Posted on 01/10/2007 9:57:18 PM PST by Huntress
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — When Franklin Graham arrived at a poor village in Turkmenistan to film a segment for an upcoming World Wide Pictures release, he and his film crew were pelted with rocks, sticks and other detritus.
"Borat makes difficult tapings of missionary work among formerly friendly peoples," quips a World Wide Pictures crew member who was chased out of the village with Graham.
Nobody was seriously hurt, but Graham and the team confronted an uncomfortable new reality. Fearing ridicule like the kind portrayed in the film Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, some governments have encouraged their people to give American film crews hostile receptions. That's making it hard for Christian camera crews who come in peace.
"We don't have wealth, but we have pride," says one villager who threw sticks at Graham and believes he hit him in the shin. "American Borat-peoples will not harm us."
Graham released a statement saying he regretted the incident and will trim back his overseas filming itinerary until "there is a more receptive climate."
I thought the Great Commission was to go out and convert the world, not use far off places as tools to promote your ministry back home.
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