Charles Heston: Give the Gift of Faith to a Young Mind

Nobody’s Opinion

Right now, in the living room, my husband is recording the original Ten Commandments. It was the first movie that I ever saw on the big screen. I was almost five, and I remember being about three rows from the front in what seemed to me, to be the biggest theater in the world. The fact was, back then, Naples, FL, had less than 8,000 people and it was the only movie theater in town.

It was probably pretty small.

My older brother went with me of course, and I have no idea where my parents were….they figured my older brother could watch me. His way of watching was to sit me in the front row, and then, he would take off to find a seat next to the nearest pretty girl he could find. They had already seen it, and so, being short of money, they just bought tickets for their children.  They sat outside in the parking lot waiting for us. Or so my mother said.

I won’t tell you the impact that movie made upon my heart— my soul. Upon seeing Charles Heston part the Red Sea, I was more than overwhelmed. I believed in God, and Moses…and that seed is still there. The power of that movie affected the rest of my life.

As for the church…that’s another blog.

I suppose, because I saw the Ten Commandments FIRST, it really is the reason why I have always judged churches with skeptical reverence. When I was told in Sunday school that you have to go though Jesus to even GET to God, I thought…well heck, that’s not what Moses said.

Laugh if you want, but in my mind, it was that simple. Maybe I’m a Jew, but don’t know it. (ha)

Because I happen to believe that whatever religion is pushed into the young malleable mind will stay there forever—I could have told George W. Bush that trying to change the Muslims into a democracy is a crazy idea. Christianity is based upon the individual seeking his own course. Islam, is obey, or die. I don’t know what they tell their five year old— but its enough to make them believe that if they kill infidels on earth, it’s a good thing. Not exactly the “Turn the other cheek” message.

Muhammad, came AFTER Jesus. From what I can tell about what I’ve read about Muhammad…he figured out that if Jesus could claim that Gabriel had come down and told him he was special, why not try it? He stole the line of “Gabriel the angel has come to me..and I am god’s true son.”  —but unlike Jesus, he was just another neighborhood crime lord.

Okay, I wasn’t there, and it’s more complicated that and—- I’m off subject

Yesterday, on Easter,  my husband and I watched Ben-Hur, with Charles Heston. You can watch all the movies made since Ben-Hur, that describe Jesus’ life, but none of them even come close. There are many reasons for this…for instance in Ben- Hur, they never ever show Jesus’ face.

You don’t even see Jesus talk.  The movie is about faith. And tyranny. And the cruelty of man. You must paint your own faith into that story. It’s brilliant, and respectful, and really the best way to present Jesus.  But, that’s just my opinion.   The power of the human imagination is always more powerful than someone’s artistic idea.

And I remember thinking how lovingly the old people in the movie were revered, and treasured. Wouldn’t it be nice if in our culture of today, old people were treated with more kindness?

(sigh.)

Watching Ben-Hur today, reminded me how Charles Heston really has played such a big part in my own life, my own morality. First the Ten Commandments. And then years later, when I was first starting to awake to the madness of Bill Clinton’s corruptible presidency, I heard Charles Heston on the radio, one day while I was driving to St. .Charles, MO.   IT was …a “I’ve been hit by lighting” moment.

All the pain that I have been feeling about my country changing, disappearing, right before my eyes, came out in his words. I could not stop crying. The truth of his words cut so deeply into my heart, it wasn’t too much later that I started blogging. OMG…here’s a man who just blurted out the truth! The truth we are all told is not happening. I was so moved, I wrote him a letter.

(And yes, he answered back.)

The truth is, Charles Heston was more than a magnificent actor, he was a hero of a man. Every  movie he picked to do, represented truths he wanted to convey.

( Unlike the movie stars of today making big money at films where they kill with guns every other scene and play heroes…and then come out and say…”Nobody should own or SHOOT a gun. Hey, it’s just a movie.”

Charles Heston back when Clinton was President, was one of the few to speak out against the madness of the left;

In a 1997 speech called Fighting the Culture War in America, Heston rhetorically deplored a culture war he said was being conducted by a generation of media people, educators, entertainers, and politicians against:

...the God fearing, law-abiding, Caucasian, middle-class Protestant – or even worse, evangelical Christian, Midwestern or Southern – or even worse, rural, apparently straight – or even worse, admitted heterosexuals, gun-owning – or even worse, NRA-card-carrying, average working stiff – or even worse, male working stiff – because, not only don’t you count, you are a down-right obstacle to social progress. Your voice deserves a lower decibel level, your opinion is less enlightened, your media access is insignificant; and frankly, mister, you need to wake up, wise up, and learn a little something from your new America; and until you do, would you mind shutting up?

He went on:

The Constitution was handed down to guide us by a bunch of wise old dead white guys who invented our country! Now some flinch when I say that. Why! It’s true-they were white guys! So were most of the guys that died in Lincoln‘s name opposing slavery in the 1860s. So why should I be ashamed of white guys? Why is “Hispanic Pride” or “Black Pride” a good thing, while “White Pride” conjures shaven heads and white hoods? Why was the Million Man March on Washington celebrated by many as progress, while the Promise Keepers March on Washington was greeted with suspicion and ridicule? I’ll tell you why: Cultural warfare!

Charles Heston saw the hypocrisy, and the lies, and the evil of the liberal left.

And his speech on the radio that day, made me feel, that I was not alone. I cried when I heard him speak the truth on the radio.

He never did it again.

If only he had……..

What we are learning then, and now, is that Jesus came at a time in history, when the poor men were beaten down by an all too powerful Roman empire. Jesus gave the world sanctuary. He gave them hope. Whether you think he is the son of God or not, he gave the world…a sensible way to deal with tyranny. A way to react to the madness–a way back to God.

It was a message I needed to hear again today, in this world where we have a president who remains silent at the slaughter of Christians and Jews happening again, all over the world.

And if I ever have a grandchild, the very first movie I am sitting with them to see…

Can you guess?

April 5, 2015 - Posted by Joyanna Adams | American Culture, Uncategorized | Charles Heston, religion, the left