Angels and Demons – Quotes & Discussion Questions

Angels and Demons

(By Stacey Tuttle)

 

Shepherd Project last month featured a video interview with Craig Smith regarding the book and movie Angels and Demons, with a follow-up in his blog. These are still available on line. In light of these resources, this movie review will simply list a few quotes from the movie and some additional questions for discussion. This movie provides so much fuel for provocative discussion that this list will be shamefully incomplete, but hopefully get you started.

Quotes:

• “Do you believe in God? … Not what religion [or man] says about God…But do you believe in God?” Camerlengo to Robert Langdon
• “Faith is a gift that I have yet to receive.” Robert Langdon
• “All believe God is on their side – Allah, Buddah, God – they always say it’s in God’s name.”  Hitman
• “Science and religion are not enemies.”
• “The church is flawed, but only because man is flawed.” Cardinal Strauss
• (After Cardinal Strauss thanks God for sending Langdon to protect the Church) “I don’t believe he sent me, Father. (Strauss replies, “my son, of course he did.”)”
• Camerlengo describes a “modern miracle” as “simple faith and men working together.”
• “If science is allowed to choose… power of creation, what’s left for God?”

Questions:

• Science and religion – the whole movie centers around whether or not they are opposing forces.
• What is your perspective? What do you do when science seems to contradict religion – does one “win” over the other?
• The church (or at least its leaders) in the movie appears to be threatened by science. Do you think God is threatened or challenged by science?
• Are science and God both such huge forces that there isn’t room for both of them in the universe?
• Camerlengo says to “open the doors and tell the world the truth” – ironic statement coming from someone who is lying. However, it does raise the issue of honesty in the church (and within science as well). Do you feel that religion (or science) is less than honest? Is it hiding something?
• Is it the same for things to be hidden verses lied about?
• Cardinal Strauss seems to prefer hiding some things or at least limiting some public knowledge – which seems dishonest and wrong at some points in the movie, but is there possibly some wisdom in limitations? Is all knowledge valuable for everyone to have?
• (Think back to the Garden of Eden, Eve, Tree of the knowledge of good and evil…) What are the applications for this in your life?
• It is said that the truth will set you free – is Camerlengo right to encourage the church leaders to make their decisions, processes, etc. more public?
• There is a strange way in which the outside world keeps the church honest in the movie (Robert Langdon has a key role in that) – do you feel this happens in real life too?
• How do you feel the movie portrays the church and its leaders? More importantly, how do you feel about the church and its leaders?
• Is the church a good tradition, or is it something more?
• Are church leaders men of God who seek to truly do his will or do they simply use his name and “will” as a licence to do their own will? (The hitman says that the men who hire him always claim god is on their side.)
• Are they men who seek to defend a tradition or a person?
• Charismatic leadership – what does the movie imply about leadership and how easily we are duped into believing in someone?
• The church elders were nearly all very eager to bend the rules and make exceptions to promote the Camerlengo because they were so impressed by his recent acts of bravery. However, he hadn’t necessarily proven himself through the test of time as tradition required. Yet, isn’t there a pull toward youth, appearance, charisma and charm which seems to trump age, wisdom, steadfastness and discipline? Do you feel we are generally quick to overlook any flaw (or at least many flaws) if only a person is charming and attractive – or do you think we are really character driven in our choices for leadership?