Church says film got ‘R’ rating because of Christian message

It sounds like this church has a point:

FOX NEWS – The MPAA slapped an R rating on “My Son,” a small-budget film made by the congregation of Retta Baptist Church in Burleson, Tex.

“They told us it was because of violence and drug use portrayed in the film,” Pastor Chuck Kitchens told Fox News. “I was very shocked. It makes me sick at my stomach.”

The pastor said the church’s film does not include foul language, sex scenes or nudity. He did confirm there was violence surrounding a hostage standoff in the church as well as some drug usage.

But Kitchens said the violence was neither gory nor gratuitous. By comparison he pointed out the MPAA gave “World War Z” and “BULLY” PG-13 ratings. And “Jobs,” which included scenes featuring LSD and marijuana usage got a PG-13 rating.

“When you look at the facts and see there are other movies that have been rated PG-13 that have more violence and more drug scenes, you have to say there’s inconsistency there,” he said.

Kitchens told Fox News he believes the R-rating has more to do with the movie’s faith-based message than the violence.

“A group of people out there don’t necessarily like strong evangelical Christianity,” he said. “People don’t like to hear that it’s this one way (to heaven) and nothing else. But if you are a Christian, that’s the message. That’s what Jesus said. That’s what you have to proclaim. People call us bigoted and then they go on the attack.”

An MPAA spokesperson told Fox News that typically they don’t comment on why a film received a specific rating. The MPAA said the same rules apply to all films.

Kitchens said the R-rating is a huge problem because many of his fellow pastors won’t encourage their church members to see an R-rated film.

“We were relying on pastors to advertise to their congregations and sell tickets,” he said. “That’s our marketing strategy. We don’t have Hollywood bucks for commercials.”

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