Posted by McJ at spider-wc072.proxy.aol.com on November 27, 1999 at 21:03:13:
In Reply to: How could a follower of the Lord regect Dogma? posted by Kels on November 27, 1999 at 17:41:48:
I'm pretty much the same way. After I stepped out of my first viewing of Dogma I felt that little neat wave of redemption that you feel when you're in church and you can just tell that God is present. And the thing is, I hadn't felt that way for quite some time. The conversation between Bethany and her friend at the abortion clinic brought back discussions that I'd either taken part in or overheard. The scene with Bethany and Metatron, where he was walking on water, seemed so overwhelming. It was just wonderful.
But I can see why people have their qualms, especially Catholics. Catholics seemed to have been repeatedly targetted throughout the movie while the other faiths were left alone.
I have repeatedly questioned my faith and thus can identify with alot of the themes of the movie. Alot of religious people question their faiths on a daily basis. But there are those who don't. There are those who can't take the thought of being wrong. And if you try and voice YOUR own opinion, they tell you that YOU are wrong. They are insecure...so insecure in their beliefs that they fear a moment of questioning it could shatter it for them. They are afraid.
And I think its sad. All the people who try to silence everyone else, try to censor everything because it sends a message against what they believe. To me all they are saying is "HEY, WE DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT! THERE'S A CHANCE YOU COULD BE RIGHT AND CONVINCE US THAT WE ARE WRONG! I CAN'T HEAR YOU! NYAH NAH NAH!" But that's just the thing, if you believe this so strongly then what do you have fear? If you believe it shouldn't everybody else be able to say whatever they wanted freely and it wouldn't effect your outlook because you have total faith in the Lord?
I could listen to a thousand and a half Marilyn Manson CDs and wouldn't think of God any differently. I would however have a massive headache and retreat quickly towards my CD player for some Dave Matthews Band and Tori Amos.
Chris