Is Hollywood stepping up the pace against Christianity? Since the outrageous and unbiblical treatment of the One Who shall judge all mankind (John 5:22, 27) over a dozen years ago (Martin Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ), more and more films seem to be attacking Christianity and the Bible. Recently, John Travolta portrayed an angel who proved to be nothing more than a carnally-minded mortal (the movie Michael).
Now there comes a movie entitled Dogma (which made over a million dollars again last weekend). Its preposterous plot constitutes an overt attack on Christianity. A Roman Catholic cardinal inadvertently opens a celestial loophole (how does one do that?!) which allows two fallen angels an opportunity to return to heaven. Success for them would prove God to be fallible, and everything would cease to exist (why?). Apparently, it never dawned on the writers that, if a loophole existed and God did not know it, He would already be fallible (due to a lack of omniscience or a lack of omnipotence)–but then there would be no more movie.
According to www.screenit.com, the Lord’s name is taken in vain in a variety of different ways over a dozen times. The amount of profanity is described as extreme. God is played by a woman (Alanis Morissette), and there is a forgotten, thirteenth apostle, who (according to an editorial letter in The Dallas Morning News by Charles R. Helms and Jeff S. Turner) “leers at strippers and watches from heaven as women shower” (11-30-99, 18A). We know from the New Testament that the apostles displayed a few faults on earth, but such actions imply that heaven is a place of perpetual corruption and imperfection. Is heaven so dull that the flesh yet attracts?
According to the newspaper article:
Director Kevin Smith spitefully ridicules Christianity in general and depicts Catholicism in particular as cynical and hypocritical. The Virgin Mary is the target of ribald remarks, especially regarding her virginity (18A).
Of course, Catholics disagree with the Scriptures about the so-called “perpetual virginity” of Mary. Jesus’ brothers and sisters are mentioned in Matthew 13:55-56. The fact that we do not exalt Mary as the Catholics do does not mean we do not respect her as an honorable, pure, and righteous woman. Anyone who mocks or assaults Mary, or any other Biblical personage of good character, offends all who call themselves Christian.
Helms and Turner write further about the messages of this movie:
Organized religion “destroys who we are,” the Bible is bigoted and “gender-biased.” Despite recent shooting deaths at schools and churches, the movie shows two banished angels on killing sprees at a Catholic Church and in a corporate board room (18A).
“Organized religion” is a non-Biblical phrase referring to whatever the person using the term means by it. Hollywood’s objection is not to organized religion; it is to the morality taught in the Scriptures. Their objection is to holiness, righteousness, and godliness. For that reason many of their films are filled with profanity, blasphemy, and an obsession with nudity, sexual talk, and lascivious conduct. They are also given to violence–that which led to the first destruction of the world.
Following the teachings of the Bible does not destroy who we are; it brings out the best in people. It causes people to be kind instead of rude and obnoxious; thoughtful instead of obtuse; generous instead of stingy and selfish; loving instead of spiteful; forgiving instead of vengeful. The movie has it backwards: It is SIN that destroys who we are, that makes people full of anger, difficult to get along with, profane, covetous, and dominated by various lusts. Jesus died on the cross to save us from our sins and make us better than we are (Matt. 1:21; Col. 3).
The Bible can scarcely be accused of being bigoted when the gospel is for all nations and every race. No one is excluded from the invitation to be a Christian. This universality was made known as long ago as 700 years before Christ (Isaiah 2:2-4). The whole point of Ephesians 2:11-16 is that all (Jew and Gentile) are now one in Christ. Bigotry and prejudice do not flow from Christianity.
The charge of “gender-bias” is becoming worn and outdated. Hollywood is simply mindlessly mouthing this baseless charge, which has already been answered sufficiently. And what hope is offered as a replacement for the Bible which Hollywood finds so offensive? None. According to them, as typified by this movie, we should all speak with profanity, think continually about sex, and rate all religion as hypocritical. Is this kind of behavior to be our salvation? Do these things inspire us? Will we become more noble, more intelligent, or more compassionate as a result of movies such as Dogma?
Criticism of an idea, a way of life, or a religion is valid. Some legitimate problems may exist with the ideology of certain religions. The lives of some who profess Christianity may be flawed. A few hypocrites may be found among genuine adherents. If a person found a counterfeit 20-dollar bill in his wallet, would he refuse to spend the rest of them? Why permit a few religious counterfeits to keep one away from the Truth?
But beyond that; if someone takes it upon himself to berate the Bible, which is perennially a best-seller and used by a sizable portion of the population, that someone ought to have something equally good or superior to offer in its place as a philosophy of life.
So, Hollywood, we’re waiting. Your nudity, your lustful scenes, your defiling gutter language, your unrealistic violence, and your special effects cannot hide what you are at heart–phony. You are not the one to point a finger at any ideology and question its genuineness, for you have none of your own. Furthermore, you only succeed when the audience is willing to “buy into” scripts that are frequently incredulous or impossible. How about a compromise? If you won’t try to dictate theology to God, Christians won’t try to run the entertainment business.