Journey to Bethlehem Movie Review

Journey to Bethlehem Movie Review

Journey to Bethlehem - where do I start? I love inspirational movies, especially faith films that are Scripturally based.  I love sharing about great movies that inspire movie watchers to dig more into the Christian faith.  We usually buy the overpriced movie tickets, and then we buy the DVD versions when they are released.  We can show Hollywood that we want more faith based films by supporting the films financially.  Sadly, Journey to Bethlehem was disappointing.  Before I tell you what I didn't like about the movie, I'll tell you the three things I did like.

For those of you who are not familiar with Journey to Bethlehem, here is the official movie trailer.

Journey to Bethlehem - What I Liked About the Movie

1.  The movie creators did stick to Scripture when it came to identifying who Jesus is.  He is Jesus, the Messiah, the Savior.  They did not deviate from this truth.

2.  I liked two songs. 

Mother to a Savior and King

The Nativity Song

Mary's part at the end of The Nativity Song is beautiful so listen all the way to the end.

3.  I like the message of trusting God with our future, especially when things don't go as we planned.  God's plans for our lives are much greater than our own.  The blessings in store for us are much sweeter than we can think or imagine.  We just need to trust God.

That's about all I liked about the movie.

What I Did Not Like About Journey to Bethlehem

1.  The film is a musical comedy.  I don't particularly enjoy musicals, but that wasn't the problem.  My problem is the misplaced comedy.  I love a good comedy when it's appropriate, but the comedy in Journey to Bethlehem was not appropriate for this kind of movie.  The wise men who followed the star to find Jesus were scholars.  They were some of the most intelligent scientists of their day.  They were not ridiculous goofs.  To be fair, we don't know much about their personalities.  Maybe they all had a good sense of humor, but in this film, they were portrayed as big ole goofs.  

2.  The Angel Gabriel was also portrayed as a bit of a goof.  When Gabriel descended into Mary room, he was portrayed as insecure.  The film creators had him pacing back and forth, reciting his sentences as if he wasn't sure what he should say.  Then, he clumsily bumps his head on a rafter beam.  The Angel Gabriel is an archangel, a messenger of God.  He isn't an insecure goof who doesn't know what he is supposed to say.  This moment was a holy moment in history.  This scene should have remained true to Scripture.  

3.  The film makers omitted Mary's response from Luke 1:38 when she tells Gabriel, "I am the Lord’s servant.  May your word to me be fulfilled."  Her obedient response speaks to her mature character as we know her in the Bible.  Before Gabriel leaves Mary, he tells her to cower to no one.  That is not in the Bible.  Why put it in the movie?

4.  Biblical Jospeh was a carpenter.  Journey to Bethlehem Joseph was an inventor.  Why change this?

5.  I believe Mary's and Joseph's personalities might have been misrepresented in the movie.  The Bible teaches us that Mary was highly favored by God.  Although we don't know much about Mary or Joseph before Gabriel appeared to Mary, I doubt they were the typical rebellious type teens of today.  Back then, there was no extension of childhood.  There was no "teenager."  You were a child, and then you were an adult and expected to act like one.  Based on what we know about human development today, particularly development of the brain, I'm sure they had youthful personalities, but probably not like what is portrayed in Journey to Bethlehem.  They were not perfect and Mary is not to be worshiped, but they were highly favored for a reason.  I know God used people of "colorful" character throughout the old testament and Mary and Joseph certainly were not perfect young people, but they are set apart because they were chosen to parent God's Son on Earth.  This was not just a half-calling, but an extremely important one that would require maturity.  This point is based on my personal opinion.  I know many will not necessarily agree with me and everyone is free to form their own opinions.  I just feel like they got this part wrong.

6.  King Herod tells his son to kill all pregnant women, but his son talks Herod out of that order.  If you are familiar with Scripture, you know that King Herod ordered all babies aged 2 and younger to be killed and that order was carried out.  It's horrific, but it happened.  This is an example of a Biblical historic account being completely changed.  Why change it?  They didn't have to show it, but to change it completely is in direct violation of Scripture itself.  The Bible tells us:

Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you. Deuteronomy 4:2 (NIV)

7.  In Journey to Bethlehem, King Herod's son leads a search to find the unwed pregnant mother.  His father, King Herod, wanted her dead.  This is not what we are told in the Bible.  The Biblical account of this historical event tells us that King Herod ordered the wise men to find the baby and then report back to him so that he could worship Him too.  We know that Herod's plan was ultimately to kill baby Jesus.  In Journey to Bethlehem, King Herod's son conducts a search for Mary.  He and his army find them in the barn just after Jesus is born.  This is not an accurate account of this holy night.  Why put this in the movie?  Then, when Mary, Joseph, and the wise men who were also there think King Herod's son is going to kill them all, Joseph, although he begs the king's son not to hurt them, is portrayed as weak, in my opinion.  Mary, who remembers Gabriel telling her to cower to no one stands up to King Herod's son.  Again, this scene is not true to Scripture.  In the scene, there were four men in the barn with Mary and baby Jesus.  Yet it was Mary who had just given birth who stood up to King Herod's son.  In those days, it would have been Joseph who stood up like a man to protect his wife and baby.  However, this particular event did not really happen anyway.  Why change it?  This was completely unnecessary.

Final Thoughts

I am thankful that the Christian movie industry has picked up in popularity in recent years.  I am happy that more and more people are going to theaters to see Christian films that will point them in the direction of the Bible and Jesus.  I know that film makers take certain creative licenses in order to fill in gaps and to make a story complete.  In some cases, these creative licenses make the move more entertaining.  That is all fine and good as long as said creative licenses do not change the original author's story.  For example, let's say a film is covering the part of the Bible where Joseph and Mary went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover.  They made this journey every year.  When Jesus was 12 years old, his family left to return home with their family and friends as they did every year after the feast was over.  They did not realize until they had traveled an entire day that Jesus was not with them.  Joseph and Mary looked for Jesus among their relatives and friends, but they couldn't find him.  They found Jesus three days later in the temple.  We don't know what Joseph and Mary did or how they felt from the time they realized Jesus was missing to the moment they found him in the temple three days later.  A film maker might take certain creative licenses to fill in that three day gap.  This is acceptable as long as Joseph's and Mary's characters are not compromised and the creative licenses do not change the story at all.  

In the case of Journey to Bethlehem, the creative licenses added to and took away from the historical account as recorded in Scripture which was written by men but inspired by God.  There is no need to change the story.

When a movie is kept true to Scripture and it leads people to read the Bible or visit a church, they aren't going to question the accuracy of the historical accounts as recorded in the Bible because the movie and the church teachings are the same.  However, when a film deviates from Scripture as much as Journey to Bethlehem did, people might question the accuracy of the Bible once they realize the movie is very different from what is taught in the Bible and in churches.  What will they believe, especially if they are totally unfamiliar with Scripture or the Christian faith?  Deviating from Scripture creates confusion in the minds of those who are not familiar with Scripture.  We don't want to confuse people.  We want to lead them in the direction of truth, always TRUTH.  We never want anyone to think that parts of Scripture might not be true.  We never want to lead anyone to question the authority of the Bible.

A lot of people will enjoy the film which is more like a broadway production than a drama based on Scripture.  It isn't the worst movie in the world, but personally, this is not a movie I particularly enjoyed or one that I would recommend.  I like humor.  I love comic relief in a film when it is done correctly.  I detest dumb humor no matter the movie, but I especially hated it in Journey to Bethlehem.  What bothers me more than anything is so many Scriptural inaccuracies.  Way too much of this story was changed and that is not OK.

I saw the film with a group of people.  There were things about the movie we all agreed was not great, but I probably disliked the movie more than everybody else.  If you really want to go see it, then go see it and form your own opinion so you can decide whether or not you want your kids to see it, but I do not recommend this film due to way too many "creative licenses" that are not accurate.   

Journey to Bethlehem is entertaining, but if you want to take your family to a movie about the birth of Jesus that stays true to Scripture, Journey to Bethlehem is not that movie.   

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Journey to Bethlehem Movie Review

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Christmas Movie Night with the Great American Family Network

Christmas Movie Night with the Great American Family Network

Part of abundant family living includes family friendly television and movies.  My family is tired of watching shows that are supposed to be family friendly only to get 15 minutes into show and find that it is not what we consider family friendly.  You might have heard that several Hallmark Movie actors and actresses have switched over to the Great American Family Network.  It's true.  We still watch some Hallmark shows but we are definitely focusing our support for the Great American Family Network.  

If you are a Hallmark junkie like I was for most of my life (and that's a lot of years), then you are familiar with Candace Cameron Bure.  Candace is one of the actresses who switched over to the Great American Family Network.  She not only acts in one of the movies but she accepted an executive position with the network to oversee and curate programming for the network.  She has been quoted as saying that she wants to create movies with more meaning.  She did just that with her new Christmas movie on the GAF network called The Christmas Present.  

Have a Christmas Movie Night with the Great American Family Network

I've been watching the Great American Family Christmas movies for the past several weeks.  The movies contain the same types of romance stories you will find on the Hallmark channel and starring some of the same actors and actresses, but without controversial content.  Candace's new movie, however, has a different theme that I found refreshing.  The Christmas Present is about dealing with grief after loss of life, family relationships, and keeping the Christmas season less overwhelming.  It's about quality time with the people you love and realizing what really is important and what isn't.  This movie moves away from a young love romance and into the space of more established families and the challenges they face.  

The Christmas Present stars Candace Cameron Bure and Marc Blucas.  It really is a great movie and I hope you get a chance to watch it this season.  

So . . . grab your favorite Christmas Pajamas, your favorite Christmas mug filled with hot chocolate, and settle in for a Christmas movie night with the Great American Family Network.  

You might be interested in this Candace Cameron Bure Movie Collection.

Candace Cameron Bure Movie Collection

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Christmas Movie Night with the Great American Family Network

Wish for Christmas Movie Review

Image Used with Permission via the Pureflix Affiliate Program

Wish for Christmas

We LOVE movies.  We used to spend way more that we should at movie rental stores, but then we discovered companies that let you stream movies at home.  For a small monthly fee, they allow you to watch all the movies and television shows you want.  We have saved a lot of money.  My family spends a lot less time watching “regular” TV and we have not been to a movie rental place in ages.  Most of the time, we are streaming our favorite shows and movies.  Even more recently, we learned about PureFlix.  What if your movie streaming company offered only family focused television and films?  What if you had access to a huge library of Christian films or films with Christian themes and life lessons?  PureFlix offers exactly that.

I signed up a few days ago so I am at the very beginning of my free first month.  It only took a few minutes to sign up.  Within seconds after that, I was already enjoying my first PureFlix film, Wish for Christmas.

Teenage girls can be challenging on a good day.  The teen character in Wish for Christmas made my spine crawl from the beginning of the movie.  Talk about needing an “attitude adjustment!”  Wow, I wanted to turn that little blonde tornado over my knee and give her a good old southern “what for.”  Her parents are devout Christians who have raised her in a Godly home with clear boundaries.  As a high school senior, those boundaries cramp her style.  As a self-proclaimed “queen” of the school dance party, she takes charge of the event from planning the decor to declaring herself “queen.”

Imagine her horror when she finds out that the party date has been moved to Christmas Eve.  “Little Missy” knows her parents will not allow her to attend the dance.  The Christmas Eve service at church takes first priority.  Frustrated at the thought of missing the dance and her “mean girl” reign as queen, she wishes that her parents did not believe in God.

She wakes up from her nap and heads down stairs to find that the family nativity scene has been replaced with secular decorations.  Her parents were removing all their Christian home decor and redecorating to reflect their new worldview.  Parental boundaries disappear and so does her parents moral compass.

In the absence of their former Christian convictions, her parents break a promise which hurts the one person she truly cares about.  Watching her parents make decisions that promote their own agenda at the expense of others begins to change her heart.

Will her heart turn back to Jesus?  What about her parents?  Will the character of their Godly home be restored?

Find Wish for Christmas on PureFlix along with a huge selection of other Christmas, Christian, and family films.  I think you’ll love it!  You can also find Wish for Christmas here on Amazon.

The Case for Christmas

The Case for Christmas stars Dean Cain and Rachel Blanchard.

When sporting goods manufacturer, Braxton Bennett, underhandedly plots to promote a new item, a replacement for Santa Clause, he gets a big surprise.

Bennett sues Santa Clause because he ruined Christmas by not delivering the toys he wanted for Christmas when he was a boy. Bennett hopes to damage Santa’s reputation with a class action lawsuit so much that people will want to buy his replacement item, Santana Snow.

A court messenger travels to the North Pole to attempt to deliver the court summons to Santa in order to secure the court case. Neither the toy manufacturer nor the court messenger expects to find a jolly old soul living at the North Pole who actually manufactures toys. They hope for a “no show” in court, but Santa excepts the court summons.

Santa, also known as Kris Kringle, searches for an attorney. He hires attorney Michael Sherman to represent him. Thinking the whole thing is a publicity stunt, Michael advises Kris to go home and forget the whole thing. Kris has already met Michael’s daughter, Lillie, who is already convinced that Kris is really Santa Clause. With a little prompting from Lillie, Michael agrees to help Santa.

Michael’s task is made more interesting when an elf, Charlie, shows up and informs Michael that the case needs to be solved before Christmas. The case which is damaging to Santa’s reputation is causing the Christmas spirit to decrease. Santa’s workshop is powered by the Christmas spirit so when people stop believing in Santa, his workshop suffers.

Santa isn’t the only one who is suffering. Within the last few years, Michael’s wife lost her battle with cancer. Knowing Michael’s mechanic, Lauren, has fallen in love with Michael, Santa encourages Michael to move on.

Michael must defend Santa against witnesses who testify in court with stories about how Santa ruined their lives by giving them gifts other than those they requested. Michael’s case is already suffering when Bennett’s attorney presents Michael with evidence which causes him to struggle over his decision to represent Santa.

After researching Bennett’s attorney’s findings, Michael and Santa return to court.

The idea of suing Santa and immature adult witnesses in a court room might not impress a large number of viewers, but the main idea of the film delivers pretty good Christmas entertainment.

I did enjoy the romance and the messages delivered by the film:  Triumph over tragedy and keeping the Christmas Spirit alive.

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A Christmas Wedding Tail

A Christmas Wedding Tail stars Jennie Garth and Brad Rowe, Tom Arnold, and Catherine Hicks. The movie was directed by Michael Feifer.

Dog Voices: Jay Mohr and Nikki Cox

The movie opens with a woman, Susan, walking her dog. Her male dog, Rusty, takes interest in a female dog, Cheri.  Cheri takes off running through the park which results in the owners meeting. Of course, the owner of the female dog is a man, Jake. Thus, boy meets girl. As the Jake walks away with his dog, he manages to secure a date with the Susan . . . surprise surprise.

Jake has 2 girls and Susan has three boys, all with interesting personalities. The two families bond including the two dogs (who think aloud). The dogs provide the viewer with a secondary story line, a dog romance.

On Thanksgiving, Jake asks the Susan to marry him and she says yes which makes the dogs happy, but the youngest son who hasn’t spoken much since his father passed away is troubled by the engagement. Jake’s girls are not too happy either . . . at first.

The happy couple chooses a date . . . yep, you guessed it . . . Christmas.

The couple dodges the usual obstacles while searching for the perfect wedding planner, wedding location, and wedding cake while the dogs practice mischief.

A movie such as this one would not be complete without the “job offer.” Susan is offered a job which will require a move across the country, leaving the Christmas wedding “hanging in the balance.”

In my opinion, this movie is way too predictable. It is the typical boy meets girl, fall in love and get married within just a few weeks, face obstacles, combine two families, will they live happily ever after or not kind of movie. I suffered through a mundane plot and I have enjoyed much better acting and background music. I felt the underlying dog story only served as a distraction.

The bottom line: I usually love Jennie Garth movies, but I did not like this one; however, my 16 year old daughter enjoyed it.

Watch the trailer.  If you want it, you can get it here.

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Christmas with a Capital C

Christmas with a Capital C: Movie Review

The people of Trapper Falls, Alaska have enjoyed their traditional Christian Christmas decorations for many years. No one has ever challenged the tradition until Mitch Bright returns to town.

Christmas with a Capital C

The town of Trapper Falls, Alaska has enjoyed its Christmas traditions for many, many years. The town nativity scene decorates the front of a government office building and the town’s people hang “Merry Christmas” and “Jesus is the Reason for the Season” signs all over town. No one has protested the traditional Christmas celebrations until Mitch Bright (played by Daniel Baldwin) comes to town. Mitch, who grew up in Trapper Falls, returns to his hometown and decides to run for Mayor. The office is currently held by Dan Reed (played by Ted McGinley), Mitch’s former high school rival and the one who won the heart of the girl who is now Ted’s wife, Kristin (played by Nancy Stafford).

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Mitch challenges Dan’s conservative ideas, telling him his religious piety is annoying. Mitch paints a picture of American people as loving, peaceful, and “tolerant.”  He files an injunction which prevents the town from displaying any religious decorations on government property.

Mitch has a few ideas, other than challenging the keeping of Christ in Christmas, which might help bring the town additional revenue. He introduces the idea of offering excursions to a nearby glacier in addition to the only one currently available.

When Dan confronts Mitch about the injunction, Mitch explains that religious displays on government property establishes a religion which is against the law. He tells Dan that he thinks Christians are hypocrites and he feels the same people who claim to be Christians are the same ones who cuss him out in the mall parking lots.

Dan promises to fight him so that the town may keep their Christian traditions which they have always valued.

Meanwhile, the town’s people begin to remove their “Merry Christmas” and “Jesus is the Reason for the Season” signs. One waitress refrains from saying “Merry Christmas,” greeting her customers with “Happy Holidays” instead.

These changes strike the nerve of Dan’s brother, Greg (played by Brad Stine). Greg is not as “tactful” as his political-minded brother, but instead, allows his thoughts to roll off his tongue as quickly as they form in his brain. His character provides hilarious comic relief to the show.

Dan believes Mitch’s ulterior motive for his Mayoral run is too see how many people he can sway in the non-Christian direction, rather than actually perform the duties of a town Mayor.

Mitch goes so far as to ask a child, the current Mayor’s daughter, to stop standing and singing Christmas songs in town while dressed like an angel. Greg, the child’s uncle, physically stops Mitch.

Dan believes Mitch and those like him, do not simply want equal representation under the law, but they want Christians to have no representation at all.

At a small town meeting, the members discuss the laws regarding religious Christmas decorations. Some believe Christians should not cave and remove the decorations just because one person doesn’t like it. Another idea is that the decorations should not become idols themselves. The members work to come up with a solution which involves “doing” Christmas while emphasizing that the Christian response to others is of most importance. They base their idea on the scripture of Philippians, chapter 2. They decide that they will not simply “roll over” and allow Mitch to “win” but instead, will prove him wrong through their actions which represent the attitude of Christ manifested in His believers. They call their campaign “Christmas with a Capital C.”

The town’s people become servants and begin to do nice things for one another all over town. Ted’s daughter, the angel who was asked to stop singing, realizes no one has done anything nice for Mitch so she bakes him cookies. Mitch doesn’t appear to be home when she attempts to deliver the cookies so she leaves them on his front porch in a package adorned with a big capital C.

That night, the little angel, with her father by her side, prays for Mitch.

A lawyer arrives to counsel the Mayor and the town counsel about how to handle the situation. “On the record,” the attorney must rule against religious decorations if the town government owns it and displays it on government property. However, “off the record,” she offers a few options. The town can sell the decorations to a private owner who can display them for all to enjoy. They can add other decorations to the display which will include decorations from other beliefs, or they can decide not to display them at all. The attorney adds that the latter decision would be a shame. She also advises that moving the Christ child does not take away from his deity.

Dan is upset by the decision, but his wife and daughter decide not to let the situation ruin their Christmas.

 Meanwhile, they learn some surprising information about Mitch Bright. Is he really the “Grinch” he seems to be?

Dan and his son have a conversation about his son’s relationship with a young girl and a ski competition which helps them to see that you have to see past the competition to see the person.

Some of the town’s people had counted on Mitch’s contact coming to town to discuss the new cruise line, but his contact falls through, leaving Mitch a bit “down.” When Mitch doesn’t show up for a late night Christmas celebration, Dan decides to go to Mitch’s home. After all, Christians are to share the “Good News” with ALL people. Soon to follow are Dan’s wife and daughter with more cookies. The rest of the town follows to Mitch’s home, bringing “housewarming” gifts. Even though Mitch knows the gifts are actually Christmas gifts, he welcomes them and those who brought them into his home – with a warm smile. Dan sees that Christmas is not celebrated in decorations but in the hearts of the people who worship the ONE whose birth Christians celebrate.

Will the town’s expression of love and forgiveness have an impact of Mitch?

Watch the move and find out.

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