My review of the Passion

You know, the written word has an impact on me, but so does the spoken word as well as watching it via a drama or film. Why limit it just to the written word?

 

I saw the movie yesterday and whether or not Mel Gibson is really a Christian or what his motives were is not the point.

God has used evil people and sometime even false preachers to get his message out. I like Paul, simply rejoice the Christ is preached, whatever the reason.

This film gave a a much greater appreciation for what Christ did for me. I wept many times during the film, and I am not generally a crying person.

The film gives us an image of the the Bible says when it says he was scourged. We see what Roman scrouging was, we see what the beatings look like.

We have an accurate potrayal for the first time in filming history, of what the a real crucifiction would look like.

Another thing I like about the film was the inclusion of Jesus stating the words he spoke in the John 14:6, this left anyone viewing this film knowing that Jesus said he was THE WAY, THE TRUTH and THE LIFE, no comes to father but by him.

Although there were some Catholic overtones with Mary, overall I think it was an excellant film. And God can use it greatly.

IFBReformer

 

I just got home from seeing it.
A very good movie, some catholic overtones yes. There was more then just a lot of Mary,by the way I don't think they showed anymore of Mary then was necessary, and didn't see anything that suggested Mary plays any part in our salvation, as a matter of fact there were scenes I though she was down played. I know as a mother I'd have had a violent wailing fit. It very much told the viewer that Jesus died for all our sins, several times as a matter of fact. A lot of artistic playing with the story, but the main themes were quite biblical, and for a movie that does not claim to be word for word biblical I thought it was very good. I know I didn't hear a word from the people around us, and it was a sold out packed house.
I would see it again, and as a matter of fact I am next week with my other son if his work schedule fits the theater schedule.

Adam, I think some time last year had a post on the stations of the cross and I wonder if he'd post that again. The reason I ask is becasue he mentioned it in this thread and I wanted to be able to see if I spotted it(or could spot them next week when I see it again.)

 

Contrary to the believe that those of us who choose to see this movie are scripturally stupid,I do examine everything to see if it is scriptural.

 

Like what?

Since no one will tell me what Catholic elements the movie supposedly contains, would you please tell me what "Catholic overtones" you found in the film?

 

Brother Adam, I want you to know, between you and me, that 98% of the time I have posted on this topic, or on BB, I've been listening to a CD by a Catholic music artist, the great and mind-bogglingly beautiful music of Johnny Amico "Live In Me" CD.

Right now I'm listening to John Michael Talbot's "Simple Heart" CD.

I'd put these two Catholic musicians, plus Phil Keaggy, up against any Protestant musicians any day, and watch the Protestants get blown off the stage in half a second. And I'm a Baptist, though really I cringe at denominationalism.

Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, Augustine, Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, Madame Guyot, Fenelon, monasteries, hermitages, Catholics have lots of cool stuff! Though I admit I have major doctrinal problems with RC faith.

 

There are no words!

 

There is God's Word!

 

Amen LadyEagle! AMEN!!!! Powerful! Heart Wrenching!

Diane

 

Like what?

Since no one will tell me what Catholic elements the movie supposedly contains, would you please tell me what "Catholic overtones" you found in the film? </font>[/QUOTE]Since I don't want to argue over it, I'm going to pm you.

 

I shared with our folks on Wed. night, after our Bible study, that I have not seen the movie and do not plan to. I firmly do not believe that Christians should be attending the movie houses.
Yet, I expressed the fact that the movie will get folks to talking; at work; school; among family & friends etc. That will give us an open door to share Christ with folks.

I do not see thousands - millions etc. getting saved by watching this movie....
I do not believe it is an out reach to win folks ...
I do think that it will give us opportunity to share what Christ has done for us when we got saved. etc.

Just like when 9-11 happened; earthquakes etc. & the such .... it gets folks to thinking and to talking and that is where we can listen and then tell them about the Christ of the Bible .... simply ... the plan of salvation.


Should Bible-believing Christians support the movie The Passion of The Christ?

Is it The best evangelical opportunity we’ve had since the death of Christ, as has been proclaimed by so many evangelical preachers?

Some Observations/Objections:

1. The Movie’s Origin & Medium

· It is a Roman Catholic movie – represents a very different doctrine of salvation

· Its stated purposes are to increase Catholic Conversions & Devotion

· Gibson, a conservative dedicated Catholic, It reflects my beliefs

· Pope, It is as it was

· Daily mass was held on the set during filming & resulted in many conversions to
Catholicism

· Yet, it has been called a new & better way to spread the gospel by many
evangelicals

· A popular evangelical preacher: People don’t interact with the lecture on Sunday
morning anymore—modern day techniques are needed to communicate the Bible

What does the Bible say about our responsibility as preachers?

2 Tim. 4.2-4 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

· We must preach the Word—this cannot be replaced by any other medium

· 1Co 1:21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe

· It is a sad day indeed when Bible-believing Christians turn to Hollywood and Roman Catholicism to help evangelize a lost world

2. The Script of the Movie

· Said to have been Based entirely on gospel of John — yet, has much extra-
BIBLE dialogue

· If it is an evangelical tool, it should not contain anything not recorded in Bible, or
would be confusing to the seeker

· Languages of Latin & Aramaic are said to give it a feel of authenticity

· BUT, language of Jesus day w/ Hebrew & Greek

· Latin & Aramaic were used for theological reasons: to urge a return to 16th
Century Latin Mass

· Gibson, I wanted to combine the sacrifice of cross with the sacrifice of altar
(Catholic Mass) and languages are part of this for me

This brings us to the theology of the movie:

3. Theology

· Gibson, This movie reflects my beliefs like nothing I’ve ever done before (the
traditional Catholic Latin Mass)

· Basic Catholic belief is that the intense physical suffering of Christ is the most important part of the crucifixion, thus the heavy violence in the movie

· Christian theology places primary importance on Redemption through the Propitiation of the blood of Christ — the blood sacrifice paying for our redemption ONCE FOR ALL

· In Catholic theology—the suffering is repeated constantly—in the Mass, Christ is crucified over and over again (displayed in the crucifix and Catholic icons)

· Catholic theology of salvation is totally dolorous (grief, sorrow, dismal) The emphasis is on physical agony of Christ and is repeated in all the masses, prayers & devotions - again, therefore the movie is very graphically violent

· Paul said, I glory in the cross because of its redemptive power and victory over sin and the grave - Resurrection is the focus, not suffering

· Christ did certainly suffer the agony of the beatings & crucifixion, but those pains are not to be compared with His suffering by becoming SIN for me.

Some Closing Notes

1. The film is not designed to bring people to saving faith in Christ, but for
entertainment & to promote Catholic theology

2. The film is given to express the faith of dedicated conservative Catholic (Mel Gibson) & bring people in touch again with sacrifice of the altar in the Catholic Mass

3. The film has a good deal of artistic additions, so should not be considered totally faithful to gospel account

4. If anything, the film portrays the great NEED for salvation (my sin did crucify Christ)

5. We must follow up with those who are seeing it and give them the complete gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ which includes: Repentance & Faith in the shed blood (not in the physical suffering) of the Lord Jesus Christ.

6. God did use pagan kings in OT to do His work (used a donkey once, too) and, if He so chooses, God can use Mel Gibson and a Hollywood film to bring attention to His Son (as unlikely as it may seem)

7. Sadly, there is a great danger that Christians may now make a habit of going to a theatre for their theology & inspiration (Gibson speaks of other follow-up movies about the Bible) and they may become numb or lethargic to the preaching of the cross by a Spirit-filled preacher.

Will I go see the movie?

No — I think I’ll stay home & read The Book & pray the God will open doors to reach some of the lost people who will see it. May God help us to seize the opportunity to witness for Him these next few weeks while millions are watching a portrayal of our Savior's love for them. To God be the Glory!


Charles Bonner
Pastor
Bible Baptist Church
Selah, Wa. 98942
BIBLE BAPTIST CHURCH SELAH, WA.

Annual "Soul Winning" Conference
Where: Bible Baptist Church of Selah, Washington
Dates: March 9-10-11, 2004. (Tues. - Wed. - Thurs.)

 

Peace and love to you all in Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour!

Vaspers,

Amen!!! to what you said. I agree with you 100%. I will not go see this movie, and I find it very sad, but very telling of the very days we are living in - that those who claim Christ Jesus as their Lord and Saviour, would condone/approve of this movie.

Love in our Faithful Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,
michelle

 

Michelle,

You are the politest self-righteous Pharisee I have ever met.

 

Peace and love to you all in Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour!


Shawna,

You quoted:

First of all, I will address the physical grossness of this movie. As the Bible states, he ws whipped, tortured, given a "crown of thorns, had to carry a "full" wooden cross, while the 2 other people sent to be crusified had to only carry the top plank of the cross, what more do you want from a saviour but some one that would do "anything" to help you and save you from CERTAIN anguish and torment.
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Please show me where the scriptures say that Jesus carried his cross or that the other two only had to carry a plank? Matthew 27:32, Mark 15:20-21, Luke 23:26, John 19:16-17.

Now as I see this, we have the account of John that seems to contradict the other three accounts. Does it really? Pay close attention to what is said in the first three accounts, and then ponder this? Did Jesus have to carry his own cross? Or are we to carry the cross of Jesus as Simon the Cyrenian was compelled to do?

One more important thing to note: where do the gospel accounts show Jesus Christ repeatedly falling down on the way to golgotha, ecspecially considering Simon, the Cyrenian, carried it for him?

May the Lord richly bless you all!

love in our faithful Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,
michelle

 

Peace and love to you all in Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour!

Grace,


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Grace quoted:

I watched the movie last night, and leaving the theater, I was speechless. No matter what anyone says, this movie greatly impacted my life. I was given a new awareness of the kind of death that Jesus died for me. Jesus didn't die an easy death, they didn't slap him on the wrist and say "Ok Mr. bad man...now hop up on this cross and hang here for a while until you die." No, they beat him until he was an unrecognizable mass of blood and flesh. They drove nails through his hands and feet. They spit on him and pulled his beard out to humiliate him. Why should we clean it up for the "niceness" of it. I realized that my own picture of the crucifixion was a "PG" picture...maybe a little blood on his temple, and a little blood around where the nails were. I truly never thought of the blood matting his hair, his eyes swollen shut from beatings, blood running down the cross into the rocky ground below. I had to cover my mouth to keep from crying out. I, for one, did not come away the same.
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If God thought that we needed the visual affects, or the explicit bloodiness and violence done to our Saviour to touch our hearts, he would have done so in the gospel accounts. This is not so. He would have given us indication that the Apostles used such methods of this type of medium to reach people, but there is no indication in scriptures to make this claim. Faith cometh by hearing, and this is the hearing of the word of God. Nowhere in scripture does it tell us we need a visual aid to better understand what God has and does do for us. We only need to believe what he has said and done, and then share it and live it. The Holy Spirit who dwells in our hearts, gives us the great impact and awareness of what our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ did for us and shows us how much he loves us. This is true awareness from God himself to usward. All this movie provides is extreme emotionalism, which can be very deceptive, and can fade away if it is not heart sincere, and the only way it is heart sincere is by the Holy Spirit. Don't let your emotions fool you into thinking that this will bring others to a true saving faith in Jesus Christ. Only hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ can do this, and ONLY this will the Holy Spirit of God convict a persons heart of thier sins toward repentance, for this is what the scriptures proclaim.


May the Lord richly bless you all.

love in our Faithful Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,
michelle

 

Amen! my neck hurts this morning fr nodding to so many good critiques fr those who've just watched the movie.

God sure doesn't need our help in adding to His Word or manipulating emotions on behalf of His Spirit. that's why i posted the thread on the Logical End of The Passion, where all this is leading:

http://www.baptistboard.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi/topic/48/593.html?

o yes, n good point abt Simon the Cyrene, too! if Mary's co-redemptrix for her aid to her blessed Son on the way to the crucifixion, what do we call Simon? co-redeemer?

i think it's horrible when people pronounce what's inaccurate n unfaithful to God's Word as kosher n the gtest thing since ...

 

Michelle, you are very polite. I hope that nothing I say will be misinterpreted as containing anything other than politeness and respect. I respect that you can stick to your opinion. However, please do not judge me for appreciating the way that God touched my heart. As for Jesus falling down repeatedly, it was believed that 39 lashes with the whip would kill a man. Jesus was beaten to within an inch of his life, had lost much blood. And you think that he was able to hike up the hill of Calvary while never falling down? He may not have, but it is believable that he possibly did. The picture made me thankful, not bloodthirsty or even less of a Christian. Where is the freedom in Christ that we profess? I'm suddenly less of a Christian for being thankful for a chance to get a visual depiction of what the price for my sin was? No ma'am. Do not judge your brother's and sisters in Christ. If you choose not to see it, that's your choice, and that's perfectly allright. However, don't write us off as hopeless and as people who only claim Christ but don't live in Him simply because we believe that there is merit in this depiction.
Blessings in Him,
Grace

 

i wldn't deny the right to exercise one's religion, to add or subtract fr the bible, to replace it w something wholly other ... that's one's freedom of religion.

however, i'd question the need for pious, if voyeuristic, additions to Scripture--with or without the gratuitous brutality of The Passion. this isn't something that Mel invented--it's pretty old, as old as the apocryphal gospels themselves:

http://www.studylight.org/enc/isb/view.cgi?number=T612

u see, the way to make ppl "appreciate" the life of Jesus more, they make up more details ... of how Jesus had power over other kids' lives as a child, of how He cld raise fish to life, create birds, etc.

at the end of the day, one has to evaluate The Passion the same way anything else is assessed: is it faithful to Scriptures, neither adding nor subtracting. in the case of The Passion, the evidence is so compelling that it's gone off the deep end--Mel's violence goes beyond that of the Scriptures; it goes beyond even Anne Emmerich. nobody can can me where he came up w flipping the freshly crucified Jesus like a hamburger on a spit, this way up, then that, then over again. it's neither biblical nor cinematographically necessary.

n concerning the "39 lashes"--one reviewer (Toronto Star) tallied up 107 strokes in Mel's movie.

it's just Romish worship--ratchet up the brutality, n up goes one's spirituality. perhaps even ex opere operato?

 

Forever settled in heaven,

Do you have the same critical condemnation of other Christian presentations, such as Christmas concerts, live Nativities, etc. that present a visual adaptation of scriptural stories but add things or subtract things that are not in scripture? Why or why not?