Roger Ebert (Chicago Sun-Times) has one major complaint—the film's rating. "The movie is rated R. The MPAA continues its policy of banning teenagers from those films they most need to see. What utopian world do the flywheels of the ratings board think they are protecting?"

Indeed. Bowling's brief violent images are no harsher than what can be seen almost any night on network television. But here, these images are in service of something far more important.

Last week, Film Forum posted early religious press reviews of Michael Moore's riveting documentary Bowling for Columbine. This week, critics in the Christian press continued applauding the film.

Edward Blank (Catholic News) offers a cautionary recommendation: "Moore constructs a valid inquiry into the nature and frequency of American violence and the ease with which weapons and ammunition may be obtained, but he clouds his case with an assortment of specious arguments. Bowling for Columbine may encourage enlightened dialogue on some of its notions. The danger is that it may be accepted too much at face value by impressionable audiences unaware of the manipulation built into Moore's arguments."

J. Robert Parks (review pending at The Phantom Tollbooth) responds with great enthusiasm: "Rather than seeming arrogant or nasty as he did in parts of Roger and Me, he comes across as incredibly friendly and earnest. By linking himself with ordinary people, he also broadens our possibilities—he provokes us in the audience to wonder: maybe I can question my leaders, maybe I don't have to take what's being spoon-fed to me on TV, maybe I can protest what's going on and make a difference. And the movie's dramatic moments, particularly in a return to his hometown of Flint, are genuinely moving. Bowling for Columbine is a great movie. Don't miss it."

Michael Moore's documentary examining gun violence in America, Bowling for Columbine, also drew more raves this week.

Darrel Manson (Hollywood Jesus) says, "In ancient Israel, the prophets often were called upon to show Israel its true identity. Perhaps if Amos had a camera, he would have been very similar to Michael Moore. Israel, like America, much preferred its own image of itself. But God (and God's prophets) called Israel to face the facts of their errors and their failings. Looking in that mirror was never easy. Looking in the mirror Moore forces us to look into is not easy either. But perhaps by looking we may begin to see ways to bring ourselves back to what we should be."

Moore may resemble a prophet, but it is also worth noting that many are attacking his credibility as a journalist and calling into question his facts.