Sunday, March 9, 2014

To the"Son of God" Bashers


My spirit has been grieved over Christians warning people against this movie based on the spiritual journey of Roma Downey, co-producer with her husband of this movie.

Yesterday my attention was brought to a blog post of someone sharply critical of Downey, accusing her of being a New Age pagan.  It took exactly one Google search to see the author of the blog had copied, almost to the point of plagiarism, from a website which calls out people deemed to be false teachers and/or apostate Christians.    

Some of the evidence used to discredit Downey, thus the movie, was her affiliation with John Edward and her study of Eckhart Tolle's work.  John Edward claims to converse with the dead and Tolle has no particular religious ties, but his work is an outgrowth of the study of many spiritual paths.  

The lack of mercy shown Downey troubled me.  Her mother died when she was 10 years old, and as someone who lost a parent at 11 years of age, now 50, I can testify it is the most profound loss of one's life.  Downey is Catholic, and Catholic doctrine decrees one should not consult with mediums/psychics.  The Bible, in Hosea, also says 'my people perish for lack of knowledge.'

It was a spiritually dangerous thing for her to do, and perhaps she was not aware of that at the time.  I, too, believe it would have been better for Downey had she not done that, but I understand the ache, the desperation to hear from a loved one no longer on this earth.  

I am not going to spend a moment researching Eckhart Tolle's work and will only say that when I realized he did not believe in God, I chose not to study his work.  Downey chose to, and is being roundly condemned for it, and combined with her consultation with John Edward, her current work, the "Son of God" movie, is being bashed by harshly judgmental Christians.  

The Bible also teaches to look at the fruit of one's life.  Downey has been on a spiritual journey that has led to her proclaiming Jesus is Lord.  Downey and her husband also produced "The Bible" a mini-series from which "Son of God" was birthed.  In an interview upon its release, Downey said the intent was to awaken an interest in the Bible.  When the movie was released, she said it might be easier for someone to invite a friend to a movie than to church.  

It is clear her heart's intention for the movie is to be used as an evangelism tool to lead people not to consult with mediums or study the work of someone vaguely spiritual, but to belief in Jesus Christ as the Messiah, the Son of God. There is evidence the movie has done just that, 1,000 baptisms at Tim Foreman's (bassist in the Christian band Switchfoot) church and 3,000 at Rick Warren's mega-church followed the viewing of the movie.  Warren needs no further introduction, yet he was one of many called out as a false teacher by a lone wolf blogger who disapproves of the movie, and who also alleged without substantiation he and many others she deemed false teachers were profiting financially from the movie.  

Fruit.

Is the fruit of your life libeling Christians who are leading people to Jesus Christ?  If so, then shame on you.  Who are you to judge the heart of another? To pick out events of a person's path and decree because of them their current work is of no worth, even dangerous?  My dear God, and that is not a vain use, if the Apostle Paul had been judged by the same standards, much of the first century world would not have been evangelized and these Christians would scoff at most of the New Testament!

The people poo-poo-ing this movie know that Paul, before he was an apostle, killed Christians, and that early Christians were terrified of him, and it took some time for him to gain their trust, to believe his conversion was sincere.  They know he wrote most of the New Testament.  They know this, believe this, yet they won't lend a moment's thought to the fact that Downey's considerable spiritual exploration led her to the same conclusion as Paul, that Jesus is the Son of God?

Not one of those who are bashing this movie have identified one iota of evidence, subliminal or blatant, that the movie is an underhanded attempt is to divert people from Jesus Christ and toward New Age thought or paganism.

No, it is more important to them to be critical of Hollywood.  Somehow in all the violence, decadence and blasphemy produced in Hollywood, a woman managed to use its considerable resources and potential of exposure to the masses to lead people to Christ.  Does not Romans 8:28 say that all things work for the good of those who love the Lord, who have been called according to His purpose?  

At her judgment, will Jesus condemn Roma Downey for missteps on her way to Him, or will He reward her greatly for coming to the ultimate truth--proclaiming He is Lord, acknowledging Him before others, caring enough about their eternal destiny to share what she knows in her heart to be true?

In case my intentions aren't clear, I am neither endorsing nor promoting the movie, but defending a flawed Christian in her heartfelt desire to introduce Jesus Christ to people who don't yet know Him, to lead people to study His Word, the Holy Bible.
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For more about "Son of God" and its producers:  

http://www.christianpost.com/news/burnett-and-downey-talk-son-of-gods-profound-impact-address-critics-115676/

http://www.charismanews.com/opinion/43050-is-blockbuster-son-of-god-film-biblical