Posted on 12/04/2006 7:52:47 PM PST by Pyro7480
'The Nativity Story' Movie Problematic for Catholics, "Unsuitable" for Young Children
By John-Henry Westen
NEW YORK, December 4, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A review of New Line Cinema's The Nativity story by Fr. Angelo Mary Geiger of the Franciscans of the Immaculate in the United States, points out that the film, which opened December 1, misinterprets scripture from a Catholic perspective.
While Fr. Geiger admits that he found the film is "in general, to be a pious and reverential presentation of the Christmas mystery." He adds however, that "not only does the movie get the Virgin Birth wrong, it thoroughly Protestantizes its portrayal of Our Lady."
In Isaiah 7:14 the Bible predicts the coming of the Messiah saying: "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel." Fr. Geiger, in an video blog post, explains that the Catholic Church has taught for over 2000 years that the referenced Scripture showed that Mary would not only conceive the child miraculously, but would give birth to the child miraculously - keeping her physical virginity intact during the birth.
The film, he suggests, in portraying a natural, painful birth of Christ, thus denies the truth of the virginal and miraculous birth of Christ, which, he notes, the Fathers of the Church compared to light passing through glass without breaking it. Fr. Geiger quoted the fourth century St. Augustine on the matter saying. "That same power which brought the body of the young man through closed doors, brought the body of the infant forth from the inviolate womb of the mother."
Fr. Geiger contrasts The Nativity Story with The Passion of the Christ, noting that with the latter, Catholics and Protestants could agree to support it. He suggests, however, that the latter is "a virtual coup against Catholic Mariology".
The characterization of Mary further debases her as Fr. Geiger relates in his review. "Mary in The Nativity lacks depth and stature, and becomes the subject of a treatment on teenage psychology."
Beyond the non-miraculous birth, the biggest let-down for Catholics comes from Director Catherine Hardwicke's own words. Hardwicke explains her rationale in an interview: "We wanted her [Mary] to feel accessible to a young teenager, so she wouldn't seem so far away from their life that it had no meaning for them. I wanted them to see Mary as a girl, as a teenager at first, not perfectly pious from the very first moment. So you see Mary going through stuff with her parents where they say, 'You're going to marry this guy, and these are the rules you have to follow.' Her father is telling her that she's not to have sex with Joseph for a year-and Joseph is standing right there."
Comments Fr. Geiger, "it is rather disconcerting to see Our Blessed Mother portrayed with 'attitude;' asserting herself in a rather anachronistic rebellion against an arranged marriage, choosing her words carefully with her parents, and posing meaningful silences toward those who do not understand her."
Fr. Geiger adds that the film also contains "an overly graphic scene of St. Elizabeth giving birth," which is "just not suitable, in my opinion, for young children to view."
Despite its flaws Fr. Geiger, after viewing the film, also has some good things to say about it. "Today, one must commend any sincere attempt to put Christ back into Christmas, and this film is certainly one of them," he says. "The Nativity Story in no way compares to the masterpiece which is The Passion of the Christ, but it is at least sincere, untainted by cynicism, and a worthy effort by Hollywood to end the prejudice against Christianity in the public square."
And, in addition to a good portrait of St. Joseph, the film offers "at least one cinematic and spiritual triumph" in portraying the Visitation of Mary to St. Elizabeth. "Although the Magnificat is relegated to a kind of epilogue at the movie's end, the meeting between Mary and Elizabeth is otherwise faithful to the scriptures and quite poignant. In a separate scene, the two women experience the concurrent movement of their children in utero and share deeply in each other's joy. I can't think of another piece of celluloid that illustrates the dignity of the unborn child better than this."
See Fr. Geiger's full review here:
http://airmaria.com/
Yeah, tended to be boggling in several ways--a lot of my friends had the disturbing, frustrating, paradoxical challenge for me of insisting that I had this terribly annoying habit of being right a lot more than they were in the mood to feel tolerant of.
I wonder if that's the phenomenon here . . . ponder, ponder . . .
And the Nicene Creed didn't? Do you find fault with the Nicene Creed? If it was good enough for 1,500 years why is it not good neough for the Protestants (other than the obvious)?
Would it be a personal attack to question the IQ of your freinds?
Every Church and every body in every Church.
Ping to self to catch up.
The latter is inseperable from Sola Scriptura.
The whole point is that the focal point of our understanding is Scripture. It is the anchor.
We dig through Scripture. Chew on it a while. Take it in. Why? Because that is one of the ways that God helps us to learn. He left teachers here to teach. Prophets to Prophesy. Apostles to Apostlize (joking here with the word use so don't jump on me). The Body of Christ is truly a way we learn - BUT NOT APART FROM SCRIPTURE! That is what Sola Scriptura is about. It isn't about someone appearing and creating new doctrine that isn't found in Scripture or even hinting at and then some centralized hierarchical structure saying "yep, it's from God."
Even with the apostles, what they taught was in a certain harmony with the Old Testament with Christ Jesus as the hinge which connected and interwove the two.
D-fendr. You are trying hard to make a point about Sola Scriptura. But if you don't have the right understanding about what Sola Scriptura is, then your point falls hollow.
Also, you never answered the question. How do you know the church got it right? You pick on the Protestants stance that we can rightly understand and interpret Scripture as if the Protestants are the only ones who can blow it on a matter of Scripture. What about your faith ? How do you know that these men were led of God? How do you know that they got it right? How do you know that they are the "church" that Christ spoke of and not a substitute?
Blogger and I disagreeing?
Oh, dear!
Call out the Inquisition! Perish the thought! Impossible!
Though I guess we are two individuals.
We're not even close to clones.
Identical robots maybe?
Naw--he uses different batteries.
But my impression--perhaps due to be immediately corrected, is that blogger agrees with my REAL LIFE examples sanctified by Holy Spirit's miracles in China and other groups . . . as testifying that
SCRIPTURE TAKEN AT FACE VALUE; SCRIPTURE DONE AT FACE VALUE will always bear fruit and shockingly often, be confirmed with miraculous signs following.
Of course, I haven't followed Blogger closely for a long time and he may be of a different denominational group which has decreed that Holy Spirit ABSOLUTELY HAS TO STOP all such miraculous affirmations--UNDER PAIN OF CENUSRE, or worse. That would be interesting. How do theological bureaucrats cenusre Holy Spirit? But I don't know one way or the other on that.
If the meaning is open to change (Communion of Saints for example) what value does a common creed have then?
PING
Not sure where you are on those examples! LOL.
Some protestants do hold to the Nicene Creed, and no, I do not find particular fault with the Nicene Creed.
MAYBE, we are CLONE! BWWWWWAHHAHahahahahHAHAH
:)
Those particular characters . . .
highly likely IQ's above 140.
BTW, Genuius is 130.
AS to the question . . . I'm not the expert on that.
What does it mean to you?
So teaching and direction is done, is necessary is a requirement. "Sola Scriptura" is a misnomer, not practiced in it's literal sense.
Would you agree?
= = = =
THE REASON there's been no reply--much less a thoughtful, reasoned, logical, Biblical reply . . .
Is illustrated in Scripture . . .
. . . . I only know that once I was blind, but now I see.
YES AND AMEN!
The promises of God are yes and amen! II Cor 1:20
Mangling it to
The promises of our denominational hierarchy are haggled over endlessly . . .
Just doesn't have the same ring to it . . . and far from the same results.
Blogger . . .
I'm wondering . . .
How's Walmart stocked up in your region?
Could we take up a collection . . .
Maybe 7/11 would be better. I don't know. Or perhaps Home Depot? Lowes? Army Surplus?
Where could we get a dozen cases of A THICKER SKIN for some of our beloved brothers and sisters?
Who am I to argue with a long list of experts in the field.
LOL.
Though, I do wish the tuition had been a LOT cheaper.
Not the last I checked.
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