Kingdom of Heaven

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:3

Bible scholars debate what the kindom of heaven means in the Scripture. To many, it means God's reign, whenever and however experienced. Jesus taught us to pray, "Thy kingdom come." Yet Jesus also said, "The kingdom of God is in your midst." He also spoke of it as something that could be entered: "You are not far from the kingdom." In one sense, God's kingdom is already here, for He certainly rules over all, whether they recognize it or not. In another, one must be rightly related to God to enter His kingdom and experience it. In yet another, the kingdom will not be fully realized on earth until Jesus returns.

None of these meanings, however, seems to quite fit the use of the term as the title of the movie, "Kingdom of Heaven." Orlando Bloom plays the son of a crusading baron. Tormented by his wife's suicide due to the death of their child, and his guilt for killing a priest, he decides to go to the Holy Land to take his father's place and try to find forgiveness for his sins. In the course of events, he proves his worth and becomes leader of Jerusalem in its last defense before its fall to the armies of Saladin.

In this movie, the "kingdom of heaven" is presented as a theocracy in its odious sense. The Latin kingdom of Jerusalem, while ostensibly set up to restore Christian rule to the Holy City, has, according to the movie, become merely a greedy grab for land and power by unholy men who cloak their avarice in pious pretensions. There are a few who, disillusioned by the hypocrisy, yet strive to live decently. But even they have, for the most part, despaired of establishing a truly righteous kingdom. One says, "Jerusalem does not need a perfect knight."

Yet Bloom plays a tarnished Galahad, questing not for the Grail, but for his own peace of soul. He goes to sit on the hill of Calvary, expecting God to speak to him. When God does not, he despairs and returns to tell a friend that he has lost his religion. The friend replies that he has never put much stock in religion. According to his philosophy, we are made holy by our actions. If you do good deeds each day, you are a good person.

The portrayal of Christianity in this film is troubling. Perhaps it portrays the view of Christianity that is becoming dominant in the secular culture. Almost everything that the film says or insinuates about Christianity is negative. The priest in Bloom's village in France steals a cross from the body of Bloom's wife, then tells him that he must do penance to lessen her punishment, for she is in hell because she killed herself. Monks admonish the knights on their way to the Crusades that "to kill an infidel is not murder; it is the way to heaven." The patriarch of Jerusalem is presented as a narrow-minded coward. Bloom himself encourages his troops to fight not for the holy sites in the city, but for its people.

On the other hand, almost everything that is portrayed about Islam is positive. At one point, Bloom hears a Muslim prayer and remarks that "it is a lot like ours." Saladin is portrayed as merciful and forgiving, not seeking revenge for past wrongs (only present ones). He goes to war with the Christians only when they provoke him.

Also troubling is the movie's portrayal of the Knights Templar. The Templars are portrayed as the bad guys who attack and massacre Muslims just to stir up trouble and provoke a war.

At present, I do not remember enough details of the history of the Crusades or of the Templars to make definitive statements on the historical accuracy of most of the movie's portrayals. I am not naive enough to believe that the crusaders were perfect, and were interested only in religious idealism. Many were younger sons of nobility, who had no land or inheritance, and "took the cross" for an opportunity for glory and land. But I also have trouble believing that they, and especially the Templars, were all cruel and conniving, attacking innocent people just to provoke a fight. Nor were Saladin and the Muslims all saints either. Those were different times, and there was plenty of cruelty on all sides.

My personal opinion, for what it is worth, is that the makers of the movie were less interested in historical accuracy than in making their points: don't put too much stock in religion (especially Christianity) in your daily life. Being a good person by doing good things is what matters, and you have it in you to do that without the help of religion.

It is sad if the conduct of Christians has led the world to that point of view. For that, of course, is not the message of true Christianity at all.