[fly_so_free]

I wasn't planning on see the film Ash Wednesday. But a funny thing happened on the way back from my Dr's appointment(Doc's office is two doors down from movie house). I was walking to my car (after appointment). Out of curiosity, I stopped at the theater and looked at the sign with the times of the movie listed(thought I'd see it thurs or fri). All the shows were sold out. A woman came up to me and asked if I wanted to see The Passion. I said yes, but it was sold out. She told me her son had just called her on her cell phone and said he couldn't make it and that she had one ticket. So I said sure.

Let me start by saying there is no way this is anti semitic. I would refer the critics to the New Testament, it is all about Jesus and the sacrifice that he had to make to save us. The movie opens with the devil telling Him that he can't die for the sins of humanity, that it's too much for one man. Jesus is praying in the garden for the chalice to pass Him by. All through the New Testament Jesus predicts the Passion. He knew exactly what was going to happen to Him. That's why he was sweating blood.

Here are some scenes with the Jews. When Jesus is brought to the Pharisee's , one of them walks out, on the trial. The next scene that surprised me, was when the leader of the Pharisee's yells loudly and calls Jesus a blasphemer. The man is genuinely angry at Jesus. As Jesus goes through His torture and Crucifixion, there are many scenes where the Jewish leaders are shown with puzzled, troubled looks on their faces. In other words, they think they are doing the right thing. They honestly don't know that Jesus is the Messiah. It's as if they keep expecting Him to confess that He's a fraud, but are surprised that He doesn't, no matter how much pain He is in. They dealt with Him as they would for somebody they thought was a blasphemer and gaining popularity in their realm. They were harsh, horrible to Him, but they were harsh to the woman they were stonning to death for adultery too. Everything they did was foretold in the scriptures. It had to happen that way, so Jesus could save us.

The two most convincing scenes that the movie is NOT antisemitic are shown in flashbacks as He is being tortured and dying on the cross . The first is , the sermon on the mount where he says "Love your enemies" while He is being savagely beaten. The second and most moving is while He is bleeding and dying on the cross. He says" Father forgive them" while His blood is pooling at the foot of the cross. The absolute proof that it isn't anti semitic. Is where it flashes back, (while He's suffering) to the scene where he flat out says "I give my life freely for you. "

I think Mel did a fantastic job. I can't think of any other way that this story could have been told. I have to admit that I'm starting to get a little irritated with certain, so called "Jewish" people, ( though I suspect these persons are more likely liberal than Jewish), complaining about what , to me was an act of profound love, made by my Saviour for me, being portrayed on film. It looks to me like they are actively trying to scare or bully people into not seeing it. It's an insult to be told that I'm too stupid to understand my own religion, and that I might harm someone because of it. Shall we ban movies about the Holocaust because the Jews might go harm the Germans? (Of course not!)

I am somewhat surprised by all the complaints about the violence. It might be that Catholics are a little more prepared for this than Protestants, because the Crucifixion is a prominent influence in Catholicism.

Walk into any Catholic church and the first thing you will probably notice is a very large Crucifix at the front of it. We also have the whole season of Lent (which focuses exclusively on the Passion), and the Sorrowful Mysteries of The Rosary also have the same focus.

With all due respect, I would like to ask these critics: What did they think the price would be for all of humanity's sins? Did they think it was going to be a quick and easy death? Jesus defeated death, with His death. He gave us immortality, because He died and rose again.I imagine , as the Pope is rumored to have said about the film, that "It is as it was."

If you don't think people are capable of the cruelty that was shown, take a look at Saddam Hussein's Iraq, with it's children's prisons, beatings, tortures, tongue slicings, rapes, electrocutions , mass graves. Saddam didn't do these things by himself he has many willing accomplices.

Or how about the Holocaust. It didn't happen that long ago. People committed unspeakable acts of cruelty to the Jewish people. No wonder Jesus told us we need to love another. We need to be saved . We are nothing without God.

A final note on the violence shown: go rent "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" Any of the "Nightmare on elm street" of "Friday the 13th" movies, "Scarface"(remember the scene where they cut a guy up with a chainsaw?) "Goodfellas" or anything by Quinten Tarantino, then come back and tell me about the "excessive violence" in "The Passion" that is based on historical fact.

I thought the movie being in Jesus's language was great. It was almost haunting to hear the words exactly as he said them, according to scripture, in His language. The subtitles made it like reading the Bible, but also seeing it right before your eyes.

I loved the way Mary was portrayed in the film. It was awesome. The scene where she remembers Jesus as a little boy falling down, while he's fallen carrying the cross, keeps coming back to me. It is heartbreaking, but awesome.

As for children seeing it, I'd say teenagers , yes definitely. 8-12 depends on what you let them watch. If you let them watch horror movies, or things such as the "Crypt Keeper" on TV, or Kill Bill, or you let them play violent video games, take them, they need to see violence with a purpose, it will be good for them.

If you don't let your kids watch horror movies or violence, see it yourself first, then decide. I'd say this movie is not for kids too much younger than 8. It is intense.

A side note about the woman who had the heart attack in the theater. I live close to a race track, and very often the ambulance will go rushing by to pick up another person who has had a heart attack at the track. It's not an uncommon event. I will bet you even money this woman was not the first person to die in a movie theater. Someone might get the statistics on that, just to put it in perspective. It seems this is an attempt to scare people into not seeing the film. It is violent and intense, but no more so than the movies I mentioned, or "We Were Soldiers".

It was a profound movie. It will stay with you a long time after it finishes. The people at the showing I was at sat in stunned silence for quite a while after it finished. (the theater workers were irritated because they wanted to start cleaning up)

Seeing this movie will really makes you contemplate the depth of the sacrifice that was made for you. It humbles you to think that He had to go through so much. It is wonderful. Thank Mel Gibson

[TxBec]

Good post. Another point a seminarian friend brought up to us once: Compare the crucifix you will see in North America to any you will see in Central or South America, especially in newer churches. The ones south of the border are so much more graphic/realistic. I've seen a few in Panama and they are so much closer to what we saw on the screen yesterday, as compared to the one in our church.

[Liz]

Looking at the circumstances by which you saw it, God sure wanted you to see the movie. I think it was so you could post your breathtaking review on this thread.