Comments on: ParaNorman and the Fear of a Christian America

By: Counting Moral Indiscretions Is Not a Movie Review

Counting Moral Indiscretions Is Not a Movie Review — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 15:18:27 +0000

[...] cut out the heart of the movie.Here’s what I suggest: read that review, and then read Russell Moore’s review. Both are written by evangelical conservatives. They both share the same concerns. But this excerpt [...]

By: Blog Posts You Should Have Read This Week « garyrichmond

Blog Posts You Should Have Read This Week « garyrichmond — Sun, 09 Sep 2012 03:38:44 +0000

[...] September 3: Russell D Moore – ParaNorman and the Fear of a Christian America [...]

By: Saturday Afternoon Post | Growing in Grace

Saturday Afternoon Post | Growing in Grace — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 20:57:55 +0000

[...] ParaNorman and the Fear of a Christian America. Russell Moore serves up another dose of cultural analysis through commentary on his recent visit to the local cineplex. It’s not every animated film that features zombies, witches, and corpses falling on top of troubled children. But, just in time for Halloween, LAIKA pictures gives us ParaNorman, about a troubled little boy who saves his small-town from zombies. As I watched this movie, I couldn’t help but wonder if this movie was less about zombie wars and more about culture wars. Read more… [...]

By: The Week in Mini-Review (9/8) | Southern Gospel Yankee

The Week in Mini-Review (9/8) | Southern Gospel Yankee — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 10:10:56 +0000

[...] week, another irritatingly vapid Russell Moore article (ho hum). This time he’s trying to tell us that a new kids’ movie with Puritan zombies [...]

By: yankeegospelgirl

yankeegospelgirl — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 22:17:51 +0000

I’m sorry, I was typing excitedly very early this morning and would like to re-word a couple things in my post.

I meant to say “this film is geared to.”

That is all.

;)

By: yankeegospelgirl

yankeegospelgirl — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 11:55:34 +0000

Sorry, unimpressed. I’ll say this movie is subversive. It’s meant to be a kids’ movie and one of the main characters talks about his “boyfriend??” This is TOTALLY inappropriate for children of the age this filmed might be geared too. My parents didn’t even explain homosexuality to me until I was in my teens. Which is as it should be. Now, we’re just supposed to accept the fact that every 7 or 8-year-old in America is already “up” on all that? Not I. I will fight the culture that’s corrupting these kids to my dying day.

Which brings me to my next point: You’re darn teuton we’re motivated by “fear.” Fear for young souls. Fear that the other side in these culture wars will get to their hearts and minds before we do and ingrain the values of the left into them. Maybe that sounds like “us” vs. “them,” but that’s just the way it is. Our “fear” is real, it has purpose, and it is a legitimate motivator for action on the part of the church.

No, I’m not some wild-eyed cook calling for violence, and no, I’m not part of some cult like Westboro Baptist. I am a Christian who cares about our children and about the future of this country, and I guess I know just a little bit too much to smile genially at films like this. You may not understand the evil of its point, and you may not understand the evil of its goal, but subtle as it is, it is there, and it is doing its job. So what if they tried to portray the Puritans with a modicum of sympathy instead of universally painting them as foaming-at-the-mouth crazies? Big whoop. Am I supposed to be pathetically grateful? I don’t care what they think of me or how they portray me in the movies. My own conscience is clear before God.

The time for “conversation” is over. You don’t pull up a chair and pour a cup of tea in the middle of a battlefield. That’s where we are right now.

By: Derek Rishmawy

Derek Rishmawy — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 15:44:42 +0000

Great post. This is kind of cultural criticism we ought to be engaging in–the kind that seeks to find the good, humbly recognizes areas to learn from, and then criticizes whatever ought to be criticized. So much of the time Christian responses to films like this are just outright condemnation of the “witchcraft” or the “anti-Christian” elements in it (Harry Potter.) Instead, we should be taking the time to examine what is going on in our neighbors hearts and minds that this speaks to and on the basis of that, thoughfully engage them for the Gospel.

Thanks for the post, Dr. Moore.

By: Ross Clark

Ross Clark — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 21:23:51 +0000

@Neo,
Yes, but what does it say that a group that came to America in the early seventeenth century to flee religious persecution, would in time be persecutors themselves? Sometimes we are our own worst enemies.

By: Mere Links 09.04.12 - Mere Comments

Mere Links 09.04.12 - Mere Comments — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 15:01:17 +0000

[...] ParaNorman and the Fear of a Christian America Russell D. Moore It’s not every animated film that features zombies, witches, and corpses falling on top of troubled children. [...]

By: Riley Fraas

Riley Fraas — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 14:52:00 +0000

For the record, the Salem witch trials are not an example of persecution. Witchcraft was a civil offense, and it was going on in the community. If anything, the trials are an example of mistrial by accepting hearsay as evidence to prosecute the innocent with impure motives.

By: Brad Williams

Brad Williams — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 14:32:36 +0000

@Neo,

You are probably right that most people misunderstand the Puritans. But didn’t the Puritans put people to death on the suspicion that they practiced witchcraft? That’s not just a misunderstanding.

By: SBTS Southern Blogs » ParaNorman and the Fear of a Christian America

SBTS Southern Blogs » ParaNorman and the Fear of a Christian America — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 12:10:13 +0000

[...] Read the rest at RussellMoore.com Russell Moore September 4, 2012 [...]

By: Neo

Neo — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 03:10:10 +0000

I wouldn’t have wanted to give Hollywood a penny for something like this. Seems like everyone in the world misunderstands and misinterprets the Puritans…

By: Matt

Matt — Mon, 03 Sep 2012 21:45:02 +0000

I found your article to be very interesting, Mr. Moore. I found it through your Twitter account while posting an article of my own about “Paranorman.” It sounds like I appreciate many of the same things you do about the film. It’s a film that doesn’t irresponsibly demonize anyone. That’s why I especially appreciate it as a children’s film. It doesn’t pretend that the world is a black and white place filled with easy answers. There’s a lot of gray. The enemies aren’t the monsters; the enemy of the film is ignorance of the “other.” It may, in fact, be “othering” itself. That’s why I think it’s a little dangerous to start using terms like “us” and “them” when referring to Christians and non-Christians? Liberals? Hollywood? I can assure you that Hollywood is overwhelmingly “liberal” just as my home state of Texas is overwhelmingly “conservative”. Both have their share of extremely kind, generous people and both have a large amount of stubborn ignorance unwilling to struggle with this morally gray world we find ourselves in.
Like you wisely pointed out, let’s start having more conversations with our neighbors instead of eavesdropping on the “other.”