 |
According to the SelectSmart.com Belief System Selector, my #1 belief match is ROMAN CATHOLIC. What do you believe? Visit SelectSmart.com/RELIGION |
RELIGION STUFF
|
According to the SelectSmart.com Belief System Selector, my #1 belief match is ROMAN CATHOLIC. What do you believe? Visit SelectSmart.com/RELIGION |
Brian Helgeland, This Rant Is for You
A couple of months ago, I learned of an upcoming movie titled The Sin Eater, now known as The Order. It is a horror/suspense thriller
wherein a Catholic priest plays detective to learn the who and why of his mentor's murder. I was rather looking forward to viewing this
movie...and then I read David DiCerto's review of it in The Tidings, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Now I am angry
at its screenwriter/director/producer, Brian Helgeland.
You might recognize Brian Helgeland's name. He has had a hand in a number of popular movies and television series over the last fifteen
years:
• television series Friday the 13th: The Series (1987) - screenwriter (episode "Mightier Than the Sword")
• movie A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988) -
screenwriter
• television series Tales from the Crypt (1989) - screenwriter (episode
"A Slight Case of Murder")
• movie 976-EVIL (1989) - screenwriter
• movie Highway to Hell (1992) - screenwriter
• movie Assassins (1995) - screenwriter
• movie Conspiracy Theory (1997) - screenwriter
• movie L.A. Confidential (1997) - screenwriter/co-producer
• movie The Postman (1997) - screenwriter
• movie Payback (1999) - screenwriter/director/co-producer
• movie A Knight's Tale (2001) - screenwriter/director/producer
• movie Bad Company (2002) - screenwriter
• movie Blood Work (2002) - screenwriter
• movie Daredevil (2003) - screenwriter
• movie Phone Booth (2003) - screenwriter
• movie Bad Boys II (2003) - screenwriter
• movie The Order (2003) - screenwriter/director/producer
• movie Mystic River (2003) - screenwriter
• movie Man on Fire (remake) (2004) - screenwriter
This list might seem innocuous enough to you, but it seems to me that Helgeland has been been waging a small war against the Roman
Catholic Church for some time:
• In Conspiracy Theory, Jerry Fletcher (portrayed by Mel Gibson) voices condemnation of the Vatican to a group of nuns in his
taxi. (I am surprised that Gibson, a traditional Catholic, agreed to
perform this scene!)
• In Daredevil, Matt "Daredevil" Murdock (portrayed by Ben Affleck)
emptily confesses his sins in a Catholic parish -- suggesting
that the Church cannot truly give him absolution or help him to find peace and righteousness through the
Trinity.
• In The Order, Vatican officials dismiss information about Father
Dominic's murder that was uncovered by Father Alex Bernier
(portrayed by Heath Ledger); the film suggests that sin eating does or might provide absolution for sins (sin eating is impossible,
and it would not provide absolution if it did!); transvestite priests are shown as patrons of an underground sadism-and-masochism
bar, and the bar is decorated offensively with holy symbols; Cardinal Driscoll (portrayed by Peter Weller) plots to usurp the
papacy, and suggests to Father Bernier that someone must kill the Sin Eater (portrayed by Benno Furmann); other church
officials are portrayed as career-oriented antagonists and blasphemers against the Church; Father Thomas Garret (portrayed by
Mark Addy) eggs Father Bernier to engage in sexual intercourse with his unstable female artist friend (portrayed by Shannyn
Sossamon), upon whom he had performed an exorcism, and they indeed engage in sexual intercourse after he renounces his
clerical vows; and the film suggests that faith and truth contradict each other. (And here are a number of other complaints,
most of which are not so religious in nature.)
To his credit, he seems to have preserved any Christian messages embedded in Blood Work, but that might stem from the fact that the
novel on which Helgeland's screenplay is based was written by another person, Michael Connelly.
What did the Church ever do to Helgeland, to cause him to write such venomous garbage? Someone should tell him to get a clue from
Separation of Church and State: What Is and What Should Never Be
That is correct, it should never be. Think back to your American history classes -- the Framers had religion in mind, among other things,
when they framed the Constitution. They wanted to protect religious people and institutions from the same kind of governmental
persecution that they experienced in England, but on the other hand, they were Christian men who wanted to infuse Christian ideals
into the democracy that they were creating. This means that they wanted to separate state from church, but not church from state.
If you do not believe me, read this.
Roman Catholicism: the One True Religion
Proof chart still in progress -- check back later.
About the Rites of Christian Initiation of Adults
(or "Hey, I Want to Become Catholic -- Now What?")
Any adult that hasn't received all of the sacraments that parishioners are expected to receive -- Baptism, Eucharist (First Communion)
and Confirmation -- must complete RCIA in order to be recognized by the Roman Catholic Church as a full member in the Body of Christ.
More content forthcoming -- check back later, or hunt through the links if you don't want to wait.
If you have decided to become Catholic but don't know where to start, contact your local Catholic parish. Many parishes in North
America have RCIA sessions that begin in September and end in June.
The New Keating Five: Betrayers of the Faith
The five following politicians are Catholics that have publicly acted against the Catholic faith. As you can see below, this problem is
at least bipartisan in nature. Contact them and let them know that they need to get right with God and practice in politics what they
are supposed to believe in their hearts. Pray to God that He turns their hearts around.
Governor Gray Davis (D-CA)
UPDATE: Governor Davis has been recalled.
His replacement, actor Arnold Schwarzenegger,
was sworn into office on November 17, 2003.
You can learn more about Davis' recall at
Governor George Pataki (R-NY)
State Capitol Bldg
Albany, NY 12224
voice: (518) 474-8390
email: 161.11.3.75 (web-based email)
Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA)
317 Russell Senate Office Bldg
Washington, DC 20510
voice: (202) 224-4543
fax: (202) 224-2417
email: senator@kennedy.senate.gov
Senator Susan Collins (R-ME)
172 Russell Senate Office Bldg
Washington, DC 20510
voice: (202) 224-2523
fax: (202) 224-2693
email: senator@collins.senate.gov
Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
House Democratic Leader, U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20001
voice: (202) 225-0100
fax: (202) 225-8259
email: hdlwebpage@mail.house.gov
Psychic Mediums, This Rant Is for You
Are you a fan of self-proclaimed psychic mediums like John Edward and James Van Praagh? I'm not, although I was one before I
found God. He instructed us not to speak to the dead. (I presume that doing so makes one a pawn of Satan.) Psychic mediums
break this rule.
I have exclude John Edward from this rant. He's the most popular of today's psychic mediums. He seemed to me to be authentic,
so I began researching him to aim this rant primarily at him. I was also informed that he is Catholic -- which means that he is either
not 100% Catholic or not enlightened about this particular piece of dogma. However, while trying to find proof of Edward's member-
ship in the Church (which I never found), I discovered an article written by Joe Nickell, a professional paranormal investigator and
member of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal [CSICOP]. If Nickell is to be believed (and I do
believe him), his article basically forced me to exclude Edward from this rant. Read it for yourself and find out why.
(rewrite of my closing forthcoming)
Links
Here are some links to Catholic web sites. I hope to grow this section into the largest collection of Catholic links on the Internet.
If you know of any Catholic-oriented web sites and pages, please click here and email them to me!
Roman Catholic Church
the Holy See (Vatican City)
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
Archdiocese of Los Angeles (California, USA)
The Tidings (newspaper published by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles)
Immaculate Conception Parish (Monrovia, California, USA)
St. Frances of Rome Parish (Azusa, California, USA)
St. Louise de Marillac Young Adult Group (Covina, California, USA)
Archdiocese of St. Louis (Missouri, USA; a cousin of my paternal grandfather is the archbishop there)
St. Louis Review Online (newspaper published by the Archdiocese of St. Louis)
ABELWARE (Catholic software)
Catholic Answers (largest lay Catholic evangelization/apologetics organization in North America, founded by Karl Keating)
Catholic Apologetics International (founded by Robert Sungenis)
Catholic Freebies (USA only) and Catholic Freebies Canada (Canada only)
Coming Home Network International
John D'Arcy's 100% Catholic
Envoy Communications' Envoy (print/online magazine)
The New Gnostic Gospel (article from Sept-Oct 2000 issue discussing the origins of the storyline for the movie "The Matrix")
FAMVIN (The Worldwide Vincentian Family)
Deep Down Things (contributed to FAMVIN by an unidentified person)
Dr. Ray Guarendi (popular Catholic child psychologist and lecturer)
Dr. Scott Hahn (popular Catholic apologist and evangelist)
Kevin Knight's New Advent
Raymond Koh (former altar server at St. Pius X Parish in a Far East country)
"Acolyte" Altar Servers Archive
George Konig's Christian Internet Forum
AmericanCatholic.org (operated by St. Anthony Messenger Press)
bkranick@hotmail.com's Road to Emmaus
Last updated 2005-07-23
