Posted on 05/17/2006 5:24:30 AM PDT by 2Jim_Brown
Betty Christensen doesn’t know how many people will join her, but she plans to stand in protest Friday outside the Elk Grove Theatre as “The Da Vinci Code” debuts.
Rain or shine, she will pray the rosary, sing religious hymns and hold a sign that says, “Stop Blasphemy.”
“I’m going out there in defense of our Catholic faith and beliefs,” Christensen said. “What the movie and the book said … it’s all lies. It’s very offensive.”
Dodie Przybycien will do the same at the Woodridge Theater Friday, although the Clarendon Hills woman also will hand out fliers about Jesus and the Catholic Church.
“There are a lot of Catholics who will be going to see this, and they’ll say, ‘Oh, it’s just another way of looking at it.’ No it’s not! It’s blasphemy! Jesus did not marry Mary Magdalene. Get a grip, folks!” she said.
These protests — or “prayer vigils,” as organizers call them — will occur across the Chicago area this weekend. Some 1,000 demonstrations are planned nationwide.
Leading the effort is The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property, a Catholic organization whose members believe Dan Brown’s “The Da Vinci Code” mocks Jesus and the Catholic Church.
“We’re not going to allow these types of attacks on religion — in our case on Catholicism — to go unchallenged,” said Preston Noell of Park Ridge, who coordinates the campaign in the Chicago area.
Listed among the targets is Regal Cinemas Round Lake Beach 18.
Come Friday, “The Da Vinci Code” will air on five screens for a total 18 showings at the theater. That eclipses the four screens afforded “Mission: Impossible III” but is fewer than the six screens for “Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith.”
Protests with prayer, hymns and rosaries might do more to fuel interest in the highly anticipated film rather than dampen it, manager Rick Roberts said.
“If people drive by and see people protesting, I think they would turn around and go, ‘Maybe we should see this,’” Roberts said.
While the protests are expected to be peaceful, local police departments say they will send an officer to make sure neither protesters nor moviegoers get out of hand.
Protests are just one way many Catholics and other Christians are countering the film’s controversy. They’re also coordinating educational campaigns, creating Web sites, publishing books and videos, and providing speakers for community groups. The idea is to spur discussion and make it “a teaching opportunity.”
Hype about a movie that rewrites the story of Jesus convinced Przybycien to say, “enough” and stand up for her faith.
“By being out there, I’m hoping people will think twice about seeing the movie,” she said. “They should realize it’s a story. It’s fiction.”
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dailyherald.com
I wonder if the Catholics will riot, burn Ron Howard in effigy, destroy the Danish embassy, and kill innocent on-lookers.
Maybe not....
susie
Didn't Christ make reference to a perverse generation????
(Matthew 17:17 and Luke 9:41)
Not likely. They will probably stand there and get insults hurled at them by all the anti- Christ movie goers.
"Didn't Christ make reference to a perverse generation????
(Matthew 17:17 and Luke 9:41)"
I believe these things go in cycles.
People are naturally selfish and hate God because He demands they put Him and others before themselves. As the population turns more and more self-absorbed, destruction naturally follows. At some point, the society will collapse and it will be anarchy.
Those who survive, will remember that God allowed them to survive and will be faithful to Him. They will teach their children and they will obey. And so the cycle goes...
The liberal media is keeping their fingers crossed. You can count on the slightest act of vandalism or violence (should any happen at all) to be front page headline news with the press screaming, "See!!! Not just Muslims are violent!!!"
If what I read is correct about this movie being a stinker in its own right..the only rioting will be done by movie goers demanding their money back..
This may not be the best strategy. According to early reviews from the Cannes Film Festival, the movie is awful. Many reviewers whistled and booed and at a key point in the movie, they erupted in laughter. Ignoring the movie is probably the best thing. Let it die of it's own absurdity and pomposity.
“There are a lot of Catholics who will be going to see this, and they’ll say, ‘Oh, it’s just another way of looking at it.’ No it’s not! It’s blasphemy! Jesus did not marry Mary Magdalene. Get a grip, folks!” she said."
Sounds like SHE needs to get a grip. It's F-I-C-T-I-O-N. It's a movie.
Good for you! If nothing else your actions will show opie and tom hanks that their participation in this project is disgusting to many people. By tying their names in w/ this piece of trash they have disappointed a lot of their fan base.
I'm not one that typically holds an artists' political views against them by way of a boycott (except of course for madonna) but these two deserve a special contempt.
Neither of them will ever make another nickel from me.
… it’s all lies. Exactly, it's fiction. Protesting will give it more than it's due. just my opinion. Nomex suit on.
It'll all be over in about a month. Try to hang in there.
I agree. Remember "The last temptation of Christ"? It caused the same type of uproar but then it actually came out, it sucked, and it was gone and forgotten in two months. The Christian Church is still going strong.
If religious people who don't like the premise of this film worry about the poll numbers reporting how many folks think this is true, then it's just an indictment of their ability to get their own version of the truth out there.
Betty Christensen doesn’t know how many people will join her, but she plans to stand in protest Friday outside the Elk Grove Theatre as “The Da Vinci Code” debuts.
Here is a good place to start: Stand To Reason
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