Freek L. Bakker

Shanti Sandesham, a New Jesus Film Produced in India: Indian Christology in Pictures

Since the middle of the 1970s at least three Jesus films have been released in India, the last one in 2004. This article offers an analysis of the two most circulating movies, KARUNA MAYUDU and SHANTI SANDESHAM. First, the focus is on the contents of the movies and the measure in which they reflect the contents of the gospels. Then attention is paid to their affinity with the Indian context and with the so-called Bollywood films. Finally the Christologies of these films are discussed and analysed. KARUNA MAYUDU seems to stand nearer to the gospels, but SHANTI SANDESHAM has a certain affinity with dalit theology.

The Image of Jesus Christ in the Jesus Films Used in Missionary Work

This article starts with a short introduction to the history of films about Jesus Christ. These were already produced in 1897, within two years of the first ever showing of any film. At first the churches seemed to react positively, but later their attitude reversed. Later yet the churches changed their minds again. Since 1979 the concept of translating the gospel into film language gained an increasing adherence. The theological portraits of Jesus in the two films most used in missions and missionary work are analysed. Furthermore the impact of these films is dealt with.

Comparing the Golden Rule in Hindu and Christian Religious Texts

This article compares the oldest Hindu versions of the Golden Rule found in the Mahabharata with those in the gospels. What may the Hindu texts, which usually receive little attention, contribute to the understanding of the New Testament renditions? Methodologically the article draws from Clooney’s Comparative Theology and Moyaert’s approach of hermeneutical hospitality. In the Hindu texts the rule is understood in terms of ahimsa (non-violence). This seems to be close to Luke’s version, in which the maxim is closely connected with the appeal to love one’s enemies. The Mahabharata, however, reveals also the maxim’s potency to use reciprocity as a strategy for making peace. So, the reciprocity stressed in Matthew is also important.

The image of Muhammad in The Message, the first and only feature film about the prophet of Islam

Abstract In 1976 The Message, the first feature film about Muhammad, had its premiere. It was a very special film because as a result of the restrictions imposed by some prominent Muslim legal scholars, the Prophet was not depicted, nor his wives nor his cousin cAlī. After an analytical impression of the contents of the film, the article discusses the relationship between the image of Muhammad in The Message and the pictures of the Prophet delineated by Muslim tradition and modern biographies of him. It then considers some new declarations made by Muslim religious authorities in 2002 and 2004 about films dealing with the life of the Prophet. Finally attention is given to the consequences of the rules announced by Muslim religious scholars concerning the image of the Prophet and to the acceptance of such an image by non-Muslims.

The Birth of Jesus and Rama in Christian and Hindu Sacred Texts: An Exercise in New Comparative Theology

One of the most popular Christian holy days is Christmas, the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Less well known, at least in the Western world, may be the Hindu festival of Ramnavmi, the celebration of the birth of Lord Rama. The central text of Christmas is Luke 2, which narrates the birth of Jesus while placing him in a certain context. The great text of Ramnavmi is the Ramcaritmanas, from which many verses are read during the ceremonies. The Ramcaritmanas is a Hindi version of the Sanskrit Ramayana epic and includes the birth story of Rama and his brothers.This article presents English translations of the texts narrating the births of Jesus and Rama, analyses these texts and compares their contents and finally draw some conclusions regarding the concept of incarnation found in these texts.

Intercultural Perspectives on DAS RADIKAL BÖSE and THE ACT OF KILLING

This article offers a close reading of Das radikal Bose (The Radical Evil, Stefan Ruzowitzky, DE/AT 2013) and The Act of Killing (Joshua Oppenheimer, GB/DK/NO 2012), films that provide access to the same topic by focusing on different facets of it. In referring to historical events distant from each other in terms of timing, geography and religious associations, these filmic works draw on very different situations and contexts. But even then, something universally human can be detected. The thinking of Zygmunt Bauman and Emmanuel Levinas assists the exploration of three scenes in which perpetrators seem to break down when they realise what they have done to women and children.

Inter-religious Dialogue and Migrants: The Case of the Netherlands

In the Netherlands the first official inter-religious dialogues were initiated in the first half of the 1970s. But the Nederlandse Hervormde Kerk, one of the most important churches had taken the first steps towards an attitude of dialogue already in 1949 and 1950. The atrocities against the Jews and the deportation of the 90 per cent of the Dutch Jews in the Second World War as well as the solidarity deeply felt by many church members with the new state of Israel prompted this church, and later two other large mainline churches, to alter their attitudes towards Jews and Judaism. After 1970 they extended these dialogues to Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists, who together outnumber the Jews today. The altered Dutch religious landscape had made inter-religious dialogue inevitable. This dialogue was held with migrants, so the position of the adherents of non-Christian religions was weaker than that of Christians. This inequality is reflected in the dialogue, for it became predominantly a dialogue of life, in which the Christians started with helping their partners to find a good position in Dutch society. The dialogue with the Jews, however, already quickly became a dialogue of the mind. In the second half of the 1990s a dialogue of the mind was initiated with Muslims, and in the first decade of the twenty-first century with some Hindus. The vulnerability of migrants was underscored by the impact of the governments in their countries of origin and by the fact that the Christians paid for almost everything. In 2000 the churches began to hesitate; nonetheless they remained in dialogue.

The Challenge of the Silver Screen

This book analyses the most important depictions in film of Jesus, Rama, Buddha and Muhammad and the religious and cultural background to portraying individuals who disclose the divine. It also addresses the reactions of religious leaders to these films.