Film Comment: The Wicker Tree

The Wicker Tree (2011), the sequel to the truly creepy cult classic film, The Wicker Man (1973), compares very unfavorably with its predecessor.  The first film stars the veteran film actors Christopher Lee (Count Dracula in numerous Hammer Studios films) and Edward Woodward (best known for The Equalizer television series and for Codename: Kyril). If the first film is a pair of silk pajamas, the second film is an old tattered flannel shirt which is missing a few buttons.

The Wicker Tree has no Christian message so why include a review of the film in this blog? The answer is because it has two characters who are explicitly portrayed as Christians.

Beth Boothby and her fiancée Steve are excited and horribly naïve evangelical missionaries from rural Texas (USA). They plan to spend two years evangelizing the pagan people of Scotland.

Beth and Steve find the people of the village of Tressock to be friendly, polite, and generous hosts, but no one is interested in any way in the religious tracts which the two attempt to distribute. The most enthusiastic response from the villagers comes during an assembly in their obviously unused church when Steve and Beth teach them the hymn, “There is Power in the Blood.” The Lord of the village tells the missionaries, “It’s going to be fun … trying to convert us heathens.”

It is almost immediately obvious to the viewer, but not to Beth and Steve, that something is not right in the quaint old village. Beth feels honored to be selected as the new May Day Queen. Steve thinks it is a fine game to  play the part of the Laddie. If you have seen the truly chilling first film you will not be surprised at what the missionaries ultimately find.

Objectionable elements in the film include nudity, vulgarity, sex, gore, and profanity., but there are two other points in the film which I found to be more objectionable.

The portrayal of evangelical Christians is little more than a crude caricature. Beth, while sincere, is unbelievably naïve and is totally unprepared to evangelize. Steve succumbs to the very first temptation set before him.

Beth and Steve are supposed to be from Texas (USA) but they are totally unable to hide the fact that they are British actors. Steve (Hebry Garrett) has a very difficult time staying Texan.

The Texans in the film all attend church wearing their cowboy hats and their missionary organization is “Cowboys for Christ.” In modern secular usage, “cowboy” often is a perjorative and derisive term denoting someone who is violent, stupid, and reckless.

This film, which I believe was intended as a Black Comedy, is insulting to evangelical Christians whom it portrays as naïve, simple, and gullible. It views them as people whose faith is as thin as onion paper and is based, in reality, on nothing.

Actually, the film is also insulting to neopagans, who would be repulsed at the idea of human sacrifice.

The other insulting thing in the film is a cynical utilitarian statement by the lord of the village. “I believe the old religion of the Celts fits our needs at this time. Isn’t that all you can ask of a religion?”

Totally ignore the 2006 Nicholas Cage remake of The Wicker Man.

Christians

At some time during their lives, the following people have publicly identified themselves as Christian.   Inclusion in this list does not indicate approval or disapproval of the person, of their orthodoxy or lack of it, or of their actions.  Some of those listed may surprise you.  Readers are encouraged to suggest persons who should be included on this list.  This is a recurring segment in this blog.

Abraham Johannes Muste: (b. 1885, Netherlands – d. 1967; A.J. Muste) American Clergyman, civil rights activist, pacifist.  Muste was a proponent of the Social Gospel.  He was a Dutch Reformed Socialist who became a Quaker Christian pacifist.

Honorio Hermeto Carneiro Leao, Marquis of Parana: (b. 1801, Brazil –d. 1856) Judge, politician, diplomat, and monarchist.  Roman Catholic.

Howard Thurman: (b. 1899, Florida (USA) – d. 1981) Baptist minister, educator, author, philosopher, theologian, civil rights leader.  Thurman was a mentor to Martin Luther King, Jr.

James Leonard Farmer, Jr.: (b. 1920, Texas (USA) – d. 1999) Civil rights activist who organized the 1961 Freedom Ride and was a cofounder of the Congress of Racial Equality.  Son of James Leonard Farmer, Sr. Methodist.

James Leonard Farmer, Sr.: (b. 1886 – d. 1961) Author, theologian, educator, university professor.  Father of James Leonard Farmer, Jr.  Methodist.

Christian Illustrators: Karen Hargett

Christian illustrators often work in secular markets.  Karen Hargett is a Christian artist (pencils and pastels) in Buda, Texas (USA).  She is a professional working artist who does nature scenes, animals portraits, and work for commission.

Karen Hargettt lives in Buda, Texas, a rapidly growing community.  In the 2000 census, Buda had 2404 residents; in 2010 the population had grown to 7295.  Originally known as DuPre, the town became Buda late in the 19th century.

There are two possible known derivations for the name of the town.  Both sound plausible.  Perhaps both sources contributed to the name.

The Carrington Hotel in Buda is popularly known as the "Buda House"because of the "viudas" (Spanish = "widows") who worked in the kitchen.

The second explanation is that the town is named for the hometown (Buda) of Hungarian refugees who settled in the area after the failed 1848 revolution in Hungary.  Budapest, Hungary was formed from the merging of the cities of Buda and Pest. 

The city name Buda may derive from the name of its founder, Bleda (Buda), the brother of the Hunnic ruler Attila.   It may also be derived from the Slavic word "вода, voda" ("water"), a translation of the Latin name "Aquincum", which was the main Roman settlement in the region

Roll Tide! War Eagle!

I have spoken before about how football is almost a religion in Alabama.  People are born into Alabama or Auburn families and sons of players at one school almost invariably play at the same school.  Most approach this in a rational fashion and take good natured pokes at one another.  As with anything, a few become obsessive to absurd levels.

Today is the first game day of the 2012 season.  Auburn is playing the Clemson Tigers in Atlanta, Georgia and the currently second-ranked Alabama is visiting the Michigan Wolverines in Dallas, Texas. 

(Some videos will not play properly when you click on the triangle.  Instead,  click on the title line in the picture and the video will begin .  When the video is completed, close the You Tube pop-up window to return to this blog.)

Roll tide

War Eagle flight

The origin of Crimson Tide and Roll Tide:

The Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California is where the Alabama team won their first four national titles (a total of fourteen.)  The national sports writers spoke of the team looking like a tide of red, a Crimson Tide, pouring onto the field.

The association with an elephant (the mascot: Big Al) began because the sports writers noticed a picture of a red elephant on the personal storage trunks the players brought with them.  The trunks were supplied to the team by a local Birmingham luggage company, Rosenberger's Birmingham Trunk, whose business logo is a red elephant.  The elephant logo refers to the strength of the trunks which they sell.

The origin of War Eagle:

The Auburn Tigers mascot is Aubie the Tiger.  The eagle, also, became associated with the team very early in Auburn history. In 1892, an eagle circled over the football field during a football game and the fans pointed into the air and yelled “War Eagle!”  

Film Comment: The Judas Project

The Judas Project (1990) is a "modern version" of the Jesus story about "Jesse" and his followers.  Much of the dialogue, escpecially Jesse's is paraphrased directly from the Bible.  The director seems to have intended the film to be a presentation of the life of Christ in a modern setting.   What if Jesus came for the first time ... today?

"Treypole," an IMDB (*) commenter from Texas is a Christian and a filmmaker who said, "Both parts of me were offended by this well-intended turkey."  He describes Jesse as sensitive and weepy-eyed.

Several commenters noticed what they perceived to be a subtle anti-Catholic and anti-Jewish bias in the film.

One commenter describes the film as  a Christian Ed Wood production.  Ed Wood was the nearly legendary exuberant but utterly incompetent director of such hilariously inept films as Plan 9 from Outer Space, Glen or Glenda?, and Bride of the Monster.

* IMDB = The Internet Movie Data base.

Jesus Hats

JesusHats,com is a site which sells Christian baseball hats and T-shirts.  The idea is that the hats and shirts will cause someone to ask about Jesus.  This can be seen as a subtle form of evangelism; "a witness you can wear."

Whenever I visit a Christian website I always gravitate toward the statement of beliefs to see who the people behind the site are.  Dalen (Dale) Garris, of Waxahachie, Texas is the patriarch of this family-owned business.  I found that I can agree with some of Brother Dalen's beliefs and strongly disagree with some others.  This does not stop me from thinking that Jesus hats are a very good idea.

Christians

At some time during their lives, the following people have publicly identified themselves as Christian.   Inclusion in this list does not indicate approval or disapproval of the person, of their orthodoxy or lack of it, or of their actions.  Readers are encouraged to suggest persons who should be included on this list.  This is a recurring segment in this blog.

Lisa Diane Whelchel: (b. 1963, Texas, USA) Actress, singer, writer.  From 1977-1978 she was a Mouseketeer on The New Mickey Mouse Club.

James Spann: (b. 1986, Alabama, USA) Television meteorologist.

Solomon Halevi: (b. ca 1350, Spain - d.1435; aka: Pablo de Santa Maria) HaLevi was the Rabbi of Burgos, Spain, theologian, bishop.  In 1391, he converted to Christianity and claimed to be a descendant of the line of Mary.   He became the Bishop of Burgos and the Chancellor of the King of Castille.  Jewish tradition vilifies him as an apostate.

Diego Sarmiento de Valladares: (b.1615,Spain – d 1695) Roman Catholic Bishop, Grand Inquisitor of Spain (1669-1695).  In 1681, he declared that the Spanish nobility could not hire Jewish converts to Christianity to act as wet nurses for their infants because their milk would ruin the children.

Edward Drinker Cope: (b. 1840, USA – d. 1897) Paleontologist, comparative anatomist, herpetologist, and zoologist.  He published over 1400 scientific papers and discovered, described, and named over 1000 vertebrate species.  Quaker.

Christians

At some time during their lives, the following people have publicly identified themselves as Christian.   Inclusion in this list does not indicate approval or disapproval of the person, of their orthodoxy or lack of it, or of their actions.  Readers are encouraged to suggest persons who should be included on this list.  This is a recurring segment in this blog.

Trophimus: A Gentile traveling companion of Paul.  In Jerusalem, the local Jews thought that Paul had allowed Trophimus to enter the Temple. (Acts 21:29)  Paul left him behind to  recuperate in Miletus (2 Timothy 4:20) after he became ill.  The ruins of Miletus are found at Milet, Tukey.

Craig Groeschel: (b. 1967, Texas, USA) Pastor, writer, founder of LifeChurch.tv, a Christian church with fourteen locations in five US states.  LifeChurch.tv is based in Edmund, Oklahoma (USA).

Perfectus: (b. Spain – d. 850, aka: Saint Perfectus, Santo Perfecto)  Roman catholic monk and ordained priest in Moorish Cordoba.  When asked, under promise of non-repisal, who was greater, Jesus or Muhammad, he replied in Arabic that Muhammad was a false prophet.  Other men, who had not promised protection to Perfectus, captured him and he was beheaded by the order of an Islamic court.

Wigstan: (d. 849, Mercia, a part of modern great Britain, aka: Wistan, Saint Wystan) Wigstan was a grandson of King Ceolwulf I of Mercia and was probably the ealdorman of the Hwicce tribe.

John Eliot: (b. 1604, England – d. 1690, aka: “the Indian Apostle”)  Puritan missionary to the native Americans in Massachusetts.  Eliot translated the Bible into the local Native American language (Massachusett) and published it in 1663.  He also wrote and published a Massachusett grammar in 1666.  He was the co-editor of the Bay Psalm Book, the first book published in the British North American colonies.

Download the Bible to Your Mobile Device

To download the Bible to your mobile device go to www.YouVersion.com/download .  The application has been downloaded over 12,000,000 times.  The download is free from Pastor Craig Groeschel and his congregation at Life Church.  They have fourteen church campuses (in Florida, New York, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas) and online church services.

David Wilkerson is Dead

Assemblies of God evangelist-pastor David Wilkerson died Wednesday in a head-on crash with a tractor trailer truck on a highway in Texas.  Wilkerson was the subject of the film, The Cross and the Switchblade, about his encounter with the street gang thug, Nicky Cruz, who is now a Christian evangelist.

Here is his seemingly prophetic final blog post: 

"To those going through the valley and shadow of death, hear this word: Weeping will last through some dark, awful nights, and in that darkness you will soon hear the Father whisper, `I am with you. I cannot tell you why right now, but one day it will all make sense. You will see it was all part of my plan. It was no accident." 

The Haynes Sisters

This is the Haynes Sisters (Tiffany, Tonya, and Tara) performing with the choir and orchestra at Denton Bible Church in Denton, Texas, USA.  You may prefer to see the picture better by viewing this on You Tube .  The woman at the bottom of the screen is an interpreter translating the song into the American Sign Language for the Deaf.

Dallas Christian Jazz Band

The Dallas Christian Jazz Band is a non-denominational group founded in 1994 with saxophones, trombones, trumpets, and a rhythm section.  They have released several compact discs of hymns, spirituals, and other Christian music.  Their website is http://dcjb.com/

Station No. 7

It's not often that a ten year old can stir up international controversy but Jackson Potts of Houston, Texas managed to do it this Easter with his photograph "Station No. 7." It is a photograph depicting a crowd approving of a police officer beating a small boy with his night stick. The photographer was Jackson Potts, now 11, who explained the photograph's symbolism as follows: the child is jesus, who was totally innocent; the policeman represents the centurion who beat Him when He fell, the man was "just doing his job;" the crowd on onlookers represent those who stood by approvingly or those who watched and said nothing; and the little girl in the blue dress represents Jesus' followers who were appalled by what they were seeing.

The photograph was commissioned by Xnihilo Gallery, a Christian art gallery in Houston which shares its space with the Ecclesia Church, as part of it's annual Stations of the Cross Exhibit. When they saw it, the controversy erupted.

Some believed that Jackson's father did the photograph but the main objection was that many on the board were "afraid it would not protect the impressionable minds of young children." Some wanted the photograph banned but the final decision was to exhibit the photograph only on the opening night of the exhibit and to place it behind a curtain with a parental warning placard.

What???? Christians hiding Jesus being a curtain? What weenies some of us have become. Realize what the world thinks of us.

"Piss Christ" is a 1987 photograph of a small plastic crucifix floating in a glass of the photographer's urine. It was an award winner and was sponsored in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, an agency of the United States government.

"The Holy Virgin Mary," a collage by Chris Ofili (1996) uses a paiting of Mary based on primitive African art and splattered with elephant feces. It is defended as art by many critics and art professors.

Those are supposed to be OK but a reverent symbolical treatment of an event in Jesus' life is not. Children are supposed to begin mandatory sex education including the subject of "alternate lifestyles" in elementary school, but they may be frightened by the truth of what the world did to Jesus. Using the arguments of the secularists, we should expose our children to scriptural teachings, even the harsh things, as they become able to understand. If they are not yet ready, we should exercise parental responsibility just as the secularists tell us. But we should not hide or dilute the truth. The first Christians never hid from the truth and neither should we.


"A new image and new lessons," http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/hotstories/6911097.html

Busttillo, Miguel, "A (Very) Young Artist Makes Waves," The Wall Street Journal,3-4 April, 2010, p. W9.

"Dung-covered Madonna sparks controversy: Art professor Michael Davis takes a look," College Street Journal, http://www.mtholyoke,edu/offices/comm/csj/991008/madonna.html

http://Jacksonstation.blogspot.com/

Mercer, Ilana, "Dung and other offal at the gallery," http://www.ilanamercer.com/phprunner/public_article_list_view.php?editid1=269

"Piss Christ," http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piss_Christ

Pothead Jesus

On 9 February 2010, in El Paso, Texas, United States Border Patrol agents arrested a Mexican woman for drug smuggling. She was driving across the border from Ciudad Juarez when her sports utility vehicle was stopped and searched. She told the agents that she had nothing to declare except some framed art; three pictures of Jesus Christ. That was true.

What the woman failed to realize was that the pictures of Jesus would be shown to Cesar the drug sniffing dog, who knew what marijuana smelled like. Thirty-one pounds of weed were packed into the backing and frames around the paintings.