Dawnsinger

'Thou shalt not kill' offends Dutch Big Brother

Dutch authorities have destroyed a painting created to protest the slaying of filmmaker Theo Van Gogh, who was killed by a Muslim extremist last week, because the painting contained the admonition "Thou shalt not kill."  That phrase might offend someone, Dutch officials said.

Local news crews were threatened by police and forced to hand over taped coverage of the destruction.

Somebody needs to pull their finger out of the dike.

Narnia goes Hollywood

Interestingly the MTV article below mentions something I'd forgotten about - the upcoming Disneyfied version of CS Lewis' "The Lion, Witch & the Wardrobe," directed by the guy who brought us "Shrek."

So, being a fan of CS Lewis - and having raised my kids in Narnia, so to speak - I hit the Disney-blessed site. It probably comes as no shock to find that Narnia and Lewis have been thoroughly neutered in a religious sense. A man who loved the fairy tales from his Irish nurse sat down as a Cambridge professor and wrote the Narnia series to amuse the kids. No mention, of course, of what the man was REALLY famous for. If Lewis could read his own bio on the official movie site, he'd spew . . . of course unlike me, he'd spew riveting apologetics that would skewer the Disney project. In fact, I'm quite sure that Mr. Jack would thoroughly disapprove of the movie.

I will be curious how Disney deals with the Creation, the Fall, the Redemptive Death and Resurrection, Armageddon and just the day-to-day Christian theology woven tightly into the Narnia books. The BBC children's theater version of the Narnia books, by the way, get a thumbs-up for faithfulness to the word and spirit of Lewis' works.

Hit the movie's official site . . .

Compare a bio of Lewis on the CSLewis.com site . . .

Link to a description of the BBC version . . .

Interestingly, Movies.Com raises the possibility that Nicole Kidman will be playing the White Witch. She'll be the one sending Aslan the Great Lion to the Time Out Corner, since obviously a bloody altar sacrifice and resurrection won't be on the menu.

Read rumors on Movies.com . . .

The uncomfortable Jesus

It's critical to remember, as this essay from Christianity Today points out, that in our pursuit of the goodness, light and love of Jesus, we not forget that God's definition of goodness, light and love supersedes ours, and may, indeed be much different. Aslan, as CS Lewis says (am I in a rut here?), is not a TAME lion.

Read the essay . . .

"Passion" reducing anti-Semitism?

A new study, released this week by the Institute for Jewish and Community Research, shows that the movie "The Passion of Christ" may actually be reducing anti-Semitism. This first scientific survey comes in the wake of months of hysteria about the possibility that the movie about the torture-execution of Jesus would rekindle hostility against Jews. Historically many Jews have been persecuted because of anti-Semitic teachings that as a whole, Jews should be held responsible for Christ-killing.

The new study, however, finds that a sizable number of Americans say the film makes them LESS likely, rather than more likely to hold Jews and Jewish institutions responsible for Jesus' death. The study's author, Dr. Gary Tobin, cautions that this reaction might be different in other parts of the world, but sees hope that the movie has brought the issue into the open and fostered discussion about it.

Rather than rely on the chopped-down wire stories about this study, I asked the Institute for a copy of their official release.

The full text, plus details on the Institute, follows: