Aladdin, the movie - 2019

[tekmantwo]

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/djinni

 

 

Just gonna leave this here--

[Guri]

On 5/27/2019 at 12:53 AM, tarcamion said:

My son (12) has been invited to the cinema by an elder and his family for Aladdin, 2019. He promptly refused and explained that one of the main characters is a demon and the movie portrays demons and magic in a positive manner. Have you seen that movie or have any comments about that movie?

I wondered after your son’s respond what did the elder say to him? How did your son feel about the elder? 

[Guri]

41 minutes ago, tekmantwo said:

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/djinni

 

 

Just gonna leave this here--

Yes, that’s correct.

 

According to the Encyclopaedia of the Qurān by Jane Dammen McAuliffe, General Editor:

 

«the people of Mecca called Muammad the “lying sorcerer” (sāir kadhdhāb, Quran 38:4); he is denounced as “bewitched” (mas ūr, q  17:47); he is said to be “possessed by  jinn” (Eng. “genie”; Quran 15:6).»

[carlos]

2 hours ago, CynthiaG said:

STUDY ARTICLE 17
Accept Jehovah’s Help to Resist Wicked Spirits

Thank you for this quotation, Cynthia. As usual, the Slave shows very good balance. They warn about the dangers, then admit there is not a black and white answer that is good for everybody. Every Christian (or every Christian family head) must make their own decision.

 

Your firm position is praiseworthy. You have clear in your mind what is acceptable for you and what is not, and stick to it despite the fact that, as you admit, it's very difficult to find entertainment that fits those requirements. You are doing well and Jehovah is surely blessing your family.

 

On the other hand, it's good to admit that others may have a different viewpoint. I grew up reading fantasy books and I enjoy a good fantasy movie. The elder who invited the OP's son to watch this movie seems to have a similar view. It's great when we all follow our conscience.

[jayrtom]

46 minutes ago, carlos said:

... As usual, the Slave shows very good balance. ...

That balance is very well expressd here:

 

https://www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/faq/do-jehovahs-witnesses-ban-certain-entertainment/

The Bible teaches that family heads have a measure of authority, so they may choose not to allow certain entertainment among members of their household. (1 Corinthians 11:3; Ephesians 6:1-4) Outside the family, however, no one is authorized to ban specific films, songs, or artists as being unacceptable for members of the congregation.—Galatians 6:5.

[rocket]

It has been my experience that kids who grow up rather fanatical in their view of entertainment and recreation are sometimes the first to leave off serving Jehovah as they become judgmental of others. Base ones decisions on solid research.

[Memeber212]

3 hours ago, rocket said:

It has been my experience that kids who grow up rather fanatical in their view of entertainment and recreation are sometimes the first to leave off serving Jehovah as they become judgmental of others. Base ones decisions on solid research.

There is a thick line between something that is clearly demonic and not. The Genie is a demon and he is one of the main characters and the whole plot is around that person. There is a good way to test if something is right. Take it to a probable extreme and find out it the answer is still the same. So what about porn? Soft porn? Where is the line you would draw? And what about if it was cartoon porn? I understand there are movies with some scenes that are not appropriate but watching at home you can always skip that. Would you go to the cinema for 50 shades of Grey? What if it was a cartoon? So what about Harry Potter? Would you invite Jesus to such a movie?

Is magic better than porn in Jehovah's eyes? I am not trying to be judgmental but the same people don't see anything wrong with watching such a movie and chase or block other brothers for having a beard. I am a person who values freedom but hates double standards.
Speaking of children who leave the truth - yes, they may behave like that because they are observant and if they think they quickly notice if someone is a hypocrite.

We are definitely not fanatical. I would say rather the opposite. I have a lot of problems just because I am able to use logic to expose the fanatism and lack of consequence in thinking and actions. Fanatism is mostly driven by emotions but without love.

[CynthiaG]

4 hours ago, rocket said:

It has been my experience that kids who grow up rather fanatical in their view of entertainment and recreation are sometimes the first to leave off serving Jehovah as they become judgmental of others. Base ones decisions on solid research.

This comment reminds me of a comment a sister made recently. She said she feels like so many of the friends are getting to be overly strict about every single thing like a Catholic. I was stunned but immediately countered that I think it's the exact opposite. Catholic are fanatical about their traditions that have no place in the bible. We on the other hand are constantly trying to find loop holes everywhere even with practicle bible principles to guide us. I think everyone has become too comfortable and just goes with the majority anymore. Everyone is afraid to stand out as different because they are seen as "fanatics" or "over righteous" or "overly strict like Catholics." 

@tarcamion I agree our choices to steer clear from certain movies is the opposite of fanatical. 

 

We have plenty of bible examples who during their time continued serving Jehovah when it seemed no one else was. Was Noah a fanatic? Was Elijah or Josiah? 

[SUNRAY]

1 hour ago, CynthiaG said:

This comment reminds me of a comment a sister made recently. She said she feels like so many of the friends are getting to be overly strict about every single thing like a Catholic. I was stunned but immediately countered that I think it's the exact opposite. Catholic are fanatical about their traditions that have no place in the bible. We on the other hand are constantly trying to find loop holes everywhere even with practicle bible principles to guide us. I think everyone has become too comfortable and just goes with the majority anymore. Everyone is afraid to stand out as different because they are seen as "fanatics" or "over righteous" or "overly strict like Catholics." 

@tarcamion I agree our choices to steer clear from certain movies is the opposite of fanatical. 

 

We have plenty of bible examples who during their time continued serving Jehovah when it seemed no one else was. Was Noah a fanatic? Was Elijah or Josiah? 

I don't know if anyone really researched this story using Wikipedia, but I did and tapped the story for children. Here are some exerpts.

 

(Does anyone here see any objectionable content when it comes to teaching our children love?..love for Jehovah and people?, honesty?, Faith that Jehovah is the most powerful person in the universe?  Serving God exclusively?, Hating violence?)

 

"In this great emergency he (Alladin) said, "There is no strength or power but in the great and high God"; and in joining his hands to pray he rubbed the ring which the magician had put on his finger. Immediately a genie of frightful aspect appeared, and said, "What wouldst thou have? I am ready to obey thee. I serve him who possesses the ring on thy finger; I and the OTHER SLAVES of that ring." At another time Aladdin would have been frightened at the sight of so extraordinary a figure, but the danger he was in made him answer without hesitation, "Whoever thou art, deliver me from this place....."

He had no sooner spoken these words than he found himself on the very spot where the magician had last left him, and no sign of cave or opening, nor disturbance of the earth. Returning God thanks to find himself once more in the world, he made the best of his way home....

 

Aladdin's mother, terrified at the sight of the genie, fainted; when Aladdin, who had seen such a phantom in the cavern, snatched the lamp out of his mother's hand, and said to the genie boldly, "I am hungry; bring me something to eat." The genie disappeared immediately, and in an instant returned with a large silver tray...

 

The African magician, who was thus twice foiled in his endeavor to ruin Aladdin, had a younger brother, who was as skilful a magician as himself, and exceeded him in wickedness and hatred of mankind...

 

The younger brother, not having received as usual his annual communication, prepared to take a horoscope and ascertain his brother's proceedings. He, as well as his brother, always carried a geomantic square instrument about him; he prepared the sand, cast the points, and drew the figures. On examining the planetary crystal, he found that his brother was no longer living, but had been poisoned; and by another observation, that he was in the capital of the kingdom of China; also that the person who had poisoned him was of mean birth, though married to a princess...

 

Aladdin had no sooner pronounced these words than the hall shook as if ready to fall; and the genie said in a loud and terrible voice, "Is it not enough that I and the other slaves of the lamp have done everything for you, but you, by an unheard of ingratitude, must command me to bring my master, and hang him up in the midst of this dome? This attempt deserves that you, the princess, and the palace, should be immediately reduced to ashes...

 

The counterfeit Fatima advanced toward him, with his hand all the time on a dagger concealed in his girdle under his gown; which Aladdin observing, he snatched the weapon from his hand, pierced him to the heart with his own dagger, and then pushed him down on the floor...

 

Thus was Aladdin delivered from the persecution of the two brothers, who were magicians. Within a few years afterward the sultan died in a good old age, and as he left no male children, the Princess Buddir al Buddoor succeeded him, and she and Aladdin reigned together many years, and left a numerous and illustrious posterity."

 

Notice there is more than 1 demon in the lamp!!! Really, is this the best we can do for Jehovah and our children?

http://www.kidsgen.com/stories/arabian_tales/the_story_aladdin.htm

 

 

Edited May 28, 2019 by SUNRAY
punctuation

[Cheeks]

I seen the trailer for the first time on the weekend and was completely shocked! I was scared and can’t imagine how a kid would feel watching it.

Like everything else in the world things have Satanic influence and Disney is no exception.

I miss the days of when things were safe for kids, like The Muppet Show.

[Tortuga]

I'm not interested in watching Aladdin yet I really enjoyed Little Mermaid, Tangled, How to train your dragon and other Disney type shows. It's hard to know where to draw the line sometimes. 

[Shawnster]

13 hours ago, rocket said:

It has been my experience that kids who grow up rather fanatical in their view of entertainment and recreation are sometimes the first to leave off serving Jehovah as they become judgmental of others. Base ones decisions on solid research.

Or they are like the illustration of the spring held in a tight grip.  Open the grip too fast and the spring flies uncontrollably away without direction.  Keep the grip tight and the spring is crushed and the hand is injured.  A gentle, slow release is best.  The spring retains it's ability to spring and the hand is uninjured. 

 

Or, as Carlos shared in another topic, our conscience is like a fire alarm.  If the fire alarm is too lax, then it will not sound until the fire is out of control.  If the alarm is too sensitive, then it will send false alarms constantly and will be ignored when the fire breaks out. 

 

I've seen children leave the truth because their parents were overly strict. I've seen children leave because their conscience alarms were too lax.  Balance in all things. 

 

We are discussing magic and the Christian conscience here :  

Let's continue the conscience discussion there and leave this topic explicitly about the new movie. 

[EccentricM]

2 hours ago, Cheeks said:

I seen the trailer for the first time on the weekend and was completely shocked! I was scared and can’t imagine how a kid would feel watching it.

 

You'd be surprised, kids grow up on all sorts now, even horror.

[1gemstone]

On 5/27/2019 at 3:25 AM, New World Explorer said:

It's hard to stand up to a subtle influences, because no one wants to be viewed by others as "over-righteous too much "

It takes courage to be selective with our entertainment.

 

I have witnessed a talk among brothers enjoying "Game of Thrones"

I refuse to watch the show for following reasons: Violence, rape, sexual abuse ..

https://graziadaily.co.uk/life/opinion/ok-sexual-violence-game-thrones-gone-far/

 

 

Don't forget the "dragon".

[Cheeks]

9 hours ago, EccentricM said:

You'd be surprised, kids grow up on all sorts now, even horror.

True.

Actually, the other night I seen a preview for a new tv series coming out called Batgirl.  Being a Batman fan I was somewhat curious...until the preview showed why the main character became Batgirl: her girlfriend was murdered and she is seeking revenge.  The show even depicts the 2 of them in certain "situations" and I will leave it at that.

 

What the heck?!  Batman, Robin, Batgirl they went after the Riddler, Mr. Freeze, the Joker.  Not this garbage.

 

 

[carlos]

19 hours ago, CynthiaG said:

We have plenty of bible examples who during their time continued serving Jehovah when it seemed no one else was. Was Noah a fanatic? Was Elijah or Josiah?  

Cynthia, I'm sure Lynn didn't mean you are a fanatic for not watching this movie. You are doing well to follow your conscience and your decision in based on valid reasons.

 

On the other hand it's undeniable that some friends are overly strict and seem to be willing to find fault in everything. My experience has been the same as Lynn's: When children are brought up in that kind of oversensitive environment, they often leave the Truth when at some point during their teens, because that kind of life is simply horrible and extremely boring. I have also observed that often those parents who are very narrowminded (I'm not speaking of anyone here) are the same who complain that others in the congregation don't invite them to social activities. It's normal, I don't feel like spending time with them either because I feel like everything I do or say or watch will be judged and criticized.

 

The comparison with Noah or Elijah is rather unfortunate, because that implies that Christians who disagree with our view are like the infidel Israelites or the wicked people who died at the Flood. I guess that was not your intention. Noah and Elijah were surrounded by wicked people while we are surrounded by our brothers and sisters who strive to serve Jehovah and simply have a different view from ours. There is room in the congregation for all kinds of different choices and consciences and often there is not a single right answer. Things go wonderful when we all follow our conscience and both respect and are respected by those who make different choices.

 

1 hour ago, Cheeks said:

What the heck?!  Batman, Robin, Batgirl they went after the Riddler, Mr. Freeze, the Joker.  Not this garbage.

Well, to be honest Batman and Robin were always a bit suspectful.

 

Edited May 29, 2019 by carlos

[EccentricM]

1 hour ago, Cheeks said:

 

What the heck?!  Batman, Robin, Batgirl they went after the Riddler, Mr. Freeze, the Joker.  Not this garbage.

 

 

There's a lot of that going on now. It's more about agendas than just fun cartoons for kids now.

[Cheeks]

2 hours ago, carlos said:

 

 

Well, to be honest Batman and Robin were always a bit suspectful.

 

LOL!

And those costumes from the old 60's Batman show didn't help matters. 

Edited May 29, 2019 by Cheeks

[Hope]

I've been a fan of Batman since I was two years old (the 60s TV show!!!).  Eager to see how the new rendition of this character is worked out.

 

I saw Aladdin on Sunday.  It was pretty darn good!   Not a fan of the new Jasmine song, but... it's typical.

[Thesauron]

2 hours ago, carlos said:

On the other hand it's undeniable that some friends are overly strict and seem to be willing to find fault in everything. My experience has been the same as Lynn's: When children are brought up in that kind of oversensitive environment, they often leave the Truth when at some point during their teens, because that kind of life is simply horrible and extremely boring. I have also observed that often those parents who are very narrowminded (I'm not speaking of anyone here) are the same who complain that others in the congregation don't invite them to social activities. It's normal, I don't feel like spending time with them either because I feel like everything I do or say or watch will be judged and criticized.

I’ve even seen some young pioneers come to Bethel, pretty much expecting perfection, and when they didn’t find it even there, they become disillusioned and eventually leave. Some even leave the truth behind entirely.

[EccentricM]

4 minutes ago, Thesauron said:

I’ve even seen some young pioneers come to Bethel, pretty much expecting perfection, and when they didn’t find it even there, they become disillusioned and eventually leave. Some even leave the truth behind entirely.

I would have thought they'd know we're all imperfect and should find brotherhood in that fact that we all have our faults. But what's ironic is that these people decide to go full on immoral when going into the world, after all that judging on other people... so, who really was futher from the mark in their heart?

[Pavlos]

Still I can't believe that watching this movie is just a matter of conscience. It's definitely a movie not suitable for Christians. For example, there are two protagonists in two different films. The first one rubs the lamp and a spirit comes out willing to fulfill desires. In the second film the hero rubs a crystal sphere and a spirit comes out foretelling the future. Would we said that in the first situation we're watching a kind of fantasy and in the second an act of spiritualism? Aren't they the same thing? In this case, don't we deceive ourselves with false reasoning? 

[Qapla]

I have not seen this movie so I have no idea who these "two protagonists in two different films" is referring to ... I also do not know what "crystal sphere" is being referred to ... like I said, I have not seen the movie - so I have no idea ... how is it that you know what is in a movie you feel no one should see?

 

At the same time, if you were to list the movies you have seen, who knows if someone would say the same thing about a movie you do like, namely, "I can't believe that watching that movie is just a matter of conscience"

 

Just because our conscience does not let us watch any particular movie, we should never impose our conscience on the decisions of others - nor should we imply that their conscience is wrong and/or weak just because it differs from ours.

Edited May 29, 2019 by Qapla

[Shawnster]

17 minutes ago, ouzo said:

Still I can't believe that watching this movie is just a matter of conscience.

And yet, it is.   We do not have a list of movies to avoid and movies approved to see.  

 

Now, some conscience decisions should be self-evident.  Even Governing Body members either in talks or the broadcast (I'm thinking Morris but can't remember where) have commented on the some with weak consciences and the poor choices these ones have made.  

 

In the benefit of full disclosure - my wife and I enjoyed this movie this past weekend.  We found it quite entertaining and did not bother our consciences.  But that is us.  Your conscience is your own.

[Qapla]

An example:

 

I know a brother who thinks no JW should watch Star Wars ... not because of "magic" (The Force) -  but, because of violence. He says it is one of the most violent movies ever made and that no self-respecting JW would ever watch it ....

 

Yet, two of his favorite movies are "The Outlaw Josey Wales" and "The Dirty Dozen"

 

 

Just sayin'