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/
Oh, I must be a Calvinist then. My IQ is just 143 (or at least it was in high school—LOL). Hmmm.
Explain how satan and other angels fell then?
If God made them Fall then God is responsible for satan and evil!
Dear Friend , You are doing exactly what Calvin did. Over-thinking!
Just remember that us statisticians can’t be trusted. ;O)
That would be partial free will. In Hell you cannot LOVE
From Catechism...
1707 "Man, enticed by the Evil One, abused his freedom at the very beginning of history."10 He succumbed to temptation and did what was evil. He still desires the good, but his nature bears the wound of original sin. He is now inclined to evil and subject to error:
1704 The human person participates in the light and power of the divine Spirit. By his reason, he is capable of understanding the order of things established by the Creator. By free will, he is capable of directing himself toward his true good. He finds his perfection "in seeking and loving what is true and good."7
Actually this is not overthinking at all. I have been looking at this problem for 30 years and never been able to figure it out until I stumbled across the Reformed belief. Then it made perfect sense, at least to me.
DISCLAIMER: I will hasten to add that my belief in this matter is strictly my own. No church father that I can find (Catholic or Protestant) has ever held this view. I am currently researching this to see if I am holding a heretical doctrine. However, I am becoming increasingly convinced in this matter that the solution is rather easy than complex.
This was the whole point in the deception of Eve. Eve was confused to seek the wisdom that comes from God; Adam was not. Although both sinned, Adam was the greater transgressor.
There is no such thing as "free will". There is only God's will or sin.
"Partial" free will??? Well, that's a new one. :O)
“”There is no such thing as “free will”. There is only God’s will or sin.””
This and your scripture twisting makes no sense.
It makes humans and the whole angelic world one big game being played by God with Himself.
Without the ability to choose love,everything is forced on us.
From...
http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p1s2c1p7.htm
Freedom put to the test
396 God created man in his image and established him in his friendship. A spiritual creature, man can live this friendship only in free submission to God. The prohibition against eating “of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” spells this out: “for in the day that you eat of it, you shall die.”276 The “tree of the knowledge of good and evil”277 symbolically evokes the insurmountable limits that man, being a creature, must freely recognize and respect with trust. Man is dependent on his Creator, and subject to the laws of creation and to the moral norms that govern the use of freedom.
The above Catechism reveals the TRUTH.
Time for work.
I wish you a Blessed day!
What baffles me the most about calvinists thinking is that they don,t give greater respect to Mary because she is the first to receive Jesus and she is a perfect example of total commitment to the will of God
Instead you seem to give greater respect to the mind of John Calvin.
Harley,contemplating on the life of Blessed Mother will draw you closer to God than anything John Calvin ever did.
Try it!
Uh, oh. I’m sunk now...
have you taken your medication today? Use English in correspondence. It goes a long way.
stfassisi, we have been through this before with them. To no avail. There is positively some ".dll" type of file missing.
They will tell you that God pre-ordained Satan to fall along with 1/3 of all angels. And they will say that God is the author of evil, but that He is not evil Himself!
They treat evil as something God actually created!. It is really education to see to what depth this heresy goes, because on the surface even the pious could be deceived that they are but a shade and not of an altogether different kind.
stfassisi to HD: That would be partial free will. In Hell you cannot LOVE...
It is really shocking to see how some separated Christians have been fooled, seeing heaven as "servitude" and Hell as "freedom."
There is nothing free about hell; no one wants to be there!
LOL!!! A reformed Protestant quoting St. James! This is the first!
HD, if God predestined that some shall have the wisdom and other won't, what good is asking?
I agree. The idea that someone has to go to Hell to have a free will is mind boggling to me.
BTW, I was not being serious about the partial free will thing.
StF-This and your scripture twisting makes no sense.
Let's put it this way; what would you rather do God's will or your will?
God created man in his image and established him in his friendship.
God created man for His glory.
I think that's true of most Protestants. I think it's an inappropriate reaction to the overemphasis of the Catholic/Orthodox Church to be perfectly honest.
I know. :)
I wouldn't jump to that conclusion. The rich man (in the Rich Man and Lazarrus story) never asked to be removed from hell, only that his thirst would be quenched.
I know people who would rather be miserable and have their own way than be happy and not be in control. SO I can extrapolate that to people who would rather the misery of having their own way eternally than the joy of handing themselves over to God.
Well, I’d say he probably knew he’d never get out of there.
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