Posted without (much) comment

[ciroccoj]

Ian McKellen Unable to Suspend Disbelief While Reading the Bible

Actor Ian McKellen, 66, shocked his Da Vinci Code costars during an interview with Matt Lauer on the Today show this morning. The film has inspired controversy from the Catholic sect, Opus Dei, which has asked that a disclaimer be added to the film to clearly delineate the movie as fictitious.

Broadcasting from the Cannes Film Festival, Lauer addressed the cast:

“People wanted this to say ‘Fiction fiction fiction!’ How would you have all felt if there was a disclaimer at the beginning of the movie? Would it have been okay with you?”

“I’ve often thought the Bible should have a disclaimer at the front saying ‘This is fiction.’” McKellen responded. “I mean walking on water? I mean, it takes an act of faith.”

McKellan went on to say he found the Bible “somewhat preachy” and called the ending “a bit of a downer.”


# Tweet from Stvl, NC Says:
May 17th, 2006 at 4:06 pm
Well US be sure to let Mckellen atheist-self he has losta legion of fans b/c whether you are born-again or not you should still believe in GOD!!!
What is he talkin bout “walk on water” Jesus is GOD”S SON DUH!!! I don’t understand him but if you don’t want to lose 99.999% of your readership please don’t feature this man any more on website or in mag I don’t wanna read about non-believers EVEN Scientologists believe in a higher being, this man is clearly an atheist.

# Paige Says:
May 17th, 2006 at 4:26 pm
Though I’m a Catholic, I do tend to agree with Sir Ian, that the bible does require you to have a leap of faith when reading it. Not only because of some stories in it, but also because it has been translated & re-translated for thousands of years.
I’ve never taken the bible at face value, I still have my faith, and I still love Ian

# Tweet your dumb Says:
May 17th, 2006 at 4:30 pm
This is a response to Tweet from Stvl, NC
Who are you to critisize what someone else does or doesn’t believe in??!?! Not everyone believes in God. No one has any right to sit back and say “whether you are born-again or not you should still believe in GOD!!!” that’s crap!! Come on take your head out of your ass and realize people believe different things, and to fault someone who “might” not believe in God or Jesus is ridiculous. Why should others believe in something…because YOU say so?? Because YOU think that if you don’t believe in God your less of a human being. Frankly I am a Christian, and I found his comment more humorous then anything. Not everyone thinks the Bible is even factual. Do you know how many people I defend my beliefs with??? I don’t live in the Bible Belt or in a small baptist preaching town, so that may be why I defend God and the Bible more then people would think I have to. I live in Orange County, CA…a pretty republican place and believe me I’ve heard all the nice things people have to say when it comes to this subject. You need to open your mind and eyes and realize people DO NOT have to believe in God or Jesus…religious fanatics like you make me embarrased to be a Christian.

# Believer Says:
May 17th, 2006 at 4:35 pm
See you in Hell McKellen

# Marisa Says:
May 17th, 2006 at 5:35 pm
He is entitled to state his opinion and I can respect it. I won’t stop reading a magazine just because I disagree with him. My beliefs are strong enough to listen to somebody elses beliefs.
To each their own!

# Larice Says:
May 17th, 2006 at 5:37 pm
How about freedom of religion? including the right not to believe and to be an atheist. Everybody knows that if Jesus “walked on water”, it’s because there was sand and the water was not deep.

# Libby Says:
May 17th, 2006 at 5:48 pm
Hey Tweet –
Thanks for demonstrating that trademark “Christian” trait of peace, love and understanding. Do you think Jesus would have been so judgmental? Live and let live, my friend. Why don’t you put down your US Weekly and go work in a soup kitchen instead of worrying about what some actor thinks of the Bible. LOL It’s laughable.

# bonjovirocks Says:
May 17th, 2006 at 6:44 pm
Yeah, and the higher being Scientologists believe in is a science fiction writer. And a BAD one at that. Go figure.

# Darlene Says:
May 18th, 2006 at 12:45 am
This man is a very sad soul.

# Faith Says:
May 18th, 2006 at 7:09 am
To those of you who believe in HIM (and even those who don’t) - this is all laid out in the bible. It says do not fall for ‘popular’ religions (i.e. Scientology)and that there will be great chaos and unbelieving before HIS return. So, for the faithful, keep believeing. And for all the Ian McKellan’s out there, have fun with your choice not to believe, but know that you eternal afterlife is not guaranteed.

# Shocked Says:
May 18th, 2006 at 10:12 am
You people are sad….I agree you can beleive what you want, it’s your choice. But maybe you’ll realize what you shoulda done when you’re all in HELL!

# another atheist Says:
May 18th, 2006 at 1:24 pm
Christians are as bad as fundie Muslims, rioting over cartoons. Religion is becoming more trouble than it is worth. Get real! Learn the truth! There are no such things as gods. When you’re ready to join us here in the real world, living the one life you actually have, let us know. We would be glad to enjoy your company right here and right now, alive and happy, if only you weren’t so crazy.

# Susan Says:
May 18th, 2006 at 1:24 pm
Don’t get angry or judge non believers, Don’t bicker back and forth with non believers. Just pray for them.

# Shocked Says:
May 18th, 2006 at 1:43 pm
Noname…very well said. It’s sad that a lot of people make jokes about Christianity. There are a lot of things about God that can’t be explained…but that’s what faith is all about. I wish all of you could feel the presence of God and then you might understand. A lot of you just don’t even know because you probably weren’t brought up in Christian homes, so you really don’t know any better. I guess all we Christians can do is pray for your souls.

# anotheratheist Says:
May 18th, 2006 at 2:09 pm
I live my life just like anyone else. If Christians are convinced I’m going to hell, fine. I don’t care. Let me worry about myself; you worry about yourselves.
So the Bible is truth because it says so? In that case, please read my book about the shiny pink unicorns. They’re true because the book says so. You should accept it as truth because the book says to.

Comments

[sangerin.livejournal.com]

Well, how on earth does one respond to that? Firstly, which "ending" is he talking about... the book of Revelation? Whacked out, certainly, but I wouldn't have said "downer", even if I don't like it much. And if he's talking about the Gospels, well, I don't see how he gets "downer" from that.

And although I'm the first to say that one should read the Bible with knowledge of literary techniques, cultural influences, the influence of multiple translations from the original language, etc... my gut just churns at the suggestion that it should be labelled "fiction". His one decent line is "it takes an act of faith"... well, duh.

Okay, rant over. I so shouldn't write comments before I've had my first cup of tea for the day.

[ciroccoj.livejournal.com]

Like I said, good and bad on both sides of the religious divide. Many of them are funny/witty/pithy, but show remarkable lack of respect for the other side. And many others are just plain pathetic and mean, from both sides. I liked the ones that pointed out that somebody else believing something different from oneself doesn't necessarily make one's own beliefs invalid. I partifularly liked "He is entitled to state his opinion and I can respect it. I won't stop reading a magazine just because I disagree with him. My beliefs are strong enough to listen to somebody elses beliefs."

[leaper182.livejournal.com]

... Wow, lots of these Christians who think McKellen is stupid/silly/etc. are stupid/silly/etc. themselves.

*hugs Cirocco plushie*

The Bible

[shiningmoon.livejournal.com]

I dunno about fiction as I'm sure there are some historical accuracies in there... but I sure never bought it as fact. (We studied it as literature in high school.)

Perhaps there should be a disclaimer on the front that says "This was not faxed down from Heaven by God." ;)

Re: The Bible

[ciroccoj.livejournal.com]

Perhaps there should be a disclaimer on the front that says "This was not faxed down from Heaven by God." ;)
LOL!

Except that for many people, it is, blatant contradictions and all. Which actually makes God seem a bit schizoid, to me. Personally I'd rather believe the faulty bits are due to human error, rather than divine mental instability, but YMMV ;)

[snarkhunter.livejournal.com]

Hee.

I'm not bothered by his comment at all, and I have to agree. Revelation? *Total* downer.

I suppose it depends on how we define "fiction," doesn't it? If you view huge sections of the Bible as a complex allegory, as I do, then technically, it is fiction. I mean, Le Roman de la Rose is an allegory, and it is fiction, right, but what's it actually about? It's about falling in love with and seducing someone (even if the ending is crap). So on that level, it's true.

Is poetry fiction? Is the Iliad fiction? I mean, we know the Iliad is at least nominally true, but we still treat it is as fiction. So why can't the Bible be labelled the same for someone who doesn't see every word as the literal truth.

That was a very long way to go about saying, "Huh. Okay. Also, shutupcrazypeoplewithyourselfrighteousness." Where DID you find those responses?

[ciroccoj.livejournal.com]

That was a very long way to go about saying, "Huh. Okay. Also, shutupcrazypeoplewithyourselfrighteousness."
LOL!!

Where DID you find those responses?
They were posted below the US magazine article. I took a sample only - there were many, many, many more. It eventually got a little repetitive; you can really only say "All you infidels will burn in hell everlasting" and "You wish, you poor gullible fairy-tale believing sods" so many ways, really ;)

There were good and thoughtful comments, though. From believers and non-believers. They were kinda drowned out by teh stupid, unfortunately.

[lonejaguar.livejournal.com]

I quite like this one: You people are sad….I agree you can beleive what you want, it’s your choice. But maybe you’ll realize what you shoulda done when you’re all in HELL!

I like the "you can believe what you want, but you're still wrong" mentality. I find it fascinating that people think that the mere belief in God equals eternal happiness in Heaven regardless of what they do in life, too. As if "OMG I LOVE GOD 4EVA" erases the bigotry and intolerance they dealt out in a lifetime.

I love listening to my mom talk about religion and the Bible because despite working in a Catholic church, she's studied the Bible for years from a spiritual and an academic point of view. I don't agree with Ian's suggestion that the Bible should be labelled fiction, but I do think there should be a "stories in this book may be more fantastical than their historical reality."

[ciroccoj.livejournal.com]

I like the "you can believe what you want, but you're still wrong" mentality.
::snicker::

As if "OMG I LOVE GOD 4EVA" erases the bigotry and intolerance they dealt out in a lifetime.
You have no idea how many times I was told I would burn in hell by born-again inmates. I'm all for guys finding religion behind bars - hey, whatever helps - but I'm not sure how I would feel, as a Deity, if I heard some guy who'd killed more people than cancer tell a law-abiding young teacher that she was going to roast eternally while he was going straight Upstairs because he'd read a couple of chapters of the Bible. Especially if he then confided that it didn't matter what other fresh atrocities he committed - as long as he said sorry before he kicked, he'd be A-OK.

Um... way to miss the point. Y'know, I may not have gone to Sunday school, but I could've sworn the take-home message of that "God giving His only son" bit was actually not "so's y'all can party hardy with a get-out-of-jail-free card in your back pocket."

I love listening to my mom talk about religion and the Bible because despite working in a Catholic church, she's studied the Bible for years from a spiritual and an academic point of view.
That's neat. I love talking about religion with people. It's a fascinating subject, and so incredibly complex. Too bad that it so often seems to get simplified into idiocy.

"stories in this book may be more fantastical than their historical reality."
Yeah, I'd go for that :) :)