I come from a stiff necked people.

If you grew up in church like me, and you had a youth pastor whose goal was to teach you the entire Old Testament in three years of Sunday school (we only covered Genesis, Job, and Exodus while I was in there), and the only version you were allowed to learn from was the King James Version, then you would know that the Jews were a "stiff-necked people."  If you read or watch the news, you'll occasionally see the modern day evidence of this still being true.  And so it should come as no surprise to you that I am an obstinate man.  That's the non-KJV way of saying stiff-necked.

One area that I am particularly to digging my heels in over is Christian movies and books.  People have instigated me without being anything more than friendly and perhaps slightly pushy in their wording.  Saying things like, "You have to read/watch/do this!," especially about something I'm not particularly interested in consuming in the first place, can cause it.  Examples: "You have to read The Shack!  You'll love it!"  I didn't read it.  I probably wouldn't have liked it.

I cannot say for sure where this comes from, other than the obvious (my heritage).  Maybe it stems from, "You have to see Facing the Giants," because although I was promised I'd love it, I didn't.  Then everyone insisted I would love Fireproof, and I hated it.  After having a planning meeting with two of my youth pastor friends with similarly silly Christian backgrounds, I think I am better able to put a finger on it.  Maybe it's most likely that I am permanently scarred from all the ridiculous Christian movies I watched growing up at "watch night services."  You know the ones where people are left behind, others go to Hell, and some were even beheaded?  Yeah, those movies.  I think it's likely that I haven't liked Christian movies since I was a kid (except the Butter Cream Gang, and there's no explanation for my liking that one).

I think I will just stick to the Bible and books written by pastors whose teaching and writing don't make me want to jam pencils in my ears.  I will stick to movies that interest me, and not be guilted into seeing anything I think will bore me.  I say all that to say this: please don't invite me to see Courage with you.  My heels are already deep in the earth over this movie, and it's not even out yet.  I know the message is great, but I can get the same message from Deuteronomy 6 and the life of my parents.  I don't need B actors (and that might be a compliment) to get it.