At Play in the Fields of the Lord

[LeeR49]

I just finished watching the movie, At Play in the Fields of the Lord. I can certinaly see why it seems to be liked by so many nudists. I can't imagine a better portrayal of pure, non-sexual nakedness than this film. There is a lot of nuidty -- kids as well as adults, but it is never portayed as sexual or even odd. In fact, no one ever draws attention to it. Even the "missionaries" had nothing to say about all these naked people. The uncredibly uptight Hazel, upon discovering her son nude and watching a couple "romp" in the hammock, said nothing about his nudity -- she was upset only about his watching ths couple make love. This showed a clear separation of nudity and sex.

However, I was not as happy about another aspect of this movie. As a Christian and a professional missiologist, I feel compeled to say that the portrayal of Christian missionaries was utterly inaccurate and prejudicial. I work with missionaries and mission organizations every day, and can assure anyone that the kind of attitudes portrayed in these roles would never be tolerated by any reputable missionas agency. Missionaries are thoroughly trained professionals who understand the need for contextualization, respect for the culture, humility, service and sacrifice. This portrayal of missionaries is nothing short of slander.

If anyone is interested in reading about a real life missionary who came upon a tribe much like the tribe in this movie, and reached them with the Gospel while maintaining full respect for their culture, I would recommend the book Bruchko, the story of Bruce Olson, who was captured and nearly killed -- not once, but several times -- by the feared and violent Molitone, who live in the jungles of Columbia. Ultimately, "Bruchko" won them over, and they won him over to their culture and way of life. After 42 years, Bruce continues to live among these now gentle people, and plans one day to be "burried" in the Molitone way -- in a hammock hung high in the trees where the vultures will come and carry his body into the sky.

That is what real Christian missions is all about.

Lee

[LeeR49]

I just finished watching the movie, At Play in the Fields of the Lord. I can certinaly see why it seems to be liked by so many nudists. I can't imagine a better portrayal of pure, non-sexual nakedness than this film. There is a lot of nuidty -- kids as well as adults, but it is never portayed as sexual or even odd. In fact, no one ever draws attention to it. Even the "missionaries" had nothing to say about all these naked people. The uncredibly uptight Hazel, upon discovering her son nude and watching a couple "romp" in the hammock, said nothing about his nudity -- she was upset only about his watching ths couple make love. This showed a clear separation of nudity and sex.

However, I was not as happy about another aspect of this movie. As a Christian and a professional missiologist, I feel compeled to say that the portrayal of Christian missionaries was utterly inaccurate and prejudicial. I work with missionaries and mission organizations every day, and can assure anyone that the kind of attitudes portrayed in these roles would never be tolerated by any reputable missionas agency. Missionaries are thoroughly trained professionals who understand the need for contextualization, respect for the culture, humility, service and sacrifice. This portrayal of missionaries is nothing short of slander.

If anyone is interested in reading about a real life missionary who came upon a tribe much like the tribe in this movie, and reached them with the Gospel while maintaining full respect for their culture, I would recommend the book Bruchko, the story of Bruce Olson, who was captured and nearly killed -- not once, but several times -- by the feared and violent Molitone, who live in the jungles of Columbia. Ultimately, "Bruchko" won them over, and they won him over to their culture and way of life. After 42 years, Bruce continues to live among these now gentle people, and plans one day to be "burried" in the Molitone way -- in a hammock hung high in the trees where the vultures will come and carry his body into the sky.

That is what real Christian missions is all about.

Lee

[namedun]

I was always under the impression that missionaries went to tribes to convert them to both christianity, and the "modern" way of living. I suggest everyone read Ishmael by Daniel Quinn

[nudebynature]

quote:

---

Originally posted by LeeR49:
[qb] I just finished watching the movie, At Play in the Fields of the Lord. I can certinaly see why it seems to be liked by so many nudists. I can't imagine a better portrayal of pure, non-sexual nakedness than this film. There is a lot of nuidty -- kids as well as adults, but it is never portayed as sexual or even odd. In fact, no one ever draws attention to it. Even the "missionaries" had nothing to say about all these naked people. The uncredibly uptight Hazel, upon discovering her son nude and watching a couple "romp" in the hammock, said nothing about his nudity -- she was upset only about his watching ths couple make love. This showed a clear separation of nudity and sex.

However, I was not as happy about another aspect of this movie. As a Christian and a professional missiologist, I feel compeled to say that the portrayal of Christian missionaries was utterly inaccurate and prejudicial. I work with missionaries and mission organizations every day, and can assure anyone that the kind of attitudes portrayed in these roles would never be tolerated by any reputable missionas agency. Missionaries are thoroughly trained professionals who understand the need for contextualization, respect for the culture, humility, service and sacrifice. This portrayal of missionaries is nothing short of slander.

If anyone is interested in reading about a real life missionary who came upon a tribe much like the tribe in this movie, and reached them with the Gospel while maintaining full respect for their culture, I would recommend the book Bruchko, the story of Bruce Olson, who was captured and nearly killed -- not once, but several times -- by the feared and violent Molitone, who live in the jungles of Columbia. Ultimately, "Bruchko" won them over, and they won him over to their culture and way of life. After 42 years, Bruce continues to live among these now gentle people, and plans one day to be "burried" in the Molitone way -- in a hammock hung high in the trees where the vultures will come and carry his body into the sky.

That is what real Christian missions is all about.

Lee [/qb]

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It has been a few years since I have seen the movie. The last time was on network TV in Canada, with no cuts. Attitudes toward nudity on tV is more relaxed here than in the States.

I disagree somewhat with your assessment of the missionaries. I know several missionaries and they are as you say, highly trained professionals.

That was not always the case. Missionaries to Africa succeeded in teaching shame. They brought with them notions of western culture and tried to "civilize" the natives. Natives were often treated like children. Missionaries who "went native" were usually derided.

I agree that this no longer the case, although I am sure that cultural bias continues to exist. When Franklin Graham talked about evangelizing Uraq after the invasion, his comments were very ignorant of Islam and betrayed his western prejudice against Muslims.

It is good movie and worth viewing again even though has been around for awhile. The scenery is beautiful and worth seeing the movie for alone. There is some memorable nudity from Kathy Bates and Tom Berenger, which at the time (1991) was unusual. Not too much full frontal male nudity and Kathy Bates does not fit the usual mold.

There is much innocence as you said.

[hm0504]

I thought the movie was excellent in all its aspects.

quote:

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As a Christian and a professional missiologist, I feel compeled to say that the portrayal of Christian missionaries was utterly inaccurate and prejudicial.

---

There are positive and negative portrayals of Christian characters though the overall impact would be negative. As a Christian, I didn't have a problem with it because there certainly are blatant cases of the impact of missions being negative. In Canada (and I think Australia and probably other Commonwealth countries), we are dealing with something called the Residential Schools that existed for several decades in the 1900s. Churches, like mine, are now confronted with major issues of cultural and sexual abuse. We do also know that most of the Residential School missionaries were trying to do good and not harm, but one cannot help but recognize there is more than one face to missions.

Any movie should only be regarded as telling a particular story from a particular perspective. I don't expect, nor even want, a dramatic movie to be an objective analysis.

[wannabenaked]

Didn't the early Spanish "missionaries" to the Americas give the Mayans the option to convert or die?

[RalphVa]

I saw that movie in Singapore after they started allowing R rated movies. I recognized the site immediately, as I'd been to southern Venezuela where those rivers meet near Canaima (near Angel Falls).

From the stories of the way missionaries behaved when they went to Hawaii the first time, I think it's an accurate portrayal.

[Rex]

Some of the English missionaries who went to Africa, were also commission agents for the English cotton mills.
They told the "naked savages" to wear clothes, then traded with them for rolls of cotton material.
Some of the overseas Christian organisations do a lot of practical good nowadays.
I'm happy to give two of them some small financial support.

[Trailscout]

When US soldiers were stationed in Micronesia in the South Pacific in World War II, they gave tee shirts to the local women because they went topless and we wanted to civilize these people and help lift them out of their poverty.

The women were delighted with the tee shirts and considered them a lovely novelty.

But the soldiers were taken aback when they saw the women wearing their new tee shirts.

The ladies had carefully cut out holes in the tee shirts for their breasts!

[toofeelgood]

At play in the fields of the lord illustrates how normal the unclothed body is and how narrow minded western societies views about it are. A movie deffinately worth seing for many reasons... The normalcy of living where it is warm enough to be unclothed all the time, the awefull way western society tries to change other cultures...