Christianity rated PG

A small brouhaha is being kicked up over the Baptist backed movie Facing the Giants due to the MPAA giving the movie a PG rating.

The Christian moviemakers behind a low-budget film called "Facing the Giants" were stunned when the MPAA pinned a PG rating on their gentle movie about a burned-out, depressed football coach whose life - on and off the field - takes a miraculous turn for the better.

"What the MPAA said is that the movie contained strong 'thematic elements' that might disturb some parents," said Kris Fuhr, vice president for marketing at Provident Films, which is owned by Sony Pictures. Provident plans to open the film next fall in 380 theaters nationwide with the help of Samuel Goldwyn Films, which has worked with indie movies like "The Squid and the Whale."

So, what were the "thematic elements" present that necessitated the rating? Must have been some locker-room humor, right?

In this case, she [Fuhr] was told that it "decided that the movie was heavily laden with messages from one religion and that this might offend people from other religions. It's important that they used the word 'proselytizing' when they talked about giving this movie a PG. ...

"It is kind of interesting that faith has joined that list of deadly sins that the MPAA board wants to warn parents to worry about."

Here's a synopsis of the scene that apparently is over the top:

But the scene that caught the MPAA's attention may have been the chat between football coach Grant Taylor - played by Alex Kendrick - and a rich brat named Matt Prader. The coach says that he needs to stop bad-mouthing his bossy father and get right with God.

The boy replies: "You really believe in all that honoring God and following Jesus stuff? ... Well, I ain't trying to be disrespectful, but not everybody believes in that."

The coach replies: "Matt, nobody's forcing anything on you. Following Jesus Christ is the decision that you're going to have to make for yourself. You may not want to accept it, because it'll change your life. You'll never be the same."

So next time you're at church, you may want to screen that pastor's sermon at the early service before and decide if it's too strong a theme for your kid. [/sarcasm]