Strongly, but wrongly, implied here and elsewhere is that Jesus died to save evil angels too. All that said, it sounds very much as if my reactions to this set of films, Jim, would have been very similar to yours, including the fact that I most likely would have closed my eyes and plugged my ears, or even left, during the torture scene. Who are the members who actually saw the "record keeper"? For those who are familiar with Ellen White’s writings, the plot line runs closer to Story of Redemption than to Great Controversy. Likewise, the Divine is not directly depicted, with the possible exception of one scene where a superior being (played by a woman), not identified as angelic or divine that I can recall, talks to Raina. But I can't blame Samuel Johnson for saying something to this effect, 'what is all of this yelping about liberty from the drivers of negroes?' It is good to leave an audience wanting more. Well said Jim, and you said a lot. What would happen if you condensed all the details into a single presentation? By this method of reasoning at least half of the many thousands of sermons this life-long SDA PK has heard from both pastors and evangelists would be disqualified. Is this not what we did in Los Angeles when a tall, skinny, gravely-voiced, half-blind preacher decided it was time to use controversial "radio waves" to help defeat the devices of the devil? As Paul wrote, if there is no resurrection of the dead we believers are to be pitied above all. Having read the Bible perhaps a dozen times in several different translations, a shelf of Ellen's books and compilations, many other good books by authors from different religious persuasions, over a thousand Review articles and heard several thousand sermons, I by no means know the answers to all the interesting questions about God, religion, etc. Right over their heads. The Earth is ripe for reaping. LOS GATOS, Calif. — Media giant Netflix has announced that it has acquired the rights to stream Adventist steampunk series The Record Keeper on its platform.. And isn't that upcoming Last Empire Series a "theatrical" piece, which Truth Seeker condemns? If a loved one is terminally ill (and sin is the ultimate terminal illness), and there is no hope for her or his recovery, should the family and the nurses cease to minister to her or him because he or she is "lost"? Is it possible, that a beginning,to gather the masses attention, may be a production, in their language, with full forward press, spending millions, to bring talented intellectual experience,in the Arts of communication, that has such great dramatics, that it woos the world's mental hunger, to want following sequels. Satan wept and tried to reunify but the sin was so great it could not be blotted out? He is both God and Man. It lists five items under "view of God and His perfect creation," eight items under "view of Christ and the atonement," and two items under "view of the Holy Spirit." Not to mention many of the Parables of Jesus, the more scandalous parts of the books of Judges (excessive and gratuitous violence) and Ezekiel (including references to human excrement and to bestiality), and that utterly appalling and inappropriate compilation of allegorical and dramatic artifices attributed to John the Revelator. A cinema project that used an innovative artistic genre and an innovative strategy for public distribution to portray a fundamental Adventist theological concept (the great controversy theme), attracted a half million dollars in donor support and won a Hollywood film award on the strength of its promotional trailer was suddenly canceled last week. That so many people would watch an overtly spiritual (but not preaching) program in prime time was amazing and removed any doubts I had about the ability to communicate spiritual themes to a largely non-spiritiual audience. A video entitled The Record Keeper is Broken began to circulate on YouTube. Late last year a negative campaign against it got underway. Male actors wear period male costumes and female actresses wear period female costumes. The Record Keeper's release suspended by Adventist Church leadership Seventh-day Adventist world church leadership today announced their decision to suspend the release of the 11-episode series called “The Record Keeper,” but agreed to explore the possibility of … Let's think before we open our mouths and then have to eat crow! It is no surprise that the decision made to can The Record Keeper was facilitated by a breakdown in ecclesiastical governance. A number of pastors, lay leaders and Adventists who are media and artistic professionals expressed the wish that large numbers of people would write or call the GC and urge them not to give up. As for complaints about undermining the maleness of God, who the hell said God was male? I prefer to listen to Mozart or Bach or Vivaldi while I work at my computer. Anybody have an inside scoop? It has a membership of 1,142 made up largely of upper middle class professionals and government employees, including diplomats representing other countries in the U.S. The whole American flag waiving, with your myth about all men being created equal, and a righteous war against the tyranny of King George, is all just nonsense to me. Something these BRI scholars should consider! Want more epic stories like "The Record Keeper"? One Million dollars is chump change. To the best of my knowledge, no angels participated in development of the script and production of the videos. But I am happy here as well–it would be better without all the political and racial polarizing. I saw the first few episodes and noticed that there were many who did not follow through until the end of the series–shame on them! ANN staff. The very world we see with our own eyes is fiction, because it isn't actually the 'real' world, but a rose-tinted reality filtered through our own brains, our own experiences, cultural context and perceptions. Since I'm guessing about the present based on media-related decisions I've seen made by church leaders in the past, I think it looks like someone (or a group) made the decision to go ahead and fund the project, then somebody else ("anonymous" whether singular or plural) didn't like the product and needed cover for their opposition. Hahahahaha, anyway,] As Jesus showed us, "fiction" presents truth in an understandiable way to an audience. Adventist Today is pleased to release a new book by David Neff, the former editor of Christianity Today. Their typical response can be summed in a single sentence: "This is what we believe, therefore it is what the Bible teaches and there is no need for further study. " We invited people from all over the Northwest to watch, to offer comments and ask questions. I personally spent months encouraging my peers to recognize that the GC was trying something new here, and I encouraged them to vocally support the GC in reaching outward to a different audience. Fiction is truth in symbol. See also Ministry magazine December 1990 where Dr Fred Veltman talks about fictional elements in Desire of Ages. The BRI criticisms here really rely on two major assumptions – which are wrong. This was written for DOCTORF and not Steve; don't know why it's here. Also, it has been a long-time theory amongst conservative Adventists (especially in the SDA Reform) that Melchesidek that Abraham meets is not pre-incarnate Jesus but actually the Holy Spirit. When I was a student I used to ask my teachers questions. The root of the problem I see is the concept that has been taught to many of us from the cradle that "If a preacher isn't preaching, it isn't the gospel.". Jason Satterlund, Director: The Record Keeper.   The events themselves are not depicted, although I feel they are accurately characterized. The problems of "The Record Keeper" illustrate the down side of trying to "unify" and "centralize" the church too much. Might God grant subpoena powers to Investigators? Unless you really believe in your product, and will pay the price, you will not woo the public.Awakening a desire to see something of Earth shattering significance must get their attention. Excellent reporting. One thing particularly struck me: You said, On balance I would say that the consequences of evil are more convincingly portrayed than the consequences of good. Many people have expressed disappointment that The Record Keeper has been cancelled, including its creators. That is the purpose of this series. The phrase ??? And yet Moses makes important twists to these stories, to teach a theological lesson very much at opposite to the pagan accounts. I remember a phone call once when I was put in the position of having to defend my country just because I happened to be born here. Have you ever read a book, then saw the movie based on the book and complained that the book was better than the movie? Maybe you honestly believe America is the best country on earth (whilst all objective independent indicators such you are a mediocre country, at least for individuals with a billion dollars or less of assest wealth). Despite many victories of good over evil in the Old Testament, the death of Christ leaves us at a point of infinite loss that is not recouped until the sequel of the New Testament. As I found out when I went to the Adventist College, "Don 't you dare question anything!" Whether I would reach the same conclusion given the fully-scripted final episodes I may never know. Almost all Adventist outreach activities focus on one of two things:  learning the truth and/or bettering your lives. In their DNA is a hunger for the personal touch of the MASTER. Willian Noel's comment about "theatricals" hits the mark well. I've noticed over the years others who started Great Controversy film projects, or tried. (2) The central role of God’s law in the controversy and the nature of sin (as distinct from evil) are never explained. I think it is a mistake after all of the money and effort that has been put in this to just shelve it. Art is for inspiration and challenge and conversation and expression. If the work of Satan has sown endless misery, confusion, strife and war among humans, is it not reasonable to assume the same effects among the fallen angels? Nonsense must be accepted by as an act of faith. He is the founder of StanaTek, an electronics technology consultancy. It does not include detailed Bible references and development of a consensus among a representative group of Adventist Bible scholars as do the formal reports from BRI that have been published over the years. Is this not what we did some decades ago with women as pastors and preachers in China? Although no such story occurs in the Bible, it is reasonable to conclude that if Satan will physically and mentally abuse humans who have fallen under his control, he would do the same to angels who have fallen under his control. Late last year a negative campaign against it got underway. Take her potrayal of the Father. Are we not all destined to be sexless beings in the Resurrection, like the angels, as Jesus made clear? So Jason and his creative crew had to use their imaginations to try to capture our imaginations. The Record Keeper begins with a focus on the responses of fallen and unfallen angels to events on earth, but it quickly broadens to the central issues of the nature and consequences of good and evil. Although English is the primary language, the angels use at least a couple dozen common languages from different continents in their dialog. This has been a great discussion and it all comes back to the issue of truth seeking, discussion, and sharing ideas in the ongoing search for truth and a knowledge of the Divine. The Seventh-day Adventist world church leadership suspended the release of its highly anticipated dramatic web series, "The Record Keeper." That is neither fair, honest nor Christian behavior. Are they the good guys that got duped by the BRI and are not allowed to think or are they the ones that use the BRI as a fig leaf for their schemes? … Conversations were being started … Lives were being changed. Have a look at the BRI explanation – it doesn't seem to hold water by the publications of the BRI itself! Instead of clarity you would have confusion. It took me less than 10 minutes to think and write this critique of their critique, and it is so full of holes it isn't funny. This so-called 'universal justification,' that everyone was pardoned at the cross misconstrues the atonement and undermines Christ’s ministry as our High Priest. Even if a widely-acceptable theologic basis can be found for the decision, can the church leadership afford the loss of trust that will result from the financial waste? "IAM ALPHA and OMEGA, the beginning and the ending, saith the LORD, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the ALMIGHTY, the ONE and only ALMIGHTY. Yet on a Sunday night in Atlanta it drew a larger audience than a professional baseball game and drew more viewer responses than any other Adventist program aired anywhere in North America in the three months before or after that date. Adventist entertainment, Adventist Prophesy, The Record Keeper Marvel Studios to adapt The Great Controversy for film By sevvy March 19, 2015 February 18, 2018 Ellen White , film adaptation , Marvel Studios , The Great Controversy 14 And who was first the chicken or the egg? Updated August 11, 2014: The Record Keeper web series, which was sponsored by the General Conference who then decided not to release it, has been leaked and is available to watch on YouTube. In particular: How can a series consisting of just 10 minutes each be expected to portray everything, as even the end of the Gospel of John notes this problem? When will our church leaders have the spine to stand-up to the few who hide behind anonymity because they are too cowardly to have their real objectives known? Raina has “subpoena power” to compel truthful testimony from reluctant and even unwilling angelic witnesses. Filmed in “underworld,” it depicts fallen angels torturing one of their fellow fallen angels into submission. Jason Satterlund is an Adventist filmmaker with Big Puddle Films. We took dramatic license with the story, but not contradicting the Bible. This is their reaction to what they saw. "If every new initiative is to be required to meet the terms of all these ultraconservative critics that run unidentified web sites, nothing really new will happen." I note Moses seemed to borrow heavily from the motiffs of other ancient near eastern accounts, when he described the creation and the flood. Again I agree that something has really gone wrong here. Kudos to the ones that produced this very meaningful and creative series. Spend TEN MILLION DOLLARS AND EXPECT SUCCESS. To the best of my knowledge, no angels participated in development of the script and production of the videos. Just a quick reality check about history. His death made provision for the pardon and salvation of human beings through faith. Teachers who viewed themselves as authority figures were annoyed and even angry and occasionally even abusive when I asked questions they could not answer. (Personally I also don't like to be stereotyped on external or group factors-I see the BRI more nuanced and independent than just the kings guard). As a writer I can tell you that another issue is the whole "you have to have conflict to tell a good story" concept. Would I release The Record Keeper? This fiction undergirds and drives the biased history account in Great Controversy (it has little or none of the persecution of Roman Catholics by Protestants) and culminates in an end-time scenario that is arguably fictional.'. These long-time friends choose opposite sides in the Rebellion. I believe we lose sight of truth when we become obsessed with whether something happened exactly as written in scripture–that is the physical, when we are called to the spiritual. Thank you for providing us with more detail about The Record Keeper. i believe asking questions that aren't available to Earthly Scholars is a waste of time. Its distinctive beat and timbre are more closely associated with NFL and NBA broadcasts than with church. {Ev 136.1} ?STEAMPUNK, IN HEAVEN???? Jason Satterlund of Big Puddle Films is the director. Then read John Milton's Paradise Lost. The quality of the response speaks (and not very highly) for itself. Although he admitted that he had never been to SONscreen before, Lucas … ", Adventist Today has been told that this is not an official BRI report, which would require a much more rigorous process. Many Adventist Today readers probably already know more than I do about The Record Keeper, an ambitious web series project which seeks to retell the themes of what Adventists call the great controversy between Christ and Satan, from the point of view of angels, both fallen and unfallen. (in the past the Mohaven documents by the BRI on women's ordination also didn't agree with the then-presidents position). One of these families is a major factor (not the only one, but a major reason) for the conservative "image" of one North American Adventist college in the Southern part of the United States who shall remain nameless. It is unclear whether this anonymous critique got to denominational leaders or not, but in December Wilson asked for a review of the project. A conservative Bible scholar told Adventist Today, "I know it is difficult for people to see why we have to be careful about the use of new expressions, but remember that is how wrong ideas find their way in." Garrett Caldwell is the public relations director for the General Conference of Seventh-da… The Emmanuel-Brinklow Seventh-day Adventist church used The Record Keeper this way successfully. An impossible task? Creative thinking isn't just for the young–unfortunately a kind of ageism permeates their thinking, and you can't blame them when this sort of thing happens. The first step is to realise, as Ellen White herself noted, that God is with the penmen and not the pen, and that the Bible is not written in some supernatural language but in practical flawed words. If it's largely based on the Great Controversy theme then that's where it belongs, a sub-genre of science fiction. Work began on a series of 11 scripts with the idea that the short dramas would be circulated on the Web so as to avoid the impossible cost of getting access through conventional means such as prime time television or public theaters. 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