Calvinist Minister & Unitarian Universalist Minister Discuss “Pleasantville” Film

Over at the online “Midland Daily News,” we find a Unitarian-Universalist “Pastor” championing the Hollywood film “Pleasantville”

http://www.ourmidland.com/blogs/truth-and-meaning-top-s/article_06ee8e6e-3f5b-11e5-a1fc-273dc9d9af0b.html

In this piece Unitarian Universal Pastor Jeff (UUPJ) says,

“There are many layers to the movie and it certainly has relevance to many social issues facing us today. But perhaps most relevant is the way the people of Pleasantville speak. They speak, as one would expect, pleasantly. They never speak of unpleasant things and they always speak with the authority that their way of living is the one and only way to live. When new ideas get introduced into the community, they are first ignored, then shunned, until they are finally met with agitation and violence.

Sadly, it seems that much of America lives in Pleasantville. Many people assume that there is only one acceptable way to be in our country. And those who choose to be different are labeled communists, their lifestyle called unnatural, their ideas considered immoral. Take, for instance, the never-ending stream of letters to the Daily News from a handful of local residents who unceasingly tell us that their religion is the one and only true faith. To believe any other way is sinful and the punishment is an eternity in flames.

These are the black and white voices of Pleasantville. No compromises, no exceptions, no desire to examine facts or evidence or context. The scary thing is that while Pleasantville looks pleasant on the outside, on the inside it is a rotting, cancerous tumor of racism, homophobia, misogyny, violence and fear-mongering. And the only thing that can cure Pleasantville is the introduction of color.

Whether color means art, or books, behaviors, or vistas beyond the town borders, we must diversify or die. We must appreciate and embrace difference or risk dying of irrelevance and rigid creedalism. We must accept that everyone is not like us, and that that is OK.

What follows is my response,

Jeff,

So, you’re saying that those who have one pleasant way are not acceptable to your own one pleasent way? You, as Mr. Tolerance, can not tolerate those you deem intolerant? Contradiction much Jeff?

You complain about “black and white voices” UUPJ, yet it looks to be pretty black and white when UUPJ tells me that either I am an arcane Pleasentville voice or he is a reasonable Unitarian Universalist voice.

 Unitrian Jeff complains of creedalism yet he screams here a rigid creedal cry for the change that demands homophilia, feminism, cultural marxism and other cancerous tumors — the very change advocated for in this film that UUPJ is pushing.

Is it acceptable that I’m not
like you UUPJ or  must I fit into your creedal vision of a monocultural world that only allows for the perverted, the outlaw, and the sociopath such is touted in this film you advocate?

 Are you saying that those who have a different “pleasant way” are not acceptable to your own one pleasant way? You, as Mr. Tolerance, can not tolerate those you deem intolerant? Contradiction much Jeff?

 UUPJ complains of black and white voices, yet it looks to be pretty black and white when Unitarian Jeff tells me that either I am an arcane Pleasentville voice or he is a reasonable Unitarian Universalist voice.

Unitrian Jeff complains of creedalism yet he screams here a rigid creedal cry for the change that demands homophilia, feminism, cultural marxism and other cancerous tumors.

Is it acceptable that I’m not
like you Jeff or must I fit into your creedal vision of a monocultural world that only allows for the perverted, the outlaw, and the sociopath — the world of Pleasantville “colorized”?

UUPJ recommends a homework assignment for his readers. He recommends them to go view “Pleasantville.” Allow mt to offer my own homework assignment.

I recocmmend you read E. Michael Jones “Libido Dominandi,” or Jones’ “Monsters from the Id” and see just what kind of culture for which Unitarian Jeff is thumping. Take a look at the Weimar Republic and examine the exquisite diversity that Unitarian Jeff desires to come to pass. These books take a look at the true nature of the colorized Plesantville UUPJ desires that we embrace.

UUPJ  deserves to be listened to the way a spoon deserves to be used as a razor.


UUPJ then writes back offering,

Bret,

I don’t waste my time rebutting ridiculous arguments. Your post (or should I say rant) had nothing to do with my blog posting and everything to do with your paranoia and obvious lack of knowledge about Unitarian Universalism. If you offer an actual argument worth rebutting, then I will be happy to engage in an adult conversation.

I close off with going into more detail about the film itself,

Jeff Liebmann,
 
I said exactly nothing about your U.U.-ism except to note you are Unitarian Jeff. So, why you keep harping that I don’t understand U. U.-ism is quite beside any point I originally sought to make. Classic technique, on your part here  of pointing and spluttering about something completely irrelevant. This is done in order to detract from my original points.
 
The point I made implicitly, is a point I’ll make explicitly now. You are a cultural Marxist promoting a movie that pushes the cultural Marxist agenda. I’ve seen “Pleasantville.” I even viewed it twice because I was astonished at how the film-makers were going out of their way to caricature culture that is influenced by Christianity.
 
In your “Pleasantville” movie one of the main means (though not the only means) by which color vivifies black and white existence is by perversion and what used to be known as “sin.” Sin, therefore brings color and color is better. The film goes so far as to champion cultural Marxism that in one scene you find the Garden of Eden scene played out in the film as a young woman shows a brightly colored apple to a young (and yet uncolored) David, encouraging him to take and eat it. As the film progresss the black and white citizens of Pleasantville become full of color when they engage in such things as masturbation, adultery, premarital sex, or physical assault. For the cultural Marxist creators of Pleasantville “the fall” in Pleasantville that they create in their film reality is “very good.”
 
In this film one finds the usual Liberal-Marxist brain dead tropes on racism and the abuse of women that Christian culture supposedly always brings. One also finds the typical Cultural Marxist sneer that Christians are brain dead idiots who wouldn’t know a book if it bit them in the ass. Pleasantville is one tired Marxist cliche after another trotted out by ignoramuses in order to smear Christians, Christian culture, and the Christian faith
 
And here, in the “Midland Daily News,” we find Unitarian Jeff thumping for it as a great film.
 
Men like you Unitarian Jeff are going to have a great deal to answer for someday.

Author: jetbrane

I am a Pastor of a small Church in Mid-Michigan who delights in my family, my congregation and my calling. I am postmillennial in my eschatology. Paedo-Calvinist Covenantal in my Christianity Reformed in my Soteriology Presuppositional in my apologetics Familialist in my family theology Agrarian in my regional community social order belief Christianity creates culture and so Christendom in my national social order belief Mythic-Poetic / Grammatical Historical in my Hermeneutic Pre-modern, Medieval, & Feudal before Enlightenment, modernity, & postmodern Reconstructionist / Theonomic in my Worldview One part paleo-conservative / one part micro Libertarian in my politics Systematic and Biblical theology need one another but Systematics has pride of place Some of my favorite authors, Augustine, Turretin, Calvin, Tolkien, Chesterton, Nock, Tozer, Dabney, Bavinck, Wodehouse, Rushdoony, Bahnsen, Schaeffer, C. Van Til, H. Van Til, G. H. Clark, C. Dawson, H. Berman, R. Nash, C. G. Singer, R. Kipling, G. North, J. Edwards, S. Foote, F. Hayek, O. Guiness, J. Witte, M. Rothbard, Clyde Wilson, Mencken, Lasch, Postman, Gatto, T. Boston, Thomas Brooks, Terry Brooks, C. Hodge, J. Calhoun, Llyod-Jones, T. Sowell, A. McClaren, M. Muggeridge, C. F. H. Henry, F. Swarz, M. Henry, G. Marten, P. Schaff, T. S. Elliott, K. Van Hoozer, K. Gentry, etc. My passion is to write in such a way that the Lord Christ might be pleased. It is my hope that people will be challenged to reconsider what are considered the givens of the current culture. Your biggest help to me dear reader will be to often remind me that God is Sovereign and that all that is, is because it pleases him.

4 thoughts on “Calvinist Minister & Unitarian Universalist Minister Discuss “Pleasantville” Film”

  1. Please feel free to continue to make comments on Jeff’s commentary once a week. I thoroughly enjoy it. He and his minions, that hide behind made up facebook monikers, attempt to bully anyone that doesn’t agree with their deeply liberal propaganda. Preach on!

  2. Read it, liked it. Am I wrong in thinking that this is a person who thinks the serpent did us a great big fat favor by helping us understand how grand our lives would be if only we would ignore what God told us and have a try at the forbidden fruit?

    1. Thom,

      Absolutely, they think that though they would likely not put it so explicitly.

      Plus… I doubt that they really believe the Fall account to be true history.

  3. Pleasantville is coming out.
    Humans natured naturally,
    Honesty they talk about.
    Publicized their privacy.

    Censoring their only script,
    Self direction they declare,
    Actors steady twitch and flip,
    Spectacles they stage down there.

    Deviancy they explore,
    Standing there upon their head,
    Earth is sky and sky is floor,
    Labeled there the living dead.

    Rainbow as religion sold,
    New improved forbidden fruit,
    Serpentine the lie’s retold,
    Half way house of ill repute.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *