Church Cries "Foul" on R-Rating on Film

Teresa Neumann : Sep 13, 2013
Todd Starnes –Fox News

"It makes me sick to my stomach… We want a level playing field. You've got other religious groups and other belief systems that are being portrayed in films all the time without the same kind of criticism and scrutiny." -Pastor Chuck Kitchens

(Burleson, TX)—Call it unfair, hypocrisy, religious persecution, what you will, but the folks of Retta Baptist Church are crying foul on a ruling by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) that slapped an R-rating on a faith-based film they produced.

The film, "My Son," contains a hostage situation and includes some drug usage. Pastor Chuck Kitchens fold Fox News that he was told the R-rating was because of that, but he argues that far worse films in the secular industry receive PG-13 ratings.

"I was very shocked," said Kitchens. "It makes me sick to my stomach… you have to say there's inconsistency here. A group of people out there don't necessarily like strong evangelical Christianity …people call us bigoted and they go on the attack."

"We want a level playing field," he added. "You've got other religious groups and other belief systems that are being portrayed in films all the time without the same kind of criticism and scrutiny."

Having an R-rating is a huge problem for the film, but Kitchens said although they have tried to reach out to the MPAA to find out what they can change about the film to get a different rating, they have not gotten any specifics back from the organization.

According to the FOXNews report, Dan Isett, director of public policy for the Parents Television Council, isn't surprised that the church has hit a wall with the MPAA.

"This is the type of situation," he said, "that evolves when you have a completely un-open, non-transparent rating system."

Despite the rating, the film is set to debut on September 20 in a local Burleson theater.