I present to you, a short film called "Credo" by director Keith Snyder and starring Larry Picard. Keith describes this film as "yet another 9-minute screen opera about God and religious violence."
But first a quick story about how I discovered Credo. Keith Snyder emailed me a long time ago. Then he came to hear the sermon I did last Spring at Cornell. He handed me a copy of his short film, "Credo." I took it home and lost it. Then I was embarrassed to admit that I had lost it, so I just said nothing. Finally he wrote to see if I had watched it. The truth came out, but he was kind and sent me another copy, which I sat on my desk at the church, where I looked at the cover day after day.
I have a strange way about me. There are certain things I don't do until the right time. I have no way of explaining to anyone how I know it is the right time, but I feel it. A number of weeks went by and then one day, not too long ago, I decided it was time to watch Credo.
I loved it. It's lovely, precious, and endearing. And it's certain to spark some pretty intense conversations. As you watch it, remember this: It is a work of art, not a theological treatise. Don't pick the theology apart. Also, you should remember that in the Jewish scriptures (Old Testament) God repents several times. In Genesis God repents and is sorry that he created humankind. In First Samuel God repented that he made Saul king. And, most stunningly, in Exodus God is angry and about to destroy the children of Israel. Moses intervenes and demands that he repent of this anger.
"Why are you angry with Your people, which you brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand? . . .Turn from your fierce wrath and repent of this evil against your people...And the Lord repented of the evil which He said He would do unto his people." (32:11-14)
This notion of God experiencing regret is only a problem if you are into the whole omniscient and omnipotent thing. And since those ideas are NOT IN THE BIBLE, I don't feel obligated to believe them myself.
Yeah, not in the Bible. The omni concept is more of a Greek, philosophical thing. Surprised aren't you? Here's a little article about this by Tony Campolo, who is a huge hero of mine.
Keith Synder explores the idea of God, evil, and repentance in this wonderful little film. And if you can let go of the omni stuff, then you make room for the idea that Larry Picard's God character might actually be possible. Which is cool because I absolutely adore Larry in this film. I wish he was my friend in real life, but I'd have a hard time not always wanting to pray to him. ;-)
Follow the link below and you can watch it online. Enjoy!
The website has
the lyrics, which are worth reading
to make sure you didn't miss anything
