Constantine's Sword

I loved this documentary. I think, though, this film is playing to the choir and should be seen by those who really need to see it. May I suggest offering it for sale at the Air Force Academy and anywhere where fundamentalist religiosity in its extreme has us by our throats influencing Washington policy. It is an existential threat to our existence as a free republic and certainly a threat to our founders determination to keep religion and state forever separate. The cross in the form of a sword as James Carroll has said, has meant death to millions and continues to morph itself into different forms which still mean murder. I love ALL of James Carroll's work. He speaks for us. Run do not walk to see this film.

Tragic marriage of religion and nationalism has born malevolence all over this shaky planet. This, not completely successful documentary, tries to grapple with the Catholic church and it's shameful history of anti-Semitism. In the same time it brushes upon a stunning situation in Air force academy in Colorado, where evangelical zealots pressure cadets to convert to their inane version of Christianity. The trouble with this movie is that while this fresh and interesting development gets about 12 minutes of movie time, the tired and often heard and repeated story about anti-Semitism in the church takes all of the rest. Why putting these two topics together without giving them equal time? It was especially amazing seeing the demented smile on the face of a joke of a preacher, Ted Haggard,notorious crystal-meth popping, male prostitute loving, face of a mind boggling evangelical movement.

"I also lost a bit of respect for Mr. Carroll due to the way that he portrays the persecution of Jews as a phenomenon entirely unique to Christianity. As if religious minorities aren't oppressed all over the world."

But only Christian Europe built gas chambers for the declared purpose of eliminating an entire people.

Carroll is the only Christian I have read with the decency to admit and express remorse for his faith's 1,700 years of brutal, bloody persecution of the Jews.

Let's hope his book, and possibly his film, spur more Christians to the same remorse.

On the heels of The DaVinci Code, interest among Catholics and conspiracy buffs alike has focused on Constantine, and the cruel bargain he struck in order to maintain power, while making Christianity the state religion of Rome.

This bargain has not been scrutinized closely enough and, to his discredit, Carroll did not explore this topic closely enough in the screenplay of this film.

We understand the central premise, but the tie between the Air Force Academy and the Holy Roman Empire was not made clear enough. Perhaps that is because there isn't a strong case to be made for that proposition.

We also understand that the Religious Right and their sponsors in the Republican Party would make their brand of Christianity the state religion in the U.S., but the reality is that the First Amendment is alive and doing quite well. Yes, it is under siege, but setting up straw men like Rev. Haggard actually cuts against Mr. Carrol's point.

A more interesting comparison would have been between Constantine and the current President Bush, both of whom have struck Faustian deals. For this film to really shine, it should have made the threat from the religious right come to life.

Constantine's Sword refers to the Christian Cross, the vision of which caused Constantine the Great, to cry out the timeless words " In Hoc Signo Vinces" (in this sign, you will conquer.) transforming a symbol of love and peace into an icon of war. James Carroll, an ex Catholic priest, looked at this side of his religion in his acclaimed book of the same title published in 2001. Having read the 750 pages covering the two millenniums of Christianity, fascinated by the writers ability to weave facts into a tale as absorbing as the best work of fiction, I was intrigued to see whether he could condense such a rich tapestry of history into the time limits of a commercial documentary.

He couldn't; but the film that was made captures the essential message of the book,while adding a new more important role of social commentary on the America that only came into existence after the book was published. With the multi-front assault on the very concept of a "Wall of Separation between Church and State," lead by right wing evangelicals, this film immediately jumps to the forefront of the intellectual resistance to this transformation of America.

Constantine's Sword has two distinct threads. The first is the history of Christianity as a force of oppressive xenophobia, culminating with the abetting of the worst crime of our time, the holocaust. The other thread is in the present, focusing on the resistance of a single family, that of Mikey Weinstein, who challenges the evangelical dominance of a single institution, the U.S. Air Force Academy. Left on the editing floor, dictated by the time constraints of the medium, was adequate connecting tissue between the two. The real story of the aggressive evangelizing of the Air Force cadets is that of the future, with footage not accessible; a future that this film is attempting to prevent.

Compared to centuries of atrocities by Christians against Jews, vividly shown in the film by descendants of some who suffered, the stress of the young Weinstein men at the academy is trivial. What is not trivial, is the change in tone within the current administration that encourages such actions, leaving the unasked question: if this is happening now, what will the future bring. With this film, James Carroll has continued his career of self sacrifice that began by going against his beloved father, a three star Air Force general, in opposing the war in Viet Nam, a breach that was never healed. I can only imagine how it pained him to see vital elements of his book excluded from the film in order to give it visual impact.

They chose a prominent evangelical minister to present the argument for the legitimacy of aggressive evangelizing at the academy, who did so, with charismatic forcefulness. This provided the only moment of ironic laughter from the audience, as the minister was Ted Haggard, who later was publicly disgraced by exposure of his personal sexual hypocrisy. In the 21st century, America's political direction will be shaped at least as much by market share, by exposure to competing messages, as by the intrinsic merit of underlying ideas. The laughter at Haggard's words just may distract from the the profound message of the connection between past and future that Carroll is making. But then again, this segment may bring more people to see a film that otherwise would be too heavy for a night out at the movies.

In a world of sound bite politics, this film is a serious study of a religious revival that is transforming our country, and as a global power, affecting the world. I give it my most enthusiastic recommendation with a single condition- that anyone who is moved by this film, as you will be, also go out and buy the book-- and take the time to savor every word.