Hello All,

As usual, I 'stumbled' on Priscilla Shirer's video on a friend's blog and googled her to see what's up. Interestingly, different especially negative reviews came up as she preaches in a male congregation (extremely big deal to them), preaches 'contemplative prayer' (just heard it) etc. In essence, she is dubbed as a false preacher whom should be avoided at alllllllllllllllllllll costs.

So I kept 'stumbling' and saw reviews on War Room movie; hint hint. (Priscilla Shirer) is the lead actress.... I was curious as my Nigerian people especially Nairalanders suddenly moved from prescribing Red Bra & Pant to War Room... Everything is solved by War Room....

Hmm, to say I was surprised is an understatement... The negative reviews were strange.. from the choice of Priscilla to the Producers to the type of prayer to even the creating of a 'War Room' to commercilaizing of the 'War Room' concept.

So let me just share one review in the next post and post link to others.

Please bear with me, the review is very looooonnnnnnnnnnngggggggggggggggggggggg!

War Room: A Review by Justin Peters September 9, 2015

If you do not know the Kendrick brothers by name, you almost certainly know them by their films: Flywheel (2003), Facing the Giants (2006), Fireproof (2008), and Courageous (2011). Stephen, Alex, and Shannon Kendrick have just released their fifth faith-based film, War Room. War Room, starring popular Bible teachers Priscilla Shirer and Beth Moore, looks like it may well be the most successful of their films to date bringing in $11 million just on its opening weekend; more than triple it’s $3 million production budget.

Given the popularity of Christian themed films and the considerable buzz about this one in particular, my wife, Kathy, and I went to see War Room on the evening of September 3rd so that I could write a review. For those of you who read my review of Mark Burnett and Roma Downey’s movie, Son of God, you know that I am a bit skeptical of the Christian movie genre as a whole. Nonetheless, I do want to offer what I hope to be a fair review. This review will not touch on every single facet of the movie or even on every theme it presents, but I do hope to address what I believe to be the most important of them.

Plot Overview

War Room is centered around Tony and Elizabeth Jordan, their ten year old daughter, Danielle, and Elizabeth’s real estate client-turned Christian friend, Mrs. Clara. The Jordan marriage is in serious trouble. Tony, a pharmaceutical salesman who travels extensively in his work, is the kind of husband and father one loves to hate. Though a hard worker, he shows little interest in his daughter and pursues a female work interest behind his wife’s back. Elizabeth, played by Priscilla Shirer, goes to Mrs. Clara’s home discuss the particulars of putting it on the market. The meeting, however, went far beyond deciding on a listing price for the house.

Mrs. Clara, an older widow, is a Christian fiercely devoted to prayer which she does in a closet she has dubbed her “War Room.” Mrs. Clara goes to war here, battling Satan who is portrayed as the source of every form of evil plaguing mankind. Rather than plotting troop positions on a military map, Mrs. Clara pins prayer requests and Scripture verses on the wall of her war room, prays to God, and rebukes the Enemy.

Mrs. Clara begins to ask Elizabeth some probing questions about her family, marriage, and church attendance. Upon learning that the Jordan family is at the point of collapse, Mrs. Clara exhorts Elizabeth to fight for her marriage in her own war room.

Slowly but surely, Elizabeth is changed by her newly found prayer life and by reading the Bible. One day in her war room, she discovers via a friend’s text that Tony has been seen in a restaurant with another woman. Elizabeth immediately prays for her husband and asks God to stop him. God gives Tony a stomach ache in the restaurant preventing him from following through with his adulterous plans.

Shortly after this, Tony is fired from his job. Rather than the anger and sarcasm he expected to receive from Elizabeth upon hearing this news, she offered him love and support. The change he sees in his wife eventually changes Tony as well. He confesses his sin and turns back to God. He seeks and is granted forgiveness from both Elizabeth and Danielle, and the Jordan family is on the fast track of restoration.

Despite his new life, Tony is fired from his job. What his boss did not know, though, was that Tony had been stealing drugs from the company, selling them and pocketing the profits. Though he had gotten away with it, his now sensitive conscience drove him to return to meet with his former boss, confess his theft and make restitution. His boss could easily have turned Tony in to the authorities to face prison but chose not to do so. The Jordan family was spared the loss of being torn apart again just as it had begun to heal. Tony eventually found a new, though less lucrative job, his family grew closer to one another and the Lord, Mrs. Clara’s house sold to a pastor and his wife, and all was well because of the battles fought in the War Room.

Strengths

The movie was, of course, clean. There was neither foul language nor any innuendos (other than what was about to happen between Tony and his almost-mistress at the restaurant) anywhere to be found.

War Room emphasized the importance of fidelity to one’s spouse and cutting off any potential threats to the sanctity of the marital covenant. The film championed the virtues of character, integrity, and selflessness. The importance of family, and the need for regular church attendance were stressed. Mrs. Clara (a very winsome character in the film) taught Elizabeth the importance of reading Scripture and, of course, prayer. The movie did teach the biblical truth that man is unable to reform himself. “You can’t fix Tony. Only God can.” said Mrs. Clara to Elizabeth.

The Gospel was, well, mostly there. Mrs. Clara presented the Gospel to Elizabeth in one of their meetings and she talked about sin, that Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty of sin, was raised from the dead and that a person must believe in Jesus and repent. These are all essential elements of the Gospel and I am glad that they were included. That having been said, even though the proper biblical terms were used, often these terms were not explained. The term “repent,” for example, was used but never fleshed out. The lingo was there to be sure, but without a biblical understanding of these terms they are just that, lingo.

Weaknesses

As I’m sure you are expecting, I did find much with which to be concerned. Some of the film’s failures could have been avoided with more careful attention to doctrine and theology and some of the failures, as I will explain in the conclusion, are inherent to the genre itself and unavoidable. I will outline my concerns in a series of “Outs:” Out of Home, Out of Order, Out of Focus, Out of Bounds and Out of Context.

I will breakdown the author's concerns below: - bukatyne

Out of Home

I may as well begin with the most politically incorrect and probably the most controversial point I will make in this review and get it out of the way. Not everyone reading this will agree but truth is truth.

That men and women are of equal value before God is beyond dispute (Gal. 3: 28-29). That having been said, men and women do have different roles and the role of a young wife and mother is to be a worker in the home. The Apostle Paul writes that older women are to teach “the young women…to love their husbands, love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be blasphemed” (Titus 2:4-5). Note the “workers at home” part.

The context makes it quite clear that the “young women” are those who are married and have children in the home. This text makes it quite clear that such women’s primary place of service is not to be outside of the home but within.

Pastor and teacher Dr. John MacArthur has written that if a young woman is adequately fulfilling all seven of the requirements listed in this passage then she “will probably be a very busy individual” and have little time for work outside of the home. If, however, “she still has time left over, then she would be free to pursue enterprising and creative activities outside the home.” It is not that a young woman should never engage in wage earning work of any kind. Proverbs 31, in fact, depicts the godly woman who may do some enterprising work from within the home.

One of the first things I noticed in the film is that Elizabeth worked outside of the home as a real estate agent. Had she been adequately fulfilling all of her duties inside the home, then the case could have been made that this was permissible. This was not the case, however. In fact, the movie actually makes a point that Elizabeth was so involved at her job that she did not know what her daughter, Danielle, was doing at school or in her jump-rope team.

The sad reality is that the fallen world in which we live often requires young women to work outside of the home. Some “young women” have been abandoned by their husbands and some may have husbands unable to work due to some type of infirmity. In situations such as these work outside of the home is, unfortunately, unavoidable.

When a young woman can avoid working outside of the home, though, she should. If a young woman works outside of the home out of preference rather than absolute necessity, then a biblical principle has been violated. The issue is not a minor one. Note that if a young woman works outside of the home at the expense of her biblical household duties, then the result is that the Word of God is βλασφημῆται (blasphemetai), literally, blasphemed.

Writes Dr. MacArthur:

The home is where a wife can provide the best expressions of love for her husband. It is where she teaches and guides and sets a godly example for her children. It is where she is protected from abusive and immoral relationships with other men and where, especially in our day, she still has greater protection from worldly influences—despite the many lurid TV programs, magazines, and other ungodly intrusions. The home is where she has special opportunity to show hospitality and devote herself to other good works. The home is where she can find authentic and satisfying fulfillment, as a Christian and as a woman.

Out of Order

War Room is a theological train wreck chronologically speaking. In other words, it totally gets out of order the Holy Spirit’s work of regeneration in a person with the fruits of regeneration.

In their first meeting, Elizabeth tells Mrs. Clara of the distressed state of her marriage to Tony. Upon hearing this, Mrs. Clara asked her, “Have you prayed for him?” There is nothing, of course, wrong with this in and of itself except the fact that Mrs. Clara made this inquiry without having first made certain that Elizabeth understood the Gospel herself. Though Elizabeth certainly was not guilty of the overtly egregious sins of her husband, like he, she displayed little understanding of the Gospel. She attended church only “occasionally” and was biblically illiterate. There was no discernible spiritual fruit in her life to indicate that she was a believer.

Another example occurs after Elizabeth hears the Gospel (most of it anyway) from Mrs. Clara and begins to get on the straight and narrow. Shortly after Elizabeth found out about Tony’s attempt to cheat on her, he came home from his failed dalliance to a meal she had prepared for him. She looked at her husband and asked, “You wanna pray?” At this point in the movie there is absolutely no reason to believe that Tony had been converted. He had little interest in Danielle and he did not love his wife. He was selfish, arrogant, was a thief, and had no conviction over his sin. He cared only for himself, had no godly sorrow, and showed no affections for things holy and pure. He was ignorant of Scripture and comfortably so. That Elizabeth, by this time walking with the Lord, would ask her husband to pray assumes that this is something he could do which, as a lost man, he could not.

Save the prayer that one may prayer at conversion, prayer is a spiritual discipline that can only be done by the saved. The movie gives the impression that praying for one’s spouse or asking God to bless the evening meal can be done by one who is lost. This, of course, is an impossibility. Before coming to Christ we are enemies of God (Col. 1:21), dead in our sins (Eph. 2:8-9), and cannot seek Him (Rom. 3:10-11); a condition which precludes any ability to pray (Is. 59:2).

Now, this having been said, I am not saying that this was the intention of the Kendrick brothers. It is probably the case that they were simply portraying how people normally speak. I am not at all saying that theologically they would believe that lost people can pray. The problem, though, is the vagueness in which it was portrayed.

Additionally, and even more worrisome, is that the film gives the impression that one can live a life of habitual, unrepentant sin and still be a believer. In her own war room, Elizabeth petitioned “Lord, I pray for Tony that you would turn his heart back to you.”

My issue here is not that Elizabeth is praying for her husband, but that her prayer gives the viewer the impression that Tony was a just backslidden Christian. “Turn his heart back to You,” she prayed. Again, Tony was an absolutely loathsome individual at this point in the movie who displayed zero evidence he had ever experienced regeneration.

Christians can and do sin (1 Jn. 1: but their lives are not to be characterized by sin. It has been said that a Christian can stumble into sin, but he cannot swim in it. A believer is a new creature in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17) indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God Who produces in him good fruit (Gal. 5:22-23). Many people living lives of habitual sin are told they are just “backslidden” when they’ve never slid forward in the first place. Charles Spurgeon stated, “Unless our faith makes us pine after holiness and pant after conformity to God, it is no better than the faith of the devils, and perhaps it is not even so good as that.” Whether intentional or not, there is a danger of this film giving some of its viewers a false assurance of their salvation.

Out of Focus

War Room certainly did deal with sin but it did so, I thought, primarily on a horizontal basis. In other words, though it showed the damaging consequences of sin in relation to our fellow human beings, it did not focus nearly so much on sin’s deadly consequences in our relationship to God.

Tony and Elizabeth both sinned in that they focused on their employment at the expense of their daughter, Danielle. Tony, of course, sinned in his pursuit of a woman who was not his wife. Eventually both came to see how their sin hurt others and they repented. In and of itself, this is good.

What I did not see – or at least what I believed was not emphasized nearly enough – was the vertical nature of sin. There was no mention anywhere in the film of the wrath of God that our sin incurs. There was no mention of God’s wrath abiding on the unbeliever (Jn. 3:36) or that we are saved from it (Rom. 5:9). There was no mention of eternal judgment for those who die in their sins (Lk. 16:19-31).

Without first understanding the wrath of God, one cannot rightly understand the mercy of God. Without first realizing that our sins are storing up God’s wrath (Rom. 2:5) which will be poured out on the ungodly for all of eternity (Rev. 14:10), we cannot truly appreciate His mercy. It is only in understanding God’s deserved wrath that we can fully understand His undeserved mercy. It is His wrath that makes His mercy so precious.

In watching the film both my wife and I were looking for one thing which is a hallmark of every genuine believer: a godly sorrow over sin.

The Bible speaks of two types of sorrow over sin. There is a worldly sorrow which is merely a guilty conscience. A worldly sorrow is one that is concerned only for the horizontal consequences of sin and it leads to death (2 Cor. 7:10).

The other type of sorrow, however, is a godly sorrow. A godly sorrow comes about when we understand that our sin is first and foremost against God. A godly sorrow is when we grieve over our sin because we understand that our sin grieves God and we desire to turn from sin because we do not want to grieve Him. It is this godly sorrow which “produces a repentance without regret leading to salvation” (2 Cor. 7:10).

Unless we both missed it, neither Kathy nor I saw any godly sorrow evidenced in either Tony or Elizabeth’s life. There definitely was sorrow over hurting others, but nowhere in the film did we see the kind of godly sorrow exhibited by David when he humbled himself before the Lord and said to Him, “Against You and You alone have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight” (Ps. 51:4).

Out of Bounds

The Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 4:6 exhorts the immature believers in Corinth “not to exceed what is written.” In other words, we as believers are not to exceed biblical parameters. Whether in our theology or in our practice we are to stay safely within biblical parameters for when we exceed these God-given parameters we are opening ourselves up to demonic influence and demonic deception.

Sadly, biblical parameters dealing with spiritual warfare are exceeded throughout the movie. The entire film is saturated with Word-Faith/N.A.R. spiritual warfare lingo. There seemed to be as much time and effort expended in binding, rebuking and casting out Satan by Mrs. Clara and Elizabeth in their respective war rooms as there was praying to God.

In one of the more emotionally rousing scenes of the film, upon discovering her husband’s philandering ways, Elizabeth retreats to her war room. As she repeatedly cites to herself James 4:7b, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you,” indignation swells within her and she begins to talk to the devil. “No more, you are done! Jesus is Lord of this house and there is no room for you anymore! Go back to Hell where you belong and leave my family alone!” she shouts.

There are at least two significant problems with this. First, Satan is not in Hell. Only when the eschatological events of Revelation 20 take place will he be thrown into the lake of fire and “tormented day and night forever and ever” (vs. 10). The Bible makes it very clear that, for now at least, Satan is quite free “prowling about like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour” (1 Pet. 5:.

Secondly, and more significantly, we as believers are not to be addressing Satan. Ever!

Consider that in Jude we have the record of Michael the archangel disputing with the devil and arguing over the body of Moses. Jude records for us that when he disputed with the devil, Michael the archangel “did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you!’” Think about that for just a moment and let it sink in. If Michael the archangel – the archangel – did not “dare” to rebuke Satan then I think it’s probably a safe bet that we should not do so either. Pastor Jim Osman in his excellent book Truth or Territory writes, “What God's highest holy angel would not dare to do, sinful, fallen men presume the authority to do. It is unthinkable. I have been in the presence of Christians who boldly declare, ‘Satan, I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,’ and I wonder, ‘Who do you think you are?’ Rebuking, commanding, or ridiculing the devil are not tools of effective spiritual warfare; they are marks of prideful, arrogant, self-willed false teachers.”

It is troubling that noted Bible teacher Priscilla Shirer does not know this and would model such a dangerous and unbiblical practice. By exceeding biblical parameters, people are exposing themselves to the very enemy that they fancy themselves as rebuking.

The movie also has a decidedly mystical bent. Towards the end of the film, an older pastor named Charles and his wife, clients of Elizabeth, are shown the home. Charles notices the closed door to the “war room,” opens it and slowly walks inside. He looks around, pauses, backs out of the closet, and then walks back in as though he feels something different in the atmosphere. His wife asks him what he is doing and he says that there has been a lot of praying in this room. “It’s almost like it’s baked in,” said the old pastor.

This is pure mysticism. God speaks to us through the Bible and we speak to Him through prayer. Prayer is an act of obedience that serves to conform our will to that of the Father but it in no way changes the atmosphere in a closet, house, hospital, gymnasium, state or country. This is hyper-charismatic, Word-Faith mysticism.

In another scene Mrs. Clara, Elizabeth and Danielle were on their way to get ice cream when their trip was interrupted by a knife wielding thug demanding their money. The unflappable Mrs. Clara stared him in the eye and commanded, “You put that knife right down in the name of Jesus.” All of the sudden the thug looked dazed and confused. Powerless to follow through with his criminal plans, he fled the scene. Saying “in the name of Jesus” to this miscreant was like giving Kryptonite to Superman.

Throughout the film the name of Jesus is used in this way. It is used almost like a magical incantation, a Christianized version of Abracadabra, to manipulate the physical realm toward one’s desired outcome. Whether used in prayer to restore a marriage or to thwart a mugging, the name of Jesus always got results in War Room.

Contrary to the way in which it is portrayed in the film, saying “in the name of Jesus” is not like putting in coins in some theological vending machine. The name of Jesus is synonymous with the will of Jesus. When we pray for things in Jesus’ name rightly, we are praying for Jesus’ will to be done (Jn. 14:13-14; 1 John 5:14-15). Using the name of Jesus does not always bring the results we desire.

It was fidelity to the name of Jesus that led nearly all of the Apostles to gruesome deaths. It is fidelity to the name of Jesus that has brought horrific persecution to untold millions of Christians during the last two thousand years. Many Christians throughout the world face persecution to this day because of the name of Jesus. Sometimes the name of Jesus gets us not what we want, but what we may not want. Often it is in times of trial and persecution for the believer that God is most glorified.

Out of Context

“The thief comes to steal, kill and to destroy; I have come that they might have life and have it abundantly” (Jn. 10:10) was quoted several times throughout the movie. In War Room the “thief” is identified as Satan who has come to steal people’s joy and marriages.

While it is not necessarily incorrect to identify the thief in John 10:10 as Satan, the context of the passage argues for a much broader view. The context indicates that the thief includes not only Satan, but any false teacher who claims any way of salvation other than that which is found exclusively in Christ. What the “thief” is attempting to steal is not one’s joy or marriage but rather one’s reception of the Gospel itself. The context is that of salvation, not one of life enhancement.

The movie concluded with one of the most familiar, beloved, and yet taken out of context passages in the Old Testament, 2 Chronicles 7:14: “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” The text was shown superimposed on a shot of the United States capitol the insinuation, of course, being that if we will repent that God will heal our nation’s many societal ills.

Though a thorough treatment of this passage is beyond the scope of this article, to apply this verse to the United States of America (or any other country for that matter) is to employ poor hermeneutics. The context of this verse is that it is God’s answer to Solomon’s prayer dedicating the temple recorded in the previous chapter. There has only been, is now, and only will be one country in a covenant relationship with God – Israel.

Another aspect of the movie that was out of context is the entire premise of having a prayer closet in the first place. The film portrayed this room almost as having magical powers. If you want your prayers to be effective, it’s best to pray them in a closet emptied of its contents. Upon first consideration, this idea appears to have biblical support:

When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father Who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. – Matthew 6:5-6.

As we were driving home from the theater that night, Kathy and I talked about how we would be willing to bet that thousands of people will see this film and then go to their homes, clean out a closet and make their own “war rooms” believing that their prayers will become more effective.

Sure enough, just this morning as I was writing this piece, I was watching the Daystar channel as presidents and hosts Marcus and Joni Lamb played a clip from Eyewitness New Fox 58 as Aaran Perlman interviewed two of the Kendrick brothers. A visibly emotional Perlman said, “I saw this movie last weekend with a group of people, I’m gonna start crying before I even get into this. It changed my life so much. This movie, it’s about prayer. It’s about finding a room called the war room and immediately after this movie I went home and ripped everything out of my closet and made my own war room.” “Wow, that’s incredible, awesome! You will see a difference in the days ahead. Write ‘em down so you can keep up with them. It’s great to be able to check off those prayer requests to realize God is alive and well and at work in your life,” Stephen Kendrick responded.

While there is certainly nothing wrong with praying in a closet if that is what one wants to do, the location is not the point. The point Jesus made in this text was not about location but attitude. The point is that we are not to make a show of our prayers as did the scribes and Pharisees and should remove any distractions which may divert our attention away from the One to Whom we are praying. Sincere, humble prayers offered in a living room, a backyard, or in an airplane at 40,000 feet halfway across the Pacific Ocean are heard just as well as those offered in an empty closet. Believing that there is some special power in the location itself is not only mystical, but borders on idolatry. The Object of our prayers and the condition of our hearts are the important things – not the location.

Author's Conclusion

Some will read this review and undoubtedly think that I am being too nitpicky and critical. I have talked to some who have seen War Room and thought that it was great and that it had a solid biblical message. There is no doubt that the film was Christian themed – an element that has drawn the ire of numerous secular critics – but we are enjoined to “test all things” (1 Thess. 5:21) through the lens of Scripture and to “study to show ourselves approved unto God” (2 Tim. 2:15). Charles Spurgeon once said, “Discernment is not a matter of simply telling the difference between right and wrong; rather it is telling the difference between right and almost right.”

Finally, as I hinted at the beginning of this piece, I am not a fan of the whole Christian movie (I am not including documentaries in this) thing in general. It is not that I am inherently opposed to the genre per se, but rather that I believe there to be an inherent danger in them. For one, in order to be successful at the box office, Christian movies must be intentionally vague when it comes to many doctrinal matters. Christian films never really go past the basics of the Gospel and, sadly, often even fail at that. Yet the Bible says that we are to pay close attention to doctrine (1 Tim. 4:13) and to persevere in it (vs. 16).

Additionally, these movies are highly emotional. They tug at our heart strings. There is nothing wrong in and of itself with emotion, but emotion cannot be a substitute for obedience to objective biblical truth. Movies in and of themselves cannot bring lasting change to anyone’s life. It seems that every few years or so something new is introduced to the evangelical masses and is portrayed as the next great evangelistic super-tool. Whether it’s a blockbuster movie like the Passion of the Christ, or best-selling books like The Purpose-Driven Life, or Jesus Calling, people get all excited. Spin-off products follow and incredible amounts of money are spent chasing after the latest fads. But they are just that – fads. Recall the Prayer of Jabez craze about fifteen years ago? Remember how everyone was praying for God to enlarge their territory? Do you have any friends still praying the prayer of Jabez? Me neither. Without a foundation of sound doctrine, without a constant and proper hermeneutic, all of these things are the spiritual equivalent of a sugar pill.

It is a sad commentary, in my estimation, that so many professing believers get so excited about the latest thing to come down the evangelical pike, but show little enthusiasm in and put precious little effort into reading, studying and obeying God’s Word. Watching a movie is easy. Laboring in the Word is not. But only the latter will bear fruit that remains.

http://www.worldviewweekend.com/news/article/war-room-review-justin-peters


Links to other reviews (negative):
https://gsethdunn./2015/07/12/war-room-a-review-of-the-movie-and-business-surrounding-it/
https://hipandthigh./2015/12/31/war-room-a-review/
http://www.satisfactionthroughchrist.com/2016/10/stand-firm-review-war-room.html

wow such a critic you are.... hope the presence of God in your life is as much as your words.

tripplephi:
wow such a critic you are.... hope the presence of God in your life is as much as your words.

Who is the you? Innocent Moi or Justin Peters?

Buka buka

haven't watched it,don't intend to.
However ,the comment about young women being workers in the home clearly destroys any point that particular critic was making for me.
Will google the woman and see why the painment from critics.
Their words seem very strange and odd though-mysticism and co.
Maybe their own spirituality is the don't wear cotton and wool together sort(do not understand these stuff cos im not spiritual).
Will read on,looks interesting

Worker at home? In this economy?

Before it was The other room now it is War room.

I think the author was too "nitpicky and critical "

I really dont get it, I was thinking I would read something more , its more like the doctrinal beliefs of the writer didnt tally with what he saw in the movie

He is of the opinion that christain women shouldnt work outside the home except in some situations (like seriously) hes criticizing a movie that showed a working woman

Out of order :I just don't get how war room gives backsliders and assurance of salvation except its another movie he's talking about. Tony sinned against his wife and his bosses ans ultimately against God he repented , made restitution and fortunately his bosses didn't get him arrested but he did pay for what he stole, I watched when he said he would just pay back what he short changed the company.

Out of bounds : who said christains can't rebuke Satan? Get thee behind me Satan. I don't agree with him on this point? Just hearing that for the first time.
Now the prayer closet itself doesn't really mean you must have a special room dedicated for prayer only I feel it talks more about the prayer life of a christain and how battles can be won when you pray even if you do clean up a room to pray there's really nothing wrong with it. And yes prayer can change the atmosphere in a particular location, same way you know if you have walked into a wrong place as a christain its just about discernment.
Yes the name of Jesus does bring results , I didn't see any abracadabra lool.

Out of focus: There was a Godly sorrow over sin, tony was remorseful and bent down in his bedroom and prayed.

He simply has doctrinal issues with the movie jare and he's entitled to his opinion.



I was thinking what I would read is how people have made war room to be the general antidote to all marital problems. The war room principle has worked and will always work but its not for all situations I think.

All in all its a great movie just like most of the kendrik brothers film I have seen.

I find this critic to be saying "this is not how I would have done it so it's crap"

The movie makers picked a point in Christianity and ran with it. The critic wants ALL of Christianity to be in every Christian movie. Even Jesus taught point by point.

While I can find points to criticize in the movie, I find this critic to be way too.......pharisee-ish

If I could talk face to face with this critic I'd tell him this:

"I can avoid working outside of the home without any financial difficulties but I have chosen to work outside of the home for my personal preference, do your worst "
After I read that part, I refused to go on. Bullcrap.


On the other hand, that war room movie wasn't necessarily bad but I have a problem with folks prescribing it like it's paracetamol for headaches.

bukatyne:


Who is the you? Innocent Moi or Justin Peters?

Both you and the original critic have the same line of thought if not why did you create this thread?

Imagine someone living in America saying women who work have committed a sin

I know that the devil and his accomplices will surely attack anything truth, so for the fact that the first point was even raised to criticize the lady, I already know where both of you are coming from

Give your life to Jesus, He is Lord!

there are so many approaches to diff issues on marriage which means there can't be one way out.but this war room movie that is Bern shoved up our throats each time one complains abt marriage is alarming.

Its a good movie though.

Pidgin2:


Both you and the original critic have the same line of thought if not why did you create this thread?

Imagine someone living in America saying women who work have committed a sin

I know that the devil and his accomplices will surely attack anything truth, so for the fact that the first point was even raised to criticize the lady, I already know where both of you are coming from

Give your life to Jesus, He is Lord!

I agree with your first paragraph, and I will go further. Bukatyne's assertion is that the movie is overhyped simply because it is a christian movie. Attack anything that supports the Bible. Pull down the church and Christianity. That is the construct.

Abiagirl777:
there are so many approaches to diff issues on marriage which means there can't be one way out.but this war room movie that is Bern shoved up our throats each time one complains abt marriage is alarming.

Its a good movie though.

Watch War Room
I'm yet to watch it, for some very personal reasons.

PaperLace:

Watch War Room
I'm yet to watch it, for some very personal reasons.

lol.I didn't particularly set out to buy it,was looking for empire 4 before the seller convinced me how good it was .He even wanted to add the hardcopy of the book used in 'fireproof',40 days stuff,I said its okay.

go to mamalette,Fin and Dpa,instead of solutions to marital issues,you'll hear;watch war room,fireproof...like say the average Nig uses a Closet instead of a wardrobe!

Lmao. You don't follow bukatyne.

Fadamant:



I agree with your first paragraph, and I will go further. Bukatyne's assertion is that the movie is overhyped simply because it is a christian movie. Attack anything that supports the Bible. Pull down the church and Christianity. That is the construct.

i think we men should be held to account for our behavious. The War Room just didn't do that, instead, it placed the success of the ome squarely on the woman, which in my opinion, is just not fair.

I just don't see tat movie as a model for my life.

All these for a fictitious, murderous, and sickeningly partial "God" who already said that the "Jews" are his own "chosen people"? I wonder why Blacks, why Nigerians would lean over backwards for a "God" that doesn't give a rat-arse about them. SMH. Unthinking niggers.

This is pure mysticism. God speaks to us through the Bible and we speak to Him through prayer. Prayer is an act of obedience that serves to conform our will to that of the Father but it in no way changes the atmosphere in a closet, house, hospital, gymnasium, state or country. This is hyper-charismatic, Word-Faith mysticism.

Of course it's pure mysticism. Such an unimaginative yokel. That's why it's a movie, a mere work of fiction where banalities of everyday life are exaggerated for purpose of entertainment. I'm surprised the author did not suggest that the actors should have used their real names in the film. I'm surprised he didn't also argue that using a fake name – even if to play a role in a movie – is a form of deception and therefore qualifies as a sinful deed.

Honestly, this is quite distant from an objective criticism/review, and is really not worth reading. It seems more like the nitpickings of one with a dry, monochromic imagination.

I still don't know why the OP thought of posting this here. Is there some hidden meaning, some cryptic lesson to be discovered?

It goes without saying that relying on prayers or a "War Room" to get things done is as foolish as trudging the Artic Circle wried in scanty clothing. I can't speak for others, but I most certainly know that a "War Room" would not prevent "me" from screwing a woman other than my wife. If Fate would curse me with an hyper-fanatical Christian wife, then she had better know to take lessons from women like Cleopatra and Helen of Troy, because only sizzling, therapeutic sex served on a platter of regularity can keep my heart from wandering to the bed of another.

Hmmmm.... Can't believe I read this whole epistle. Longest post I've had to read on nairaland.

Well constructed, although this critic has way too much time. In any case, take away his "out of home" criticism(which I believe to be arrant gibberish), he made some sense. I dont know what It is but when I watched the movie, I kinda felt my Nollywood brothers and sisters would've done better.

The rate at which the lead actress turned to a stunch spiri-koko, so much so that she was even commanding the devil... Plus a couple of other things.... Oh well, what do I know? Na feem... It is a good movie though.
Rating: 3.5

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DarkRebel69:
All these for a fictitious, murderous, and sickeningly partial "God" who already said that the "Jews" are his own "chosen people"? I wonder why Blacks, why Nigerians would lean over backwards for a "God" that doesn't give a rat-arse about them. SMH. Unthinking niggers.



Of course it's pure mysticism. Such an unimaginative yokel. That's why it's a movie, a mere work of fiction where banalities of everyday life are exaggerated for purpose of entertainment. I'm surprised the author did not suggest that the actors should have used their real names in the film. I'm surprised he didn't also argue that using a fake name – even if to play a role in a movie – is a form of deception and therefore qualifies as a sinful deed.

Honestly, this is quite distant from an objective criticism/review, and is really not worth reading. It seems more like the nitpickings of one with a dry, monochromic imagination.

I still don't know why the OP thought of posting this here. Is there some hidden meaning, some cryptic lesson to be discovered?

It goes without saying that relying on prayers or a "War Room" to get things done is as foolish as trudging the Artic Circle wried in scanty clothing. I can't speak for others, but I most certainly know that a "War Room" would not prevent "me" from screwing a woman other than my wife. If Fate would curse me with an hyper-fanatical Christian wife, then she had better know to take lessons from women like Cleopatra and Helen of Troy, because only sizzling, therapeutic sex served on a platter of regularity can keep my heart from wandering to the bed of another.

If you truly believe all this is hog wash why do you have so much passion against fiction, seems extremely contradictory to me

Pidgin2:


If you truly believe all this is hog wash why do you have so much passion against fiction, seems extremely contradictory to me

What mean you by "have so much passion against fiction"?

MiddleDimension:
i think we men should be held to account for our behavious. The War Room just didn't do that, instead, it placed the success of the ome squarely on the woman, which in my opinion, is just not fair.

I just don't see tat movie as a model for my life.

God bless you. Same here. I've seen that movie twice and I feel it shouldn't be a model anyone should point to when couples are having marital crisis such as cheating. All problems are not solved with a single approach.

Abiagirl777:


lol.I didn't particularly set out to buy it,was looking for empire 4 before the seller convinced me how good it was .He even wanted to add the hardcopy of the book used in 'fireproof',40 days stuff,I said its okay.

go to mamalette,Fin and Dpa,instead of solutions to marital issues,you'll hear;watch war room,fireproof...like say the average Nig uses a Closet instead of a wardrobe!

I don't do lots of religious marital movies because they heap the burden of handling a home on the woman. Then we wonder why women age faster, why won't they?

No practical or psychological approach to issues _ always pray, pray and pray again. They succeed in emasculating men , making them seem vulnerable and at the mercy of their ever praying wife.

War Room indeed.

I don't have the time to read such the criticism and I don't care, but all I know is that 'War Room' is one of best movies I have watched that touched my soul deeply.[color=#000099][/color]