Posted on 02/18/2004 6:37:16 AM PST by presidio9
Mel Gibson's controversial new movie "The Passion of the Christ" was igniting plenty of passion yesterday - even though opening night was still a week away. First Lady Laura Bush said she was looking forward to watching the R-rated film about the Crucifixion of Christ.
"I think it sounds very interesting, and I'd like to see it," the First Lady told reporters while visiting a high school in Bentonville, Ark.
But lots of others weren't so sure.
Gibson's story of the torture of Christ isn't just brutal, it's an exercise in cinematic sadism that opens on Ash Wednesday (Feb. 25) at 18 theaters across the city and 2,000 more throughout the country.
And that left many New Yorkers interviewed by the Daily News wondering whether the one-time "Lethal Weapon" star took the violence too far in his portrayal of "The Passion of the Christ."
They joined a chorus of other critics who fear the movie unfairly scapegoats Jews and who accuse Gibson of straying from the Gospels.
For many parents - even churchgoing parents who don't quibble with Gibson's interpretation of the Gospels - the violence might be too much for their kids.
"I don't think my children would get it," said Debbie Sparber, 45, of Manhattan, a Christian whose kids are 12 and 9. "They'd misunderstand what they're seeing."
Richard D'Alessandro, 45, a Manhattan-based actor who has appeared on violent shows like "The Sopranos," said there's no way he'll take his 9-year-old, Giancarlo, to the film.
"Violence is violence, no matter what the subject matter," said D'Alessandro, who is a Catholic. "For whatever religious value this film may have, the violence makes it out of the question."
Despite the blood and gore, many religious groups such as the New York-based Catholic League have already prepurchased thousands of tickets - virtually assuring Gibson will recoup the $25 million he sank into making the movie.
That Gibson's "Passion" is expected to do boffo at the box office is all the more remarkable because six months ago he was struggling to find a distributor.
True believers like Jurema Farr, 41, of Sparta, N.J., said Gibson's recounting of Christ's last 12 hours alive is something her three kids need to see - even if it sickens them.
"They need to know and learn about what happened to Jesus Christ," said Farr, her 8-year-old, Ulysees, and 6-year-old, Orion, in tow. "You have to show your kids the truth, even if it's violent."
Dr. Alan Hilfer, a child psychologist at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, disagreed. He said kids that age aren't ready for that kind of graphic violence.
"I have seen some of the clips, and it was pretty gruesome," he said. "This is not cartoon violence."
But Manhattan psychiatrist Wayne Myers said "kids from religious families are already programmed to believe in this, and their parents will explain this as this is our Lord suffering."
In an interview with ABC's Diane Sawyer, Gibson admitted he pumped up the violence because he wanted to push the viewer "over the edge." He said he wanted viewers to feel "the enormity of Christ's sacrifice."
Gibson also denied the movie is anti-Semitic, but has resisted requests by Jewish groups to add a postscript to the movie reminding viewers that it was the Romans, not the Jews, who ultimately crucified Christ.
Abraham Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League asked Pope John Paul yesterday to tell his flock that Gibson's controversial movie is not the gospel truth.
"It's Mel Gibson's version of the Gospel, it's Mel's gospel," he said.
Joseph Starrs of American Life League's Crusade for the Defense of our Catholic Church, said Gibson is true to the New Testament.
"This film is many things, but it is not anti-Semitic," he said. "If this film were, then the Gospel itself must be, because it is on this indisputable truth of the Gospels that the movie is based."
Rome would accept any religion except the G-d of Israel. He was their enemy because He is exclusive, the only G-d. Those who worshipped Him did not bow the knee to Caesar.
To say that Christianity would have survived if it first arose in non-Roman Germania or within the Persian Empire is to ignore reality. Only under tolerant Pax Romana could Jesus' followers expect anything other than a noose.
Yeshua's followers were supposed to expect martyrdom and divine deliverance. They were not supposed to make a deal with the Empire in order to synthesize and become the first of many religions in Rome. Every story in the Torah and Tenach is full of brave men and women totally outnumbered who relied on the G-d of Israel and his messengers. You could just as well argue that Moses needed the Egyptian Empire to make the difficult journey to the land of Canaan in peace.
Of course your point of view is totally embraced in secular history and from that viewpoint it makes sense.
That is the modern secular view. The one with the most marbles or money wins. Truth is relative and subjective, etc.
The Romans had no problem accepting any religion that did not oppose the rule of the Caesars. Christians exhibited a high level of arrogance- they were a minority attempting to force their views upon the majority. In such a context, the Romans were perfectly in the right to crucify Jesus. He was nothing more than a radical trying to stir up trouble.
No, she did not back it up. You accused her of parroting someone else's views and she moved on. You won that fight ...
No, for a religion to be more than a cult, it must resonate with a large group of people. Why would an omniscient god create a religion that people will not accept?
Actually, if a religion does not get a lot of marbles and money, it goes extinct. Whatever Truth it purported to bring to the world dies out. Any religion that wants to survive must therefore adapt to reality.
You make the secular argument. It has many points that appeal to modern man. The only obstacle is the G-d of Israel. You cannot include Him in the synthesis of the human evolution of religions.
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