Is Sister Act blasphemous? If not, can we learn from it?

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Sister Act is a movie whereby a non-Christian lounge singer on witness protection has to join a Catholic church as part of her cover. She finds herself a niche in the nuns’ choir and through ecclesiastically unconventional methods she promotes the church and swells the congregation. Even the staunch and frosty Mother Superior is brought around.

For me it portrays compromise between two distinctly separate worlds resulting in an unexpected union that benefits both, the catalyst being the non-religious protagonist. Others might think it insensitive and demeaning of the religious element.

My question really is about how some within the religious element instantly exclude those on the other side of the fence when those on the other side could actually enrich their spiritual lives. Catholic-Protestant divisions come to mind as do Christian-Atheist ones. We share the fence. Why not both sides just get on it? It might be uncomfortable but it could be fun.

 
I don’t get what part is blasphemous.

It’s perhaps not realistic…but I don’t see anything innately wrong with it. There are some dying orders in which drudgeries are are real. There are some that are revived with a new mission. I believe one of the nuns who make candles or chocolate or something were dying and a couple of new sisters with new ideas joined and changed everything.
 
It’s a very sweet movie that actually doesn’t bash the Church.
Maggie Smith does a wonderful job as the Mother Superior.
It’s sweet and fluffy and not at all deep theology.
Enjoy it and relax!
 
0Scarlett_nidiyilii said:
It’s sweet and fluffy and not at all deep theology.
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I teach music to six-seven year olds. I use the clip to demonstrate how music can cross borders. I explain the plot of the movie, explain that the first part is traditional and then go on to show how the traditional is used and modified to create something surprising and different. I ask the kids which part they prefer. They always go for the ‘crazy’ part, naturally. It might not be deep theology to you but they quickly learn that they themselves can form bridges to bring people together. If that isn’t deep, as in profound, I don’t know what is.
 
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I don’t think Sister Act is blasphemous at all. I thought it was hilarious, but I don’t think any lesson should be taken from it.
 
it’s not blasphemous. Just a funny movie. A pastor I know preached a whole homily about that film just about a month ago. My memory’s a little fuzzy but I think he used it as an example of thinking outside the box when it comes to worship, or using our gifts, or something like that.
 
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TheButler said:
My question really is about how some within the religious element instantly exclude those on the other side of the fence when those on the other side could actually enrich their spiritual lives. Catholic-Protestant divisions come to mind as do Christian-Atheist ones. We share the fence. Why not both sides just get on it?
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You must have missed all the threads on the Catholic-Lutheran ecumenical services for the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation. It’s not the first time we’ve had ecumenical services in the Catholic church, either. I think, however, the Church wishes to avoid giving the idea that all faiths are interchangeable, so it’s careful with that stuff. Nor does the Catholic Church want to give the impression that you come to church to be entertained by a performing choir, or for the primary purpose of listening to a preacher go on for an hour. That’s not what it’s about for us.

As for atheists and Christians getting together, I have no problem getting together with atheists to do something non-religious, but if I’m going to do something involving worshipping God, then they can’t really participate if they don’t believe in God. We can’t very well have a service where Christians worship God and then the atheist gets up and makes a funny speech mocking God or reading off a long list of reasons why God doesn’t exist, so I do not know what sort of religious collaborating we could possibly do with atheists.
 
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It’s a very nicely made comedy about a witness protection scheme that is always on the brink of going badly wrong. A lot of the dialogue and situations revolve around the Whoopi Goldberg character doing and saying things that no real nun would ever do, but it’s only secondarily a movie about Catholic insitutions.

One unforgettable line of dialogue, spoken in all seriousness by Maggie Smith as the Mother Superior: When the nuns arrive at the casino in Reno, she tells them to “Blend in!”
 
Sister Act and Sister Act 2 are among my favorite movies. A young Lauren Hill was in the sequel. And we see how her career took off.
 
I enjoy the movie, but admit there is at least one blasphemous line: In the climactic scene, Whoopi uses the line “Bless you” in place of (and with the same vocal intonation as) a curse. :confused:
 
Titivillus said:
I enjoy the movie, but admit there is at least one blasphemous line: In the climactic scene, Whoopi uses the line “Bless you” in place of (and with the same vocal intonation as) a curse. :confused:
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Surely the point of that line is that her first instinct was to utter a cussword but she controls herself in time and says “Bless you!” instead. As I recall, the reaction shots at that point show that the Mother Superior and the other nuns breathe a sigh of relief that Sister Mary Clarence managed to do the right thing, after all.
 
There is really nothing blasphemous about the show. In fact, my mother was invited by a local Sister (nun) who is a good friend to watch it when it was first released. If a nun invites you to a movie it is not likely to be blasphemous. My mom said her and Sister enjoyed the show and laughed through the whole thing.
 
It’s good to know that the Sister enjoyed the movie. I’m not surprised, though.
 
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