Here is a closer pic from a different angle. There are two statues flanking the centerpiece. Neither are facing the centerpiece but are facing due-South (one east bound one west bound). The centerpiece is clearly north.
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/
Wonderful! Either Huxley is bad for the digestion.
That would be in St. Scofield's Inspired Margin Notes:
Mat 3:16 -
Jesus
For the first time the Trinity, foreshadowed in many ways in the Old Testament, is fully manifested. The Spirit descends upon the Son, and at the same moment the Father's voice is heard from heaven.
:)
The truth of the trinity appears, but the actual word "trinity" does not.
The truth of the rapture appears (we can argue about the timing), but in English the word doesn't appear. In the Latin, it does.
And one the Protestants on this thread actually used the photograph of the Lutheran church with a statue of a man kneeling/praying to statues as an example of Catholic idolatry!!!
The spin just doesn't stop, does it?
And what of the 'graven image' of Katherine in the same church, dressed up as a nun (again)?
"What do you think of the flowers in front of the tomb"
They look pretty good and well taken care of. At night, Heinze Luther,( friends call him Heinzy) the great, great, great, great, grandson of Martin and Katharina von Bora, under their will, has to leave flowers, preferably yellow if in season, on their graves and any statutes or memorials to them in Bavaria, in order to collect the small stipend left in trust. At least that's the rumor.
Y'all are doing the spinning. Not us. The man isn't praying to statues there. His statue is a stand alone. He is just praying.
I see a statues, resembling people, and one of them is kneeling and praying, it seems to toher statues.
More denial, more spin.
I realize that in Byzantine art there is a little problem with depth perception, but that statue of a man praying is at least 5 feet in front of the other statues and is facing East to their North. He isn't praying to statues. He is praying.
He established His Church and said He would remain with it for all time and that the gates of Hell would not prevail upon it; He sent the Holy Spirit upon it to teach it all truth; He told Saul that Saul was persecuting HIM:...Scripture calls the Church the Pillar and Ground of Truth and Jesus says He who hears you hears me..and, it turns out, all of that was a pack of lies.
Apparently,He failed. His word went forth and returned void.
Worse, it didn't return void, did it?
For if you're correct, His Church mislead billions of Christians and they all went to Hell until the 16th century.
But, then that would make Jesus Satan.
I forget in Scripture where Jesus establishes His Church and teaches it will lie and lead Christians into Hell until more than Fifteen Centuries after His Resurrection when a violent, vow-breaking, Jew-hating, drunk will be raised up...
In any event, it is an interesting thesis
But why have statues at all? Aren't these idols?
If statues in a Catholic or Orthodox church are idols, then they are also idols in a Protestant church -- YOU CAN'T HAVE IT BOTH WAYS.
My church doesn't.
Neither do some Catholic churches (all have Crucifixes though). The point is that if Martin Luther had thought these were "graven images" or idols, they would have been removed; there would have been no debate, they would have been gone as soon as he brought it up (read the history of 16th Century Germany, thousands of people were killed and buildings destroyed by Protestants who listened to this "janitor.")
Crikey!
Let me make this perfectly clear. Not one member of the Invisible Church of Christ (i.e., the body of True Believers in Jesus Christ) will ever spend a day in Hell. The institution known as the Roman Catholic Church does have members of the Body of Christ in it, but the institution known as the Roman Catholic Church is not the Body of Christ.
And Baptists (in spirit and in truth) have been around since Pentecost and many of those who call themselves Baptists are also members of the Church of Christ.
So get off your high horse. Salvation resides in Christ and not in some building in Rome.
If one could only prove that Harry Potter really did exist.
Not even the Baptists agree on the origin of this sect. Historically, one can trace it back to a Puritan "heresy" (heresy of a heresy?) in the early 17th century England.
The other one, claiming the Baptist church was the 'first' church (established on "this rock") can be credited to and Arkansas Baptist pastor, J. M. Carroll's, and his booklet The Trail of Blood, 1931, promoting what is known as the "Landmarkist" origin of the Baptist church.
As proof, of the unbroken "lineage" of this church he lists as members of the Baptist "family," are you ready for this, Montanists, Novatianists, Donatists, Paulicians, Albigensians, Catharists, Waldenses, and Anabaptists.
Carroll's history is suspect. If he accepts those groups for one doctrine, then he gets to accept them for all their doctrines.
One thing about Carroll, though, that I think is worthy of note.
His intent was to show that one could trace the faith backward through history no matter what name those believers went by.
There is some merit to that notion.
It is the claim that Christianity can be identified by Christian teaching. The debate then becomes a discussion of the authoritative source of Christian teaching.
We say it is the words of the Apostles, founders of the Church, who were repeating the instruction they'd received from our Lord Jesus Himself.
I have trouble believing that anyone can disagree with that.
1 Thes 4:18 says nothing like that. It says "So, then, console/comfort one another with these words."
Typo. It is the verse prior.
Either way there is no word "rapture."
There is a rapiemur
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