Roma Downey
In this video Roma Downey and her husband, Mark Burnett, are being interviewed by Jim Daly of Focus on the Family. They are discussing their new film on Discovery + entitled, “Resurrection.”
The film focuses on the death and resurrection of Christ, taking the audience through the gospel and into the book of Acts. And, while some may think it’s wonderful for this story to be told on film no matter the beliefs of one of the producers, the fact that Roma Downey is a new age Catholic is more than worrisome. (https://ourspiritualquest.com/2014/03/29/warning-son-of-god-film-pennie-de-witt/?fbclid=IwAR3IxpJ0il_fj5OJ3VLzIxTbaa13U2rid6JckGypNwJL5DIDWH_r79BQXtA)
There is a definite push from many directions for Catholicism to be considered just another denomination rather than the false religious system that it is. When people believe this they cease to witness to Catholics feeling that it is unnecessary. However, Catholics need to hear that justification is by faith alone and that the sacraments do not provide saving grace.
Here are some concerns from the video:
Speaking of the work they do in film, Jim Daly asks both of them, “What motivates you to do this? I mean, I know you have a strong faith.” (3:52 point) So, with this statement Jim Daly lumps Catholics in with all believers in matters of faith.
At the 5:50 point Downey is talking about Della Reese and the TV series “Touched By an Angel” and says, “Della and I, Della Reese and myself, we would always pray before we would do the central scene which was – we called it the angel revelation scene.”
Della Reese was Roma Downey’s mentor, she officiated at Roma’s and Mark Burnett’s wedding in 2007, and was her angel-boss on the television series “Touched by an Angel.” (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004884/bio)
However, Della Reese was the founder and pastor of Understanding Principals for Better Living Church (UpChurch) in southern California. Her mentor was the late minister Johnnie Colemon, founding pastor of the megachurch Christ Unity Center in Chicago and a pioneer of the “new thought” movement, a New Age metaphysical teaching based on “healing meditation and positive thought.”
In her 2013 book, Metaphysically Speaking, Reese stated, in speaking of herself (and all people):
“All that God is I am, and all that God has is mine. I am omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent. (I am evenly present, all knowing, and all powerful.) I am life, intelligence, love and power. I am the temple, in which God lives. I am that from which all love springs, and I am wisdom, power, strength and substance. I am absolute wholeness and perfection.” (Della Reese, Metaphysically Speaking (Lett Reese International Publishing, 2013, Kindle Edition), location 109.)
Then, at the 17:31 point in the video, after discussing the death of her mother when she was ten, she states: “If it hadn’t been for my faith I don’t know how I would have endured. Honestly, I really don’t know.”
But, in this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNUMRcbvVJA) we learn that as part of her faith (according to her, of course) she had a daily relationship with the Blessed Mother. She is discussing her role as Mary, the mother of Jesus, in the movie “Son of God” and states: “I wouldn’t really have known how to go about preparing for the role other than through prayer. I’ve had great devotion to the Blessed Mother my whole life. My own mother died when I was just a little girl. At my father’s encouragement I would have a daily relationship with the Blessed Mother.”
There is a definite push from many directions for Catholicism to be considered just another denomination rather than the false religious system that it is. When people believe this they cease to witness to Catholics feeling that it is unnecessary. However, Catholics need to hear that justification is by faith alone and that the sacraments do not provide saving grace.
Here are some concerns from the video:
Speaking of the work they do in film, Jim Daly asks both of them, “What motivates you to do this? I mean, I know you have a strong faith.” (3:52 point) So, with this statement Jim Daly lumps Catholics in with all believers in matters of faith.
At the 5:50 point Downey is talking about Della Reese and the TV series “Touched By an Angel” and says, “Della and I, Della Reese and myself, we would always pray before we would do the central scene which was – we called it the angel revelation scene.”
Della Reese was Roma Downey’s mentor, she officiated at Roma’s and Mark Burnett’s wedding in 2007, and was her angel-boss on the television series “Touched by an Angel.” (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004884/bio)
However, Della Reese was the founder and pastor of Understanding Principals for Better Living Church (UpChurch) in southern California. Her mentor was the late minister Johnnie Colemon, founding pastor of the megachurch Christ Unity Center in Chicago and a pioneer of the “new thought” movement, a New Age metaphysical teaching based on “healing meditation and positive thought.”
In her 2013 book, Metaphysically Speaking, Reese stated, in speaking of herself (and all people):
“All that God is I am, and all that God has is mine. I am omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent. (I am evenly present, all knowing, and all powerful.) I am life, intelligence, love and power. I am the temple, in which God lives. I am that from which all love springs, and I am wisdom, power, strength and substance. I am absolute wholeness and perfection.” (Della Reese, Metaphysically Speaking (Lett Reese International Publishing, 2013, Kindle Edition), location 109.)
Then, at the 17:31 point in the video, after discussing the death of her mother when she was ten, she states: “If it hadn’t been for my faith I don’t know how I would have endured. Honestly, I really don’t know.”
But, in this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNUMRcbvVJA) we learn that as part of her faith (according to her, of course) she had a daily relationship with the Blessed Mother. She is discussing her role as Mary, the mother of Jesus, in the movie “Son of God” and states: “I wouldn’t really have known how to go about preparing for the role other than through prayer. I’ve had great devotion to the Blessed Mother my whole life. My own mother died when I was just a little girl. At my father’s encouragement I would have a daily relationship with the Blessed Mother.”
And, then, according to this article (https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2021/03/resurrection-a-movie-where-families-can-gather-together-says-roma-downey/?fbclid=IwAR01ZYsW8JXdR0LUwv6zcyVxOpbzdn1OgrWjMCIaaj5S5tRSi2AHO4l0sGk) about the film, “Resurrection” viewers also will be able to note a transition from biblical times to the present day, as a flood of images including those of Pope Francis, a kneeling woman in a church clutching a rosary and an aerial view of a large statue of Jesus fill the screen. “We just started playing around with different ideas of how to end the film — bring the story up close and personal for people,” Downey said.
In addition, Roma Downey and Mark Burnett produced a new series for Netflix entitled “Messiah” that began in January, 2020.
Source - (https://www.faithwire.com/2019/12/03/what-is-this-new-messiah-series-on-netflix-all-about/?utm_source=FWNL&fbclid=IwAR1rcYZr3PWvy5WVL6F9WMHkHjZ4I3P7f_Zq2iiS0-KD22HbqOE2QNUuhPY)
From the article: “The show, “Messiah,” is a geopolitical thriller with clear Christian overtones. Starring “Mission: Impossible – Fallout” star Michelle Monaghan as skeptical CIA agent Eva Geller, the series chronicles what it might look like if Jesus’ second coming happened in today’s political and cultural climate.
This Netflix series is the latest project for Christian filmmakers Burnett and Downey, the husband and wife duo behind the History Channel miniseries “The Bible,” the Lifetime movie “Women of the Bible,” the NBC series “A.D. The Bible Continues,” and the CBS show “The Dovekeepers.”
This article on Faithwire may refer to Roma Downey as a Christian, but here are some more disturbing facts:
In 2010, Downey graduated from the University of Santa Monica with a master's degree in Spiritual Psychology (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roma_Downey). Concerning her experience there Downey has stated: “It was a beautiful exploration, and it was very healing. I healed places I didn’t know were hurting. USM is at the cutting edge of transforming people.”
(https://web.archive.org/web/20140928093416/http://www.universityofsantamonica.edu/testimonial/roma-downey-5/)
Drs. Ron and Mary Hulnick are pioneers and worldwide leaders in the field of Spiritual Psychology. As Founding Faculty of the University of Santa Monica’s Programs in Spiritual Psychology, they have designed the University’s experiential curriculum and serve as the lead faculty. Ron Hulnick believes: “From the vantage point of Spiritual Psychology, we see that we are Souls who have come here in this lifetime to fulfill Spiritual curriculum. As Spiritual beings, our primary goal is not to change life on this earth. Rather, life on this earth exists the way it does to provide us with experiences through which we can transform ourselves—meaning learning to express the essence of who we are in fuller and deeper ways. And the best description of our inherent nature is that we are, at our core, comprised of the energy we call Loving.” (http://www.universityofsantamonica.edu/why-usm/)
In addition, a book by the famed TV psychic John Edwards includes a free meditation CD by Roma Downey, but why would a Christian partner in a book by a psychic? (https://ourspiritualquest.com/2014/03/29/warning-son-of-god-film-pennie-de-witt/?fbclid=IwAR3IxpJ0il_fj5OJ3VLzIxTbaa13U2rid6JckGypNwJL5DIDWH_r79BQXtA)
Another fact concerning John Edwards and Roma Downey is that she appeared on his show entitled “Crossing Over” and attempted to contact her dead mother. (http://www.truthkeepers.com/?p=525)
Surprisingly, on March 12, 2015 David Jeremiah interviewed "A.D. The Bible Continues" creators Roma Downey and Mark Burnett at his Shadow Mountain Community Church in El Cajon, California. Downey and Burnett discussed their “A.D. The Bible Continues” series as well as their successful miniseries "The Bible" and the TV show "Shark Tank." Jeremiah celebrated the couple's work in Hollywood with a giant three-panel screen backdrop at the church that displayed pictures of all the shows they've been a part of over the years, including "Touched by an Angel," which made actress Roma Downey a star in the 1990s. (https://www.christianpost.com/news/mark-burnett-tells-pastor-david-jeremiah-america-was-built-on-two-things-the-bible-and-free-enterprise-we-make-the-bible-and-we-make-shark-tank-video.html?fbclid=IwAR0vx0ZQMR-bXJf4KX85gtc3tGzopzYilzQcD-JWgsJH0E8qI3L1ldOhEsU)
Please avoid anything produced by her and her husband.