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Michael Savage reviews "The Passion of Christ"
allen griggs
Member Posts: 35,509 ✭✭✭✭
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Jody Dean wrote this: (is a Dallas TV anchor).
>
>
>
>
> All...
>
> There've been a ton of emails and forwards floating around recently from
> those who've had the privilege of seeing Mel Gibson's "The Passion Of The
> Christ" prior to its actual release. I thought I'd give you my reaction
> after seeing it last night.
>
> The screening was on the first night of "Elevate!", a weekend-long
> seminar for young people at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano. There
> were about 2,000 people there, and the movie was shown after several
> speakers had taken the podium. It started around 9 and finished around
> 11..so I reckon the film is about two hours in length. Frankly, I lost
> complete track of time - so I can't be sure.
>
> I want you to know that I started in broadcasting when I was
13-years-old.
> I've been in the business of writing, performing, production, and
> broadcasting for a long time. I've been a part of movies, radio,
> television, stage and other productions - so I know how things are done.
I
> know about soundtracks and special effects and make-up and screenplays. I
> think I've seen just about every kind of movie or TV show ever made -
from
> extremely inspirational to extremely gory. I read a lot, too - and have
> covered stories and scenes that still make me wince. I also have a vivid
> imagination, and have the ability to picture things as they must have
> happened - or to anticipate things as they will be portrayed. I've also
> seen an enormous amount of footage from Gibson's film, so I thought I
knew
> what was coming.
>
> But there is nothing in my existence - nothing I could have read, seen,
> heard, thought, or known - that could have prepared me for what I saw on
> screen last night.
>
> This is not a movie that anyone will "like". I don't think it's a movie
> anyone will "love". It certainly doesn't "entertain". There isn't even
the
> sense that one has just watched a movie. What it is, is an experience -
on
> a level of primary emotion that is scarcely comprehensible. Every shred
of
> human preconception or predisposition is utterly stripped away. No one
> will eat popcorn during this film. Some may not eat for days after
they've
> seen it Quite honestly, I wanted to vomit. It hits that hard.
>
> I can see why some people are worried about how the film portrays the
> Jews. They should be worried. No, it's not anti-Semitic. What it is, is
> entirely shattering. There are no "winners". No one comes off looking
> "good" except Jesus. Even His own mother hesitates. As depicted, the
> Jewish leaders of Jesus' day merely do what any of us would have done -
> and still do. They protected their perceived "place" - their sense of
> safety and security, and the satisfaction of their own "rightness". But
> everyone falters. Caiphus judges. Peter denies. Judas betrays. Simon the
> Cyrene balks Mark runs away Pilate equivocates. The crowd mocks. The
> soldiers laugh. Longinus still stabs with his pilus. The centurion still
> carries out his orders. And as Jesus fixes them all with a glance, they
> still turn away.
>
> The Jews, the Romans, Jesus' friends - they all fall. Everyone, except
the
> Principal Figure. Heaven sheds a single, mighty tear - and as blood and
> water spew from His side, the complacency of all creation is eternally
> shattered.
>
> The film grabs you in the first five seconds, and never lets go The
> brutality, humiliation, and gore is almost inconceivable - and still
> probably doesn't go far enough. The scourging alone seems to never end,
> and you cringe at the sound and splatter of every blow - no matter how
> steely your nerves. Even those who have known combat or prison will have
> trouble, no matter their experience - because this Man was not
> conscripted. He went willingly, laying down His entirety for all. It is
> one thing for a soldier to die for his countrymen It's something else
> entirely to think of even a common man dying for those who hate and wish
> to kill him. But this is no common man. This is the King of the Universe.
> The idea that anyone could or would have gone through such punishment is
> unthinkable - but this Man was completely innocent, completely holy - and
> paying the price for others. He
> screams as He is laid upon the cross, "Father, they don't know. They
don't
> know..."
>
> What Gibson has done is to use all of his considerable skill to portray
> the most dramatic moment of the most dramatic events since the dawn of
> time. There is no escape. It's a punch to the gut that puts you on the
> canvas, and you don't get up. You are simply confronted by the horror of
> what was done - what had to be done - and why Throughout the entire film,
> I found myself apologizing.
>
> What you've heard about how audiences have reacted is true. There was no
> sound after the film's conclusion. No noise at all. No one got up. No one
> moved. The only sound one could hear was sobbing. In all my years of
> public life, I have never heard anything like that.
>
> I told many of you that Gibson had reportedly re-shot the ending to
> include more "hope" through the Resurrection? That's not true. The
> Resurrection scene is perhaps the shortest in the entire movie - and yet
> it packs a punch that can't be quantified. It is perfect. There is no way
> to negotiate the meaning out of it. It simply asks, "Now, what will you
> do?"
>
> I'll leave the details to you, in the hope that you will see the film -
> but
> one thing above all stands out, and I have to tell you about it. It comes
> from the end of Jesus' temptations in the wilderness - where the Bible
> says Satan left him "until a more opportune time". I imagine Satan never
> quit tempting Christ, but this film captures beyond words the most
> opportune time At every step of the way, Satan is there at Jesus' side
> imploring Him to quit, reasoning with Him to give up, and seducing Him to
> surrender.
>
>
>
> For the first time, one gets an heart-stopping idea of the
sense of
> madness that must have enveloped Jesus - a sense of the evil that was at
> His very elbow. The physical punishment is relentless - but it's the
sense
> of psychological torture that is most overwhelming. He should have quit.
> He should have opened His mouth. He should have called 10,000 angels. No
> one would have blamed Him. What we deserve is obvious. But He couldn't do
> that. He wouldn't do that. He didn't do that. He doesn't do that. It was
> not and is not His character. He was obedient, all the way to the cross -
> and you feel the real meaning of that phrase in a place the human heart
> usually doesn't dare to go. You understand that we are called to that
same
> level of
> obedience. With Jesus' humanity so irresistibly on display,
you
> understand that we have no excuse. There is no place to hide.
>
> The truth is this: Is it just a "movie"? In a way, yes. But it
goes
> far
> beyond that, in a fashion I've never felt - in any forum. We
may
> think we "know". We know nothing. We've gone 2,000 years - used to the
> idea of a pleasant story, and a sanitized Christ. We expect the ending,
> because we've heard it so many times. God forgive us. This film tears
that
> all away. It's is as close as any of us will ever get to knowing, until
we
> fully know. Paul understood. "Be urgent, in and out of season."
>
> Luke wrote that Jesus reveals Himself in the breaking of the
bread.
> Exactly. "The Passion Of The Christ" shows that Bread being
broken.
>
> Go see this movie.
>
>
>
Bruce
I'm already convinced that God has proven his love for undeserving men & women by his only begotten Son dying on the cross in our place. It sounds so graphic, that I'm not so sure I really would want to take a not-yet-believer! It might scare people into heaven! [8D][8D]
SIG pistol armorer/FFL Dealer/Full time Peace Officer, Moderator of General Discussion Board on Gunbroker. Visit www.gunbroker.com the best gun auction site on the Net! Email davidnunn@texoma.net
>>
>> The majority of the media are complaining about this movie. Now Paul
> Harvey
>> tells "The rest of the story" and David Limbaugh praises Gibson. Most
>> people would wait and see a movie before giving the reviews that have
>> been
>
>> issued by the reporters trying to tell all of us what to believe.
>>
>> Paul Harvey's words:
>> I really did not know what to expect. I was thrilled to have been
>> invited
>> to
>> a private viewing of Mel Gibson's film "The Passion," but I had also
>> read
>> all the cautious articles and spin. I grew up in a Jewish town and owe
>> much of my own faith journey to the influence. I have a life long,
>> deeply
>> held aversion to anything that might even indirectly encourage any
>> form of
>> anti-Semitic thought, language or actions.
>>
>> I arrived at the private viewing for "The Passion", held in Washington
>> DC
>> and greeted some familiar faces. The environment was typically
>> Washingtonian, with people greeting you with a smile but seeming to
>> look
>> beyond you, having an agenda beyond the words.. The film was very
>> briefly
>> introduced, without fanfare, and then the room darkened. From the
>> gripping
>
>> opening scene in the Garden of Gethsemane, to the very human and tender
>> portrayal of the earthly ministry of Jesus, through the betrayal, the
>> arrest, the scourging, the way of the cross, the encounter with the
>> thieves, the surrender on the Cross, until the final scene in the empty
>> tomb, this was not simply a movie; it was an encounter, unlike
>> anything I
>> have ever experienced.
>>
>> In addition to being a masterpiece of film-making and an artistic
>> triumph,
>> "The Passion" evoked more deep reflection, sorrow and emotional
>> reaction
>> within me than anything since my wedding, my ordination or the birth
>> of my
>
>> children. Frankly, I will never be the same. When the film concluded,
>> this
>
>> "invitation only" gathering of "movers and shakers" in Washington, DC
>> were
>
>> shaking indeed, but this time from sobbing. I am not sure there was a
>> dry
>> eye in the place. The crowd that had been glad-handing before the film
>> was
>
>> now eerily silent. No one could speak because words were woefully
>> inadequate. We had experienced a kind of art that is a rarity in life,
>> the
>
>> kind that makes heaven touch earth.
>>
>> One scene in the film has now been forever etched in my mind. A
>> brutalized, wounded Jesus was soon to fall again under the weight of
>> the
>> cross. His mother had made her way along the Via Della Rosa. As she
>> ran to
>
>> him, she flashed back to a memory of Jesus as a child, falling in the
>> dirt
>
>> road outside of their home. Just as she reached to protect him from the
>> fall, she was now reaching to touch his wounded adult face. Jesus
>> looked
> at
>> her with intensely probing and passionately loving eyes (and at all of
>> us
>> through the screen) and said "Behold I make all things new." These are
>> words taken from the last Book of the New Testament, the Book of
>> Revelations. Suddenly, the purpose of the pain was so clear and the
> wounds,
>> that earlier in the film had been so difficult to see in His face, His
>> back, indeed all over His body, became intensely beautiful. They had
>> been
>> borne voluntarily for love.
>> At the end of the film, after we had all had a chance to recover, a
>> question
>> and answer period ensued. The unanimous praise for the film, from a
>> rather
>
>> diverse crowd, was as astounding as the compliments were effusive. The
>> questions included the one question that seems to follow this film,
>> even
>> though it has not yet even been released. "Why is this film considered
>> by
>> some to be "anti-Semitic?" Frankly, having now experienced (you do not
>> "view" this film) "the Passion" it is a question that is impossible to
>> answer. A law professor whom I admire sat in front of me He raised his
>> hand and responded "After watching this film, I do not understand how
>> anyone can insinuate that it even remotely presents that the Jews
>> killed
>> Jesus. It doesn't." He continued "It made me realize that my sins
>> killed
>> Jesus" I agree. There is not a scintilla of anti-Semitism to be found
>> anywhere in this powerful film. If there were, I would be among the
>> first
>> to decry it.
>> It faithfully tells the Gospel story in a dramatically beautiful,
> sensitive
>> and profoundly engaging way.
>>
>> Those who are alleging otherwise have either not seen the film or have
>> another agenda behind their protestations. This is not a "Christian"
>> film,
>> in the sense that it will appeal only to those who identify themselves
>> as
>> followers of Jesus Christ. It is a deeply human, beautiful story that
>> will
>> deeply touch all men and women. It is a profound work of art. Yes, its
>> producer is a Catholic Christian and thankfully has remained faithful
>> to
>> the Gospel text; if that is no longer acceptable behavior than we are
>> all
>> in
>> trouble. History demands that we remain faithful to the story and
>> Christians have a right to tell it. After all, we believe that it is
>> the
>> greatest
>> story ever told and that its message is for all men and women. The
> greatest
>> right is the right to hear the truth.
>>
>> We would all be well advised to remember that the Gospel narratives to
>> which "The Passion" is so faithful were written by Jewish men who
>> followed
>
>> a Jewish Rabbi whose life and teaching have forever changed the
>> history of
>
>> the world. The problem is not the message but those who have distorted
>> it
>> and used it for hate rather than love. The solution is not to censor
>> the
>> message, but rather to promote the kind of gift of love that is Mel
>> Gibson's filmmaking masterpiece, "The Passion."
>>
>> It should be seen by as many people as possible. I intend to do
>> everything
>> I can to make sure that is the case. I am passionate about "The
>> Passion."
>> You will be as well. Don't miss it! Some other comments about the
>> filmby
>> David Limbaugh.
>> How ironic that when a movie producer takes artistic license with
>> historical events, he is lionized as artistic, creative and brilliant,
>> but
>
>> when
>> another takes special care to be true to the real-life story, he is
>> vilified. Actor-producer Mel Gibson is discovering these truths the
>> hard
>> way as he is having difficulty finding a United States studio or
>> distributor
>> for his upcoming film, "The Passion," which depicts the last
>> 12 hours of the life of Jesus Christ.
>>
>> Gibson co-wrote the script and financed, directed and produced the
>> movie.
>> For the script, he and his co-author relied on the New Testament
>> Gospels
> of
>> Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, as well as the diaries of St. Anne
>> Catherine
>
>> Emmerich (1774-1824) and Mary of Agreda's "The City of God."
>>
>> Gibson shot the film in the Aramaic language of the period. In
>> response to
>> objections that viewers will not be able to understand that language,
>> Gibson said, "Hopefully, I'll be able to transcend the language
>> barriers
>> with my visual storytelling; if I fail, I fail, but at least it'll be a
>> monumental
>> failure."
>> To further insure the accuracy of the work, Gibson has enlisted the
>> counsel of pastors and theologians, and has received rave reviews. Don
>> Hodel, president of Focus on the Family, said, "I was very impressed.
>> The
>> movie is historically and theologically accurate." Ted Haggard, pastor
>> of
>> New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colo., and president of the
>> National
>> Evangelical Association, glowed: "It conveys, more accurately than any
>> other film, who Jesus was."
>>
>> During the filming, Gibson, a devout Catholic, attended Mass every
>> morning
>
>> because "we had to be squeaky clean just working on this." From
>> Gibson's
>> perspective, this movie is not about Mel Gibson. It's bigger than he
>> is.
>> "I'm not a preacher, and I'm not a pastor," he said. "But I really
>> feel my
>
>> career was leading me to make this. The Holy Ghost was working through
>> me
>> on this film, and I was just directing traffic. I hope the film has the
>> power to evangelize."
>> Gibson is getting his wish. "Everyone who worked on this movie was
> changed.
>> There were agnostics and Muslims on set converting to
>> Christianity...[and]
>
>> people being healed of diseases." Gibson wants people to understand
> through
>> the movie, if they don't already, the incalculable influence Christ has
> had
>> on the world.
>> And he grasps that Christ is controversial precisely because of WHO HE
>> IS - GOD incarnate. "And that's the point of my film really, to show
>> all
>> that
>> turmoil around him politically and with religious leaders and the
>> people,
>> all because He is Who He is."
>>
>> Many people have written in periodicals that the movie is favoring the
>> Christian faith and doesn't show the true character of Jesus.The moral
>> is
>> that if you want the popular culture to laud your work on
>> Christ, make sure it either depicts Him as a homosexual or as an
>> everyday
>> sinner with no particular redeeming value (literally). In our
>> anti-Christian culture, the blasphemous "The Last Temptation of
>> Christ" is
>
>> celebrated and "The Passion" is condemned. But if this movie continues
>> to
>> affect people the way it is now, no amount of cultural opposition will
>> suppress its force and its positive impact on lives everywhere. Mel
>> Gibson
>
>> is a model of faith and courage.
>>
"Sell not virtue to purchase wealth, not liberty to purchase power."
Benjamin Franklin, 1785