The Nativity Story: A Modern Apocryphon?

The Catholic News Service has posted a review (with a detailed synopsis) of The Nativity Story. It is striking that, despite the many changes made here to the canonical versions of the story (including a number of references that foreshadow events in Jesus’ adult life), the author of the review still feels it is “faithful to scripture.” In his own words:

“Though the New Testament is sparse on details about Mary and Joseph, the thoughtful screenplay of Mike Rich, a practicing Christian, manages to flesh them out while remaining faithful to Scripture, beautifully suggesting the humanity beneath the halos.”

Like The Passion of the Christ, The Nativity Story appears to be an excellent example of modern Christian Apocrypha—i.e., like the ancient CA, these films take well-known traditions, add other material (other early traditions, their own inventions and interpretations) and shake. To the reviewer (and likely many viewers) the result is a version of the tale that seems appropriate (and viewers of The Passion felt the same, despite scholars’ assertions that it was more than a simple harmony of the canonical gospels).

Perhaps we can learn something from this. Maybe writers of the early CA operated like these filmmakers (naively believing they were telling the story appropriately, and not intentionally manipulating the texts as CA critics claim) and their audiences received their works in the same way as modern pious Christian filmgoers.