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| Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Apr 20 2008, 09:15 PM (144 Views) | |
| lightninboy | Apr 20 2008, 09:15 PM Post #1 |
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Grace Evangelical Society Online Chat WebBoard archive: Quote: Originally Posted by A.D. Riddle Has anyone here seen The Passion? I will probably see it this weekend. I read Roger Ebert's review and there were two things that struck me while reading it. (1) Apparently this film is not for children. Ebert says it is the most violent film he has ever seen. One of Gibson's stated purposes in portraying it so graphically was to shock people out of their cliched perceptions of Christ's death. It sounds like he accomplished his purpose. (2) I was also impressed by how the movie caused Ebert to reflect on theology and the meaning of Christ's death. Most of his review addresses this. If it has the same effect on others, perhaps this film will lead to another great awakening of sorts. Did anyone's church plan any evangelistic activities around this film? Quote: Originally Posted by Gary Veazey It is not too graphic or violent for children who are believers, but as far as non-believers, if the child is too young (whatever that means), it may scare them rather than cause them to believe. It's a great movie, even though there are subtle Catholic "things" intertwined in the move (albeit minor). I have studied and taught on the physical effects of crucifixion from the mind of a doctor. Some parts of the original crucifixion were more violent than this movie even showed. The scenes that caught my attention and brought out my emotions was the bond between mother and son. Most of all, it is a great evangelism tool if we take advantage of it while it is fresh in people's minds. Quote: Originally Posted by A.D. Riddle (1) For most of history, the church was the Catholic church--no big deal there. There surely weren't dozens and dozens of denominations at the time of Christ and his disciples. Initially, there was one universal (i.e. catholic) church. (2) The Marian imagery is not overwhelming. I can image it perfectly normal for a mother to keep tabs on her son and his doings, even into adulthood, so I would expect for her to be present and visible. Besides, the angel did tell Mary, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you." She wasn't your ordinary, run-of-the-mill woman. (3) It is also perfectly natural to link the Lord's supper with the crucifixion. The bread and wine are explicitly said to represent the Lord's blood which was poured out and his body which was broken. (4) As for the "extra" material, nothing blasphemous was included. The 14 stations of the cross may lack historical basis, but the Bible doesn't record every line that was spoken by every party, it doesn't mention every step taken or every person present. There was certainly other stuff that happened as Jesus was beaten and as he carried the cross to Calvary. To tell the story requires a little imagination to fill out the events of that day. I don't have a problem with this as long as we don't mistake what is fact with what is filler material. What do you think? |
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No I will not, No I will not Not go quietly | |
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| lightninboy | Apr 20 2008, 09:17 PM Post #2 |
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Free Grace Churches Forums archive: pastorbruce wrote: No one should have been surprised about the runaway success of "The Passion of the Christ," that played to sold-out theater crowds in places like Egypt, Syria, Qatar, Lebanon and Jordan (and on pirated DVDs in Yemeni and Afghan street markets). " God gets His message of grace out to all mankind regardless of what men or religion do to prevent it! It beat all records," said the film's Middle East distributor, as quoted in the Christian Science Monitor. "It's was and remains more popular than 'Titanic' and the James Bond films." Governments in some Muslim countries actually allowed the film to play because of what they assumed to be its anti-Semitic message. Many Muslims may been motivated to attend the movie for the same reason. When they get there, however, they see a Jesus they've never seen before: a Jesus who loves and forgives despite His terrible sufferings, a Jesus who offers the free grace and salvation of God to anyone who will embrace it. excerpt from the International Missions Board, June 2005 |
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No I will not, No I will not Not go quietly | |
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