From an article titled, "Portrait of a Radical", written by Dr. Edwards McNulty for Visual Parables - March 2003

"If you are honest about the content of Jesus/ teaching and the context of His teaching, He's undercutting almost every normal expectation of what religion is supposed to be."

This quotation well summarizes the approach of filmmaker Dikran Janus Kadagian to Jesus in his fascinating documentary, the first of a four-part series on materialism in America.  This insight into Jesus and his teachings will be familiar to social activist pastors and scholars, but probably not to the persons on the other side of the pulpit on Sundays.  Indeed, Thoreau once said that few church goers understood the teachings of Jesus, and if they did, they would tear down their church buildings brick by brick.  I think he would have liked this film very much.

The film is divided into an introduction and 14 parts, each of the latter examining a Scripture passage revealing how radical Jesus/ teachings are, or how subversive his actions were to the religious and political leaders of his day.  For instance, the film points out that the Romans would have been just as threatened by Jesus/ values as the Jewish leaders.

The film technique is superb, cutting back and forth between three engaging scholars - Huston Smith, Richard Rohr and Allen Dwight Callahan - and well chosen paintings, mosaics and scenes shot in Palestine.  The photography is superb and the quick-paced editing keeps the eye busy - thus this is not another "talking head" video.  After establishing who is talking, the camera switches to the images of art works, camel caravans, etc.

The 14 Scripture passages examined make this easy for using the film in a class setting - or for those fortunate to have a sanctuary video system, as part of a worship service, the segments being only about 1 to 3 or 4 minutes long.  But don't mistake their brevity for shallowness - the comments of the scholars on the passages are insightful and provocative, certain to give viewers second thoughts about unexamined beliefs concerning Jesus and what it means to follow him.  Pastors who largely support the status quo - support our country in peace and war; be "nice" to others; etc. - might be uncomfortable with the film, which would be all to the good.  A fine film to use during the Lenten season!