They also juxtaposed Aquinas's works with contemporary meditative texts in order to make his philosophy appear more relevant to current issues of belief and practice.
"Those who know me and know my work background would never make the mistake of thinking that issues of belief are somehow genetic," Ali Jannati replied.
Mr. Pielmeier, who dealt with issues of belief and organized religion in his play "Agnes of God" (and its 1985 film adaptation), said he was approached by "some people" to write a play based on Mr. Blatty's "Exorcist" novel.
Dipsychus (published posthumously in 1865 but not available in an unexpurgated version until 1951) is a remarkable closet drama that debates issues of belief and morality with a frankness, and a metrical liveliness, unequaled in Victorian verse.
Joseph Smith continues to be regarded by many Mormons as a final authority on issues of belief, though so much of his legacy, including plural marriage, had to be compromised in the grand bargain by which the moguls of Salt Lake City became plutocrats defining the Republican party.
But the number of religious-theme American selections this year suggests that a minor cultural shift might be under way as filmmakers take one of the most important and, certainly in our mainstream cinema, under-addressed truths in people's lives: their struggle with God and issues of belief.
Issues of belief such as these are at least as important as skills matching when it comes to finding a new career.
But on the core issues of belief in God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and God's revelation of himself in Jesus Christ, we are the same.
