“Finally, Jackie Robinson’s Faith Is Getting the Attention It Deserves”

When Angelina Jolie brought the remarkable book Unbroken to the screen, I feared and predicted that, in typical modern-Hollywood fashion, she would slight (if not altogether ignore) the deeply powerful religious aspect of Louis Zamperini’s already stunning story.

Unfortunately, the film lived down to my expectations.

(Please read the book.  It’s stunning.)

The same fear was realized when Les Misérables was turned into a movie.  It’s a good film.  I’ve enjoyed it more than once.  But the last scene, so very different from the stage version, was especially disappointing.

It seems that the story of Jackie Robinson, the great pioneering black baseball player, has likewise been secularized in most tellings:

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2017/june-web-only/jackie-robinsons-faith-attention-deserves.html?start=3

And that’s a real shame.  Moreover, Branch Rickey’s religiosity deserves to be remembered, as well.  For those who, like the late Christopher Hitchens, insist that religion poisons everything, accurate information about reality can pose a serious threat.

Posted from Boston, Massachusetts