I would skip the 2008 movie then if you want to avoid the anti-Catholic stuff.
I would skip the 2008 movie then if you want to avoid the anti-Catholic stuff.
And hopefully you will see how Catholicism is used throughout the show in the posts herein that go through episodes in question. I think the TV show (at least midway thru season 7 so far) has been much more positive toward Catholicism on the whole than negative, particularly with Scully in the confessional twice now and even saying a Rosary! There are screenshots in earlier posts for those.
My all-time favorite episode, and I think I only saw it when it originally aired, was the “Cops” episode.
When X-files was on the air on Sunday nights, Cops always came on immediately before. The start of this particular episode looks just like Cops.
I was so bummed when it came on that I almost turned it off. I didn’t think X-files was coming on that week, and they were putting Cops in its place. When things started getting weird I was totally freaked out before realizing it really was X-files
I’ll tell you what else is weird, that is the last episode I watched! As I said, I’m watching them all in order and I’m in season 7 and that’s the most recent one I watched. The episode is ok to me, certainly different. I can see how a Cops fan would love it. Scully is very funny when she first sees they are on film and you have to watch close her movements to get the full joke.My all-time favorite episode, and I think I only saw it when it originally aired, was the “Cops” episode.
When X-files was on the air on Sunday nights, Cops always came on immediately before. The start of this particular episode looks just like Cops.
I was so bummed when it came on that I almost turned it off. I didn’t think X-files was coming on that week, and they were putting Cops in its place. When things started getting weird I was totally freaked out before realizing it really was X-files
)Unless watching the TV show is hampering your faith, I don’t see a problem with it. I’ve grown a lot in my face since watching the show and do not see it having any negative effect. If you are well-grounded in the faith, you will recognize times in the show where they might not present the theology correctly. On the other hand, they present it quite well sometimes too, as I’ve documented in this thread.I have not read all of the posts, but I am amazed and I have to say surprised that so many Catholics enjoyed X-Files.
I too was a big fan, and Catholic at the time, although not practising. I must say I don’t particularly remember there being so many Catholic ‘moments’ in it (which is very cool.
So my question to you all…is it really ok to watch the X-Files, being that the whole show is centered around E.T’s. I am not wanting to offend anyone, so please don’t take this the wrong way…it’s just that a Christian friend of mine would think this is ‘not on’. She even told me that I should not have ‘Angel’ ornaments around my house as they take away the main focus of God. She is more of a Pentacostal though, and Catholics do speak of Angels more than other denominations I think…
I have always believed the possibility of Aliens, Ghosts etc, I have always been very open minded to all of this…so if it really is ok, that is so very good, and then I don’t know what is holding me back from being a true Catholic now.
The Church has no position denying the existence of ghosts. Even Jesus says there are “spirits” (Lk 24:39). And a “ghost” could be a demon, or an angel, or perhaps even a soul in Purgatory, it’s hard to say. Regarding aliens, I would not see how believing that there could possibly be life forms somewhere else in the universe destroys your faith unless it would cause you to deny the origin of man or doubt the truth of the faith. Check out the Vatican Observatory website sometime. While the Church does not say it’s “looking for aliens” there is study of the celestial world taking place there.Wow! Thank you so much MarcoPoloUnless watching the TV show is hampering your faith, I don’t see a problem with it. I’ve grown a lot in my face since watching the show and do not see it having any negative effect. If you are well-grounded in the faith, you will recognize times in the show where they might not present the theology correctly. On the other hand, they present it quite well sometimes too, as I’ve documented in this thread.
As to angels, I don’t know why your friend would think angels “take away” from Christ when the Bible is chock full of their examples and they are even called “ministering spirits” and in charge of “guarding” us. They are present in Scripture at almost every key moment in salvation history (announcement of birth of John the Baptist, Annunciation, Mary/Joseph flight into desert, Agony in the Garden, Resurrection, Peter’s escape from jail, etc…) If we ignore God’s gift of giving us these helpful beings, then what does that say about our real focus? I just did a talk on angels recently, by the way.
There’s also a big bright star over the house where Scully is to have her miraculous birth. Hmmmmm… She at least remembered that from her catechism classes! Reyes hypothesizes that Fassl has a split personality and could actually change into another person with different DNA. Before Reyes went on with her idea, Scully identified a better Catholic precedent for this Jekyll and Hyde character when she recalled Jesus changing water into wine. Then the episode author’s ignorance came out when Reyes then said in Catholicism there is precedent for this in Transubstantiation which she calls “the manipulation of matter and energy.” But on the contrary, the accidents, or what Reyes called “matter and energy,” remain after Transubstantiation. Transubstantiation is a change unobservable to the senses because it takes place at the unseen level of “substance.” A scientific examination of consecrated bread would show bread. So, even though it was misguided in some of the details, the episode gave credence to Catholicism and Transubstantiation. SPOILER!!! What is significant about that moment of Mulder touching the cross is that Scully is of course Catholic, and those are the final words spoken in the television series. And whether the author intended it or not, it comes across that Mulder was saying in Scully’s Catholic faith is the remaining hope.He was also told by Clyde Bruckman that (paraphrasing) there are worse ways to die than asphyxiation during auto-erotic stimulation but none more humiliating.But throughout Mulder, the hero of the show, openly watches porno movies and makes fun of Transubstantiation
OH NO!! I lost touch with this thread although it was on my mind a lot and now you’re finished? I have an awful lot of reading to do!!Audrey Pauley - Reyes in her suspended state, says, “This seem like heaven to you? A big, deserted Catholic hospital?” The main guest star who works at the hospital says the nuns let her stay there in a room at the hospital. In that room is a crucifix and on the door is the image of a famous Mary and Child painting:
http://oi51.tinypic.com/2ro232g.jpghttp://oi53.tinypic.com/2n24hw0.jpg
Here’s Doggett in the room of the main guest star with the Mary and Child poster on the door and a clearer image of the famous painting.
Underneath - A scared cable guy named Fassl kisses a Rosary before he enters a house. He is shown often with the Rosary which he kisses. We find out he was once in the seminary and kept his faith despite being imprisoned for 13 years. Scully tells Fassl that she is also Catholic and that she remembers praying the Rosary for comfort in times of tribulation in her life. Reyes hypothesizes that Fassl has a split personality and could actually change into another person with different DNA. Before Reyes went on with her idea, Scully identified a better Catholic precedent for this Jekyll and Hyde character when she recalled Jesus changing water into wine. Then the episode author’s ignorance came out when Reyes then said in Catholicism there is precedent for this in Transubstantiation which she calls “the manipulation of matter and energy.” But on the contrary, the accidents, or what Reyes called “matter and energy,” remain after Transubstantiation. Transubstantiation is a change unobservable to the senses because it takes place at the unseen level of “substance.” A scientific examination of consecrated bread would show bread. So, even though it was misguided in some of the details, the episode gave credence to Catholicism and Transubstantiation.
http://oi53.tinypic.com/246qu1g.jpg
Here is the guest star praying his Rosary which Scully also considers a comfort to her.
Deadalive - (this one is actually from season 8 that I forgot to include when I went past that episode) POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT!!! Scully expresses a hope that stars are souls as Mulder once told her, which is kind of a new age line of religious thinking. Mulder’s “funeral” also appears to be Christian as a pastor reads from Scripture, John 11. The Lone Gunmen bow their heads in prayer too.
Jump the Shark - The Morris Fletcher character uses the phrase: “I can give you the keys to the kingdom.”
The Truth - Scully testifies that she believes human life came to earth from a meteor or rock from Mars. The prodigy mind-reading kid has a wooden cross on the wall in his room. Mulder touches Scully’s cross and the next thing he says is: “Maybe there’s hope.”
And that wraps up the entire 9 seasons of The X-Files!! Please feel free to continue the chat about favorite episodes, other Catholic moments I may have missed, or whatever thoughts you have on the show! I’ll be back myself to continue sharing thoughts on the show.
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