'The Nativity Story' Movie Problematic for Catholics, "Unsuitable" for Young Children

LifeSiteNews.com ^ | 12/4/2006 | John-Henry Westen

[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/

[blue-duncan]

"When Matthias takes Judas' Bishopric"..."Built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone"

The word used for Judas in Acts 1:20 is ministry, overseer, not the formal office of Bishop. That formal title did not come into use until sometime in the late 1st century when Ignatius wrote a letter to the Ephesian church. In Acts the term episcopos is used interchangeably with diaconate and apostle (Acts 1:25). Until Pentecost there was no church for Judas to be "Bishop" of.

Ephs.20:17, "And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church." There is no scripture that says these men were ever ordained. This was an important church, the first that Paul planted in Asia Minor after being denied the ministry there by the Holy Spirit. One would think that if ordination or the laying on of hands was so important it would have been mentioned here.

In Ephs. 20:28, "Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood". Paul now call these Elders, episcopos, overseers and says they were appointed by the Holy Spirit, not Apostles or any one else. There were more than one Elders, overseers in the church at Ephesus as there were in most of the churches in the first century. It was not until late in the first century and early second century that the monarchial office of Bishop began. It was not a New Testament phenomenon.

Rev. 21:14, "And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb." Now Paul says he was an Apostle born of of due time. Who are the twelve Apostles that make up the foundations?

[The_Reader_David]

Prophetically naming him for his future confession? The weight of patristic opinion is on the Orthodox side of this one.

Let's not get into this, we both know the drill--you quote the first edition of St. Cyprian's De Unitate, I point to the revision that equates 'the Chair of Peter' with the episcopate, and on and on. All the moves are quite standard, we probably know them by hear, and in the end, we just disagree anyway.

[Blogger]

Paul says there is no comparison between your icons and Christ Jesus.

Acts 17:29Being therefore the offspring of God, we must not suppose the divinity to be like unto gold, or silver, or stone, the graving of art, and device of man. 30And God indeed having winked at the times of this ignorance, now declareth unto men, that all should every where do penance.

[The_Reader_David]

[The_]Reader_David made a valid point that another word is used in scripture for priest but the English word "priest" is derived from the term for "elder, bishop" through "presbuteros". I can understand that logic. However, it creates problems in Titus 1:5 in trying to claim that Paul was talking about "ordaining priests". Priest is only an English derivation of a term-not the actual group of people as Paul is talking about.

I disagree with your conclusion. The Christian office of presbyteros is still called presbyteros in Greek, and is called priest (or occasionally presbyter) in English. My parish priest (by the grace of God and our metropolitan, he also happens to be the senior priest of our Archdiocese) was a presbyteros (or priest) of the Church of Greece for eight years. Whether you speak English and say 'priest', Greek and say 'presbyteros', or Arabic and say 'khoury' is quite inconsequential, the office is the same, and is the one to which the Holy Apostle referred in his instructions to Titus.

Nor is it clear that you can interchange 'presbyteros' and 'episcopos', though certainly in the early Church it was normative for the bishop (again an English translation of the Greek, in this case 'episcopos', derived from the Greek word) to hold the presidency of the Eucharist, now most commonly exercised by priests by delegation of authority, so the offices may have been identical initially until the Church spread beyond its initial urban setting.

[samiam1972]

I read what you posted and have no issues with that whatsoever. With a Catholic eye, I understand what the pope is talking about and realize the kind of prayer to which he is speaking. It's still not praying TO Mary. It's still asking for her intercessory prayers.

Intercessory Prayer - What is it?
Intercessory prayer is prayer for others. An intercessor is one who takes the place of another or pleads another's case. One study Bible defines intercession as "holy, believing, persevering prayer whereby someone pleads with God on behalf of another or others who desperately need God's intervention."

See? Not praying TO her.

Thank you for the compliment on my family. I have been blessed! :o)

[blue-duncan]

"Nor is it clear that you can interchange 'presbyteros' and 'episcopos',"

Paul does when he addresses the leaders of the church at Ephesus. In fact there are more than one presbuterous, episcopous in the church, not just one.

See Acts.20:17, "And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders (presbuterous) of the church."

Acts 20:28, "Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers (episcopous), to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood."

[blue-duncan]

Should be Acts 20:17 and Acts 20:28. I was suffering with ephesians but I'm better now.

[Blogger]

This is not asking Mary to Intercede (Sample prayers). These prayers are relying on MARY to do something for the pray-er:

"O Lady and Mother of America! Strengthen the faith of our brothers and sisters"

"Holy Virgin of Guadalupe, Queen of Peace! Save the nations and peoples of this continent. Teach everyone, political leaders and citizens, to live in true freedom and to act according to the requirements of justice and respect for human rights, so that peace may thus be established once and for all."

Immaculate Heart of Mary,
help us to conquer the menace of evil,
which so easily takes root
in the hearts of the people of today,
and whose immeasurable effects already
weigh down upon our modern world
and seem to block the paths toward the future.

From famine and war, deliver us.
From nuclear war, from incalculable self destruction,
from every kind of war, deliver us.
From sins against human life from its very beginning,
deliver us.
From hatred and from the demeaning of the dignity
of the children of God, deliver us.
From readiness to trample on the commandments
of God, deliver us.
From the loss of awareness of good and evil,
deliver us.
From sins against the Holy Spirit,
deliver us.

Accept, O Mother of Christ,
this cry laden with the sufferings of all individual
human beings, laden with the sufferings
of whole societies.
Help us with the power of the Holy Spirit conquer all
sin:
individual sin and the "sin of the world,"
sin in all its manifestations.

Let there be revealed once more in the history of the
world the infinite saving power of the redemption:
the power of the merciful love.
May it put a stop to evil.
May it transform consciences.
May your Immaculate Heart
reveal for all the light of hope.

Amen.

[The_Reader_David]

Words mean things. A lack of words also means things when it comes to the bible.

No, lack of words still signifies nothing. There is no passage in Scripture which says 'only Scripture is inspired of God' or 'only Scripture is useful for teaching, reproof, etc.' There is, however, a passage at the end of St. John's Gospel, which asserts its incompleteness.

And words can mean many things as the dispute on-thread about the translation of 'presbyteros' shows. We Orthodox pray that our bishops be granted 'rightly dividing the word of truth'--'dividing' meaning interpretting, since the original Greek text was not punctuated, so how it was divided was crucial to its meaning. 'Sola scriptura' is not what it claims to be, but a substitution of a rationalistic tradition with little grounding in spiritual experience for the tradition of the Church.

The exegetic principle of not intepretting 'one passage of Scripture so as to be repugnant to another' (to use the old Anglican formulation) is as old as the Church, and as applied to the Old Covenant Scriptures, older. It does not, however, lead to the conclusions that 'sola scriptura' protestants draw. Most 'sola scriptura' protestants, for instance, follow Zwingli, and deny the reality of the Eucharist, despite Christ's words, "This is My body" and "This is My blood". (Somehow that word 'only' that isn't in the text seems to pop into the middle of 'do this in rememberance of me' when protestants read it, the same at is pops into 'all Scripture is inspired of God'.) Absent the non-existent 'only', it is not repugnant to any passage of Scripture to take Our Lord at His word, and, as the Church always has, regard the Eucharist as really being His Body and His Blood.

[P-Marlowe]

That does go beyond "intersession" doesn't it?

Is this thread still going?

[monkfan]

"Indeed, those who say we pray to dead people are denying the very eternal life Christ preached about."

Sad, but true.

[samiam1972]

Again, you are reading that with non-Catholic eyes and a bias against Catholics. I read those prayers and know that help from Mary does not come by way of her "power" but by the help of her Son. I see those as intercessory prayers. I'm sorry that they are not written to your liking. I can see why they might trouble a person that does not have a relationship with Our Lady and is uncomfortable asking for her help (prayers). They do not specifically say, Mary, pray for us for all these things we mention. They directly ask for her help. How do you think she helps us? Through her prayers to Jesus. I'm not sure what to tell you. I'm not giving up my mother. I love her too much.

Now, please don't read that and assume that I do not pray to God. I talk to him all day long. There are just some motherly things in my life that I feel could benefit from additional petitions from Mary. It's comforting to me. She's not taking me away from Jesus. Everything about her is pointing to her Son.

[samiam1972]

Please see post #4972.

It does not go beyond intercession.

[kosta50]

You have to thank that or you wouldn't be a Catholic

I am not [Roman] Catholic, if that's what you had in mind.

[kosta50]

(Romans 2)

I have hinted at that verse in several previous posts on this thread to our Protestant friends. You are right: they just skip it. I think I know why.

They simply do not want to be reminded that one is not saved without the judgment. And while our works do not save us, they are a factor in God's judgment and, hence, in our salavtion or damnation.

[Blogger]

Apparently it doesn't. Aside from the fact that we are NOWHERE shown, commanded, or given suggestions to pray to the dead (Yes Mary, as a person on earth is dead else necromancy in Scripture means zilch so don't even start with that silliness), now, prayers TO "Mary" prayed in front of masses by the Pope himself (JP2) have to be qualified.

I appreciate the attitude of the person who says that this is a prayer of intercession. That person may actually be praying with an attitude that is asking Mary only to interced; however, when one reads that the world is being consecrated not to Christ but to Mary - it is worship. Maybe not for this nice Catholic person SamIAm, but good grief. I guess I am preaching to the choir, though.

[P-Marlowe]

I can read. And from what I read it DOES go WAY beyond mere "intercession".

Apparently you have a different dictionary than I do.

'cest la vie

[Blogger]

Is this bothersome to you?

What does it mean to "consecrate oneself to the
Immaculate Heart of Mary"?
(cf. Message #6 - July 21, 1973 and Message #22 - Oct. 20, 1973)

By the act of consecration for priests and the act of consecration for the laity, which is the first commitment for belonging to the Marian Movement of Priests we put our life completely in her hands so that she may take possession of it and transform it according to her will. Once we are consecrated to her, we cannot dispose of ourselves freely - our life is given over to her completely. She orders everything in our life so that we may be led to live perfectly the Will of God.

"To be consecrated to me means to let yourself be led by me. It means to entrust yourself to me, like a child who lets itself be led by its mother.

"You must therefore accustom yourself to a new way of thinking, to a new way of acting. It is not your place to think of what is best for you; do not be making plans of building your tomorrow..."

"…it is enough for you to say just as a little child: 'Mother, I trust you, I let myself be led by you. Tell me: what must I do?' " (6abc)

"When a thing is consecrated, it is removed from all uses other than the sacred one to which it has been assigned, and so it is with an object designated for the divine worship.

But this can also be the case with a person, when such a one is called by God to render Him perfect worship. Understand then how your true act of consecration is that of baptism.

By this sacrament, instituted by Jesus, grace is communicated to you, placing you in an order of life higher than your own, namely the supernatural life. Through this you participate in the divine nature, you enter into a communion of love with God, and your actions, accordingly, have a new value exceeding that of your nature, because they have a value which is truly divine.

After baptism you are then destined for the perfect glorification of the Most Holy Trinity and consecrated to live in the love of the Father, in the imitation of the Son, and in full communion with the Holy Spirit.

The fact that characterizes the act of consecration is its totality: when you are consecrated you are then wholly so, and forever!

When I ask you for the consecration to my Immaculate Heart, it is to make you understand that you must completely entrust yourselves to me, in a total and everlasting way, that I may dispose of you according to the Will of God.

You must entrust yourselves in a manner that is complete, giving me everything; you should not give me one thing and hold on to another, for yourselves; you should truly be wholly mine. And then you should entrust yourselves to me not on one day yes and on another day no, or for a period of time as you would have it, but forever.

It is to emphasize this important aspect of a complete and lasting dedication to me, your heavenly Mother, that I ask for the consecration to my Immaculate Heart."

http://www.mmp-usa.net/consecration_mary.html

[samiam1972]

I have a Catholic dictionary! :o) LOL!

Good night, all. I may "see" you tomorrow!

[samiam1972]

I'm too tired tonight! I'll get back with you on that tomorrow if the kids leave me alone long enough.

Good night!