 |
| picture by Melissa Tregilgas |
I’m writing about “The
Sound of Freedom” and first I want to put down some facts about the movie
which I admit I have not seen. And then I intend to point to one particular
serious problem with the whole enterprise. It is a problem that is so serious
that it is possible to lead many Christians away from the seriousness of child
sexual abuse and send them toward a damnable ideology.
The first fact is that this movie is about a
horrendous and grievous subject, human trafficking and in particular the
trafficking of children. A subject we should all care about, seeking God’s
mercy and help.
Secondly most writers who disparage the movie at least
admit that it does not draw on conspiracy theories to fill out the plot. Rather
it is somewhat of an action movie portraying the work of Tim Ballard and his
organization Operation Underground Railroad as they rescue children in South
America.
Third fact Tim Ballard is a devout Latter Day Saint
(Mormon) who speaks of his faith. On a LDS video he quotes from the Book of
Mormon a verse he says has helped him in a time of fear, Alma chapter 58, verse
eleven. [1]
The fourth fact, the actor who plays Tim Ballard, Jim Caviezel,
is a devout Christian, a Roman Catholic. In many interviews he speaks of loving
Jesus and even of Jesus’ return. But here lies the problem possibly tied to an
extreme naivety.
Caviezel has promoted the movie on many far right and
even QAnon platforms including Steve Bannon’s War Room, and he promotes many
awful conspiracy theories in the process.
Caviezel
believes the conspiracy theory that many elites torture and kill children to
drain their blood to obtain what is called adrenochrome which supposedly (but
not really) gives youth to those who use it.[2] He states that such officials
as the CIA and FBI are the main perpetrators of child trafficking. He insists
that barrels of children’s body parts and blood are going to bio-labs in
Ukraine thus implicating Ukrainian officials in the crime.[3] Accusations of child stealing to obtain their
blood is an ancient conspiracy theory used against the Jews. And that old anti-Semite ruse, the use of bankers,
mainly the Rothschild’s, Caviezel names as those who are involved in child
trafficking.
Many Christians and others who consider themselves
patriots seeing the actor who played Jesus in The Passion of the Christ and now plays a heroic man rescuing children
in the jungles of South America will without thinking believe such horrid lies.
This is what happened to too many Germans during the Nazi years. They excused
and followed monsters because they believed the stories that the Jews were
destroying their nation, their families and their culture. Today people are
being asked to believe that many in Hollywood, the FBI, CIA, DOJ, and Democrats
are stealing children, raping, torturing, and killing them for their blood.
This is not to say that there isn’t a terrible plague of
human trafficking, there is, and there are people and organizations working
against this crime. They understand that human greed and lust are the
motivating factors in such sins. Some of the organizations are Child Rescue Coalition, The Tim Tebow Foundation Lantern Rescue Hug Project,
and National Child Protection Force.
The person who follows the conspiracies touted by
Caviezel may finally attempt to solve these problems, which are based on lies,
by political means and/or violence. That is what happened with the incident
called Pizza/gate. Some conspiracy advocates kept insisting that there was a
pizza parlor in Washington D.C. where elite democrats (The Clintons for one)
were holding children, torturing and killing them for their blood. One man
hearing this was so incensed he went there with a rifle meaning to rescue
children. As it turned out there were no kidnaped children and although shots were
fired no one was hurt. The man was sentenced to prison.
In a recent blog posting entitled We cannot promote conspiracies and still be
prepared to speak of the one who is Truth.I wrote, “We
cannot promote conspiracies and still be prepared to speak of the one who is
Truth. We cannot major in our own particular ideology over the truth of the
triune God of the Bible. Our urgency, if we are faithful, whether apologist or
simply follower of Jesus, must be to clear away the rubbish of false doctrine
which includes conspiracies. It is to make the path clear so that others can
freely rejoice in Truth as they submit to the Lordship of Christ.” Our children
are in trouble—they need us to major in truth and in their safety.
[2] For
a very complete history and details about adrenochrome see, QAnon’s
Adrenochrome Quackery | Office for Science and Society - McGill University.
Good post, Viola.
ReplyDeleteI used to be annoyed by the repetitive use of the word "Truth" and all it's derivatives in the Gospel of John. But in the last few years I have come to appreciate that John must have been struggling with the same issues of Truth and Lies we are facing today.
I have come to see the Gospel of John in a whole different Light.
Jodie