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I can't remember which exactly, though I think it was the bishop, but one of them afterward admitted to have missed the start of the film and therefore didn't k

I can't remember which exactly, though I think it was the bishop, but one of them afterward admitted to have missed the start of the film and therefore didn't know that it was made clear that Brian was not Jesus in the opening scene.

simonh 8y ago
The thing is the film is nothing but respectful to Jesus, who does make a few brief appearances, and in fact what is presented of Jesus' teachings and example in life is wholly reverent. What they do mercilessly lampoon are all the hangers-on, unthinking followers, ungrateful beneficiaries and various religious functionaries that follow rules before they follow principles. Those people get a proper drubbing.
- inflatableDodo 8y ago
  That's true and it may more properly explain why it annoyed Malcolm Muggeridge and Mervyn Stockwood quite so much. I looked it up and apparently it was Muggeridge who had skipped the beginning of the film. Perhaps he had also skipped the bit in the bible about bearing false witness, it is quite a large book after all.
  - Gupie 8y ago
    Even if he missed the beginning it is clear from other scenes in the film that Brian is not Jesus, e.g. "blessed are the cheese makers". So the story is either apocryphal or Muggeridge only watch clips of the film.
- saiya-jin 8y ago
  > What they do mercilessly lampoon are all the hangers-on, unthinking followers, ungrateful beneficiaries and various religious functionaries that follow rules before they follow principles. Those people get a proper drubbing. So basically the whole Church Inc. with its highly pyramidal management structure, messy internal politics, hunger for power/money and a history that noone could possibly be proud of.
  - MadcapJake 8y ago
    I see it more as poking fun at the human desire for some magical silver bullet answer to life's sufferings and the big "why". We cling to random meaningless things so hard that we could easily mess it all up and mistake someone for messiah. On a macro level, sure it says organized religion is no better than a cult that became mainstream. On a subjective level, it says don't spend your days dwelling on snake oil meant to save you from the sufferings of life, just look at the bright side and carry on!
    - HillaryBriss 8y ago
      > On a subjective level, it says ... just look at the bright side and carry on! interesting. i never looked at the film that way. i took the message in that scene to be that optimism can be overdone, that maybe the belief in Jesus's death/resurrection was simply optimism taken to a really absurd extreme

simonh 8y ago

The thing is the film is nothing but respectful to Jesus, who does make a few brief appearances, and in fact what is presented of Jesus' teachings and example in life is wholly reverent. What they do mercilessly lampoon are all the hangers-on, unthinking followers, ungrateful beneficiaries and various religious functionaries that follow rules before they follow principles. Those people get a proper drubbing.

inflatableDodo 8y ago
That's true and it may more properly explain why it annoyed Malcolm Muggeridge and Mervyn Stockwood quite so much. I looked it up and apparently it was Muggeridge who had skipped the beginning of the film. Perhaps he had also skipped the bit in the bible about bearing false witness, it is quite a large book after all.
- Gupie 8y ago
  Even if he missed the beginning it is clear from other scenes in the film that Brian is not Jesus, e.g. "blessed are the cheese makers". So the story is either apocryphal or Muggeridge only watch clips of the film.
saiya-jin 8y ago
> What they do mercilessly lampoon are all the hangers-on, unthinking followers, ungrateful beneficiaries and various religious functionaries that follow rules before they follow principles. Those people get a proper drubbing. So basically the whole Church Inc. with its highly pyramidal management structure, messy internal politics, hunger for power/money and a history that noone could possibly be proud of.
- MadcapJake 8y ago
  I see it more as poking fun at the human desire for some magical silver bullet answer to life's sufferings and the big "why". We cling to random meaningless things so hard that we could easily mess it all up and mistake someone for messiah. On a macro level, sure it says organized religion is no better than a cult that became mainstream. On a subjective level, it says don't spend your days dwelling on snake oil meant to save you from the sufferings of life, just look at the bright side and carry on!
  - HillaryBriss 8y ago
    > On a subjective level, it says ... just look at the bright side and carry on! interesting. i never looked at the film that way. i took the message in that scene to be that optimism can be overdone, that maybe the belief in Jesus's death/resurrection was simply optimism taken to a really absurd extreme