One of my friends, who has a firm faith in
God, told me to never see this movie after she had seen it. Of course, I had to watch it to see what the big problem was. Whenever this movie came out the
Catholic church was in uproar, as one can easily imagine.
For instance, the movie seemed to ask me why I thought Chris Rock's character and what he said was wrong. Why can there not be a black Jesus or a 13th apostle? There is nothing wrong with a black Jesus. However, this challenges what Catholic children are brought up with. The medieval representations of a white man on the cross. If there are black people in the church, why is it so hard to believe that black people were in the early church.
George Carlin utilized a Catholic doctrine that had been lying around for a millenium in order to have his revival. Some people may wonder how Jay and Silent Bob could be prophets. Wasn't Saul a murderer before becoming an evangelist?
From the very start the movie challenges the Catholic belief structure. The title itself, Dogma, is ironic. Why would the Catholic church not accept this movie. Simply, because of its dogma. The Catholic church is unwilling to change. There has only been one renaissance to the church since the Medieval times, and that was with Vatican II.
The movie Dogma can be related to a minority opinion. J.S. Mills wrote, amongst other things, that the majority should listen to the minority, or else the majority's viewpoint would become dogmatic. This is precisely what has happened here. The Catholic church has refused to listen to a minority opinion, and their views have become dogmatic.
I am a Roman Catholic, and for me personally, I watch this movie to question why I believe what I do. This movie reaffirms my faith and fuels my desire to change the church.