By Judi McLeod ——Bio and Archives--December 23, 2019
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“Netflix could scarcely have picked a more controversial plot for its latest thriller, about a mysterious religious leader who emerges in the Middle East and is pursued across the globe by the CIA.”
"Yes it's provocative -- the show is provocative,". "But provocative isn't offensive.”Who would ever guess?
"Messiah," out January 1, imagines how modern society would react if such a figure appeared, spreading his message rapidly via social media in a world grappling with "fake news" and breathless 24-hour bulletins. (AFP) “The question of whether the character -- played by Belgian actor Mehdi Dehbi -- is the genuine Messiah, a nefarious political agent or simply a trickster is at the heart of the show's premise. “Petroni admits Netflix were "nervous" when he came to them with his idea. "It was such an audacious concept, you know?" he said. "You read the pilot, this guy is going to march 2,000 Palestinian Syrians across the border of Israel.” “That concept included building, at considerable expense, a scale replica of part of Temple Mount including the sacred Dome of the Rock, from where Muslims believe the prophet Mohammed ascended to heaven.
“Filming at the iconic site was never a remote possibility -- particularly given the violent nature of the scene in the show's second episode. “But Petroni insists the show "doesn't set out to offend anyone." "It's not like I'm welcoming backlash," he added. "We expect that there's going to be a lot of noise around the show, and a lot of debate. I'm hoping for debate.” “A Change.org petition has already been launched calling for a boycott of the show, describing it as "evil and anti-Islamic propaganda.”Nothing about insulting the ideal of the Messiah held by world-wide Christians, smack dab in the middle of this year’s Christmas Season. Hard to believe that two of ‘Messiah’s’ producers, husband and wife team Mark Burnett and Roma Downey, can claim a background in Christian faith-based programming. What could possibly be Christian about the notion of replacing Christ as the Messiah?
““To some people—not the least of them the hugely popular Glenn Beck—Mohamen Mehdi Ouazanni, who played Satan, and Obama were “exact” lookalikes, undoubtedly one of the main reasons why the controversy about Obama and the Bible miniseries devil got to go viral from the get-go. (Canada Free Press, Feb. 18, 2014) “Anyone else think the devil in #TheBible Sunday on History Channel looks exactly like That Guy?” Beck tweeted on Sunday, March 16th, 2013. “By March 19, 2013, Beck was trying to “relax” media “hyperventilating” over the supposed Obama-Satan lookalike, saying the Sunday night Tweet he had sent out had been all in fun, “not an indictment”.” (The Blaze, March 19, 2013) “There was nothing wrong with Beck’s eyesight as Ouazanni and Obama—or at least the way Ouazanni was made up for his role in The Bible—did share an eerie resemblance, attested to by the thousands of commenters that followed the Beck Tweet. (Canada Free Press) “The “controversy” which made Downey and Burnett eager to avoid another one about the devil looking like the president in the upcoming movie Son of God didn’t seem to bother either party when The Bible miniseries was in demand by churches last Easter because On March 18, Obama personally congratulated Downey at the White House.
“Downey met with the president and first lady at the White House on Monday. She said the Obamas were thankful that the show has “engaged the country in a conversation about the Bible”. (AP, March 19, 2013) “The actress, who plays Mary the mother of the adult Jesus, in the miniseries, said she was upset that some people claimed the actor who played Satan looked like the president. She dismissed that as “nonsense” and a distraction. “Both Mark and I have nothing but respect and love (for) our President, who is a fellow Christian,” Downey said. “False statements such as these are just designed as a foolish distraction to try and discredit the beauty of the story of the Bible.” “How’s that? People who thought the devil in the miniseries was a dead ringer for Obama were trying to “discredit the beauty of the story of the Bible”? “Flash forward to a year later and the devil, now that he’s had his long-lasting debut, is on the cutting room floor. “It gives me great pleasure to tell you that the devil is on the cutting-room floor. This is now a movie about Jesus, the son of God, and the devil gets no more screen time,” said Roma Downey, who produced the movie with her husband Mark Burnett. (Hollywoodreporter.com, Feb. 17, 2014)
“She added: “For our movie, Son of God, I wanted all of the focus to be on Jesus. I want his name to be on the lips of everyone who sees this movie, so we cast Satan out. It gives me great pleasure to tell you that the devil is on the cutting-room floor.” “Hype notwithstanding, movies are only movies and miniseries only miniseries. True Christians know the blessed and revered Name of the One who could cast out the devil in the desert and drive him away. “Meanwhile, for some, leaving the devil on the cutting-room floor after a year-long of publicity just doesn’t cut it.“Downey says the ratings suggest that 68 million people have viewed the episodes shown on the “History” and “Lifetime” channels so far this month, with the final episodes coming up the next two Sundays - Palm Sunday and Easter. (Canada Free Press, March 20, 2013)
“She also thinks it’s God’s timing that “The Bible” is being shown as the seating of a new pope in Rome has people thinking about faith.” (AP, March 19, 2013).Meanwhile, “Fellow Christian” Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle are over at Netflix turning out ‘documentaries’; Mark Burnett and Roma Downey, are also there, having produced ‘Messiah’. Even though Satan would claim otherwise, Jesus Christ, King of Kings, is The Messiah.
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