Let's get a clear answer: is it wrong to watch Angels and Demons?

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sedonaman said:
So you see the term “thought police”, “censorship”, etc. are loaded ones that mean many things to many people.
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I think the definition of “thought police” is much more nebulous than the one for “censorship.” The problem arises when people think they can define the terms to mean what they want it to be. Like for example say a bookstore refuses to sell a certain magazine, some people will call that “censorship” when it’s no such thing. The magazine is still freely available at other stores or through the mail. It would only amount to censorship if the government said you couldn’t sell the magazine. “Thought police” can mean almost anything to anybody to the point the term in meaningless and incapable of defining anything.

ChadS
 
ChadS said:
I think the definition of “thought police” is much more nebulous than the one for “censorship.” The problem arises when people think they can define the terms to mean what they want it to be. Like for example say a bookstore refuses to sell a certain magazine, some people will call that “censorship” when it’s no such thing. The magazine is still freely available at other stores or through the mail. It would only amount to censorship if the government said you couldn’t sell the magazine. “Thought police” can mean almost anything to anybody to the point the term in meaningless and incapable of defining anything.

ChadS
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I think we agree. Too bad the original poster, atassina, didn’t answer.
 
Went to see Angels and Demons this afternoon. It was actually pretty good. 👍
 
sedonaman said:
So, how does the Church guide you without becoming the “thought police”?
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Imagine driving across a high bridge with five hundred lanes-- no protective barriers on the sides. If you drive off the edge-- certain death. The dogmas, doctrines and precepts of the Church are the protective barriers. Stay within the barriers and you can drive in any lane which pleases you.

The Church does not tell you how to drive, nor does she tell you where to drive. She simply says that if you drive over the boundaries you choose certain death. No thought police here.🙂

By the way, have a nice piece of cake and some milk.
 
atassina said:
Imagine driving across a high bridge with five hundred lanes-- no protective barriers on the sides. If you drive off the edge-- certain death. The dogmas, doctrines and precepts of the Church are the protective barriers. Stay within the barriers and you can drive in any lane which pleases you.

The Church does not tell you how to drive, nor does she tell you where to drive. She simply says that if you drive over the boundaries you choose certain death. No thought police here.🙂
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Bad analogy. People in general have no problem seeing the folly of tempting immediate, disastrous consequences, but cannot understand that the Church proposes, not imposes. They see it not as a teaching institution but as a ruling institution, trying to force its rule on everyone.

P. S. Why do you use a color that is so hard to read?
 
sedonaman said:
Bad analogy. People in general have no problem seeing the folly of tempting immediate, disastrous consequences, but cannot understand that the Church proposes, not imposes. They see it not as a teaching institution but as a ruling institution, trying to force its rule on everyone.

P. S. Why do you use a color that is so hard to read?
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Dear Sed: You are correct. My choice of that color was a bad choice. I thought it was going to come out much darker. Next time I will be more aware.
  1. If people see the folly of tempting, immediate, disastrous consequences, why do they still choose them? How do they know a choice is evil or disastrous? For example, is it wrong to beat your wife or morally righteous? I lived in a country in which women would complain to the local priest that their husband did not love them anymore. Why? He did not beat them. Beating was deemed a cultural sign of love. Why? No guardrails. There are many more concrete examples. Canon law is full of them. For example, at the abortion mill today a woman explained that she was a faithful Catholic and believed all the teachings of the Church. She had a rosary hanging from her rearview mirror. Yet, she had an abortion for “medical reasons”. Her daughter also was getting an abortion for “medical reasons”. Therefore it was OK. Once again, no guardrails.
  2. The reason they see it as a ruling institution is because they do not disagree with the actual teaching. Rather they disagree with what they perceive the teaching to be. For example, a man I know from Los Angeles was raging against the Church’s teaching on birth control. I had him listen to a talk and he told me the he now understands the true teaching and not his perception of the teaching. He was humble enough to admit his error.
  3. Don’t see the movie. It will pollute your mind and wear down your spirit a little bit. Just as many drops of water erode a great stone.
  4. I like the way you write and think. You are the type of writer that makes these string sing.
 
atassina said:
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  1. If people see the folly of tempting, immediate, disastrous consequences, why do they still choose them? How do they know a choice is evil or disastrous?
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Because they don’t see the action they choose as having immediate, disastrous consequences like, for example, driving on the wrong side of the freeway would. Supporting abortion, on the contrary, is an example of having a long-term consequence. It might be immediately consequential to the woman, but to society its consequences are long-term. Who but the Church would have foreseen that legalization of artificial birth control would have led to a demand for sodomite “marriage”, with abortion on demand halfway in between? [And now, BTW, we are being fed the same bovine defecation that if only we’d let sodomites marry, voila! everything will be just peachy keen.]
  1. The reason they see it as a ruling institution is because they do not disagree with the actual teaching. Rather they disagree with what they perceive the teaching to be.
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I can understand this, and I can understand that they might be too lazy to become informed; but what I don’t understand is if they truly feel this way, why don’t they search for truth elsewhere [which BTW, they have an obligation to do]? Why does the Church have to come around to their beliefs? Sorta like my going into a Ford dealer and demanding he sell me a Chevrolet … all the while there is a Chevrolet dealer down in the next block.

Jesus commissioned his apostles to “go into the world and preach the gospel, teaching them what I have taught you.” He did not tell them to go out and bring the world back into his church. That would be the gospel in reverse and a rendering of His sacrificial death meaningless. [There would be no need for his followers to repent – just follow the ways of the world.]
For example, a man I know from Los Angeles was raging against the Church’s teaching on birth control. I had him listen to a talk and he told me the he now understands the true teaching and not his perception of the teaching. He was humble enough to admit his error.
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Bishop Fulton Sheen observed this on his TV program 50 years ago when he said, “There aren’t 100 people in the US who hate the Catholic Church for what it is. They hate it for what they think it is.” I have a personal friend like that.
  1. Don’t see the movie. It will pollute your mind and wear down your spirit a little bit. Just as many drops of water erode a great stone.
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Yes. And to those contemplating seeing the movie, just remember you have an obligation to support your Church according to #5 of the six Laws of the Church. This not only means financial but moral support. Is seeing this movie supporting your Church?
  1. I like the way you write and think. You are the type of writer that makes these string sing.
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Thank you for your kind words. I hope I’m doing some good.
 
atassina said:
…
  1. Don’t see the movie. It will pollute your mind and wear down your spirit a little bit. Just as many drops of water erode a great stone.
    …
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Another thought along the lines of supporting your Church. During the cold war, American GIs in Germany were told never to go to a crowd of people in the street. What was happening might be a communist rally; and GIs, being naturally curious, would join the crowd to find out what was going on. Meanwhile, the communists were photographing the event and would use the pictures as propaganda. “See? There is an American GI in uniform joining in our protest. Proves we are right,” they would claim.

Suppose Catholics are seen at these movies. Can everyone see that it would lend credibility to its claims? Are you being a true witness for your faith? Remember, a martyr [which means “witness”] gave up his life for his faith. Is it asking too much for you to give up a movie?
 
Dear Sedonaman:
You are so right. Let us continue to build up the Body of Christ through prayer, sacrifice, and by not seeing that movie.
 
I for one love to see movies which are anti-catholic and promoting the devil. WHY? because, I can see in them how they are attacking and trying to destroy the CATHOLIC CHURCH! Anybody who wanted to protect the church, needs to know how to depend it according to the enemies pang.
Code: 
     In some lighter view, you can see the many misguidance, misconceptions, misunderstandings etc about the catholic church that you can start with to prove wrong.

     Although, for someone with weak catholic foundation, this is dangerous.
 
JoeyPio said:
I for one love to see movies which are anti-catholic and promoting the devil. WHY? because, I can see in them how they are attacking and trying to destroy the CATHOLIC CHURCH! Anybody who wanted to protect the church, needs to know how to depend it according to the enemies pang.
Code: 
     In some lighter view, you can see the many misguidance, misconceptions, misunderstandings etc about the catholic church that you can start with to prove wrong.

     Although, for someone with weak catholic foundation, this is dangerous.
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Imagine Jews as a group going to see a movie about denying the Holocaust. As I have posted before, every ticket sold for a particular movie is a vote for more of the same, and considering the level of education in America, most people seriously lack the analytical skills to find the “misguidance, misconceptions, misunderstandings”.

The human gets 99% of his information visually. Couple that with the sub-conscience belief that if it is in print or on a screen, it must be true or the government wouldn’t allow it, movies become powerful propaganda tools. This is why those in the business scream like stuck pigs when threatened with what they term “censorship” … they are being denied their power [and their ability to make a buck or two].

So do we want more of the same? I think not. Since we have virtually unbridled speech in this country [unless you are criticizing the select], the only way we can reduce this type of propaganda is to boycott it.
 
I read The Da Vinci Code, haven’t seen the movie or read or seen the other book/movies. It was okay. I realize it was a work of fiction and don’t see it as anything more. It does annoy me though that some want to undermine Christianity with the belief it is.
 
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