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orthodoxymoron · 04-02-2010, 08:05 AM

I once drove for two hours, through Los Angeles traffic, to see The Last Temptation of Christ. I wasn’t impressed. I thought that it was more boring than objectionable! I once spoke with the step-mother of a famous Hollywood director about my desire to see a well done motion picture on the life of Christ using some of the special effects seen in a movie about UFO’s. On another occasion, I spoke with the director-son of a famous actor, again about my desire to see a well made life of Christ movie. I even talked to Dr. Timothy Leary about Jesus! What a trip! The idea was to do a life of Christ movie as a 2,000th birthday present for Jesus Christ! I obviously had no clout or power of persuasion! Nothing! Many years later, The Passion of Christ appeared. But my dream of a properly performed life of Christ motion picture is still unfulfilled. Movie people…please do this! Is anybody out there?

Can anything good come out of Hollywood? Maybe yes…maybe no. But I just saw a movie which came out of Australia, and I thought it was very good! It was Brides of Christ. It's about the painful time of change before, during, and after, the Second Vatican Council, or Vatican II. Have you seen Brides of Christ? If you haven't, rent the DVD! I cried through most of it! Warning, there are some graphic scenes. Some of the characters had bad habits! Sorry!

Making organized religion work is a huge challenge! The bigger the church, the bigger the challenge, especially when change is contemplated and implemented. So many implications and ramifications! If you have a problem with organized religion, then try disorganized religion, and see if that works for you! The history of organized religion is a tragicomedy of trial and error, interspersed with horror and even atrocities! The triumph of good over evil, love over hate, wisdom over ignorance, pleasure over pain, order over chaos, makes the struggle to get it right worth all of the trouble!

While you are at the video store, rent Luther. This movie illustrates the peril and promise of trying to reform a corrupt organization. Luther didn't want to start a new church. He just wanted to cleanse the temple of the corrupt money changers and merchants. Isn't that what Jesus tried to do too? On one occasion he used a whip!

But, the 'bad guys' don't thank the 'good guys' for pointing out their sins! They don't promptly say they are sorry, and then clean up their act. Oh no! They attempt to silence the messenger! First, they attack his premise. If that doesn't work, they attack his character. And if that doesn't work, they try to kill him! This is the dark side of human nature. Is this an example of Original Sin? It is found throughout the world, and throughout history. It is not specific to one church or one nation. It is so easy to demonize one particular group of people! But all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God! We just have to keep trying to do better. Sometimes this is very, very difficult!

One movie I would not recommend is World Trade Center. The subject had potential...but I didn't like the plot! Sorry! By the way…conspiracy theorists…if 9-11 was an inside job from top to bottom, start to finish…do you really think that it would have been such a complicated and sloppy job? Did some Americans unwittingly or unwillingly facilitate this atrocity? Were loose-ends deliberately left untied? Was this an attempt to destroy our form of government and way of life? It’s not really working though, is it? Americans are smart, tough, and resilient!

04-02-2010, 08:05 AM	#60
orthodoxymoron Avalon Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Lunar Base II Posts: 3,093	Re: Red Letter Church I once drove for two hours, through Los Angeles traffic, to see The Last Temptation of Christ. I wasn’t impressed. I thought that it was more boring than objectionable! I once spoke with the step-mother of a famous Hollywood director about my desire to see a well done motion picture on the life of Christ using some of the special effects seen in a movie about UFO’s. On another occasion, I spoke with the director-son of a famous actor, again about my desire to see a well made life of Christ movie. I even talked to Dr. Timothy Leary about Jesus! What a trip! The idea was to do a life of Christ movie as a 2,000th birthday present for Jesus Christ! I obviously had no clout or power of persuasion! Nothing! Many years later, The Passion of Christ appeared. But my dream of a properly performed life of Christ motion picture is still unfulfilled. Movie people…please do this! Is anybody out there? Can anything good come out of Hollywood? Maybe yes…maybe no. But I just saw a movie which came out of Australia, and I thought it was very good! It was Brides of Christ. It's about the painful time of change before, during, and after, the Second Vatican Council, or Vatican II. Have you seen Brides of Christ? If you haven't, rent the DVD! I cried through most of it! Warning, there are some graphic scenes. Some of the characters had bad habits! Sorry! Making organized religion work is a huge challenge! The bigger the church, the bigger the challenge, especially when change is contemplated and implemented. So many implications and ramifications! If you have a problem with organized religion, then try disorganized religion, and see if that works for you! The history of organized religion is a tragicomedy of trial and error, interspersed with horror and even atrocities! The triumph of good over evil, love over hate, wisdom over ignorance, pleasure over pain, order over chaos, makes the struggle to get it right worth all of the trouble! While you are at the video store, rent Luther. This movie illustrates the peril and promise of trying to reform a corrupt organization. Luther didn't want to start a new church. He just wanted to cleanse the temple of the corrupt money changers and merchants. Isn't that what Jesus tried to do too? On one occasion he used a whip! But, the 'bad guys' don't thank the 'good guys' for pointing out their sins! They don't promptly say they are sorry, and then clean up their act. Oh no! They attempt to silence the messenger! First, they attack his premise. If that doesn't work, they attack his character. And if that doesn't work, they try to kill him! This is the dark side of human nature. Is this an example of Original Sin? It is found throughout the world, and throughout history. It is not specific to one church or one nation. It is so easy to demonize one particular group of people! But all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God! We just have to keep trying to do better. Sometimes this is very, very difficult! One movie I would not recommend is World Trade Center. The subject had potential...but I didn't like the plot! Sorry! By the way…conspiracy theorists…if 9-11 was an inside job from top to bottom, start to finish…do you really think that it would have been such a complicated and sloppy job? Did some Americans unwittingly or unwillingly facilitate this atrocity? Were loose-ends deliberately left untied? Was this an attempt to destroy our form of government and way of life? It’s not really working though, is it? Americans are smart, tough, and resilient!