The movie Doubt raises a number of questions, which is the whole
point of the movie. Everyone could be a villain. A lovable, personable priest
of a catholic parish is suspected of, but never witnessed committing, abuse of
a boy (or boys) in the parish school. The principal nun of the school is
seeking to protect the children but along the way her heavy-handed tactics and
stern personality put off many who work with her and study under her. She,
however, views her approach as not only necessary, but even a virtue. These two
are set against each other as the priest claims to love the children and
connect with them, while she claims to be a wolf clever enough to out-flank a
hunter who would prey on them. Nothing is resolved, and nothing in the movie is
certain or settled. Even the boy's mother doesn't want to take action, because
1)she believes the boy invited the advances by the priest and 2)no other male,
especially the boy's father, shows him love or care.
Questions for
discussion
How far should we go in seeking to be a counter-culture for the
common good?
How was Sister Aloysius right for doing what she did? How
was she wrong? (Assume both.)
What could she have done instead?
Who were the Pharisees and why did Jesus spend so much time
attacking them?
What do all Pharisees that are around us, like Sister Aloysius,
want?
What is the problem with Father Flynn's argument that all sins
are the same and over once they are confessed?
What is the problem with Donald's mother's argument, that her
son can't be blamed for actions that flow from Donald's nature?
What is the problem with Sister Aloysius's argument that in
pursuit of wrong-doing one steps away from God?
Verses to use in your discussion:
Matthew 23:13; Matthew 13:18-23; Ezekiel 33:1-6; Ephesians
5:1-14; Daniel 3:1-12; James 1:5-8
Christians should always "seek to be a counter-culture for the common good." Christians cannot be hypocrites and must let anyone who wishes to enter the Church, enter freely. Christians must guide others to the righteous path like Sister Aloysius did. Matthew 13: 18-23 states, "But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” Sister Aloysius did what she did based on faith, a gut feeling. She was right, but she could not prove it. Does that make her wrong in her actions? Possibly, but she was the only one who spoke her heart. In that moment, I believe she was right. Father Flynn, the corrupted soul in this movie, states that "all sins are the same." Yes, this is true in the end, in God's eyes but not in real life. If I were to lie to my parents, it would not be the same as murdering my friend. No sin can be forgiven except by God. His opinion is the only that matters in the end. One cannot ask for forgiveness for one sin and then go commit another or the same one again the next day. One must keep asking for forgiveness and recommit their life to God. Everyone is responsible for themselves. Donald's mother states that "her son can't be blamed for actions that flow from Donald's nature" but this is not true. Her son is solely responsible for his actions. Ephesians 5:8-13 states, For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light." In order to do the right thing, sometimes one can feel they are stepping away from God like Sister Aloysius did, but she was not stepping away from God. She was doing a service in God's name. She was doing the right thing even if she had to be an outcast. She was following her heart. James 1:5-6 states, "If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind." She had doubt later but she should find comfort that what she did was right. She always had God by her side.
ReplyDeleteAccording to pastor Tim Keller, Christians should act as a counter-culture for the common good. According to James 1:27, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” Therefore, we are faithful when we are seeking the counter-culture. However, we should stop seeking it once we reach the point where we become unfaithful to God. Sister Aloysius was right in doing what she did because she wanted to protect the children from any further sexual harassment from Father Flynn. She wanted a pure, healthy environment for the children to go to school. She believed that a priest shouldn't be able to wear his collar if he's raping young boys. This is seen in Ephesians 5:3 when it says: "But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people." However, she had no evidence that Father Flynn was guilty of those actions. But, she just knew by a gut feeling. Ezekiel 33:2-3 says, “Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from their territory and make him their watchman, when he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the trumpet and warns the people..." I thought she was correct in her accusations against Father Flynn. I suspected him throughout the whole movie. When Sister Aloysius and Father Flynn had an altercation in the principal's office, it seemed as though he indeed had inappropriate relations with Donald. But, he didn't actually admit it. She was wrong when she lied about calling one of Father Flynn's schools that he had previously taught at in order to scare Father Flynn into resigning. She could have waited for a further investigation from the Bishop in order to confirm her accusations with evidence. The Pharisees were a group of Jews that believed that one's punishment was based on his/her actions. They believed that they weren't capable of sin. Jesus attacked them so much because they were rejecting the kingdom of God to those who sinned, yet they sinned. Matthew 23:13 says, "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to." Pharisees, like Sister Aloysius, want to follow God's commandments and strive to be holy. The problem with Father Flynn's argument that all sins the same and over once they are confessed is that some sins are more serious than others. There are smaller sins such as lying and cursing, but there are also mortal sins such as adultery and murder. While God forgives these sins, mortal sins weigh more heavily. Yes, you must ask for forgiveness, and God will grant you His grace and mercy, but you must also do something in return. Change is key. God wants us to alter our ways to prevent us from committing that sin again. Donald's mom says that "her son can't be blamed for actions that flow from Donald's nature." This statement is completely incorrect. Our nature is what leads to our actions, and if these actions are immoral, then we need to change something in our hearts and minds. We are to live in goodness, righteousness, and truth, as said in Ephesians 5:9. When Sister Aloysius says that "in pursuit of wrong-doing, one steps away from God", I felt that she was feeling some sort of guilt for her actions. But, her actions were for the good. James 1: 5-6 says: "If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind." So, her gut feeling must have been given from God.
ReplyDeleteSister Aloysius did the right thing, I think it would have been better to involve police but I don't blame her for not wanting to when she knew the victim wouldn't want to speak. It is far better to error on the side of caution, especially where children's safety is concerned. I understand the stigma surrounding priests and recognize that it isn't exactly fair, but stereotypes don't become stereotypes out of the blue for no reason. Flynn is dead wrong with all sins being the same once they are confessed because some cause lasting harm and grieving. I have an issue with entire concept of Catholic confession. A priest does not need to mediate between a layman and God for the forgiveness of sin and God does not expect three hail marys or any other penance to forgive. He just wants the apology. Saying penance does not make anyone any more deserving of His love or forgiveness, we don't deserve it at all and only have it because Jesus paid the price on the cross.
ReplyDeleteSister Alouyius was right for what she was doing because she was doing because she was trying to protect the young boy and stand up for her religion. She might have been wrong about some of the ways she acted about it like her tune of voice. She could have been nicer in the way she approached it and she should have confirmed with the boy or the priest that something was going on before she brought it to the mom.The Pharisees are the ones who were strict about the way they acted. They were alike with the sister because she followed the laws really well. The father was wrong by saying once u confess them they are gone because if you keep doing them you haven't really asked for forgiveness. The boys mother is wrong because even if its the boys nature he is still responsible for his sins. I agree with the sister because if you are continuing in your sin then you are getting farther from God.
ReplyDeleteSister Alouyius was doing good obvious because she suspected a serious issue. An issue that could have changed the boys life forever and damaged him. That being said however, evidence was still uncertain and she could have destroyed Father Flynn's career if she were wrong about the accusations. Like the Pharisees, Sister Alouyius never strayed away form the rules and followed them to a T. I think the sister was right to speak up and tell.
ReplyDeleteHow far should we go in seeking to be a counter-culture for the common good?
ReplyDeleteWe should make the effort to be a counter- culture for good in order to proclaim Christ as the ultimate alternative. But doing questionable actions to gain attention for our message defeats the purpose.
The Pharisees were religious leaders who thought they were better than everyone else because they acted "holy". They want to be acknowledged publically for their good deeds and to be praised for them. If we only had to confess our sin once and could commit any sin because they are all the same, people would be killing each other and not feeling like they have to repent. We don't physically step away from God but rather spiritually defy him and choose evil.
Sister Aloysius was right because she was making sure there wasn't a repeat of past behavior. She didn't want to priest harming young boys in the church. She was wrong for taking things as far as she did by calling a nun from another of Father Flynn's churches.
ReplyDeleteFather Flynn is wrong when he says that all sins are the same and over once they are confessed. In this kind of situation, it makes it look like he is guiltier of something more than what Sister Aloysius says. It makes his argument circular. He won't say any more, he just repeats himself. When it comes to a major confrontation, he breaks down and doesn't answer the questions. We don't actually know what he is guilty of. Him stepping down leaves us puzzled about what happened, and makes us think he is guilty, or else he would have stayed. The fact that he treats all sins as the same makes us feel he is lying.
Sister Aloysius did the right thing by confronting him with the problem, but if what she accused him for was true and if she had credible proof. She should've went to the authorities about the issue. On the other hand if she was wrong about what she accused him for. She could've wrecked father Flynn career. I believe father Flemings argument was correct.The Bible teaches that all sins are equal that one is not greater than the other. If he confessed his sins to God. Sister Aloysius shouldn't have judged him or accused him for something he might've done in the past. I agree with Donald's mother that he shouldn't be blamed for the actions that a grown man was accused of doing to him, but at the same time she shouldn't be contempt with them ethier. She should've took actions to investigate further into what's happening to your son.
ReplyDeletesister Aloysius made a very difficult but correct decison by confronting father with the issue. sister chose to confront father instead of the police because by doing so father would stop doing what he was doing without having to get the police involved. it is hard to judge how far we shw go to seek out counter culture because every topic has a different sensativitly
ReplyDeleteSister Aloysius was right for being concerned about Father Flynn and Donald. She did the right thing by confronting him about it but I believe she reached the level that even if Father Flynn was innocent, he was going to leave either way. She pushed way too hard and was too confident that Father Flynn was in fact guilty. She was way too convicting of Father Flynn and should have been less aggressive in her investigation of the situation. Sister Aloysius is definitely like the Pharisees because she convicts Father Flynn aggressively without letting him tell his side of the story. She is ruthless in her pursuit of the "truth" or what she thinks is the truth.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Sister was right for bringing to his attention instead of anything higher that would create a bigger problem. I think she was in the wrong because it wasn't really wholly her business. The Pharisees really just want to point out the wrong. We should not think of a sin being something we can just do and it is confessed and forgiven and then it goes away because there was an ultimate price for that. It should not be over used.
ReplyDeleteThere are many things assumed in this movie that are not answered. Like is the pastor a pedo. Im honestly can't say for certain. He seems to be a good guy. Yet most pedos seem to be one until you find out what they are doing. While sister Alysius is not my favorite person I have to admire her for trying to stop such a hideous crime even if it didn't exist. There was some issues with how she did it. Personally I wouldn't have let the guy know he was being investigated for that. That would make any guy very defensive even hostile towards you. The mother has issues. Like her kid could be getting abused and your response is just let it happen. No don't say that do something your husband has a temper point that anger athe person doing it.
ReplyDeleteWe Should always strive for the common good. Sister Aloysius was right because she was trying to protect the children, She was wrong because she quickly assumed the priests guilt. The Pharisees were teachers of the bible that followed the laws in a very strict and skewed way. Jesus spend so much time attacking them because they were messing up the message of love and instead spreading legalism. Pharisees that are around us, like Sister Aloysius, want the rules to be followed so they can get to heavan by following the commandments.
ReplyDeleteWhen working in a school, teachers i schools need to care in order for the children to really be safe and thrive in life, which is exactly what Sister Aloysius was trying to do for the young boy. It was unfortunate that the young boy had to be subjected to the possible pedophilia because the priest was the best father-figure in his life. The only way she was in the wrong is that she jumped straight to conclusions without thinking about her plan of action first. It is possible that the Sister could have had a meeting with the parents first before confronting the priest.
ReplyDelete