Returning to the Past

The past class we started to watch the film Dogma. This movie has countless underlying themes and connections to the controversial issues paired with religious belief. In the past, many religions groups sold indulgences. An indulgence is defined as a pardon of sins already confessed and absolved. Being baptized Protestant and then re-baptized Catholic, indulgences have always been a touchy issue.

Why would someone want to pay for an indulgence if they have already been absolved for their sins? An article in The New York Times that pertains to this topic said, "According to church teaching, even after sinners are absolved in the confessional and say their Our Fathers or Hail Marys as penance, they still face punishment after death, in Purgatory, before they can enter heaven." Although paying for indulgences was made illegal as of 1957, the church can still accept contributions. I don’t believe the church should be able to make money by helping people repent and be saved from their sins.

This is where Dogma falls into comparison. Mooby the golden calf was a false idol that was turned into a marketable character. One particular scene showed the company’s executive board with evidence scattered around that they had made quite a profit through their sins. One of the biggest commandments as discussed in class is “Thou Shall have no other gods besides me.” They created wealth for themselves by exploiting the belief of something portrayed as more important than God himself. This is one of the greater sins that according to religion holds more weight than other sins. For worse sins, you will spend more time in purgatory.

The article from the NY Times emphasized that the church is simply trying to boost the numbers of Catholics attending confession. They want to focus less on the Purgatory aspect, and more about living as Jesus did. Some churches advertise the choice to receive indulgences, and some don’t. The Catholic Church wanted to bring personal sin back into the lives of millions. They are doing so however, by holding punishment above our heads. God is metaphorically holding us above the fiery pit of hell in his fingertips. Simply sinning could send you through the cracks of God’s metaphorical fingers and send you spiraling to hell. I don’t believe in using hell as leverage to gain followers and support.

This same idea is touched upon in Dogma. The sole mission of Bartleby and Loki is to walk through the arches to be absolved of their sins to die with no sins on their slate. Bethany even speaks about going to church for fear of the wrath of God. The church is trying to scare us back into the pews. With mass attendees low, how better to get people to fill those seats than scaring people with the idea of sin, punishment, and hell?

Increasing knowledge of sin is a positive motive for bringing indulgences back into play, however I am still uneasy. How can an act or contribution be measured in the amount of years taken off of your punishment sentence? This isn’t how my personal beliefs line up. My belief is God doesn’t calculate how he’s going to punish every single one of his children every time they sin. I believe in a just God who forgives and loves. I don’t feel he is taking attendance at church or checking your name off when you pray. I believe in a God I was raised learning about, one who possesses unconditional love for everyone and anyone.

link to NY Times article: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/10/nyregion/10indulgence.html?pagewanted=2&_r=2

Vitello, Paul. "For Catholics, a Door to Absolution Is Reopened." The New York Times [New York City] 09 Feb. 2009.