Posted by Voltear at cacheflow-02.mtl.total.net on January 17, 2000 at 16:24:47:
In Reply to: A Christian's comments on Dogma posted by clay on January 17, 2000 at 14:04:43:
: I'm a little late seeing Dogma, I admit, so forgive me if this post is too past tense for some of you. But I felt it was important, in light of the protests and negative propaganda aimed at Dogma by the "Christian" community, that at least one Christian should stand up in defense of the film. So that's what I'm doing. By the way, I'm a Southern Baptist, so I hope that adds some weight to what I'm saying. I'll try and keep this short and to the point.
: The movie is a triumph and a must-see by the Christian community for three reasons: Its accuracy, its innacuracy, and its message. (I'm only listing three because that's the format most preachers use.)
: 1)Accuracy - It's obvious Kevin knows the Bible, and it stays very close to Scripture in word and heart. What few liberties are taken remain within the spirit of the Bible message, and only reinforce the thought that God is good and supreme. It's very rare to find a movie, aside from the old Charlton Heston Bible epics, that stay true to the heart of the Bible, and that mention Christ without it being a joke. Which brings me to #2.
: 2)Innacuracy - Any comedic writer will tell you that to a joke recipe consists of a healthy dose of fantasy with a sprinkling of truth. (Satire has even more truth added.) Without those two elements you have what amounts to a knock knock joke. Kevin added his own touches (the 13th apostle, plenty of bad language, the "scion", speculative theology, etc.)to provide a framework for great story elements and great jokes. None of these should be looked at as blasphemy, or heresy, or jabs at God. There were plenty of jabs at religion and the church, which I don't have any problem with. If you read your Bible you'll realize that Jesus was pretty hard on the church himself.
: 3)The Message - Let me just say I don't care for Alanis Morisette. Don't care for her music or what little I know about her philosophies of life. But it was nothing less than PERFECT casting having her as God. To me, when Ben Affleck looks at her at the end, in that moment is the message of the film. God is good, and everything, no matter how terrible it seems, is going to be alright.
: So I applaud Kevin for making this film, for the brilliant casting (Alan Rickman was incredible), and for lifting up God and religion with very careful and caring hands. And for making the whole thing funny and entertaining and meaningful in the process.
: If you're a Christian and you avoid this film because of what you might've heard or read or received a newsletter about, shame on you.