The Passion of the Christ.......BRILLIANT!!!

[seethrougheyes]

I saw this movie first thing this morning, the first showing and am I ever glad I did! This is an absolutely phenomenal movie. It is the truest and purest depiction of the last 12 hours of his life. There is absolutely nothing negative I can say about this movie. It's inspiring and very emotional. The film itself is brilliant even if you don't believe. I don't know how anyone can say this movie has anything to do with anti-semitism because it does not in any way at all. I think that no matter what people will find some way to criticize a movie like this simply because it is a religious movie. It is a very passionate movie and left EVERYONE in the theatre stunned silent at the end. Not one person spoke. Every person in that theatre 'got it'. Jesus did the ultimate for all of humanity and no matter what we do every single day for people and expect nothing in return there is no way it will compare to what Jesus did for the whole world. I recommend this movie to everyone. The violence has been criticized as being over the top, etc.... as far as I am concerned it was bad yes, but not as bad as it probably really was for him. In any event, this movie is stunning and I hope everyone goes to see it.

[nini]

1. People will get out of this movie what they do and don't want.

.. preconceived ideas and one's beliefs are going to affect how they see it. For those who don't believe in Christianity, they will not get the sacrifices he made as you do.

Glad you liked it. I will eventually but I'm not going to fight the crowds

[seethrougheyes]

2. I know....

and it's really, really sad. I don't know how someone could watch this movie and not feel anything for what he did. I believe they will learn eventually, someway, somehow!!!

[matcom]

18. maybe not everyone believes the 'tale'

be inclusive please

[Champion Jack]

31. Speak for yourself Matcom,I believe in Batman, and Santee Claus

[matcom]

33. then YOU my friend

are a TRUE BELIEVER!

sing the gospel BABY!!!

oh, and when Santee Clause 'returns', we will ALL get Barbies for XMAS again!!

:bounce:

please deposite $10 dollars in my offering plate when you leave

Thank you

[Champion Jack]

37. Barbie doesn't have a navel, does that mean

she was the result of immaculate conception?

[2Sailsgirls]

88. Oh, no

No navel means she was created by god and has no mother. Can't you just tell by the positive body image she gives girls.

[MAlibdem]

50. woah

I believe they will learn eventually, someway, somehow!!!

im smarter than you and im a jew...so there.

[elfwitch]

79. Jew too...

I believe they will learn eventually, someway, somehow!!!

I don't want to learn that. I don't like the implication that those of us who do not buy in to the divinity of Yeshewah bar Joseph are somehow uninformed or learning impaired.

Don't try to sell your "Jesus" to those of us who ain't buying and don't put on that face of pity like people do when dealing with the mentally handicapped.

[LibInternationalist]

62. oh, the irony of your sig

[Screaming Lord Byron]

72. When you say people will learn 'eventually, someway, somehow!!!'

Are you suggesting that people will eventually 'learn' to become Christians, or learn to understand his suffering? I certainly understand his suffering, along with Anne Frank, Mahatma Gandhi, and the thousands of followers of other equally valid religions.

[seethrougheyes]

84. No, ....

what I am suggesting, is the time when they die and encounter God is the time they will learn.

[Scairp]

75. Uh huh

You think a gory movie worthy of anything Jason or Freddie ever did is inspiring? I think you have hit your head one too many times in the grip of the Holy Spigot, er, Spirit. Get a CAT scan.

[RFK MLK PW]

3. Were not the Romans shown to be

taking orders from the Jewish Priests? That would be a lie.

Were not the Romans speaking Latin? That would be a lie.



Here are some quotes from a knowledgeable reviewer as well:

"Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" is the most virulently anti-Semitic movie made since the German propaganda films of World War II."


"The movie is sanctimonious in a way that impedes dramatic flow and limits characterizations to the saintly and the droolingly vulgar."


"Is Gibson devout, or is he mad?"


"Jews are vilified, in ways both little and big, pretty much nonstop for two hours, seven minutes. Gibson cuts from the hook nose of one bad Jewish character to the hook nose of another in the ensuing scene. He misappropriates an important line from the Jewish celebration of Pesach ("Why is this night different from all other nights?") and slaps it onto a Christian context. Most unforgivable is that Pontius Pilate (Hristo Naumov Shopov), the Roman governor of Palestine who decreed that Jesus be crucified, is portrayed as a sensitive, kind-hearted soul who is sickened by the tortures the Jewish mobs heap upon his prisoner. Pilate agrees to the Crucifixion only against his better judgment."


The entire review is here:

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/moviereviews/story/167446p-146309c.html

[LynneSin]

8. I like what they said in the Philly Inquirer: Too much Good Friday...

not enough Easter.

:D

[d_ashley]

20. "Jews are vilified"...

do people keep forgetting that Jesus and His followers in the movie are Jewish?

secondly, in regards to Pilate, he IS reluctant to have Christ crucified according to the Gospels and it was Jewish people who were calling for his death. so in order to make a movie faithful to the Gospels, it must be presented this way. if the movie is anti-semitic, then the Bible must be as well. which is a little strange considering Jews are God's chosen people.

thirdly, Jesus death was inevitable. it makes no difference whether it was Romans or Jews or whoever who actually carried it out, His whole purpose for being here was to DIE for mankind.

which brings up the last point, which is, His death and subsequent resurrection prevented mankind from an eternity in hell. in other words, His death wasn't a bad thing but a good thing.

[Scairp]

77. The Gospels are not the literal truth

Nor is any other part of the Bible. Just ask any respected biblical scholar. This document is not a literal telling of anything. It is an allegory. The representation of abstract ideas or principles by characters, figures, or events in narrative, dramatic, or pictorial form. Those who were attempting to establish the Christian religion in ancient times wrote about events several generations after the true events occurred. Of course the Jews come off bad in the Gospels, they didn't accept that Christ was the savior.

[Nicholas_J]

32. Historically

seems very accurate. I am was surprised at people being concerned about the violence involved with scourging and crucifixion. The film probably portrayed it as less violent that the reality, rather than more.

Greek, Latin and Aramaic were all used in Palestine at the time, and you would expect the lower level Roman Legionaries to speak Latin. It was sort of like "English Only" in the U.S. The powers that be would insist on the use of their own tongue. Most of the legionaries were rather uneduated people from all over the empire, but in Judea, the rather excessively brutal tenth legion was used, after the client rulers were replaced with direct Roman Governors because the locals were found to be incapable of controlling the populace. Renaming Jerusalem as Aelia Capitolina after the Rebellion of 132 is one example of this assertion of the Latin Tongue on the region, Though inevitably when the Western Empire fell, Greek became the Lingua Franca.

The High Priests were rather subject to having to be approved by the Romans and as such it was not in appropriate for soldiers of lower rank to be ordered by the selected priests, However, most of the priest being ordered around by the Jewish Priests in the film were Temple Guards, who were juat about as pushy as the Romans.

The misappropriated line from the passover night was not Gibsons idea, but by the idea of the Jewish Actress who played Mary. She suggested it to Gibson, and said so in an interview yesterday.

The film rather reflects what the powerful leaders of both communties would do to retain their power in the face of someone they viewd to a dangerous threat to their grip on the area.

[SharonAnn]

4. Gee, I really like your R-W talking points. I got an email from

somebody on the R-W "Talking Points" circuit with much the same thing.

[RFK MLK PW]

10. Anyone thinking the "f" word?

[Champion Jack]

22. I'm thinking the *F* word, but, I won't say it

Or I'll get banned.

[DrWeird]

25. Yup

nt

[mvd]

39. To be fair..

Ebert thought the movie was great whether you believe or not, and I don't think he's a Republican. That said, what matters most is the Ressurection, and also Jesus's thoughts about the crucifixion. I think showing the violence so much sends too much of a political message in an non-classy way.

[mvd]

40. You wouldn't be banned

You would just receive a warning, unless you've accumulated a whole lot of other warnings. Then you never know.

[Screaming Lord Byron]

71. You'd be fundamentally out-of-line if you did that, buddy.

[molly]

5. Mel and his daddy thank you!

[RFK MLK PW]

11. LOL

great response!

[Kamika]

6. Thanks for the honest review

It sounds great :D

:thumbsup:

[seethrougheyes]

58. yw...

it was wonderful and despite what a lot of people are saying I think you should see it. People can't seem to understand what He did for us .... they can't understand how or why one man would sacrafice so much and expect nothing in return. That's expected in a world that seems to be a 'it's all about me' attitude. It's sad really.

[elfwitch]

80. What he did...

People can't seem to understand what He did for us

I guess that only works if you believe that particular dogma. There are a whole lot of people that do not. You seem to be under the impression that all of us who do not believe this line of religious doctrine are just delusional or in denial.

We (Jews, Muslims, Atheists, Agnostics, Wiccans, Satanists, etc.) neither want your pity or your Jesus. The world would start taking huge steps toward being a better place if Christians would stop trying to convert or pity the rest of us.

[Susang]

98. He was not "one man" as you state

But "god made man".

It really helps if you know your religion well before you try to convince others to know it.

You know what's sad to me? Your attempt to make others feel guilt and shame with your judgemental posts about a movie that would have made Jesus puke. I would think a true follower of Christ would refuse to patronize a movie that sells fake crucifixion nails on it's website and trinkets to make a profit based on the pain of Christ, wouldn't you?

[DS1]

7. True by whose standards remains the question.

[Duncan Grant]

9. You should see "Cheerleaders for Jesus"...........BRILLIANT!!! (n/t)

[RFK MLK PW]

12. Well, it's starting already.

CHURCH IN DENVER POSTS SIGN:
"JEWS KILLED THE LORD JESUS"

The Lovingway Pentecostal Church on Colorado Blvd in Denver has posted a sign that says: "Jews Killed the Lord Jesus," apparently a quote from the New Testament. I just spoke with Jeff Auerbach in Denver, who has both seen the sign and spoken at length with the pastor of the church. Jeff asked him to please take the sign down; he has so far refused.


This was right after one of those little church outings to see The Passion.

Just wait ... just wait ...

(a movie, the horror? you should only feel it!)

[El Supremo]

38. Holy Moses!

9News just put up the story.

Man, this movie is bringing out all the nuts!

[sushi]

61. In Gibson's movie

the Romans did the killing, Pontius Pilate was the facilitator, and the Jews the instigators.

I don't understand the attacks on Mel Gibson. He put on the screen a story normally only read.

[El Supremo]

13. The Jesus Chain Saw Massacre

After what I have heard and reading this review, there is no way that would pay money to see this gory movie.

http://slate.msn.com/id/2096025/

Somebody please tell me why the Roman Catholics are so big on showing the graphic suffering of Christ? And why do they do such torture to themselves in other countries? Like nailing themselves to crosses in the Philippines and crawling on their bloody knees in Mexico City.

[molly]

17. I think it has something to do with maudlin self-righteous

martyrdom?

[Champion Jack]

19. I saw that one twice!!

[tigerbeat]

29. amen

i've always been a little weirded out by the fascination with this man's rather gory death as part of some kind of spiritual redemption. and the fetishization of the pain, torture and suffering is too NIN for me.

"thank you jesus for DYING for our sins" -- it just has a troubling ring to it. dare i say a PAGAN ring: "thank you, human sacrifice, for appeasing the angry god in our stead."

i'm not sure i can get on board with a religion where a god ransoms his son to himself. but whatever floats people's boats. just wish they would stop trying to tell me who i can and can't marry.

[Lizz612]

44. Not because I disagree

but at Catholic school they emphasized the fact that it was a sacrifice, the final and everlasting sacrifice. The pain is emphasized so that you realize how great a sacrifice was needed. Also, they also believe that the eucharist is a true bloodless repetition of the crucifixion; his sacrifice can be repeated bloodlessly, so that no others need to die to appease god for our sins. It does sound very pagan, but also a little like the old testament.

I don't believe this, but its what I was taught at my practically pre-Vatican 2 Catholic high school. If a Catholic would like to disagree I will defer to them.

[Tinoire]

14. Thank you. I will be going to see it soon. I read most of the reviews

and am not liking a lot of the agenda-driven crap that is being so blissfully repeated here.

Thanks for the honest review.

[NicoleM]

15. Query

"Every person in that theatre 'got it'."

How do you know that? Just wondering.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

16. Hello

[Champion Jack]

21. Exactly

You nailed it

[a_random_joel]

28. Ouch.

[DieboldMustDie]

23. How do you know...

"It is the truest and purest depiction of the last 12 hours of his life"?   Were you there?

[DrWeird]

24. "purest and truest"?

Even though it's a distinctly cacausian Jesus?

[elfwitch]

81. good one!

He was a Jewish carpenter.
He would have been Middle Eastern looking and all kinds of buff!
Why they always show him as blond and blue eyed is still a mystery.

[seethrougheyes]

83. Actually.....

He had dark brown hair and brown eyes. You need to get that big chip off your shoulder, and for the record, I do not pity anyone. I love God and I love Jesus and that does not make me less of a person, but you seem to have a lot of 'anger' toward people that do. I would like to know if you have actually researched any sort of religion. Catholic religion in particular because that is generally what this film is based on? Because I have researched many many many religions and I don't judge anyone for having their own beliefs. I have mine and that's all I need to know. I am saying this is a wonderful movie because it is. That is my opinion, if you object fine....but please only object and critcize AFTER you have seen it!

[elfwitch]

86. researched religion...

I am a Jew by choice. I spent the first thirty years of my life researching religions. Christianity never added up. There are too many holes in the entire story to be believable. So to answer your question, yes I have and after all of it I chose Judaism.

You are entitled to your opinion about the movie. You can say it was good. You can say it was inspiring to you. Where the problem stars is when you added: I don't know how someone could watch this movie and not feel anything for what he did. I believe they will learn eventually, someway, somehow!!!

What did you mean by this? There are several people taking issue with this statement and I think it deserves and answer.

And on the subject of the look of Jesus, in the movie or otherwise...
James Caviezel (His surname is Romansch (Rhaeto-Romanic), from Switzerland) is a white guy with blue eyes.


Most of the images you see of Jesus look like this:


When he most likely would have looked like this


So see the movie. Review the movie. Recommend the movie. But when you put statements out there like you did regarding everyone learning, expect to receive a little debate.

[d_ashley]

94. they change his eye color....

in the movie with computers.

[Uzybone]

26. Wasn't Jesus supposed to suffer and die???

why does anyone seem to hold hatred to those who did it? If you believe the story of Christ as told by the multi edited Bible, then he came to earth so he could be sacrificed for our sins. If anything Jews and Romans should be commended for being the ones God chose to perform this most mighty of sacrifices.


BTW Gibson is a moron. Ill wait till this comes out on video. If anyone needed the big screen at Tinseltown to understand what Christ suffered, then their devotion isn't impressive to me.

[a_random_joel]

27. Questions for you, my friend

I respect your sentiment, and I am sure the movie was made well. Gibson certainly has enough Hollywood clout to put together a good team, and secure the financial backing for such an endeavor. So delivering anything less than what you describe would be a huge failure by any objective standard. That said, here's my questions for you:

1. As a devout person of faith are you perhaps bothered by the extreme amounts of money said film is projected to earn? And perhaps more importantly, does this run contrary to Christ's message itself?

2. The prospective merchandising based on this film. Similar to my first question, do you think selling nails is a good idea? How about "Passion" lunchboxes?

3. How did Jesus do the "ultimate" for me, 2000 years before I was born?

4. Do you believe people of other faiths have the right to opt out of this "ultimate" sacrifice? And if so, do you believe they are condemned to an eternity in hell?

5. Why did God save Abraham's son, but not his own?

I respect Christ as a wise man, as I do many other wise men history has provided. Perhaps if more supposed believers practiced his methods, the world would be a little less ugly.

Glad you "enjoyed" the movie. Take care.

[d_ashley]

73. to answer your questions....

1. i am not bothered by the money that will be made. mel gibson took a huge risk in making this movie by putting up $30 million of his own money. i think whatever he makes off of it is what he deserves. God only will require his 10%. Whether or not Mel chooses to give that is between him and God and is none of mine nor your concern.

2. im not sure i understand this question.

3. according to the Bible, sin separated us from God. romans 3:23 says, "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." The only way we could be "saved" was for there to be a sacrifice made for us. It had to be made by the only Person who ever lived who was perfect - Jesus. In other words, it wasn't just the Jews and Romans who killed Christ, but you and I as well. The suffering He endured was for you and I, whether you choose to except it or not.

4. Long story short, Christ said, "No man comes to the Father but by me." The Bible teaches that Christ is the only way to heaven. Unless we repent to our Father AND turn from our sins, we won't inherit heaven.

5. Again, Christ's purpose for being here was TO DIE. God was testing Abraham and could have chosen to save Isaac or not. He chose to and thus proved Abraham's obedience. He did not save His own Son b/c that was contrary to the purpose for sending Him here. The Bible says that at any point, Christ could have called down legions of angels to rescue Himself. He chose not to.

In response to Christ being a wise man....

If i told you i was the Son of God and preached kindness, etc., how much respect would you have for me? You have to understand, that Christ either was the Son of God and exactly everything else He said He was or...He was a lunatic and no more deserving a title as "wise man" than a David Koresh.

[a_random_joel]

85. All of your answers are based on YOUR perspective.

Each of your answers are based on the supposition that I am living in the same mindset as you. As a non-Christian, I find your responses to be patronizing, completely intolerant, and the complete antithesis of what Christ intended IMHO.

You need to learn to think from someone else's perspective.

Think for yourself before you respond to a free thinker.

But that's OK, it makes it that much easier to dismiss you.

[d_ashley]

87. i am curious as to how....

you see my views as the antithesis of what Christ taught. what scriptures can you state that would prove your statement?

[ArkDem]

96. Give it up. A random joel

has an open mind and is much smarter than you. I don't think he will learn anything from you. Ignorant people like us, my friend, should just be quiet.

[mumon]

30. still think it should've been done by Tarantino...

Harvey Keitel could reprise his "Judas" from Scorsese's film.

And, it'd have Uma Thurman in it!

[Az]

34. There is no doubt that the movie is powerful, but that is not the issue

It is fully expected to be emotionally stunning. This is not the issue. The issue is what happens when someone walks out of that movie with all that swimming around in their head and comes across someone that denies Jesus' existance or sacrifice.

There are many that have already suffered at the hands of those who hold zealous belief(and of course they too have suffered at the hands of those who do not believe).

You are missing the historical issue involved here. We have precidense on the effects of this story. We know that in the past the telling of this story has lead to religious hate crimes being committed. Now we have an even more powerful telling of the story. How can you assure those that do not believe as you do that they will not come to harm?

Our society is a tinderbox of beliefs. We each allow the other to believe as they see fit. There are belief systems that are directly opposed to each other. In order for the society to survive we each must keep from forcing our views on the other. We do not inflame the issue by shouting glories to our belief in the public square.

This movie has the potential to unbalance things. It is concern for this that drives those who look askew at his work. He has run into the public square and created a testimony to the violence visited upon the figure head of his religion by those that did not accept him. There are still people that do not accept the claim that he was divine let alone existed. This is a very disconcerting position to have placed people in and they are going to react.

[VOX]

53. Excellent analysis, Az.

Very thoughtful.

Thanks --

[Hell Hath No Fury]

35. "but not as bad as it probably really was for him"???

I read every available review I could over on rottentomatoes.com and came away with the impression that a human being could not possible survive the blood loss Mel's Christ suffered!

I'm not certain the nastiest torture devised by man could be worse that what Gibson appears to have dreamed up. I mean really now, chunks of flesh seen flying in slow motion as it is flayed from his skin? Puh-lease. That wasn't in the Gospels, that was in that nutter German nun's "visions".

[Lizz612]

46. Which German nun? n/t

[Hell Hath No Fury]

49. Her name was Anne Catherine Emmerich...

and Mel as acknowledged using her writings (as well as another Catholic mystic) as a big part in the creation of the film, especially in the beating/crucifiction scenes. Here's a little bit about her:

www.beliefnet.com/story/139/story_13958_1.html

Anne Catherine Emmerich was an Augustian nun who lived in Germany from 1774 to 1824. She is remembered for her mystical visions of Jesus' and Mary's lives, recorded in works like "The Dolorous Passion." As written by Brentano, Emmerich saw visions of the Last Supper and the Agony in the Garden, as well as Jesus' arrest, scourging, and crucifixion.

The visions are quite detailed. "The Dolorous Passion" describes many non-biblical events--such as a conversation between Pilate and his wife--and non-biblical scenes, such as Pilate "reposing in a comfortable chair, on a terrace which overlooked the forum, and a small three-legged table stood by his side, on which was placed the insignia of his office, and a few other things." In Mel Gibson's movie, the role of Pilate's wife is expanded far beyond the gospel's brief mention of her dream. Gibson's Pilate interacts with his wife several times, and she is portrayed as the sympathetic proto-Christian character Emmerich describes.

Emmerich's visions of Jesus' suffering are very graphic. There is much more gore in her descriptions than in the gospels. In one vision, for example, Jesus "tottered rather than walked, and was almost unrecognisable from the effects of his sufferings during the night; —he was colourless, haggard, his face swollen and even bleeding, and his merciless persecutors continued to torment him each moment more and more."


Why did Mel Gibson base some of the movie's scenes on "The Dolorous Passion"?

Emmerich's visions imaginatively fill in the gaps of the Passion story. Whereas the gospels devote relatively little space to descriptions of Jesus' last hours, "The Dolorous Passion" envisions them in painstaking detail. The intense drama of her visions may also explain their appeal. For example, in the gospels, Jesus is shown praying in Gethsemane, but the devil is not mentioned. In Emmerich's visions, the devil tempts Jesus as he prays, saying "Takest thou even this sin upon thyself? Art thou willing to bear its penalty?" In Mel Gibson's movie, the devil also tempts Jesus in Gethsemane.


Just found another site that has a full transcript of her "visions". Her description of the chalice at the Last Supper is enough to make me go "hmmmm"...

www.catholicplanet.com/ebooks/Dolorous-Passion.pdf

[ironflange]

57. If you ask me. . .

The Grail in "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" is probably more plausible than a solid gold gem-encrusted piece that rode on the Ark to boot.

[Bridget Burke]

65. Her Prophecies are even more interesting....

"Muslims and Orthodox shall promote an ecumenical church by electing a modernistic pope who will abandon Catholic Teaching and Tradition, rule by compromising and committee."

LOTS more here:

http://nostradamus.freehomepages.com/emmerick.htm

Sister Emmerich (or Emmerick) warned against the dangers of Protestantism, as well. I wonder if Mel's new Fundamentalist friends will find her works enlightening.

I also wonder when Mel will follow her example & begin exhibiting the stigmata; he makes such a great martyr. (No such thing as bad publicity.)

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

54. HOLY CRAP, that is all I needed to know about the damn movie

"I mean really now, chunks of flesh seen flying in slow motion as it is flayed from his skin? Puh-lease." :wow:

[d_ashley]

74. i took a class...

in college that discussed what a scourging would have been like. apparently they used what's called a "cat of nine tails," which was a whip similar to what's seen in the movie. it had shards of metal attached that would literally stick into the person's back and basically have to be ripped out. The Bible says Christ was struck 39 times which was the limit that Roman law would allow. that being the case, His back probably would have been worse in real life than portrayed in the movie.

[seethrougheyes]

89. That's my point.....

While the movie was violent yes, it was more than likely even worse for Christ than what was depicted in the movie.

[pretzel4gore]

36. was Jesus naked?

back in the early years of christianity, depicting Christ on the cross was a problem the church solved through use of fig leaves (a little towel in that case)
How did Gibson deal with it?

[Onlooker]

41. D.W. Griffith was also a bigot

The movie may be brilliant, though what I've read is it's not spiritual, it's just gory and shocking. That said, perhaps it is a good movie, but I don't give my money to support bigoted movie makers. Gibson is not only, perhaps, anti-semitic, but also anti-gay, anti-woman, and somewhat anti anyone who doesn't follow his strict religious beliefs. Maybe you should send a little money to Karl Rove, too. He's also brilliant.

[never cry wolf]

42. I wonder if Babs * saw it?

Nahhhh, why should she waste her beautiful mind on something like that?

[a_random_joel]

43. A Descartes fan, eh?

Descartes is an interesting philosopher, but there are some serious holes in his reasoning.

Sum, Ergo Cogito

[joeybee12]

45. You're not serious, are you?

There is no way what is shown in this movie comes close to what actually happened. Most of it is from the mind of some whacked out S&M nun. Doesn't showing violence that probably didn't happen just re-inforce people's ignorance, which far too many people mistakenly call faith.

[Shanty Oilish]

47. If anyone's interested in a liberal's version instead...

Rent or buy "Mary, Mother of Jesus." Exec producer Eunice Kennedy Shriver. Very well done and won't traumatize the kids.
I haven't seen the Passion yet but have heard enough to understand it's too violent for children.

[JasonDeter]

48. "It is the truest and purest depiction of the last 12 hours of his life."

That is why all the naysayers don't like it. They like it when the masses don't have an intellectual and emotional understanding of what Christ suffered to bear the sin of mankind.

[Karenina]

59. It is without a doubt

a true and pure depiction of the sadistic, sick and twisted imagination of the filmmaker himself.

[The Lone Liberal]

51. It was a parlor trick…

God cannot be killed. If he could have been dispatched he would have been ages ago by those he torments.

[VOX]

52. "Biblical pornography" = double standard

It's a timeworn Hollywood trick, as old as the art of moviemaking.

If it's in the Bible, then it's okay to show all kinds of weird, sick shit -- breaking bones, skin being flayed, etc. If it involves Jesus, so much the better -- then it's beautiful!

But make an honest film portrayal of a couple making love, and listen to the fundies scream. (Make it a gay couple, and they scream even louder.)

[marigold20]

64. Maybe the Song of Solomon needs to be portrayed "realistically"

for the faithful.

[GreenPartyVoter]

69. I don't want to see "hair like a flock of goats", thanks! *lol*

[Rabrrrrrr]

76. LOL! Yeah, I'd love to see the religious right's reaction to that!

"It's Biblical - now you have to take your children!" heh heh.

Good idea!

[MAlibdem]

55. protelyzing is fun

ask american airlines*

do you recommend this movie so i will be converted? gee, thanks!


*specifically that pilot

[IconoclastIlene]

56. Just what the world needs; more religious hatred.

More division between people and rabid anti semitism; a very good movie I am sure.

[foreigncorrespondent]

60. Please don't hope that I go see it.

I have no intentions on seeing it. Maybe one day Sappho will talk me into watching it on the tube, if she wants to see it, but I refuse to pay money to a sick and twisted religious zealot like Mel.

[Liberal Veteran]

63. I have no desire to see this. Now a movie about the LIFE of Christ...

....and the teachings of Christ (aka the healing and sermon on the mount) would truly interest me.

A movie that involved that and was realistic and true to scripture would actually be beneficial to nearly all Christians.

This particular chosen topic to base a movie on will do nothing but reinforce already held religious beliefs which may or may not be accurate but does nothing to teach anyone anything they didn't already know (Jesus was crucified, suffered, died, ressurected).

[GreenPartyVoter]

67. Amen to that!

[Bridget Burke]

66. The Houston Chronicle reviewer gave the the film an "F"

Gigli got a C-.

[watercolors]

68. Reading the BOOK is more powerful!

I have great fears what this movie is going to add to division of our country. Religion at best divides, It would be great if people woould react to it by being kinder and more forgiving to one another, but it aint gonna happen!

[GreenPartyVoter]

70. So many people get caught up in His Birth and Death, but they

forget about His Life.

They love to talk about serving a risen Lord, but their passion is all about that miracle and the virgin Birth. Where is their passion for His feeding of the hungry, His protection of the poor, His casting off of unnecessary possessions and trusting God to provide for Him? Where is their passion for when he rebukes the moneychangers and the Pharisees?

http://www.geocities.com/greenpartyvoter/liberalchristians.htm

[jor_mama]

78. Without the ascension, it is all meaningless

n/t

[Jeff in Cincinnati]

82. Friend of mine went to Italy on a tour...

...came back and pronounced the Vatican as "mankind's greatest monument to missing the point." I think that Gibson's movie -- and I haven't seen it yet -- is something much like it. The cover of one of the weekly newsmagazines poses the question "Who Killed Christ?"

Who cares?

It ain't the point, jasper. If Gibson would bother to read the Bible (the book is always better than the movie), he would know that Jesus specifically forgave those who were in the process of killing him. So if the God I worship can forgive his killers, I suppose I can too.

[Wilso]

90. not from my POV

Sorry, but I saw this movie last night and thought it was crap. About the most boring 2 hours I've ever paid $10 to sit through.

[Mountainman]

91. No thanks

Why in god's and goddess' name would I want to see a movie about people brutalizing someone for 12 hours?

Think about it for a moment. Just take the Jesus out of it and have it be an ordinary man. Would you go to a movie to see how a man was tortured to death over a 12 hour period?

[WilliamPitt]

92. Funny, I found it supremely craptacular

Didn't see the anti-Semitic aspects, so much as I saw an overwrought, hyperviolent movie filled with white people playing the roles of brown people.

One example of the cheese:

Jesus is captured and wrapped in chains, and is getting the shit beat out of him. He is thrown over a bridge and left to dangle in agony. There under the bridge, like a troll, is Judas, looking every bit like the white front man for a Seattle grunge band. The drama is palpable; he is wracked with guilt and fear as Jesus is dragged back up to the top of the bridge.

But ol' Mel couldn't leave it at that. As Judas writhes in guilt, you see something moving to the side of the screen. He looks, and BLARGH! He gets startled by some beast that looked like a refugee from '28 Days Later.' The audience jumped, and then shook it's collective head at the cheap crap.

Boo.

[VelmaD]

93. Wow, I've read the Bible and I must have always missed...

the "troll bridge" scene. My Sunday School teachers never covered it either. Who knew? :shrug: ;-)

[Susang]

100. 12 long years of Catholic school

And I never heard of a "Judas troll". Though it would have made certain classes more interesting.

I wonder what it was that Judas was supposed to have been having a vision of? The devil? Freddy Krueger?

[Drifter]

95. And I hope they follow this movie with ...

a realistic account of Santa Clause, The Easter bunny, and the Tooth Fairy.

Be Gone RW shill.

Cheers
Drifter

[liberalpress]

97. I just find it interesting...

.... that at least on this board, Christians are accused of being right-wingers. Does that mean you want me to take my Howard Dean vote back? Self-confessed Christians aren't allowed to vote progressive? Fine. I'll tell my liberal church group you don't want our votes.

[Susang]

The Rocky Horror Jesus Show

That's what John Waters called it last night on Craig Kilborn's show. If it turns into that, with people dressed up like Jesus and acting out the scenes, then maybe I'll go. But it would have to be at midnight, and I'd have to be drunk, just like at the real Rocky Horror.

[Misinformed01]

99. I can't go see it yet...I am still emotionally overwhelmed

from seeing Seabiscuit.

[BonjourUSA]

101. What is wonderful in this story ?

I never understood why the suffer and death of anyone could save me !

First, save me of what ?

And a son sent by his father to the suffer and death for saving the world (a little world of less than 6 million of inhabitants) is the top of the barbary.

With this horrific idea that more the suffer will be hard and more the death we be awful, better the redemption of the world will be. To believe this story and to be proud of it, it's the top of the egotism.

[d_ashley]

102. in a nut shell...

save you from hell.

according to the Bible, man is separated from God by sin. What is sin? One need only look at the 10 commandments. Even still, there are those who feel they have kept all 10 commandments. Jesus erradicated this notion. In Matthew 5, Jesus states:

27 You have heard that it was said by them of old time, You shall not commit adultery: 28 But I say to you, That whosoever looks on a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart.

Have you ever lusted after someone? Then in God's eyes, you are an adulterer. Have you ever lied, even a white lie or half-truth? Then you have violated the 9 commandment and in God's eyes you are a liar. Have you ever hated someone? Then according to Matthew 5:21-22, God sees you as a murderer.

If God measures us by this standard on judgement day, who then could possibly be saved? The answer is no one.

This is the purpose for Christ's death. He was the only perfect person who ever lived and His death was intentional. His blood was shed, and in doing so He took the burden of our sins upon Himself. Had there been another way, He gladly would have opted out of the crucifixion. There was not however.

Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and no man comes to the Father but by Me.

Unless we repent of our wrongdoings to the Father AND turn from our sins, we are damned to hell.