and tell you what it was, but I remember leaving the theater feeling surprised - surprised that Walt Disney Pictures, instead of being ashamed of Walt Disney's wholesome idealism, as it seems had been the case under that other CEO they got rid of, embraced it so thoroughly in such an entertaining way. It was like seeing something from your childhood that you hadn't seen in twenty or thirty years, so it was a surprise, but an awfully welcome one. Disney seems to be undergoing a positive transformation. For example, I note that the absolutely wonderful True Life Adventures have come to DVD for the first time. !!!
If you haven't seen Meet the Robinsons yet with your kids, do - I think you might be pleasantly surprised. (Here are some reviews. I note that the New York Times hated it. I couldn't think of a better mark in the movie's favor.)
Yesterday I had a long post typed out about the new movie Amazing Grace, which opened yesterday. But then my session timed out or something and I lost it all before I could post it. One day I am going to learn to do these things in Wordpad and save it as I go.
Although I can't duplicate the post I lost with all its links and analysis, I will say that my son and I went to see Amazing Grace last night, and it was an awesome movie. Go see it, it is fantastic! I read one reviewer who said he was disappointed in the film for some reason, so I went looking for something to be disappointed about, and I couldn't find anything.
The movie is properly the story of William Wilberforce's struggle to abolish slavery in England, in which he persisted for decades until his health was broken. In a way the movie contains a subtle message to us today, to not give up in our fight against abortion, no matter the obstacles, until every God- given life enjoys the legal protection of the right to life. John Newton, a former slave ship captain turned born- again Christian, and author of the hymn "Amazing Grace," is featured in several important scenes in the movie.
I did a little digging and found some more links:
Patricia Heaton, one of the producers of the movie, has some info on the movie's journey to the screen at her blog. (You knew that the former Everybody Loves Raymond star is a Christian and an outspoken opponent of abortion, right?).
Gene Edward Veith says at his blog that Amazing Grace is "reportedly filled with explicit Christianity, which is worse than explicit [s-x] in some circles." He is right, the movie is filled with explicit Christianity. As far as it being considered worse than explicit [s-x], I wonder if that is why we had to drive to a theater 25 miles away in order to see it, as none of our local theaters were showing it. I hope the movie makes a boatload of money and the horror, violent, gory junk that the local theaters opt to feature instead flops.
If I can find the links I had last night, and others, to movie reviews and more info about the movie, I will keep adding them to this post throughout the weekend.
We finally got a chance to see The Nativity Story this week. What an excellent movie! If you haven't seen it yet, see it before it leaves theaters. I especially loved how they portrayed the relationship between Joseph and Mary, how she grew from not knowing him, to loving and appreciating him as her husband. It seems this movie hasn't done well at the box office, which I couldn't understand. Why isn't the church supporting this family- friendly, Christ- honoring movie the way it did Passion?
We saw trailers for two other movies coming up which we definitely want to see. One is Amazing Grace, the story of William Wilberforce, who worked tirelessly to end slavery in Britain after coming to Christ. The same company which did Narnia is doing this movie. It opens in theaters on February 23. The next is Miss Potter, the story of Beatrix Potter and the creation of the Peter Rabbit stories. It stars Renee Zellweger and Ewan McGregor, and opens in theaters today!
The Nativity Story opens today!! I hope it is good, I can’t wait to see it! I love rewarding Hollywood when they get it right, as I hope they have done with this movie. Another movie opening this month that we are interested in seeng is The Pursuit of Happyness, the new Will Smith movie based on a true story.
Apocalypto, Mel Gibson’s latest, we will pass on. I want to support Mel because of the courage and conviction it took to make The Passion, but I just can’t with this movie. It sounds like a violent gore fest from beginning to end, the point of which is ??? In The Passion, there was a point to the violence: redemption. In The End of the Spear, there was a point to the violence: redemption. It sounds like there is no point to Apocalypto’s violence, other than maybe proving that Mel Gibson won’t be pigeon-holded doing namby pamby Christian movies for the rest of his life? I don’t know, but please give me a good namby pamby movie, crafted with intelligence and beauty and strength. Please. It doesn’t even have to be labeled “Christian.” Hollywood used to do those, remember Hollywood? Remember Meet John Doe, with Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck? With nary a Santa in sight, but a stirring reminder of the true meaning of Christmas right at the climax of the movie?
My husband and I went to see World Trade
Center this weekend. It is a must see movie. My fear was that, with
Oliver Stone directing, it would take a sacred day in the memory of all
Americans and make some sort of political commentary out of it. That
did not happen.
It was the story of two Port Authority cops, and their families, on
September 11, 2001. It was beautiful and heartwrenching and sensitive.
It relieved the horror of the day, but through their eyes. So not
everything that happened that day was obviously told; but the import of
the day unfolds slowly, just as it really did.
I
needed more tissues than I brought, because to be reminded again of
what happened, that was painful. To be reminded again of the hurt of so
many people who could not find loved ones. But it is important, I
think, especially with the airline plot that was just uncovered. It is
important to be reminded that people out there are still trying to hurt
us, and they have not stopped, and this is what they are capable
of.
So yes, there was that, but there was also the hope and heroism:
that people exist who lay down their lives for strangers; who value
life, not death, and who value life so much that they will die to
preserve it for others. Both the Port Authority cops portrayed exhibited
their faith, as well some of the rescuers and Marines involved in the
search and rescue operation after the collapse of the towers.
This was one of the truly worthwhile movies of the summer.
My sweet dh took me to see Pirates of the
Caribbean this weekend (we certainly weren’t the only ones, LOL). I’ve
heard the movie getting gently panned by the critics, so I was prepared
for the film to drag and be semi- unenjoyable, but surprise! It was
entertaining from beginning to end. The special effects were incredible. Not knowing in advance what the
plot was about, I was pleasantly surprised (again) by the movie’s
theme: that judgment follows death, and what we do in this life about
our immortal souls matters.
MovieMinistry.com has posted a great review which draws out the
biblical themes. Ken Ham blogs a bit about seeing the movie, too. Note
to parents: the PG-13 rating is well deserved. No swearing that I can
remember; there are a few kissing moments between Will and Elizabeth,
and three other brief instances of ... mild attraction, I suppose you
could say. The worst of it is the disgustingly decayed state of Davy Jones and his crew, who are trying to escape death and
the judgment that follows it, and their cruelty to captured sailors.
The eeeeeeww factor is similar to or maybe even stronger than the first Pirates movie, what I can
remember of it.
One
thing that I do appreciate about this series of movies, it certainly
unglamorizes the pirate’s life. Everyone is dirty and sunburnt by the
end of the film, and the biggest heroes are, as in the first film,
those who do not make the pirate’s life their preferred mode of living.
The more the movies progress, the more lost and empty Captain Jack
Sparrow seems, and by the end of the film, I saw his bravado as a thin
veneer hiding a painfully purposeless life. We will just have to wait and see how the third movie wraps up all the loose ends.
My dh and I took Zane and family to see
Cars this weekend. I myself, not being a racing fan, or a cars fan,
wondered if I would like the movie. I doubted Pixar could make anything
about cars as wonderful as their last movie, The Incredibles, which I
loved.
But
Cars was a wonderful movie. Maybe not quite as good as The Incredibles,
but how many movies can be? It was still very, very good. And very
funny. My favorite scene is when the race car asks the VW Bus why his
organic fuel isn’t more well known. I laughed so hard at the
answer I missed part of it. (I will have to pay attention to that part
on the dvd.) MovieMinistry.com has up a review and a thoughtful analysis.
And thank you, Pixar, for making a quality children’s / family film
without the seemingly requisite bathroom humor, which the world
definitely needs less of. By the way, Zane loved the movie.
I have been blogging a bit about The Da
Vinci Code since the movie has come out. The funniest take on the
controversy that I have read is Mike Adam’s column. He has taken to
carrying The Da Vinci Code book onto airplanes because it encourages
the “quacky conspiracy theorists” (his words) to start conversations
with him, which he recounts in his column, and hilarity ensues. Be sure
the read the last conversation. It is the wackiest of all, and the
quacky conspiracy theorist in question is a practicing psychiatrist. Ha ha hee hee hee.
The Media Research Center
has published a report comparing the media’s publicity, treatment,
assumptions, and bias of the movies The Passion of the Christ vs. The
Da Vinci Code. The Trashing of the Christ
explores the part the media’s views on religion play in influencing the
culture to consider a movie a must-see, and the hypocritical way the
media treats religion it approves of and religion it does not approve
of. The self-proclaimed arbiters of total unbias have had thier bias
exposed. Interesting reading.
*** Update: Breakpoint has published an excellent article
examining the real message behind The Da Vinci Code: the concept of the
“sacred feminine,” or goddess worship. This perversion had its
beginning at the Tower of Babel rebellion and has been plaguing the
world since. The root of goddess worship is denying that He, the I AM,
in fact is the Creator and Ruler of the universe, and it is thus
related to darwinism. I believe the Great Harlot of Babylon which is judged in Revelation
to be the worldview of insidious denial of the Creator, Lawgiver, and
Judge, which manifests in various forms, including goddess worship,
paganism, and darwinism (a form of nature worship as Paul testifies in Romans 1). Go read it, it is a fascinating article.
Speaking of movies, Prince Caspian, the
second tale in the Narnia series, is scheduled to be released the
summer of 2008, according to Box Office Mojo. Narniaweb.com is keeping track of all the Narnia movie- related news. Cannot wait for that one!
Well, the reviews have started coming in for The Da Vinci Code, a movie I am not going to see when it opens this weekend.
The Cannes Film Festival viewers snickered, and burst out laughing at the pompousness of the movie’s climactic moment ... Variety calls the movie “stodgy” and “grim” ... AFP reports that the Boston Globe called Tom Hanks “a zombie,” and that British radio called the dialouge “cheesy” ... The Hollywood Reporter called Hanks’ performance “remote” and “wooden,” and the movie itself drowning in “dramatic inertia.”
Hollywood is still predicting it will make money. But maybe not; they
have been wrong before, and even the true believers might not want to
sit through two and half hours of cheesy dramatic inertia.
Ian McKellan, who plays someone in the movie, recently said he thought the Bible should come with a fiction disclaimer in the front. Pastors who say it doesn’t matter whether one believes evolution, are you listening?
Recently I mentioned The Da Vinci Code book in a blog post, with links to many articles which have debunked the book’s premises as false and historically invalid. Hank Hanegraaff of the Christian Research Institute
says of the movie, “It’s the last thing anyone intended, but Hollywood
just handed believers like you and me a significant opportunity to
share the gospel with the world.” Read his new book, authored with
acclaimed New Testament scholar, linguist, and historian Paul L. Meier,
The Da Vinci Code: Fact or Fiction? to help confront the heresies. The Christian Research Institute also maintains a very helpful resource page of books covering all aspects of the controversy.
I love this show. I watch it every week if
I can. I cry every week. I cry because of the hardships the families
endure, and I cry because of how deep people dig to help them, and I
cry because of how happy the families are with their new homes. Thanks,
ABC and Disney, for doing something right.
Updated 01/21/06; orginally posted on 01/20/06; scroll down for updates.
End of the Spear, of course! It opens today! The ever-thoughtful Gene Edward Veith has his review up at World magazine. The secular papers are panning the film, for the most part (though there are a few moments of honesty.) Well, they did with Passion, too, what did we expect from an industry that showers praise on something like Brokeback Mountain.
They are not analyzing a finished product (which is what they tell us
they are doing), they are promoting their agenda. Which means
everything that agrees with their agenda is wonderful, no matter how
revolting it is, and everything that disagrees with their agenda is
horrible, no matter how wonderful it is.
We are going to see End of the Spear tomorrow afternoon. Let’s support this movie like we supported Passion!!
*** Update: Cal Thomas calls it the “finest movie of its kind I have seen.” *** 01/21/06 Update: There is a growing controversy over End of the Spear. Al Mohler explains and has all the relevant links.
We aren’t going out to the movies tonight. I wish there were
enough good movies playing so that we could go out every Friday night
to the movies, now that we are empty-nesters, but there isn’t. But the
tide may be turning, according to recent City Journal article, Conservatives in Hollywood:
...
ever more Americans are shunning Hollywood’s wares—and disgust with
Left Coast politics, both on and off screen, clearly plays a part. In a
time of declining moviegoing, what gets people out to the theaters, it
turns out, are conservative movies—conservative not so much politically
but culturally and morally, focusing on the battle between good and
evil, the worth of heroism and self-sacrifice, the indispensability of
family values and martial honor, and the existence of Truth. Hollywood
used to turn out a steady supply of such movies—watch just about any
film from its Golden Age of the thirties and forties—and it still makes
them once in a while .... We may soon see a lot more of them.
The
article analyzes the decline in box office receipts that has Hollywood
reeling, and mentions Hollywood’s explanations for it, which are then
refuted.
“You can date the recent box-office
decline from the end of the summer last year, with the intensification
of the presidential campaign,” notes conservative film critic and
talk-radio host Michael Medved. “It wasn’t just Hollywood’s hostility
toward President Bush; it was the naked, raw partisanship.” ... “This
is what many people in the movie industry don’t get: when you express
hostility to conservatives, many Americans feel that you’re expressing
hostility to them.”
There is one movie from last year which doesn’t fit the mold: Cinderella Man.
This is a solid conservative movie by an Academy Award-winning
director, Ron Howard, which exemplifies the epitimony of the
movie-making craft in every way. Story, writing, acting, directing,
photography, sets, all top shelf (go rent it, it is a wonderful film). But it didn’t do well, either. I wonder if the reason is that Russell Crowe had his little phone-throwing fit
a few days before the movie opened. People may have just had it up to
here with overpaid spoiled brats and their antics, and not seeing the
movie was the only power they had to express that sentiment.
But
the brightest news is found at the end: the cultural shift quietly
taking place in Hollywood, with conservatives filling the industry
everywhere from actors and actresses (Adam Sandler), writers (Andrew
Klavan), directors and producers (Mike De Luca of Dreamworks, Mel
Gibson), and investors (Philip Anschutz, the money behind Ray, Because of Winn-Dixie, and Narnia).
Speaking of which, we have Because of Winn-Dixie on dvd, and that is what we will be watching tonight. I can’t wait! :)
*** Update: Well, we will probably put Last Holiday (another good review here) or Glory Road (another good review here) on the to-see list.
I
should make a note about The Island: this movie didn’t do well at the
box office, but I thought the story carried a powerful pro-life
argument, which the article mentions. I don’t know why I didn’t blog
about it when we saw it ... oh, I know why. It was July - August, our
absolute busiest shipping time of the year.
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I am researching the holy days which were instituted by God as a celebration of the Messiah, instead of celebrating the holy days which were instituted by man to honor nature in place of nature's God.
:: Israel's Feast - Wooten
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