The Son of God Movie BOLO

I clicked on the movie trailer for the upcoming opening of the Son of God movie and discovered that it opens with Peter fishing. How timely! Our next reading is Matthew 4:18-22; Mark 1:16-20; Luke 5:1-11.^[1]

So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret[2], and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.

When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”

But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.

When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon.

And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.” So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.

Ever since The Exodus, Ben Hur, and The Robe, Christians have delighted in seeing their faith depicted on Hollywood’s silver screen. We have learned to be tolerant of “minor” changes in detail. We understand that certain “artistic license” is necessary in a movie, to move the action forward, we’re told.

Now that I am reading the gospels in harmony, I’ve known a greater depth of love for the Lord Jesus, His atoning sacrifice for me, and the joy of following Him as my Shepherd. So, I want to know will this movie benefit my walk with the Lord?  Philippians 1:9-11 tells us that our love should abound in knowledge and judgment [discernment, depth of insight] so that we can approve things that are excellent and be filled with fruits of righteousness for God’s glory and praise. So let’s exercise our spiritual muscles. First we’ll compare the movie clip to Scripture to see how it lines up and if the differences are significant. Then we’ll see if we can approve it as excellent by applying knowledge and some discernment.  Will The Son of God movie fill us with fruits of righteousness for God’s glory and praise?

How does it line up with Scripture?

Knowledge

Focus on the Family’s Jim Daly, Liberty University, Women of Faith, and Joel Osteen have all endorsed and promoted the movie. They have embraced the producers, Roma Downey and her husband Mark Burnette as fellow Christians. So, we can trust these leaders and know that the film is a trustworthy resource for Biblical truth, right? Well, in Galatians 1:8, 9 Paul said that even if he himself or an angel from heaven preached any other gospel, let him be accursed [be condemned to Hell]. That’s some extremely stiff wording. Paul also commended the Bereans for comparing his preaching to the Scriptures. So for me, I’m going to do some research and see if the movie comes from a trustworthy source.

I cannot and will not judge Downey and Burnette’s salvation; that is only for God to do. However, the Bible says to test all things; therefore, I must test or judge what they say they believe in. If their beliefs are not Christian, then I cannot promote them as Christian. Ms. Downey has recently graduated with a master’s degree in Spiritual Psychology[3] from the University of Santa Monica[4]. Her degree may sound like a Christian version of psychology from a major university, but neither of these assumptions is true. The University of Santa Monica exists for only one degree. What is Spiritual Psychology? It is specifically the study of spiritual evolution. The true agenda behind evolution is not just the origin of the universe. Ultimately we are not finished evolving; mankind will evolve to godhood or spiritual oneness with the universe. This is done by self-realization. Both USM and the degree are pure New Age.

Many people see the New Age as simply a religious system in which people combine religions, burn incense, do yoga and worship crystals. But NA philosophy is far more insidious. The scope of understanding NA is not the point of this post, but in summary, the NA has an agenda to infiltrate all aspects of life— church, government, home, education, etc. to bring all into a state of one universal consciousness to save the planet. Doing so will usher in a new age of enlightenment—a new world order. Self-realization is accomplished through meditative, altered-states of consciousness. This is Ms. Downey’s area of expertise. She claims, “My husband says I’m so self-realized I’m practically levitating.”[5]

The Bible says that we are all gone out of the way; we are separated from God by our sin. The only way to reconciliation with Him is through faith in the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ because He bore the wrath of God on our behalf. Faith in His atonement is the way of salvation. The New Age uses Christian vocabulary, but with very different definitions. In the NA, Jesus and Christ are two different entities. “Christ” hood is to be self-actualized or self-realized. Jesus was “a Christ”. So were Buddha and others. The only “sin” is refusing to join in global oneness. In fact, very powerful and influential NA leaders claim that ultimately, those who refuse to join in oneness must be eliminated. Ms. Downey has joined these leaders by co-endorsing books teaching self-realization.[6]

And one more interesting item—Ms. Downey has appeared on psychic medium John Edward’s show in which he contacted her dead mother with her[7]. Clearly, whatever Ms. Downey’s spiritual standing before God may be, the philosophy she endorses by her own actions and words is explicitly NOT Christian.

Discernment

Popular law enforcement TV shows talk about issuing BOLO’s—Be On the Look Out. The point of this blog post is not to tell my readers not to see the movie. I will not think any less of anyone who does. However, we absolutely MUST, by scriptural command, test all things, and discern (1 John 4:1; Phil. 1:9-ll). So I am issuing a BOLO for those who choose to go to The Son of God movie. Does the movie show the life of the Lord Jesus Christ from a Scriptural perspective or from a New Age perspective?  Here are some things to watch for: 

Summary

Some may see my analysis here as being too petty; the issues are not that big a deal. The New Age movement has been saying for years that subtle shifts will happen. I have seen these subtle shifts from truth being accepted and adopted throughout the “church”.  These shifts are known as the Dialectic Process. This process is an occult-based way to turn opposites into unity. In other words, light becomes dark and right becomes wrong. Subtle shifts in meaning change definitions. And wasn’t Satan subtle and positive with Eve? “Didn’t God say?...You surely will not die...” He has had millennia to hone is lying craft.

I understand that my view may be seen as negative, close-minded, fundamentalist, and hyper-critical. I have a confession to make. I have been positive, open-minded, progressive and accepting for many years. I have seen the Gospel of salvation traded to a gospel of morality and self-righteous works. I have heard the truths of Scripture preached less and less, while mega churches increase more and more. The more that I read the Scriptures, the more zealous I have become for truth. I am repenting for my part in a watered-down Gospel.

Galatians 4:4 tells us that in the fullness of time, God sent Jesus into the world. He didn’t send Jesus to us in an age of technical advancement when He could have had His life digitally recorded. God gave us the record of Jesus in an infallible, inerrant book we know as the Bible. It is a living Word that is powerful enough all by itself to pierce my heart and discern my thoughts[8]. That Bible tells me that there is “another Gospel”[9] and “another Jesus”[10], and that Satan disguises himself as an angel of light[11]. The Bible tells us that there will be a great deception in the last days. Many false christs will appear and deceive many. They will be able to perform all kinds of lying wonders[12] to deceive even the very elect[13]. Wolves will come in, not sparing the flock[14]. There will be a great departure from the faith[15] because those who seemed to be Christians[16] will follow deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons,[17]  and they will not endure sound doctrine[18]. False prophets will come into the church and bring destructive heresies even denying the Lord who bought them.[19]

Whether Christians go to see The Son of God is not the issue to me. What is absolutely vital is that we

as sheep learn to discern what is from our Shepherd and what is from wolves. As I stand here in the Shepherd's fold, the grass that Roma Downey is eating from may look lush and sweet, but it is deadly poisonous. Her teachers are ravenous wolves which will devour the sheep who go to her pasture. But maybe some who don’t know God will be turned to Him; maybe they’ll start to read their Bibles. Certainly God can work in any way that He chooses, but I am not aware of any time that God led a person to Satan as a resource to discover truth. New Agers read the Bible, too, and they twist and pervert it. What if the Jesus that they think they are receiving turns out to be “another one”?

BUT I know- that I know-that I know the Shepherd’s pasture in the Word has sweet nutritious green grass. His waters are still and refreshing. I will have my soul restored by Him again and again. He has promised that goodness and mercy shall be my companions and that I will dwell in His house forever. Hmm...Come to think of it, I’m getting hungry...

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[1] Note: Much of the Harmony readings will be pieced together like a puzzle putting the four Gospels together into one narrative. I am copying the order or format from A Simplified Harmony of the Gospels, George W. Wright, Holman Bible Publishers, 2001. However, I am using the New King James rather than the HCSB. This order is from the research of Wright and is open to discussion. Of course, you can also read the passages side by side separately if you prefer.

[2] Also known as the Sea of Galilee

[3] http://www.universityofsantamonica.edu/About_USM/index.aspx

[4] http://www.universityofsantamonica.edu/index.aspx

[5] http://becksmithhollywood.com/2009/04/roma-downey-happy-out-of-spotlight/

[6] Barbara Marx Hubbard, one-time US vice-presidential nominee, is still very influential in politics. She wrote a booklet stating that though it will be painful, ¼ of the world’s population will reject oneness and will need to be eliminated. Both Downey and Hubbard have co-endorsed Loyalty to Your Soul, by Ron and Mary Hulnick, Executive faculty of USM. The authors state that Divine Essence [Ed. literally godhood] is the sacred reality of all creation. Downey says that this book is a reminder of all that she learned at USM. See: http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/?p=14764  

[7] http://www.john-roger.org/

[8] Hebrews 4:12

[9] Galatians 1:8,9

[10] 2 Corinthians 11:4

[11] 2 Corinthians 11:14

[12] 2 Thess. 2:9, 10

[13] Matt 24:5

[14] Acts 20:28-30

[15] 2 Thess. 2:3

[16] Note: a “falling away” means apostasy. Unbelievers do not “fall away” from the faith because they never had it to begin with.

[17] 1 Tim. 4:1

[18] 2 Tim 4:3

[19] 2 Peter 2:1-3