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Martalogu · 22 Sep 2005, 17:30

am scris cele de mai jos in engleza,sper sa aveti rabdare in a citi pana la capat

THE APOSTLE

Quite one Mindwrapping film :

because it introduces the viewer into a basic question from a disputed point of view: search for salvation.

Not if salvation is,should or might be possible ,but that salvation is induced by the need of it.
Otherwise Man has no other alternative that to declare himself as in need to be saved by Christ,otherwise he is facing damnation.

The Mindwraping thing about it is that there is no clear statement about the ethics of Good or Bad in the entire movie, partly because the somehow heroic (someothers might consider that heretic ) search for forgiveness and salvation
is caused by his initial wrongdoing.

There is maybe a re-capturing ,re-learning process in through which the runnaway preacher conducts himself from a fugitive on to a hardworking man and a succesfull church (re)builder.

But without a community of believers,of people in deep need and sorrow there would`nt be any church.
There seems to be strong sentiment of committment in that rapid member growing church ,based on the common urging for salvation of every new member, that is baptised by the charismatic now church leader.

The Man (or the character played by Duvall) declares the word of God (not in the somehow entitled and dogmatic manner) ,but as a testimonial and ground of his action.
After all he does declare himself as a messenger of God, that fulfills God`s Will.
Maybe the inquiry is of the film is not to demonstrate whether God exists or not,since the basic proofs come only through the preachers visions and charisma.

Simplier than that, one could be asked whether do the visions build up the charisma ,or is it really the reverse -the charisma is building up the visions.

The implications are huge following this "build up" problem :

-one suggests that there was somehow of planned by God intention of loosening the preacher of the divine grace on the moment by committing a crime (towards his wife`s lover) ,and than a possibly regaining of that grace by succesfully establishing one church from scratch and hunt for new members ;

-the other one is quite frightening , because it inferes the possibility of not-loosening initialy the state of divine grace (partly explicable in the final end when the policeman found jewels on himself),which also means that he did not attend to it , and this whole latter search of salvation,for himself and for the new-members of his newly-established church was if not provoked,at least intended somehow in the beginning - before actually stepping into the crime ,which seems to be accidenta l,not intended , and sufficient enough for a pretext.

I do have some doubts about the second implication i tryed to point out, because it doesnt`t seem to be so clearly underlined in the film,although it might be left as an alternative.

What could have Robert Duvall want us to show with this film , which he had written,directed and starred in? Some would answer that it`s a memorable and affectuous depiction of the road to salvation, someothers would say that it`s a testimonial upon the redetemtion of man towards God and others would say that it`s a story about one almost mystical community development guided by a strong leading presence.

For one`s conscience this film might be a good starting point into one`s own inquiry about salvation ,but in a try to resume in a simple statement the essence of the movie might be a slippery fall : what does it mean to search salvation ?is it the right way doing so,and not too much asking about it? can God and God`s grace be simply re-instated in Man by only declaring Him?

Inasmuch the film it`s a discussion on to itself ,it also reflects some curricula regarding pro-active salvation theology ,southern US evanghelical christianism and even up to the classical christian dogma , key-fixtures imposed by the Holy bible or by religious tradition and even mysticism .

The feel one has by viewing this film is that the latter curricula isn`t so important ,since the key-grip -the preachers actions- are dispatched in it.

22 Sep 2005, 17:30	#10
Martalogu Junior Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 57	am scris cele de mai jos in engleza,sper sa aveti rabdare in a citi pana la capat THE APOSTLE Quite one Mindwrapping film : because it introduces the viewer into a basic question from a disputed point of view: search for salvation. Not if salvation is,should or might be possible ,but that salvation is induced by the need of it. Otherwise Man has no other alternative that to declare himself as in need to be saved by Christ,otherwise he is facing damnation. The Mindwraping thing about it is that there is no clear statement about the ethics of Good or Bad in the entire movie, partly because the somehow heroic (someothers might consider that heretic ) search for forgiveness and salvation is caused by his initial wrongdoing. There is maybe a re-capturing ,re-learning process in through which the runnaway preacher conducts himself from a fugitive on to a hardworking man and a succesfull church (re)builder. But without a community of believers,of people in deep need and sorrow there would`nt be any church. There seems to be strong sentiment of committment in that rapid member growing church ,based on the common urging for salvation of every new member, that is baptised by the charismatic now church leader. The Man (or the character played by Duvall) declares the word of God (not in the somehow entitled and dogmatic manner) ,but as a testimonial and ground of his action. After all he does declare himself as a messenger of God, that fulfills God`s Will. Maybe the inquiry is of the film is not to demonstrate whether God exists or not,since the basic proofs come only through the preachers visions and charisma. Simplier than that, one could be asked whether do the visions build up the charisma ,or is it really the reverse -the charisma is building up the visions. The implications are huge following this "build up" problem : -one suggests that there was somehow of planned by God intention of loosening the preacher of the divine grace on the moment by committing a crime (towards his wife`s lover) ,and than a possibly regaining of that grace by succesfully establishing one church from scratch and hunt for new members ; -the other one is quite frightening , because it inferes the possibility of not-loosening initialy the state of divine grace (partly explicable in the final end when the policeman found jewels on himself),which also means that he did not attend to it , and this whole latter search of salvation,for himself and for the new-members of his newly-established church was if not provoked,at least intended somehow in the beginning - before actually stepping into the crime ,which seems to be accidenta l,not intended , and sufficient enough for a pretext. I do have some doubts about the second implication i tryed to point out, because it doesnt`t seem to be so clearly underlined in the film,although it might be left as an alternative. What could have Robert Duvall want us to show with this film , which he had written,directed and starred in? Some would answer that it`s a memorable and affectuous depiction of the road to salvation, someothers would say that it`s a testimonial upon the redetemtion of man towards God and others would say that it`s a story about one almost mystical community development guided by a strong leading presence. For one`s conscience this film might be a good starting point into one`s own inquiry about salvation ,but in a try to resume in a simple statement the essence of the movie might be a slippery fall : what does it mean to search salvation ?is it the right way doing so,and not too much asking about it? can God and God`s grace be simply re-instated in Man by only declaring Him? Inasmuch the film it`s a discussion on to itself ,it also reflects some curricula regarding pro-active salvation theology ,southern US evanghelical christianism and even up to the classical christian dogma , key-fixtures imposed by the Holy bible or by religious tradition and even mysticism . The feel one has by viewing this film is that the latter curricula isn`t so important ,since the key-grip -the preachers actions- are dispatched in it.