DOGMA

There is a new movie at the theaters now (November 12, 1999) that is totally different. The movie is a satire on organized religion. 
If there is an overall theme to the movie DOGMA, it has to be "Do not mess with the laws of God". But the real interest is the movie's discussion of the difference between the concept of "faith" and "belief'.
The plot to this movie involves two fallen angels who have been stuck on earth for 2000 years (read 20 which is the number of redemption times ten squared or 100 which is the law) seeking redemption and the ability to get back into heaven in spite of their banishment by God for breaking His laws of not carrying out their assignments.
The angels are Loki played by Matt Damon, and Bartleby played by Ben Affleck. Loki is the angel of death. His job is to carry out God's orders for destruction. His works supposedly include the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Bartleby is a more peace loving angel. In fact, that is the nature of their problem. Bartleby talked Loki into rejecting his assignments to carry out God's orders to destroy bad people. Bartleby is of the opinion that there should be peace and no destruction. Therefore, Loki and Bartleby were punished by being stuck on earth and being denied the ability to access heaven.
The movie plot is very simple. Loki and Bartleby are in Wisconsin. They read an article in the newspaper where a Cardinal of the Catholic Church in New Jersey (named Cardinal Glick and played by George Carlin) has decreed that a day would be set aside to dedicate an arch in an old church in New Jersey. And that whoever would go through that arch on that day, their sins would be forgiven. If the angels were to turn human, go through the arch on that day, and then die, with their sins being forgiven, they would have to be let into heaven and they would solve their problem of being banished forever.
The plot seems simple enough. The problem is that there is plotting and scheming in the background by both the spiritual and human forces of good and evil. This makes the story very complex and very funny. The net effect is based upon the logic of what the angels are trying to accomplish. There are two conflicting principals of law here. One is that whatever it is that God has decreed is presumed to be right and just and must be carried out. Therefore the angels should be banished forever. The second principal is based upon the text of Matthew in which Christ said: "Whatever is decree on earth is decreed in heaven". It would appear, at least according to the angels interpretation, that since a Cardinal" of the Catholic Church on earth decreed that passing through the arch of this rededicated church would forgive sins, then if the two angels proceeded to act out the earthly decree, then Heaven would have to also forgive their sins and let them back in. In short, the decree for a procedural remedy by Cardinal Glick would set aside God's direct decree against the angels.
There is a logical problem with the two principals. Can one principal be used to nullify or overcome another principal and thereby defeat the Word of God? If this happens, then is God fallible and a liar? If this happens, then is God in fact God? If He is not, then the whole creation is in jeopardy, so to speak, and the actions of the angels might jeopardize the whole creation causing the destruction of the universe. Golly. This makes the James Bond movie "The World is not Enough" irrelevant. There may be no world. But the real question is: "Does the Corporate Church on earth have the delegation of authority to supersede an order of God?" Or in a larger pattern, does the "beliefs" of the church or man or angels for that matter, overcome the Word of God? And what is the relationship of "beliefs" to the concept of "faith"?
Stepping into the picture are the good guys. At least I think they are the good guys. First there is Metatron, a Seraphim angel who is the "Voice of God" to men on earth. An angel needs to be the voice of God because if men hear God's real voice, it is so powerful that it will kill mankind. It is stated in the movie that God went through five Adam's (the first four were killed by His voice) before the spiritual world learned this. Naturally, the voice of God is a "British" sounding individual. (Doesn't this make sense in light of the fact that the British have "ruled" the world in their front position as the creditors for the last 210 years? And doesn't this also make sense since the British have impersonated the Judah Kings by crowning their kings and queens over the Coronation Stone that is believed to be the stone of Judah.) The Voice of God is played by actor Alan Rickman.
The second good guy is Rufus. He is played by Chris Rock and is supposed to be the thirteenth Apostle. Naturally he is dead, but he is back to help the good guys save the planet. The third good guy is played by Salma Hayek. She plays Serendipity, a Muse of creative inspiration. Of course she happens to be working for the time being in a strip bar.
The important good guy is the savior of the world. This part is set aside for Linda Fiorentino who plays Bethany. Bethany is a woman who is one of the supposed last descendants of Christ. She lives in Wisconsin and goes to Catholic Church on the weekend. However, she does not go there to hear the word of God. She likes the peace and quiet and usually does her nails. That is because she says that there is no substance in the message spoken in church any more. She admits that she is having a "faith" problem and needs to find it. She is a "right to lifer" and works in an abortion clinic. She has been chosen among mankind to go to New Jersey and to stop the angels from carrying out their plan to overcome God's order banning them from heaven. Bethany is to be assisted in her endeavors to save the world by two prophets. These two prophets, named Jay and Silent Bob, are played by Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith (who is also the writer and director of the movie).
Eventually, God does have to come into the picture to save the day. God is conveniently played by Alanis Morissette. The universe is saved, evil is put down, and the good people win. What a story.
Everything in this movie is backwards. The good guys mostly act like they come from improbable bad guy backgrounds. The bad guys seem to be mostly the "normal people" who ordinarily would be deemed the good guys. The so called good guys sometimes speak in foul words and have seemingly narrow self indulgent motives and goals. Even Bethany is not a goody two shoes like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. She is a lost person who is having a faith crisis and is not sure that she wants the role of world savior or to be redeemed. This is in marked contrast to the plan of the two angels.
The word "dogma" means: "A settled opinion; a principle, maxim or tenet; a doctrinal notion, particularly in matters of faith and philosophy; as the dogmas of the church; the dogmas of Plato." The word comes from the Greek and means "to think". This movie does make one think
in addition to entertaining you. So a "dogma" is a set of "belief' patterns. But whose "beliefs" are these? Are they the given doctrine of some institution? If they are, then where did they come from? Who verified these "belief' patterns? Are these in contradistinction to the concept of "faith"? Faith comes from the Word of God and not from mankind. Beliefs come from mankind and become the basis of a doctrine or institutionalized religion.
The word "dogma", if it appears backwards as in a mirror says: "Am God". One name for God in the Scriptures is: "I Am". So if "Am God" is on one side of the mirror, then the other side says "dogma". Then the phrase "dogma" represents one who is attempting to imitate God. Then the "dogmas" are man's belief patterns which man sets up to convince himself that they are God's Word. Man is then practicing the laws of man's own creation and attributing it to God. This is what the movie DOGMA is ridiculing in its attack on the corporate church. Faith is in contradistinction to the "dogmas" in that faith is what one possesses in the direct Word of God. The unlikely heroes in the movie are heroes because they rely upon the Word of God and not on the dogmas of man.
DOGMA is another movie that directly attacks the concept (or the dogma or belief or tenet) that the corporate Christian Church (and the Catholic Church in particular) is the leader in the march toward perfecting God's will on earth. DOGMA uses humor, satire, and ridicule as a weapon in its attack. The movie shown earlier this year named STIGMA TA brought the same attack upon the corporate church, but that attack was centered in heavy drama as a medium.
In DOGMA, Cardinal Glick plays no role in the saving of the world. He merely plays the role of allowing the "forum" of the church's "dogmas" (or belief patterns-so to speak) to position the world into a dangerous game played between the forces of good and evil in the spiritual world and the world of mankind. It is the acts and actions of people who have faith in the Word of God as it comes to them in the movie, and do not follow the "belief' patterns of the corporate church who are leaned upon to try to save the day for God.