Conservative Babylon in “Persecuted”: Hybrid Televangelist Framed by Pagan Neocon, and the Free Speech or Patriotic or Equality “Gospel” Replacing the Gospel of Jesus Christ
By Julio
Severo
At
last, a conservative movie! Days ago I enthusiastically watched “Persecuted,” a
movie that, according to leftist Dorri Olds, is “made up of mostly real-life
conservatives.” Olds, who watched its premiere last year, adds that it “was
pure religious right propaganda” and that it is a “A Movie For Christian
Conservatives Only.” So it is just for me!
Televangelist John Luther with his rosary and gun |
MovieGuide
says, “‘Persecuted’ is a suspenseful political thriller about a renowned
evangelist who finds himself being targeted by a secret conspiracy to limit
religious freedom in America.”
A Framed Telelevangelist
James
Remar plays John Luther, a nationally acclaimed Christian televangelist whose
fame and influence make him an essential political tool for Senator Donald
Harrison (Bruce Davison) in his efforts to get his “Faith and Fairness Act”
through Congress. The ill-defined bill, having something to do with providing equal
standing to all religions, doesn’t sit well with the televangelist Luther, who
refuses to cooperate, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Since
the action takes place in the sort of cinematic Washington, D.C., where
political conflicts are resolved through heinous criminal acts, Luther soon
finds himself abducted, drugged and photographed, in racy photos, with a young
girl in a plot, executed by nefarious Secret Service agents, where the senator
orders him, to destroy his credibility and ensure passage of the senator’s
bill, to be framed for the rape and murder of the innocent teenage girl,
according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Luther
escapes and becomes a rosary-carrying version of Harrison Ford’s character from
The Fugitive, according to Jon Webster in the Examiner. He becomes a wanted man
with his face all over the media. So he uses a classic disguise — dark
sunglasses and a hoodie. To watch the trailer, go here: https://youtu.be/vurFMz8bfNY
He
attempts to find the evidence that would prove his innocence, while trying to
avoid the police and government agents and while his ministry is being taken
over by its opportunistic vice-president (played by conservative Christian
comedian Brad Stine).
A Televangelist and His Father, a Catholic Priest
Vulnerable
and desperate, he cries out to God for direction. Luther’s father is Fr.
Charlie Luther, a Catholic priest, played by Fred Thompson. The priest helps
his son, but he knows that big forces are against them. The senator sends government
operatives and assassins after them. Fr. Charlie is killed.
MovieGuide
says, “the movie also implies that the President of the United States is in on
the schemes to get the evangelist out of the way, but that plot twist could use
more clarity. Finally, the movie as now edited doesn’t explain how exactly the
evangelist could have a father who’s a Catholic priest.”
There
is no explanation on how a traditional Catholic priest became the father of a
popular televangelist. Even though the movie has no malicious innuendo, there
was obviously a breach of the Catholic celibacy. But because father and son are
very conservative, no suspicion was raised about the hybrid televangelist who
loves the Bible and the rosary.
MovieGuide
says that “Persecuted” “gives a warning to the Christian Church, the Body of
Christ, to be careful about getting in bed with the government. In the movie,
the new law offers churches and religious groups a special tax benefit to
entice religious leaders into supporting the new law. When the evangelist gets
framed for the girl’s murder, his right-hand man convinces the organization’s board
of directors to support the new law so they can get more financial donations.
This leads to an intense confrontation between the evangelist and his board of
directors, including his right-hand man who clearly wants to take away
leadership of the group from the evangelist.”
MovieGuide
labels “Persecuted” as “a provocative political thriller from a strong
Christian, and somewhat conservative or libertarian, perspective.”
The
Hollywood Reporter says, “By the time the film reaches its violent conclusion, Luther,
armed with rosary beads and a gun, is forced to take matters into his own
hands.” This for me is Babylon, a word that means “confusion.”
In
many respects, I liked “Persecuted.” It has no foul language. I am very tired
of U.S. movies with dirty language, even from supposedly Christian actors.
Yet,
even though Luther was almost murdered because he did not put his support
behind legislation to unify people of all faiths, “Persecuted” gives the
message that the Catholic faith and the evangelical faith are equal.
Free speech: a problem only in Russia and China, not America and Saudi Arabia
The
movie also seems to suggest that the most important value is free speech and, fully
satisfying the will of neocons, Luther tells about his worry that America could
become a “Russia, China or Iran,” with repressive laws against free speech.
This
is exactly what neocons want to hear. Yet, if free speech is so important, why
not include Saudi Arabia, which is as Islamic as Iran, but much worse in
Christian persecution? In Saudi Arabia, no churches and Bibles are allowed, and
this is the most important Islamic ally of the U.S. Why not expose it?
Russia
does not persecute people who express their views against abortion and sodomy.
What about America? How should we
measure free speech in these critical conservative cases?
About
China, why complain about them? America has been the main financial feeder of
China, which is building the largest communist army in the world through
massive investment from U.S. companies in Chinese soil.
Besides,
while Protestantism in America, the largest Protestant nation in the world
today, is shrinking, in China evangelical Christianity is increasing and it is poised
to surpass the Protestant population in America in the next few years. That is,
China will be the largest Protestant nation in the world.
America
has free speech. China has not.
Protestantism
in America is shrinking. In China, it is increasing. What does it tell us?
True
Christianity grows under persecution. The early Christian church had no free
speech, but she increased.
Free
speech is not essential for Christian survival. The preaching of the Gospel is.
In an
interview with Pat Robertson’s Christian Broadcasting Network, “Persecuted”
producer Daniel Lusko said, “John Luther is the hero of our story. And he
becomes a major evangelist at the level of a Billy Graham, at a time when
America becomes an unwelcoming environment for the Gospel.”
My
mother was converted to Christ through Billy Graham’s Gospel message. She had
her rosary. But after accepting Christ, she understood that a rosary is not
necessary to pray to God, who hears us through Jesus Christ. Yet, John Luther’s
example seems sometimes to suggest that a nationalist conservative lifestyle is
more important than a Gospel lifestyle and that you can be a hybrid
Catholic-evangelical-non-denominational conservative, with no spiritual loss.
We
can gain the whole world to conservatism, but if conservatives do not know
Christ in a personal way, what is it good for?
“For what will it profit a man if he gains
the whole world and forfeits his life? Or what shall a man give in return for
his life?” (Matthew 16:26 ESV)
Fundamentalists Yesterday and Today
Jon
Webster said, “To sum up, this is a film that fundamentalist Christians will be
drawn to.”
If
these fundamentalists are like the original fundamentalists, they will
certainly not like “Persecuted.” The original term for fundamentalism was used for
evangelical Christians who developed and followed “The Fundamentals,” a massive
theological book, edited by R. A. Torrey, to confront liberalism, ecumenism,
socialism and heresies among Protestant churches in the early 20th
century.
“The
Fundamentals” rejects many of the Catholic doctrines as incompatible with the
Bible. It encouraged U.S. Protestants to avoid the hybrid Christianity of John
Luther.
Among
Brazilian evangelicals, a rosary-loving evangelical would be labeled a confused
and disturbed Christian. In fact, they would not understand why their American
counterparts see no problem in such evangelical.
I am not be worried about Catholics
or Orthodoxies with rosaries. But an evangelical televangelist? A “Billy
Graham” with a rosary? Could John Luther be representative of what is happening
to U.S. evangelicals?
The
ministry of the hybrid televangelist Luther is named “Truth,” a bold name
requiring bold words and attitudes. So it is very appropriate to tell the truth
about this movie.
“Persecuted”
does not attack Islam, the single greatest persecutor and murderer of
Christians today and for many centuries. But it attacks the geopolitical
enemies of the United States: Russia, China (a special trade partner, a muy
amigo “enemy”) and Iran. This greatly pleases neocons.
“Persecuted”
does not attack the complete ban on free speech in Saudi Arabia and other Islamic
dictatorships that are allies of the United States. This greatly pleases
neocons.
Pro-Family Union, Yes, Hybridism, No
“Persecuted” pleases Catholics and
evangelicals by creating a hybrid Catholic-evangelical conservative: a “Billy
Graham” with a rosary. Why not a hybrid Catholic-Orthodox-evangelical-Jewish
conservative? My worry is that this dangerous trend can lead to a future hybrid
Muslim-Christian-Hindu-Buddhist conservative, and all of us know how America is
prone to “diversity.”
I am
not against a pro-family union among Catholics, Orthodoxies, Jews and
evangelicals. But, in a very profound spiritual level, do we need to create
hybrids? Do we need a genetically (in a spiritual way) modified televangelist?
Sometimes, John Luther seems more nationalist
conservative than an evangelist. Other times, he seems more evangelist than a nationalist
conservative. This is confusion. This is Babylon.
Conservatism is important, but it
is not the Gospel and it cannot replace the Gospel. I talk as an evangelical to
evangelicals.
Let
Catholics be Catholics. Let Orthodoxies be Orthodoxies. Let Jews be Jews. Let
evangelicals be evangelicals. Let them be united in conservative pro-family
efforts. But why use the Gospel to break differences among Christians and
create hybrids for the sake of a nationalist conservatism? Why create a strange
“ecumenism” in the name of conservatism, patriotism or nationalism?
In
the WorldNetDaily article, Daniel Lusko said, “Once you have put all that trust
into an institution that cannot replace God, then it becomes a trap. That’s why
this story is so essential because he could have been a believer in any kind of
faith.”
I could also add, “Once you have
put all that trust into in nationalism or patriotism, which cannot replace God,
then it becomes a trap.”
Take
away his rosary, and “Persecuted” will be perfect. If Lusko wanted a hero with
a rosary, he should let the Catholic priest be the only hero.
Take away
also his nationalist criticism only of nations not aligned with the U.S., and
“Persecuted” will be perfect. Saudi Arabia deserves to be criticized for its
complete ban on free speech.
And why not praise Russian laws
banning homosexual propaganda to children? If America is better than Russia in
free speech, why in Russia Christians can criticize sodomy, and in America
cannot they do it? Why Russia protects children from the gay agenda, and
America does not?
Introduce
this Russian example, and “Persecuted” will be perfect.
It is
remarkable that John Luther (two Christian names combined; one right from the
Bible, the other from Martin Luther, the father of the Protestant Reformation)
fights for a new reformation.
Yet,
while the original Luther fought corruption in the Catholic institution 500
year ago, modern John Luther is an American patriot fighting the dark forces of
the U.S. government as represented by Senator Donald Harrison (Bruce Davison)
and a cartoonish white-haired corrupt president (James R. Higgins) of the
United States who looks like Ted Kennedy and sounds like Bill Clinton.
Patriot
evangelical hybrid Luther opposed the “Faith and Fairness Act,” supposed to
protect all religions and give them equal free speech.
Religious Freedom Above the Gospel
In
the WorldNetDaily article, titled “Trust in God or government?” Fred Thompson,
who played Fr. Charles Luther, said “Quite frankly, any religion people should
feel the right to practice what they believe in. That’s why I think this movie
is central to anyone who has ever felt that freedom of speech or religion is
under attack in any shape or form.”
Concisely,
is not this the “Faith and Fairness Act”?
So
the father of the hybrid televangelist eventually betrayed his son and his
movie.
Yet,
on the other hand, John Luther is a mirror of the “Faith and Fairness” with his
hybridism that equals the Catholic faith and the evangelical faith. Somewhat,
he opposes something that he lives. This is confusion. This is Babylon.
An evangelical minister with a
Bible and a rosary is also a betrayal, not to Catholics, who follow these
traditions, but to R. A. Torrey and all American evangelical leaders who
defended their faith against what they saw as unbiblical Catholic traditions.
Lusko
said, in a ChristianPost piece, that he is a pastor’s kid and that he has grown
up around megachurches and preachers — both the good ones and the charlatans. I
wonder how many of these preachers prayed to God with rosaries.
In
all my lifetime, I have never seen a televangelist or any evangelical using a
rosary in his desperation and troubled times. Why would an evangelical seek God
this way?
Is to
preach patriotic religious hybridism to save the national honor more important
than to preach the Gospel that offends trust in religious objects, but saves
eternal souls?
Sometimes, “Persecuted” shows the
correct Gospel. Other times, it shows confusion. It shows Babylon.
In
the end, “Persecuted” shows a John Luther tired of corruption in the U.S.
government, of ministry filled of opportunists eager to go to bed with
government and he seems to want only to preach the Bible — with or without a
rosary?
What
is happening to evangelicals in the U.S.?
“Persecuted”
was screened at the February 2014 National Religious Broadcasters convention in
Nashville, Tennessee and March 2014 at the Conservative Political Action
Conference in Washington, D.C, becoming a model for evangelicals and
conservatives.
What’s a real Christian?
“Persecuted”
producers committed the error of inviting liberals to attend the film’s world
premiere in New York City last year. One of them was pro-abortion feminist
Dorri Olds, who wrote about her talks with “Persecuted” actors and producers.
“Much
of our culture is eroding,” actor and producer James R. Higgins told her.
“There aren’t as many real Christians as there used to be.”
Olds
asked, “What’s a real Christian?”
Higgins
replied, “Somebody who will stand up for what he believes in and will not back
down.” He praised the Luther character, saying, “Whenever people are willing to
die for their cause, I think that is really special.” As recorded in TheBlot, Olds
added, “Yeah, that’s it. Let’s
all become suicide bombers!”
She also
remarked, “When Higgins voiced how important it is to protect our right to
freedom, I asked if he thought women should have the freedom to do what they
want with their bodies. He said, ‘Oh boy, that’s a tough question. That’s what
I call a social issue.’”
To defend freedom and free speech
in a Christian society, as happened in the U.S. 200 years ago, produces
freedom. In contrast, to defend freedom and free speech in a morally decaying
nation today produces freedom for abortion, sodomy and other evils.
In Higgins’
definition, as written by Olds, even radical Muslims can be “real Christians.”
But is such definition correct?
If
feminist Olds had asked me, “What’s a real Christian?” I would have answered:
“A real Christian is a man who knows and follows Jesus Christ. His passion is
to preach the Gospel to every creature to give them an opportunity to know that
Jesus can rescue and save their eternal souls from the eternal hell.”
Preach free speech to feminists
like Olds, and they will use it for abortion. Preach the Gospel to them, and
they can be delivered from their sins, including abortion activism.
To
preach the real Gospel, regardless free speech, produces freedom, here and
forevermore.
The
power of Jesus and his Gospel have never been dependent on free speech. Just
ask Chinese Christians.
With
information from MovieGuide, WorldNetDaily, Hollywood Reporter, The Blot and
Examiner, ChristianPost, CBN and Wikipedia.
Portuguese
version of this article: Babilônia
conservadora em “Perseguição”: Televangelista híbrido cai em armação de neocon
pagão, e o “evangelho” da liberdade de expressão, do patriotismo ou igualdade
substituindo o Evangelho de Jesus Cristo
Source: Last Days Watchman
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