April 13, 2005
REVELATION:
End Is Expected, but There's Still Time to Debate Morality (ALESSANDRA STANLEY, 4/13/05, NY Times)
"Revelations," NBC's six-hour mini-series about a nun and a scientist's search for signs that Armageddon is at hand, may not persuade skeptics to believe in God. But the timing alone suggests that a higher being favors the show: on the heels of the Terri Schiavo debate and the death of Pope John Paul II, the premiere includes a right-to-life battle over a coma patient and nuns in schism with the Vatican.Well made, spooky and suspenseful, "Revelations" has been marketed by NBC as a breakthrough faith-based thriller, a latter-day "Da Vinci Code" and a spiritual "X-Files." But its real appeal is something that is actually more common on television dramas these days: politics are part of the scenery, and ethical and moral dilemmas are woven into the plot.
Gee, you mean if you focus on religion you're forced to take morality seriously? Who'da thunk it?
MORE:
Revelations -- Making it Right When TV Gets it Wrong (Dr. Marc Newman, April 13, 2005, AgapePress)
One thing can be said for the folks behind the mini-series Revelations, debuting on NBC today (Wednesday, April 13). No wishy-washy "spiritualism" is enshrined here -- these guys want to focus on Jesus. Characters actually use His name, and not as an exclamation. They're not talking about the mushy Jesus of the Jesus Seminar either -- meek and mild and mythical -- but the majestic Jesus of end-times speculators, the literal Son of God who is coming in Judgment with a capital "J." Revelations presupposes that there is going to be a historic supernatural conflict culminating in Armageddon and the Second Coming of Christ. While the framing of Revelations will be attractive to many evangelicals, it is the story that repulses.Posted by Orrin Judd at April 13, 2005 6:57 AMThe studio only released the first installment of this six-hour mini-series, but I can already tell you that this Omen-inspired teleplay: contains characters that represent the standard factions in end-of-the-world spiritual thrillers, uses Gnosticism as a central plot element, makes "creative" uses of the occult for Christian aims, and rewrites one of the central themes of the Church's attitude toward biblical eschatology (study of the end times). All that said -- Christians should watch it, and I'll tell you why.
I saw a producer of one of these upcoming "spiritual" shows (forget which one) talking about writing. She could not suppress her giggles as she spent quite some time denigrating her target audience. And neither could her audience.
If they took the Bible seriously they would realize there is no such thing as an ethical or moral dilemma.
Posted by: Randall Voth at April 13, 2005 11:05 AMLaHaye has condemned the series.
Posted by: Harry Eagar at April 13, 2005 2:50 PMwell it almost has to be PC garbage, doesn't it?
Posted by: oj at April 13, 2005 2:53 PMWell, they used one of my pet peeves to good effect... making "Revelation" plural. This probably strikes a chord with the vast viewership who doesn't know any better.
Apparently so, Orrin. I did not watch it, but I read some commentary by antiChristians.
They concluded that it was not just silly from their materialist point of view but ought to have been insulting from the Christians' perspective as well.
But that raises an interesting point: if mass entertainment can so distort the message, and still find an audience, then just what is it that Americans believe?
You say we are a Christian country.
Posted by: Harry Eagar at April 15, 2005 2:34 PMAnd a tv watching one. The success of X-Files didn't mean the paranormal is true.
Posted by: oj at April 15, 2005 2:40 PMBut it meant that a fraction of the audience believed it was true.
Either going in or coming out.
I thought you believed that ideas have consequences.
Posted by: Harry Eagar at April 16, 2005 2:58 PMHarry:
Yes, so people have dodgy theologies--that's new? They have the main ideas down and that's all that matters.
Posted by: oj at April 16, 2005 5:34 PM