Convinced

I saw a movie by that name last night. It's a series of interviews with a number of Catholic converts describing the process by which they arrived at the faith. You'll probably recognize some of the names–Mark Shea, for instance. (I was pleased to see that his segment was quite engaging, as I had given up reading his blog some time ago because it had gotten so bombastic.) Some came from a background of complete non-belief, some were Protestant. Of course every conversion story has a lot in common with others, and one might say "If you've heard one you've heard 'em all." But every one is distinctive, too, as distinctive as the individual involved. The movie is well done and I imagine most Catholics can think of people they wish would see it. 

You can see the trailer here. I tried embedding it but it's too wide for this column. And here's a link to the film's web site. It was produced by someone named Don Johnson, of whom I had not previously heard. 

8 responses to “Convinced”

  1. I assume it was not the Don Johnson of Miami Vice fame?
    That sounds great, Mac. Probably particularly so for folks like you and I that are converts. I will seek it out.

  2. Heh. I thought of that Don Johnson, too, and tried to put it out of my mind.
    I should have thought to tell you about this. It was brought to the Carmike in Daphne via an interesting service called Tugg, which apparently works in concert with theaters to bring in specific films in response to local demand as expressed in advance ticket sales. I’m not sure who was responsible, maybe Archangel Radio. I had heard that it was sold out but it was nowhere near full. Maybe a lot of people bought tickets and then didn’t bother to come.

  3. Yes, I looked at the website and noticed it had been in Daphne last night. My immediate thought was, “why didn’t Mac tell me???” but then my secondary thought was that I could not have made it last night. 🙂

  4. The thought of Miami Vice is pretty inescapable. I have a friend named Don Johnson who could not be more different than the actor. Well–I guess he could be black, but he’s not.
    I suspect that some parishes bought blocks of tickets and then didn’t sell them all.
    AMDG

  5. Thanks, Maclin. That’s a good news story. I love hearing conversion stories.

  6. There are some good ones here.
    You’re probably right about the blocks of tickets, Janet.
    Glad you wouldn’t have been able to make it, Stu, so I don’t have to feel bad about not telling you.

  7. I watched this documentary over the past few days. I really enjoyed it, and probably would not have heard of it but for your note, so thank you.
    When I hear conversion stories like those in this movie I naturally think about my own, and wonder how I would describe it for a viewer (not that anyone has asked). The temptation would be to make it simpler than it was, but I’d want to resist that. Anyway, it’s a good exercise to think through.

  8. In my personal experience it’s nearly impossible not to make it simpler than it was. (You’re welcome)

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