Paulist Productions

Protestant commentators in the film segments present the romantic notion of Latin American Protestant Evangelicals relating "directly" to Jesus when in actuality, no matter how sensational the displays of emotionalism, these Evangelicals are relating through various mediums of indoctrination and religious culture brought to them by Pentecostals, Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians and many other sects. The non-verbalized implication is that only Protestants have a relationship with Jesus and Orthodox and Roman Catholics can only relate to Jesus through church hierarchy. It's high time that this Protestant mythos of spiritual exclusivity be debunked by attending to the history of Protestant indoctrination and acculturation instead of believing in the myth of Jesus revealing himself "directly" to Protestants without the mediation of proselytizing missionaries, each with his own peculiar set of doctrines and dramatized expression. Surely, there are cultural variations present whenever religion passes from one culture to another and such variations are also certainly found when Orthodox Christianity or Roman Catholicism crosses cultural borders and becomes embodied in new people groups. The film segments present the importance of individualism, idealism, emotionalism, and sectarianism in the religions of the Americas along with the importance of cultural and communal sensitivity in the work of evangelism in African and Asian societies. The Egyptian and Ethiopian Orthodox churches are without mention as are also the Korean Orthodox Church and the Orthodox Churches of Alaska.… (mere)

The organization and presentation of this documentary tends to lead the viewer into the mistaken view that the various, sometimes conflicting forms of Christian religion are simply variegated cultural expressions of one Christian faith. Such a simplified understanding is mistaken. Conflicting doctrines cannot be expressions of one faith. If the Christian Faith is One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic, it cannot remain one while teaching doctrines opposed to the teachings of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. The documentary tends to downplay the doctrinal disunity existing between these various forms of religion all claiming to be under the banner of Christianity. As Orthodox Christians, we recognize the importance of all speaking the same thing, as the Apostle Paul commanded the Corinthian Christians to do. Yet, the unity of the Spirit--an authentic, personal experience of Christ through the sacramental prayer life of the Church--is much deeper and more fundamental than doctrinal conformity. Doctrinal unity will certainly be the fruit of such an Orthodox spiritual experience, but doctrinal conformity can never replace the deeper value of an authentic Orthodox experience of God. Although we can recognize doctrinal error in other groups, we ought always to remind ourselves that despite these errors, the Holy Spirit is, nevertheless, working in the hearts of those within these groups. True miracles and true movement toward Christ and the Orthodox Way may occur in the name of Christ among such people. Perhaps, we ought, in some way, to take an approach similar to the approach of this documentary, not outright condemning other religious groups simply because they are not Orthodox, but encouraging and training such people by acknowledging the good among them while showing them a more excellent way, not only in word, but in deed and in truth.… (mere)