Reply #86: If not, what was the intent? [View All]

[LeahMira]

believe though that the fundamentalist have found a use for this movie to create a further anger. it wasnt the makers intent, but i believe it is going to be used for that

From what I've read, Mel Gibson's intent was to portray Jesus' final sufferings realistically. He seems to hope that people will be inspired by the love demonstrated by a man (or G-d) who was willing to suffer incredible pain because that pain would serve as atonement for all the sins that humans would commit down through all the ages.

So what do we conclude?

Do we conclude that no matter how sinful any individual might be, the atonement has already been made for that sinfulness?

Certainly there seems to be no particular motive for trying to avoid sin, since whether we sin or not it will do nothing to alleviate the suffering that has already taken place.

Or is there some intent to make some individuals feel less guilty for what happened to Jesus while others are made to feel more guilty? Will, for example, some Christian fundamentalists claim that while they live good lives, those "serious sinners" among us who are unrepentant homosexual or those of us who have had abortions or those of us who are quite proudly "godless" are somehow more responsible for Jesus' suffering?

Or shall the "sinners" be portrayed as incredibly heartless for refusing to love a man who suffered so much to save them from eternal damnation? Shall that alleged heartlessness mean that "sinners" are somehow a group of people who are "less than" in the world?

Where is this all going, and what exactly is the intent here?