I haven't seen the picture yet, but a friend sent his review of it to me today.
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Mel Gibson's movie "The Passion of the Christ" has
received extensive media attention, much of it as
criticism. After watching the movie on opening night,
I believe that criticism is actual anti-Christianity.
Critics who say the movie is anti-Semitic obviously do
not pay attention to the movie itself. A sense of
pro-Semitism actually emerged at times, such as the
scene in which Roman soldiers forced the Jewish Simon
of Cyrene to help carry Jesus' cross. Jesus told his
disciples that no one had the power to murder Him;
that if He died, it was because He willingly gave up
His life. The Jews did not kill Jesus. Every single
one of us did. If the Jewish high priests had not
demanded His crucifixion, someone else would have.
After all, that is why He came to earth.
Some critics say the movie is flawed because it
portrays only the last 12 hours of Jesus' life, as
opposed to His entire life or His resurrection. Those
critics also miss the point. Gibson could not have
done it better. He included flashbacks of Jesus' life
throughout the movie, and he did a superb job of truly
humanizing Him. The last 15 seconds of the movie
portray Jesus' resurrection, and those 15 seconds were
done perfectly.
To the critics who say the movie was too violent, I
say it was only barely violent enough. Isaiah 52
foretold that "His appearance was disfigured beyond
that of any man and His form marred beyond human
likeness." Gibson captured the impact of the
scourging at the pillar, the crowning of the thorns
and the nailing to the cross like no other Passion
play or movie has ever come close to doing.
Reports of early screenings reported there were
viewers who were emotionally impacted, but those
reports were not profound enough. Viewers were
already crying midway through the movie, and a few
left the theater. This is the only movie I've ever
watched in a theater in which anyone was still seated
by the time the final credit rolled off the screen and
the movie reel itself ended. And not just anyone was
left. Half the audience was.
It seems that too many of us today care too much about
only ourselves. But we are not supposed to be
selfish. Every one of us needs to be reminded of what
selflessness and love really are. And the founder of
Christianity, the Christ, is the shining example.
Imagine giving the life of your only child to every
human being in the world. Imagine some of them not
knowing that your child's life was given to them, some
not caring, and some mocking and hating that it was.
Imagine watching your child chained, spit upon,
kicked, beaten with reeds, whipped with rocks and
shards of glass, brutally stuck with thorns around the
head, nailed to a piece of wood and die an agonizing
death. Now imagine all of that happening to yourself.
If you think you could handle it, imagine one more
thing. Imagine being able to say with your final
breath, "God, forgive them all. They do not know what
they are doing." That was the passion of Jesus Christ.
Review by:
Mickey Dodson
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mel Gibson's movie "The Passion of the Christ" has
received extensive media attention, much of it as
criticism. After watching the movie on opening night,
I believe that criticism is actual anti-Christianity.
Critics who say the movie is anti-Semitic obviously do
not pay attention to the movie itself. A sense of
pro-Semitism actually emerged at times, such as the
scene in which Roman soldiers forced the Jewish Simon
of Cyrene to help carry Jesus' cross. Jesus told his
disciples that no one had the power to murder Him;
that if He died, it was because He willingly gave up
His life. The Jews did not kill Jesus. Every single
one of us did. If the Jewish high priests had not
demanded His crucifixion, someone else would have.
After all, that is why He came to earth.
Some critics say the movie is flawed because it
portrays only the last 12 hours of Jesus' life, as
opposed to His entire life or His resurrection. Those
critics also miss the point. Gibson could not have
done it better. He included flashbacks of Jesus' life
throughout the movie, and he did a superb job of truly
humanizing Him. The last 15 seconds of the movie
portray Jesus' resurrection, and those 15 seconds were
done perfectly.
To the critics who say the movie was too violent, I
say it was only barely violent enough. Isaiah 52
foretold that "His appearance was disfigured beyond
that of any man and His form marred beyond human
likeness." Gibson captured the impact of the
scourging at the pillar, the crowning of the thorns
and the nailing to the cross like no other Passion
play or movie has ever come close to doing.
Reports of early screenings reported there were
viewers who were emotionally impacted, but those
reports were not profound enough. Viewers were
already crying midway through the movie, and a few
left the theater. This is the only movie I've ever
watched in a theater in which anyone was still seated
by the time the final credit rolled off the screen and
the movie reel itself ended. And not just anyone was
left. Half the audience was.
It seems that too many of us today care too much about
only ourselves. But we are not supposed to be
selfish. Every one of us needs to be reminded of what
selflessness and love really are. And the founder of
Christianity, the Christ, is the shining example.
Imagine giving the life of your only child to every
human being in the world. Imagine some of them not
knowing that your child's life was given to them, some
not caring, and some mocking and hating that it was.
Imagine watching your child chained, spit upon,
kicked, beaten with reeds, whipped with rocks and
shards of glass, brutally stuck with thorns around the
head, nailed to a piece of wood and die an agonizing
death. Now imagine all of that happening to yourself.
If you think you could handle it, imagine one more
thing. Imagine being able to say with your final
breath, "God, forgive them all. They do not know what
they are doing." That was the passion of Jesus Christ.
Review by:
Mickey Dodson
