Posted on 12/27/2015 7:25:08 PM PST by presidio9
The Christmas Eve showing of âItâs a Wonderful Lifeâ may be intended to make you believe in the importance of even an ordinary personâs life, but underneath that, what are the filmâs secret hidden messages, the ones that become apparent only after two or three eggnogs? Letâs mull over some of the wackier possibilities.
Itâs a salute to atheism. Itâs âthe least religious but most humanist film you could ever see,â said David Wilson in The Guardian, because it suggests people should fix their problems on Earth rather than waiting for God to help out. Regarding Jimmy Stewartâs character George Bailey, Wilson notes: âEven if he does at one point pray to God, [Bailey] is not religious at all, but simply a man trying to find transcendence in the routine of his life and in his duties to his family, friends and community .â.â. [director] Frank Capra .â.â. had a lifelong apathy towards his Catholic upbringing, and
-SNIP-
Itâs Commie propaganda. A 1947 memo by the FBI containing interviews with Hollywood types, which became of interest to the House Un-American Activities Committee, stated, âWith regard to the picture âItâs a Wonderful Lifeâ, [REDACTED] stated in substance that the film represented a rather obvious attempt to discredit bankers by casting Lionel Barrymore as a âscrooge-typeâ so that he would be the most hated man in the picture.â This, according to these sources, is a common trick used by Communists. The pressure eased up when a witness liked by the HUAC, ex-Communist screenwriter John Charles Moffitt, testified
-SNIP-
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Whatever drugs this idiot is taking are only making him delusional
True but I sure wish ... like in Christmas Carol how Scrooge turned his life around. Potter was like Scrooge but never repented.
Yes, you are right. In fact that is why I can’t really watch the movie. I want to leap into the screen and strangle his uncle. And Potter too. It’s just too rage inducing to me.
I guess the messages were so secret...no one ever understood them.
You have got to be kidding me. A man under enough stress to be suicidal and you are shocked that he yelled at the wife and kids? If you actually saw the movie why not acknowledge tha this was highly unusual behavior...so much so that Mary Bailey went to find out what was wrong. And then like a good help mate she did everything she could. George’s apology to Mary and the children is heart warming
Apparently not
I missed that one. He is asking you to prove it. Prove a negative? Kind of hard to do but he/she could read the KJV or just about any other version of the bible, I don’t know of any religion that teaches angels are people who have died.
Angels are created beings by God and Jesus was born in earthly form as superior to them
Nope, I cannot cite chapter and verse offhand. Somebody will come along and do it though.
I would advise caution in mixing the NT Greek phrase translated into English as “son of God” with the OT Hebrew phrases translated into English in the same way.
Of particular note in this discussion, the Ben Elohim of Genesis 6 are neither identified as angels, nor are they identified as good.
Also, “huge” is an adjective that doesn’t apply too well to non-corporeal creatures, and while there are a few comparisons of certaing individual angels to certain reptiles, these comparisons are along the lines of having one trait associated with the reptile rather than being reptile-like (crazy like a fox....)—saying that they are reptile-like conjurs up images of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
There is a strong Catholic/Orthodox tradition in angeology, which shares much with the Jewish tradition. That said, I’m curious to see how a sola scriptura sort of person attempting to defend traditional angeology wihtout the aid of the tradition makes out.
George's downfall is portrayed in a too sudden fashion, that is a weakness in the film (one of my all time favorites). I would forgive Capra for that weakness, and attribute that to the constraints of 'film time'. If the downfall of George would have been portrayed in a more hard biting realistic fashion, the movie would have been extended by an hour or more.
Correct! Angels were present at the creation (Job 38:4-7) and were shouting for joy, praising the LORD for it.
Therefore, angels could not and cannot be people.
Jesus Christ: You can't impeach Him and He ain't gonna resign.
Exactly. A major theme in the movie is that George wanted to see the world. Then life happened—he fell in love, children, work, putting his brother through school.
Then he was facing scandal due to Uncle Billie”s carelessness. George Bailey is every man who gets up every morning and does what he should, simultaneously content nd quietly disappointed, an American tragedy and story of redemption.
Underscoring the importance of doing the little things well. That is what a godd life is all about
“I get most of it from catholic posts here of all places.”
No, you don’t.
Too quick?
His entire life he got the short end. Lost his hearing in one ear as a kid. Dad died forcing him to take over the business. Lost out on his honeymoon because of his work. Saw all his friends go off to riches, fortune, and fame while he got stuck in a town that he wanted to leave since he was a kid.
His entire life he was fighting against. Finally he gets a hand be can’t beat. He’s facing jail and the total destruction of his reputation. His wife and kids will be homeless pariahs. His life is ruined and be lost everything he fought to keep.
Yelling at his wife and kids and attempting suicide is a very realistic response. He fought longer than most men could bear.
Therefore, angels could not and cannot be people.
BS. Check the last footnote.
============================================ Job 38:4-7New International Version (NIV)
4 âWhere were you when I laid the earthâs foundation?
Tell me, if you understand.
5 Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!
Who stretched a measuring line across it?
6 On what were its footings set,
or who laid its cornerstoneâ
7 while the morning stars sang together
and all the angels[a] shouted for joy?
“Yelling at his wife and kids and attempting suicide is a very realistic response. He fought longer than most men could bear.”
I used to think it was a stupid movie as a newlywed (it was and is my wife’s favorite). Now I cry along with her every time I watch it. It hits pretty close to home.
There is a distinction you are missing. You are correct that angels are not people who have died, but it does not follow that angels are not people.
The classic definition of person comes from Boethius—”An individual substance of a rational nation” and there are actually, at least from the Catholic tradition, three classes of persons: non-Created (there are three of those), created spiritual substances (angels, both non-fallen and fallen), and those having bodies—i.e. men.
Angels (and demons) are people too—but you are correct that they are themselves, and not something else which has been transformed.
One of my favorite scenes too.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.