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/
Quite honorable and Biblical work from my perspective.
And appreciated.
Oh, dear. I said that to GAMECOCK!
Another miracle. Build a altar in the middle of the road. Collect the magesterical. Order some pontifical robes.
Let's build some tabernacles right here in honor of the silly miracle.
GTTM
Of course we have to figure out what the meaning of Is is
why look to some individual's biblical beleifs when there's 282 perfectly good words written in black and white in Holy Scripture?
or instead we could hop on some protestant 'im gay and im okay' bus where the protestantsized depicitions of Jesus look like some latently homosexual hippy.
1-2 is a valid claim for the Catholic and Orthodox Churches combined, wrong for the LDS.
3: Catholic Chruch did not add anything to the Bible, see canons of Hippo and Carthage, or show me an approved Bible prior to Luther without the deuterocanonical books.
4: Suffering for the purging of forgiven sins is in 1 Cor 3
5 is nothing wrong. We love and praise who Jesus loved and praised.
6. Celibacy is a discipline and not a doctrine. Celibacy was praised by St. Paul and Christ Himself.
7 is accurate per the scripture, see Luke 1:43.
8 is accurate per the scripture, see Luke 22:32, Matthew 16:18.
9 is accurate per the prevailing usage since the Age of Martyrs; aslo see Jude 1:14, where the saints are the group assisting in judgement of all.
10 is again in 1 Cor 3.
11 is false for the Catholic Church. Doctrines get elaborated but they do not change or evolve to a different doctrine.
Quite an impressive harp.
Are there a lot of harps in Orthodox services?
I am a bit puzzled, though, I thought harps were supposed to blend pleasingly into the melodious whole . . .
One presumes he did make it.
But I don't think the hat helped any.
I do think a lot of that sort of junk gets built up by pressure from the troops.
The masses feel lifted somehow by aggrandizing, elevating, worshipping their leaders.
Maybe aerodynamically?
As Martin Luther wrote in his 95 Theses...
83. Again, "Why are funeral and anniversary masses for the dead continued and why does he (pope) not return or permit the withdrawal of the endowments founded for them, since it is wrong to pray for the redeemed?"
There I go again,
horrors
psychologizing/sociologizing religious discussion.
What penance do you prescribe oh lofty one! LOL.
GTTM
TTM!
No, he would need spoiler wings
That is a very sobering reality worth some more pondering.
LOL
All those crossword puzzles paid off. 8~)
much easier to get to heaven in a non-aerodynamic protie bus right? with 'i'm gay and i'm okay' banner?
I realllllllllllllllllllllllllly
do NOT
want to imagine placement of the afterburner.
ROTFL!!
STRAW DOG ALERT NUMBER 9,999,999,666
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