The
M+G+R Foundation
The
film "Son of God"
An Exercise in the Falsification of
the Gospels
PURPOSE
In this document we propose to evaluate, in the light of Scripture, the
film
"The Son of God".
Summarizing -
we can only come to one conclusion:
The
overall objective of the film
"The Son of God" is to present "another Jesus", a Jesus who did not die
to atone for our sins but simply to "change the world" in a very
earthly sense.
That is, to promote a message completely
contrary
(0) to the
essence of Christianity.
As the reader delves into the background of the production and its
creators, much more will become evident.
INTRODUCTION
A recently released movie about Jesus, titled "The Son of
God"
(1)
is a reinvention of the life of Jesus according to the ideas of
producers - Mark Burnett and Roma Downey.
They have reconstructed a
story, from Birth to Ascension from elements and scenes from the New
Testament, but have done so in a
way that not one of the depicted scenes reflect how it is
described in the Bible nor its meaning.
An example:
Why does the film depict the Roman soldiers
tearing the tunic worn by Jesus when Scripture tells us very clearly that his tunic
was not torn, but they cast lots for it? (John 19:24)
This tells us two things:
1st.
When the Biblical texts are
contradicted in such an obvious and scandalous manner, it must be due
to a definite intention on
the part
of the filmmakers - and not as a sustainable "artistic"
justification.
2nd.
Those who heartily endorse the
film, either not care what the real
truth is or do not have the
sensitivity to
realize that every detail about the life of Jesus
mentioned in the Holy texts did not happen
"just because".
In each event of the life of Jesus there is a reason of theological
significance. Not knowing the reason behind each biblical symbolism is
no excuse
to despise; much less
to deny
it.
It is interesting to note that: The deliberate tearing of clothing was
known through both the Old and New Testaments. When done to one's self,
it was usually a physical expression of grief or righteous indignation.
The custom was also
done as a symbolic removal of authority i.e. the tearing of a king's
royal robe.
|
Despite this inventiveness, so far from
biblical fidelity, it is amazing the great support that is
being given to the film by various religious leaders - even after a
year of its release - in
particular, by two high ranking and very influential hierarchs from the
Administration of the Roman Catholic Church. Even though the
technical quality of the film does not reach the
level to which we are accustomed with Hollywood productions, it is
amazing
the great promotional effort being spent.
We must ask ourselves: Why this obviously full
official support and promotion of a twisted version of the Gospels?
DETAILS
We started the paper saying...
| The
overall objective of the film
"The Son of God" is to present "another Jesus", a Jesus who did not die
to atone for our sins but simply to "change the world" in a very
earthly sense. |
Why do we say this? Consider the facts that led us to this
conclusion:
They
seek justice ... only in
this world
From the very beginning of the
movie we can see the efforts to emphasize the cruelty of the Roman
army,
even inventing the shocking scene in which Pilate kills an innocent
child. This violence seems to be very appropriate for the apparent
agenda of the
promoters of the movie. If the justification of the mission of
Jesus is - as they think - to only establish social justice and not the
plan of redemption for our sins, then they would be interested in
portraying
an oppressing world empire in
the
worst light possible.
They want to change the world
... with the methods of this world
In the scene where Jesus meets
first with Peter, dialogue is totally reinvented (same as in other
scenes). In the film, after Jesus says "I will make you fisher of men",
Peter asked, "What shall we do?"
And the answer they have invented and put into the mouth of Jesus is "Change the World".
Of course, hearing "change the world" after the viewer has seen
terrible cruelty of the Roman Empire, one will think of a very worldly
message: The
introduction of a new social
order, and not the Kingdom of
Heaven as taught by the Scriptures. (2)
They deny the opportunity for
eternal life
Throughout the film one does
not hear about the
true and deeper reason why Jesus came into the world: To die for our
sins and give us the opportunity to accept Him as
Savior and, in this way, gain Eternal Life.
Such a serious omission
culminates in the scene in which, in the re-invented the "Last Supper",
we see "Jesus" saying that the bread is His Body and the wine His
Blood, without stating the
most important concept: that
they are being offered for the forgiveness of sins. (3)
They look for other teachers
above Jesus
In a dialogue while speaking about
John
the Baptist, the manufactured "Jesus" states (again, words which
are not
found in the Bible): "John was the
greatest teacher I have ever met".
Naturally, that fits well
with the philosophy "New Age", in which Jesus is presented as an
"ascended master" who would have received their wisdom, not from
Heaven, if not through other human teachers in the form of a "secret
knowledge". Quite the opposite of what the New Testament teaches us.
Even in the Scripture Jesus himself is very explicit in His warning
against this
practice: "But be not you
called Rabbi. For one is
your master; and all you are brethren." (Matthew 23:8)
They deny the divinity of
Jesus
Naturally, a "savior" as portrayed in this
film,
which is to "change the world" through a new social order, whose wisdom
comes from "another teacher" whose
death has no power to redeem us from our sins, obviously cannot
be divine.
This was achieved through the manipulation of the scriptures.
The
real Jesus said: "...believe in God,
believe also in me"
(4)
and not "Trust in God. Trust me too."
as He said in another manufactured dialogue during the Last Supper. If
they
actually believe in the divinity of Jesus, they would not need to
dramatically separate the "trust in
God" and "trust in Jesus"
since would be the same thing.
At this point, can it be said that the film conveys the essence of
Christianity? What good is that the creators and promoters of the film
present themselves as "Christians"?
The Promoters of the project - Who are
they?
All indications are that the film project, including its promotion, is
built mainly on the partnership of:
(1) The producers of the film, which is
the married couple: Mark Burnett
and Roma Downey.
(2) The secretive religious and seemingly pious organization known
worldwide as the
"Opus Dei" (The Work of God). (6)
As is usual in similar cases, each part of the alliance may be
driven by different motivations, with or without the knowledge of the
other partner's objective.
The objective is, remember, present a de-deified Jesus
who will come to establish a new social order very much of this world.
One motivation of Mark Burnett and
Roma Downey - What are their true ideas?
Undoubtedly, the Burnett-Downey team has been the most visible members of the
partnership behind the
film. Not only are they listed in the credits as producers, but they
occupy the undeniable "star role" as guardians and promoters of the
project in
the extra material that accompanies the film on DVD .
In particular, the influence of Roma Downey on the project (and
possibly on
her husband) is also evident in that she is the actress chosen to
play the role of the Virgin Mary. Therefore, we would not be surprised
that she could have been behind the idea of promoting Mary Magdalene as
one more apostle in
the film.
A brief on-line research reveals the very clear association of
the ideas of Mark Burnett and Roma Downey with those of "New Age"
philosophy. Some quotes introduce us to
Roma Downey as follows:
"Downey graduated
from the University of Santa Monica, a private graduate school founded
by New Age spiritual and
self-help guru John-Roger, and will graduate with a master's degree in
spiritual psychology
in June [2010]." (7)
And we found that
the "master's degree in spiritual psychology" of the University of
Santa Monica includes among its "benefits":
"Awakening into
the awareness of yourself and others
as Divine Beings having a human experience." (8)
Also:
"In the book,
Loyalty to Your Soul: The Heart of Spiritual Psychology, by H.
Ronald Hulnick, Ph.D., Mary R. Hulnick, Neale Donald Walsch. The New Age
Roma Downey provides this glowing endorsement (available online) near
the beginning of the book as follows: ..... " (9)
That is, Roma Downey gives
its warm support for a book that is co-author Neale Donald Walsch, an
apostle of "New Age" who asserts human divinity. (10)
Naturally, when Mark and Roma
try to project their New Age ideas through the Bible,
they will not fit; therefore, they
need to change the Bible
and the figure and mission
of Jesus to make all fit as the plan calls for. They just present to
the world their New Age version of "salvation". For this they do not
mind allying
themselves with...
The Opus Dei
How can they profit from the movie's version of Salvation?
We noted that in the promotional extras accompanying the DVD, the
Archbishop of Los Angeles,
José H. Gomez, prominently appears endorsing the film
(11). In addition,
Cardinal
Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington also appears
offering his warm support and endorsement
(12).
Both are members of Opus Dei
and publicly admit their allegiance to Escriva (not in the DVD).
So what could their plan be?
Let's
see ...
In the "extras" of the DVD of the film, it explains how they intend /
intended to promote the film to the Spanish speaking public. The
truth is that their technique is somewhat strange although typical of
their modus operandi. This is what is said:
"If you want to
see the Spanish version, .... Talk with your priest, with
your pastor, with your coworkers... You just have to assemble at least 100 people." or call a phone they
provide. (13)
Naturally, this unusual way of promoting the film calls for the
gathering of
groups of people giving the Opus Dei members an opportunity to recruit
new members while promoting a different Gospel and a different Jesus.
Let us not forget that the Opus Dei "Bible" is the pamphlet authored by
Escriva which he called "The Way".... when any Christian worth its salt
knows that Jesus is "The Way" - the ONLY one!
The unsuspecting public ignore the allegiance of Mark Burnett and Roma
Downey with New Age ideas, but the Opus Dei elite like Gomez and Wuerl
are not stupid (in things of
this world), yet they team up with them. Obviously the Opus Dei does
not
mind the biblical rewriting in the film
since it fits perfectly well
with their long term plans (6).
As for the lack of quality befitting a
Hollywood" film...
The technical quality of the film does not reach the level to which we
are accustomed for Hollywood productions. How do you explain this for a
film that bears the stamp of the prestigious "20th Century Fox"?
It seems that instead of the film being gestated at the upper echelons
of
Hollywood, it must have been a project conceived from outside
Hollywood inner circles.
After
it had been
produced it must have found a "godfather" in Hollywood for its final
promotion/distribution.
Who could this contact be? We note that "20th
Century Fox", the powerful Hollywood establishment, which has been
responsible for the "
Son of God",
also had its name and fame behind "
There
Be Dragons" -
the film about the life of the founder of Opus Dei
(14).
It seems that this
apparent coincidence gives the answer.
Other traces of Opus Dei in the film
We end this section by pointing out two other "footprints" of Opus Dei
in the film. In this
case, traces are visible in the plot / film development:
(1) In this film we have seen the exaggerated perversity of
"the Jews" all of whom are made responsible for the
death of Jesus in the collective mind, in spite of the fact that the
Masters of the Temple were
the true murderers.
Now, remember that the Opus Dei friendly Spanish Blue Division (15) fought elbow to elbow
with Nazi Germany.
(2) In the film, after the Resurrection, an enthusiastic Peter
improvises a "Mass" - without even the minimum elements for it to
be valid) wherein he says: "I am the Way ..." A subtle message/reminder
of the emblematic work of the founder of Opus Dei: "The Way" and the heavily promoted
elsewhere false claim that
there is no Salvation (16)
outside Peter's Church, (17)
If you want to connect the New Age Movement with the Opus Dei Agenda
and a claimant to be the Successor of Peter -
Click
Here.
EPILOGUE
The intent of those behind this adulteration of the Biblical texts cane
be further confirmed by the cover of the film DVD being sold in Europe.
The film is available (within the same DVD) in its original English
version as well as dubbed in Polish, Hindu and Hungarian.
It is also available (within the same DVD) with the following
subtitles: Portuguese, English for those hearing impaired, Arabic,
Danish, Finnish, Greek, Hindu, Norwegian, Polish, Rumanian, Swedish and
Hungarian.
In other words - they wish to reach as many unsuspecting viewers as
possible.
It is interesting to note that there are no subtitles in Italian,
French, German, Spanish or Russian.
In closing - Remember, these are the same people who are behind the
heavily promoted series titled The Bible where we can witness the same
level of adulteration of the truth, among other perversions.
NOTES
(0) Just
as the Opus Dei failed theology
(1) Technical Data sheet of
the
Movie
(2) In contrast, see
Matthew 4:17, "From that time
Jesus began to preach, and to say: Do penance, for the kingdom of
heaven is at hand."
(3) Matthew 26:28, "For this is my
blood of the new testament, which shall be shed for many unto remission
of sins."
(4) John 14:1, "Let not your
heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me."
(5) John 18:36, "Jesus answered:
My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my
servants would certainly strive that I should not be delivered to the
Jews: but now my kingdom is not from hence."
(6) Document Index on
Opus Dei
(7) Roma Downey graduated in Spiritual
Psychology
(8) Master's
Degree Program in Spiritual Psychology - University of Santa Monica
(9) The
support of Roma Downey to a work of Neale Donald Walsch
(10) On
Donald Walsch, author of "Conversations with God"
(11) The
Archbishop of Los Angeles, Archbishop José H. Gomez, a member of
Opus Dei: "While
attending college, he joined Opus Dei, a Catholic organization founded
by Saint Josemaría Escrivá..." Source
in Spanish: "Fue ordenado
sacerdote del Opus Dei en el
año 1978, donde ejerció su ministerio sacerdotal en
España, México y Estados Unidos."
(12) Cardinal
Donald Wuerl, archbishop of Washington, is a member of Opus Dei
[link accessed January 2015]:
"Archbishop
Donald Wuerl celebrated
the Mass for the feast day of Saint Josemaria in Washington, D.C. In
his homily he declared that Saint Josemaría reminds us to
rejoice in the challenge of transforming the world."
(13) In the website of the movie
they go on with bizarre promotion methods. Instead of just saying "buy
the DVD online or in the nearest shop," intend purchasing methods such
as "Purchase ticket
vouchers (50 minimum)", "Host a a Son of
God movie event", "Become
a Son of God Embassador",
"Help us
find Son of God Ambassadors
who buy out theaters to host a Son of God Movie Event on opening
weekend for their friends, family, church and schools."....
(14) The
movie "There Be Dragons" bears the stamp of "20th Century Fox"
(15)
The Blue Division
(16)
There IS
Salvation outside the Catholic Church
(17) The
true Petrine Ministry
Originally
issued on January 26th, 2015 - Memorial of Sts. Timothy and Titus
© Copyright 2015 - 2019 by
The M+G+R Foundation. All rights reserved. However, you may
freely reproduce and distribute this document as long as: (1)
Appropriate credit is given as to its source; (2) No changes are made
in the text without prior written consent; and (3) No charge is made
for it.
Our
Research Department
Please
Note: If the above dated image
does not appear on this document, it means that you are not viewing the
original document from our servers. Should you have reason to doubt the
authenticity of the document, we recommend that you access our server
again and click on the "Refresh" or "Reload" button of your Browser to
view the original document.
If
you wish to contact The M+G+R Foundation, please Click
Here and
follow the instructions.