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/
Since the poster of below has asked that I avoid posting to him . . . I'm posting this to you dear Harley:
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We have no guarantee that what we believe we believe is truly what is true. Self-test is no test.
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Paul indicates otherwise in Scripture. Let's see if anyone offers the verse(s).
It is contained in the Holy Spirit, in Christ and in God. It is given to us at God's good pleasure and in the measure that we mete.
In fact, it teaches we are going to judge the angels (1 Cor 6:3)
Praying to saints is not in contradiction to it and is a form of worshiping God.
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Sometimes I can't believe my eyes on this thread.
Gotta keep my barf bag closer.
I've seen a lot of twisted logic in my day but that about takes the cake. We shall see how much God agrees--or does NOT--agree with that assertion.
I can't imagine ANYONE of any denomination who's a true Christian in any core meaning of the term
AND WHO HAS HAD EVEN A GLIMPSE OF
GOD HIGH AND LIFTED UP--HIS TRAIN FILLING THE TEMPLE--
who would come within a trillion galactic clusters of writing or thinking such a travesty.
Speak for yourself.
I agree. we are going to judge the angels. Sobering thought.
I'm happy to extend charity, grace, compassion even . . . tolerance . . . to folks who have not had such experiences and/or who have not been sufficiently infected with Holy Spirit's perspective of various Scriptures such that they would miss such an important principle as
GOD ALONE . . .
Nevertheless, that aside, I'm utterly shocked.
It does raise the question how does the Church knows who is in heaven and who is in purgatory?
The causes for the saints is a matter of careful study of the purported miracles associated with the saint, and evidence of the probity of his faith. Until the Vatican examines the case, we do not know. In the vast majority of people who go to heaven no proposal for canonizaion is made, no inquire is made, and no knowledge exists. This is why it is good to pray for all dead.
That all depends upon whether or not you are able to worm your way out of jury duty.
yet Jesus said, Let the dead bury the dead. There is no scripture that ever said to pray for them. They snooze, they lose.
Indeed the magisterial teaching and the Holy Tradition are a part of the Word of God along with the Holy Scripture. However, some aspects of the Catholic faith are clear from the scripture and when discussing those I resort to the scripture alone in order to explain that to the skeptics.
Lol. I say, "I'm a conservative Christian and I consider drugs a sin". Works every time.
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Holy Spirit is quite responsive in assisting in leading into all Truth
So the Bible is not "completely" sufficient; you claim outside guidance.
Scriptural facts have chapter and verse numbers in them. I am waiting...
Oh here we go, you'd better ask him just who the HS is. I'll wager he thinks it's Mary, lol
The knowledge comes from the Holy Spirit. The authority in all disputes belongs to the Church (Mt. 18:17, 1 Ti. 3:15). Yes, individuals are all fallible. The Church as a whole is not (Mt. 16:18).
I agree on your later post: "It is contained in the Holy Spirit, in Christ and in God".
Holy Spirit is quite responsive in assisting in leading into all Truth
So the Bible is not "completely" sufficient; you claim outside guidance.
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So, CHRIST--THE LIVING WORD--HIS HOLY SPIRIT IS OUTSIDE SCRIPTURE IN SOME MEANINGFUL SENSE RELATED TO THESE POINTS?
Can I watch this dissection? Will there be anesthetic?
Will there be a stainless steel scalpel or a laser or an obsidian scalpel? And what is Holy Spirit's attitude about this dissection?
LOLOL!!! You get the prize for the most memorable quote.
Ridiculous reasoning. The final say is God's and God's alone.
That probably wouldn't get you off jury duty in heaven on the "judging angels" issue. Probably better to simply say that you are not worthy to judge angels because you are such a miserable wretch.
I'm sure we'll all get a chance to discuss our jury avoidance strategies once we get to heaven. I suspect that we will not be able to use the usual-and-customary-sure-fire method of getting off jury duty that we use here, i.e., being perfectly honest.
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