A Few Of FR's Finest....Every Day....02-25-04....Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ"

dansangel

[dansangel]

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day

Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997.   Over 100,000 people have registered for posting privileges on Free Republic, and the forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world.

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day was introduced on June 24, 2002. It's only a small room in JimRob's house where we can get to know one another a little better; salute and support our military and our leaders; pray for those in need; and congratulate those deserving. We strive to keep our threads entertaining, fun, and pleasing to look at, and often have guest writers contribute an essay, or a profile of another FReeper.

On Mondays please visit us to see photos of A FEW OF FR'S VETERANS AND ACTIVE MILITARY

If you have a suggestion, or an idea, or if there's a FReeper you would like to see featured, please drop one of us a note in FR mail.

We're having fun and hope you are!
~ Billie, dansangel, dutchess, Mama_Bear, Aquamarine ~

Today is Ash Wednesday. For millions of Christians throughout the world, today is the beginning of forty days of sacrifice, reflection and the anticipation of Easter, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Also today, opening in thousands of theaters across the U.S. is "The Passion of the Christ," directed by Mel Gibson and starring James Caviezel. Before even being offered to the general public, this movie has already stirred up a torrent of controversy.

The Christian faith is based on the fact that Jesus Christ, Son of God, walked among us some 2000 years ago. He made the ultimate sacrifice by being beaten, crucified and dying on the cross so that we may be forgiven. The movie deals with the last 12 hours that Jesus spent on earth among those who loved Him.

Much of the controversy that surrounds this film centers on the violence and brutality depicted that Christ endured during His last hours. Some critics have charged that such graphic carnage is unnecessary. Mel Gibson feels his movie version is a more accurate protrayal what Christ suffered than the myriad of films supported by Hollywood that have whitewashed the pain and terror.

Simon of Cyrene assisting Christ with the cross

The balance of the controversy lies in charges made that the film and Gibson are anti-Semitic. It is truly a shame that a movie whose focus was meant to be on our Savior and what He did for all of us must instead be upstaged by the back-biting and histrionics of headline-grabbing mere mortals. Gibson stands firmly by his stance that the movie is grounded in history, not finger-pointing, and that the bottom line is that we *all* share culpability in Christ's death, not just a select group.

James Caviezel

If you are still unsure as to whether or not it's worth your while to see this film, please take a moment to read this powerful review by Robert Moynihan from "Inside the Vatican":

The Power and the Glory of Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ"

Mel Gibson

By the time this thread goes to press on the Finest, .45MAN and I will have seen "The Passion of the Christ" with members of our church the previous night. We are hoping that others who have seen it firsthand will share their thoughts, reactions and feelings about what promises to be the most important film about the most important Man to ever live and die on this earth.

May God Bless us all here at the Finest.

THIS WEEK'S THREADS 02-23-04 Military Monday 02-24-04 Let's Celebrate Mardi Gras

Opinions by our own 'King of Ping' The guy's good, folks!

Thanks, Mixer!

1) Click on the graphic to open the Calendar.
2) Once there you can click on any month and even click to the right to go into next year. Once you are in the month that you joined FR you will need to click on the number in the calendar and then an add item screen will come up.
3) In the next box enter your name in the "Calendar Text" field and then click on submit.
4) If any of the screens fail to load simply click on refresh in your browser and that will usually fix it.
5) If all else fails or simply if you want me to do this for you send me a FReepmail and I will gladly do it for you. ~Mixer

[SpookBrat]

Have a good time in class. I can't wait to teach again. I really enjoy it and learn so much.

Yes, that's how the Vikings slowly "calmed" down. They were converted by the people they themselves had conquered. (We did a long study on the Vikings this year). Just wait until you have kids and you homeschool them. You'll learn so much right along side them.

[MeekOneGOP]

Nighty nite !

Hey ! That guy that posted that vanity/rant against "The Passion" movie ?

I think I might be up for going to see it now !

As I posted to him, I don't go see movies hardly at all.

But every now and then I will. This could be the one ...

[LadyX]

You might not see this until tomorrow, dansy, but my son called me on his cell phone from Ft. Lauderdale to say he and Sandy and their son, Ryan (20) and his girlfriend are in the theater, waiting for the movie to start in half an hour.
Can't wait to hear their reaction!

[dansangel]

This could be the one ...

I *so* urge you to do it, ((((Meekie)))))

[sigh] - As you can see I haven'y made it off the 'Net yet....*Must* pull the plug soon - LOL!

[dansangel]

he and Sandy and their son, Ryan (20) and his girlfriend are in the theater, waiting for the movie to start in half an hour. Can't wait to hear their reaction!

I'm still here, sweet (((Lady))) - I can't seem to shut down - getting over a migraine which tends to make my brain race and I can't get the Passion out of my head.....

I have a feeling I know how they are going to react. There were over 200 of us last night that left the theater in pretty much the same shape. I'm looking forward to seeing it again this Sunday. My migraine didn't prevent me from seeing any of the movie last night, but I think I will be able to process what I see much better pain-free.

OK, this time I *will* pull the plug. Good night and God Bless.

[SpookBrat]

Hope you get to feeling better Dansy. Drink fluids if you can to hydrate yourself. God bless you.

[MeekOneGOP]

Oh ! Yeah, I wasn't expecting a reply until tomorrow morning or so ! ;^)

I just might go !

[dutchess]

G'night dansy. Again thanks for a beautiful thread.

Mom went to see the Passion today and "didn't get it". A lifelong Catholic she has started questioning things the past year or so...thought through the media hype the "answer" would come easily. That being said...I think she was somewhat distracted...two of her friends she always feels responsible for walked out halfway through...although she denies it...she was worried about them the rest of the movie (they drove together)

Since I haven't seen it...and am questioning if I'm ready I had no answers for her except to direct her to this thread and some of the other links.

Sleep well. Hope your migrain goes away. Hugs to .45man.

[GailA]

[dutchess]

Absolute beautiful portrait of our lord Jesus Christ. Thank you Gail. This might be the fitting goodnight for a long emotional thread. I know Dansy went to bed earlier...clearly a night for reflection. G'night friend.

[The Mayor]

Mom went to see the Passion today and "didn't get it".

I just got home from seeing The Passion. First thing is Wow! I am still stunned and will be for days.

The hardest thing to watch is the brutal whipping Christ received.
But, I have known about the Crucification of Christ since I was a child in Sunday school. But has a Pastor or Priest ever really described to any of us how bad He was beaten.

We have pretty much seen and heard the sanitized version. Christ was beaten, mocked, scorged, spit on, whipped and hit with rocks. It is difficult for us to picture in our minds the utter brutality of the truth of it. In Proverbs it says Christ was beaten beyond recognition.

He was nailed to a wooden cross thru the hands and feet. Can anyone honestly say they have seen a spike driven thru live flesh, I have seen some brutal things done with nails and nail guns in my 30 years as a carpenter. I have hit myself with a hammer, shot nails in my skin and it is not a pretty sight and it is extremely pain full.

If we all can siit and read about the Crusifiction and realize exactly what all those words mean, we could understand that Christ took on the Sins of the World, that thru him we would have everlasting life. I cried, I had to, I had to see how bad it may have been for him to realize the impact of what He did for us.

The film is Biblical, true to the testament with a little of poetic license.

My body hurt when the Cross was lifted up into place with Christ nailed to it. When the Cross hit the bottom of that hole it hit with a force that would have been unbearable for us.

[The Mayor]

All in all the true fact is,,

Christ has Risen, he is not dead, he is Risen and Sitteth at the Right Hand of God The Father.
It is only Through Him that we can go to GOD The Father Almighty.

I Am, the Alpha and the Omega, The Beginning and the End.

[dutchess]

You have freepmail but don't need to respond to until tomorrow. So glad this was a great experience.

[Diver Dave]

Thanks for your thoughts, Rus.
Thought you might enjoy the following...

Don Francisco's He's Alive

Page 3 has the song for you listening pleasure. It may take a while to load.

[LadyX]

What a wonderful review you've provided, Rus!
Earlier I posted my son, Steve, called on his cell phone from the theater in Ft. Lauderdale where he and Sandy and their son, Ryan, and his girlfriend were waiting for the movie to begin.
I'm anxious to hear tomorrow their reactions.

I have an inkling of the impact, having seen the beautiful production at PTL of the Passion Play in te early 1980's. Their outdoor ampitheater was full-sized, and the cast of hundreds portrayed it very realistically. I wanted to run down and snatch the whip from the hand of the Roman, so powerful was it.

The sound effects of the thunder rolling across the area when he died on the cross penetrated your very soul.

Thank you so much for taking the time to share this, and for all the things you bring to us, Rus.

[Cold Heat]

I can't guarantee that I will be able to process it very fast.

You won't. Tomorrow sometime will be fine!

Well Dansy, Here it is......................

My humble review

February 26, 2004

During the course of my lifetime, spanning some 54 years thus far, I have never seen a film that has affected me as The Passion Of Christ has done.

I thought I knew what it was all about, and I thought that I had the requisite understanding of the pain and sacrifice that Jesus had suffered and made in all our names.

I was prepared to see the film, had read the reviews and had even read the naysayers accounts of their varied objections to what Mel Gibson had created. Oh yes, I was the self appointed expert on what I had understood to be the “truth".

I had lived my life to best of my ability in a way that I thought God wanted and I had listened intently to fellow Christians as they witnessed their faith and had even read the Scriptures and marveled at their contents.

Well, there is the setup, and now comes the story…………

I knew in my heart that something was going to happen to me in some way before I went to see this film. I cannot say why I knew this, but I did. I was not prepared at all for what did occur, and I never suspected the profound influence that this wonderful movie would have on me. This may sound a bit foolish to some of you who have known the truth that I discovered only last night, but I must write this and admit my ignorance of so many years.

Previously, I knew that Jesus gave his life for ALL our sins. I repeated this fact often and I thought I understood all that needed to be understood. Or, so I thought.

But, I learned that he had in fact died for ME!

So simple, yet so profound. The simplest things are so often the most important of all.

A concept that has eluded me all these years that I could never quite get a handle on, I now have my arms wrapped around it, and have embraced it fully.

My relationship with Jesus is now a personal one, more so than I ever thought possible. It is no longer in the second or third person as I had understood it before. I feel like a fool. I feel like a man who went to bed with a cancer and woke up cured and healthy. How or why I did not understand this concept before is totally beyond me.

In my humble opinion, I believe to be one of the driving forces behind the making of this film and the reason that Gibson had to make and share it with all of us.

The critics, the naysayers, the haters, the fearful and the voluminous publicity that this film has received is now but a footnote to me. I want to thank Mel Gibson for helping me to see the TRUTH and I believe that many, many others who like me were missing this important truth will find it in this fantastic presentation.

[The Mayor]

Very well said my friend.

I sit here the morning after full of emotion.
I read your words with tears in my eyes.

The full effect will work on us for a while.
A truly incredible portrayal of Christ's Death for us.

Because He Lives we can face tommorrow
because he Lives, all fear is gone
and now I know, he holds the future
life is worth living, just because he Lives.

[Hamilton2]

Your post has put into words what I have been trying to figure out since I saw this movie yesterday.

I was feeling a bit out of left field after this movie because of the intense joy I was experiencing....and I kept thinking what is wrong with me that I feel such happiness and when I read your words about how Christ really died for ME - that's exactly it.

God Bless you for sharing this insight. It's so humbling yet so uplifting at the same time.

[Billie]

Dansy and all,

Wanted to say again what a beautiful opening and all the posts on this thread. Thanks to all who shared their feelings, thoughts, and photos. It's nice to see so many new names here.

It's Thursday and that means John's Two Cents

[Billie]

OOPS! THURSDAY'S TWO CENTS