In what can be considered a reasonable response to the outcry over the release of the movie version of The Da Vinci Code, the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece has prepared a leaflet for its Sunday worshippers "advising them that the Hollywood film “The Da Vinci Code,” due to hit Greek cinemas next week, is “completely untrue” and “insults” religious sensibilities."
It does not, however, tell people whether or not they should go see the movie, instead focusing on a point-by-point refutation of the work and accusing Dan Brown of insulting the church.
While I think they could have left the Dan Brown bashing off (hey, he's a terrible writer, why blast into him more?) the fact that instead of telling congregates not to see the movie they refute the story is a much healthier response than what I've seen from other churches. Even though the Bishop of Thessaloniki advised Greeks not to see the movie, Archbishop Christodoulous said that bishops and clerics of the church should refrain from making comments about the film because "they did not have the authority to present the Church's official position."
Coming from an Archbishop who has lashed out against gays, immigration, and all kinds of other crap, the fact that I agree with something he's done actually makes me throw up in my mouth a little bit. You might want to check the temperature in hell. Still, I guess people can surprise you now and then.
In the meantime, the Christians in India are apparently going overboard in the stand against the movie, as apparently some rioting broke out in Bombay yesterday. People's reactions to this movie release are getting dangerously close to the reactions regarding the Danish Muhammad cartoons, which is pretty ironic, considering Christians all over the world at that time were saying that while the cartoons were offensive, they would never behave in such a way if similarly offended. Way to be hypocrites, people.
Tom Hanks seems to be regarding all this brouhaha with some amusement. He said "If you are going to take any sort of movie at face value, particularly a huge-budget motion picture like this, you'd be making a very big mistake" and said that the film was filled with "hooey" and "nonsense".
It's all a bunch of hooey and nonsense until somebody gets hurt.
5 comments:
zardoz says :
see how great greek
clergyman aand hieararchy are.
there leading this movie
into being the biggest box office
hit of the year .
GOTTA HAND IT TO"EM
MAYBE MGM AND WARNER
SHOULD HIRE THEM!
== Z ==
People's reactions to this movie release are getting dangerously close to the reactions regarding the Danish Muhammad cartoons, which is pretty ironic, considering Christians all over the world at that time were saying that while the cartoons were offensive, they would never behave in such a way if similarly offended. Way to be hypocrites, people.
That's fairly hyperbolic. I don't see tens of thousands including hundreds of Christian clerics calling for brown's death.
The most visceral reaction seems to be in the US The Greek clergy seems to be fairly reserved about this whole thing by comparison.
Your comparison of the reactions is quite off-base in any case. The reactions are exactly illustrative of how the "Christian" west is more tolerant of free speech. Speech offensive to the majority religion in the west is criticized, which is reasonable. Speech offensive to the majority religion in Islamic countries involves high clergy fahtwas calling for the murder of those "slandering" the religion and wholsale censorship.
Zardoz, too true.
Anonymous, to me the reactions are escalating. Rioting in India? Jesuits saying things like "we must do something big" to stop it? It isn't a fatwa, but then the Christians don't typically deliver fatwas. In my opinion, the reaction is out of hand and very childish. That is why I was impressed with the statement by the Greek Orthodox Archbishop. Instead of shouting and crying "don't see it! It will poison your mind!" it is much more productive for Christian leaders to explain exactly how the movie is fiction and educate people.
But then again, I was alive when movie theaters showing "The Last Temptation of Christ" were blown up by overzealous Christians, so I am holding my breath and hoping we don't see that kind of violence now.
"Instead of shouting and crying "don't see it! It will poison your mind!" it is much more productive for Christian leaders to explain exactly how the movie is fiction and educate people."
I TOTALLY agree, Mel! It bugs me that the Catholic church isn't using this as an opportunity to clarify some issues.
duuhhh -- what is it about the word "Fiction" that these people don't seem to get?
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