After listening to (or I’mean reading) what Messy Christian is going through with her church walk. I felt like just watching the “irreverent” movie my Steve Martin above. Of course, I seen a couple of TV movies on religious fraud. and it was never comfortable, so I won’t know how this comedy would help.
Others have recommended the Big Kahuna (which I’ll also try to get my hands on some day). I heard about the buzz on the movie Saved! as well may use comedy again to get us thinking, will wait and see … ( I heard these movies are not so much about religous frauds but more on some segments of Christian sub-culture)
But for now, I think “The apostle” (picture below) by Robert Duvall was a sympathetic and honest portrayal of a Pentecostal preacher I appreciated and highly recommend.
Coffee finished …
Both “Leap of Faith” and “The Apostle” were shown on Malaysian free TV (the NTV7 channel, I think) before. I couldn’t catch the beginning of “Leap of Faith” and the ending of “The Apostle”…but both shows were interesting and contributed food for thought.
also have a look at Levity if you get a chance
interestingly, I just felt compelled to watch The Apostle again last week. it resonated very accurately with my spiritual condition at the time it came out. just about the turn of the millenium. at the same time Frank Peretti wrote The Visitation. both these pieces of art spoke personally to me (and I’ve discovered to some others as well), helped me laugh at myself and some church culture. some things that used to irk me I’ve come to enjoy as cute, kind of like watching the Discovery Channel or National Geographic. you know it’s out there and it’s interesting to see how some people behave, but you’d rather watch it from a safe distance. like the running of the bulls in Spain.
I do make a distinction between culture and sin. the womanising of Apostle E F, his self-ordination, these are things I wouldn’t wink at, though I no longer feel compelled to condemn him. would take appropriate action, but wouldn’t wish him dead. but there are some things that are cute. the whole Pentecostal shouting and dancing, for example. wouldn’t do it that way (maybe sometimes), but I do enjoy it as part of the diversity of Christ. ‹preaching› yes, the body of Christ is Christ expressed on earth today. anyone who claims to love Christ but can’t love his people is mistaken. ‹/preaching›
I haven’t watched the other movies, simply haven’t seen them for rent. I don’t have Astro, and am not really bothered to have a proper antenna installed for terrestrial TV. anyone know where I could get them? I mean the videos.
sorry for rambling on your blog, Sivin. I thought it would just be a paragraph. I guess this struck a chord. that and the fact that I’m thinking while drinking black coffee. no creamer, hold the sugar.
The Apostle and The Visitation helped me laugh at myself and laugh with the church at our foibles, then get back to work again. now I think that the only real problems in the church are those of us who have forgotten how to laugh occassionally. that and the enemy or our souls.