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I didn't realize there were any Christians left in the entertainment business. It is heartening to realize I am wrong.

I tried to avoid reading any of the debate, I avoided watching anything about the movie prior to seeing it, because I knew I would see it and didn't want my view to be tainted. It was, though, I found it hard to just see the movie on its own terms. And consequently it didn't have the same immediate effect on me that it did so many others.

Of course I wasn't looking for a movie to provide some kind of virtual religious experience.

But I find in the days since that it catches up with me at odd times. The 9/11 attacks are still with me, they still catch up with me at odd moments as well, even though we have done nothing but talk about them and deal with their aftermath, and I don't consider myself an overly emotional person. But I know something in my insides has changed, and is not done changing.

It is odd that Moriarty has linked the movie, and 9/11. I have too, I'm not sure why. There are gears turning, this is our moment to stand or not stand, and I sense, feel, like we are in one of those hinge moments that determine the course of everything to follow. I feel like we are face forward into the storm, but God is with us, if we will only stand.

Your post gave me goosebumps, and it called to mind George W. Bush's inaugural address where he said "An angel still rides in the whirlwind and directs this storm".

But I know something in my insides has changed, and is not done changing.... I feel like we are face forward into the storm, but God is with us, if we will only stand.

Beautifully said, marron. I feel the same way myself: Nothing will ever be the same again.

I enjoyed reading what you said, and agree. We are at a hinge point. About the movie, I think, like many things, you get out of it what you take into it.

"It is odd that Moriarty has linked the movie, and 9/11. I have too, I'm not sure why. There are gears turning, this is our moment to stand or not stand, and I sense, feel, like we are in one of those hinge moments that determine the course of everything to follow. I feel like we are face forward into the storm, but God is with us, if we will only stand."

marron, so beautifully put. I, too, feel as if we are at a crossroads. I feel as if it's a time of choice. "Choose whom you will serve". It seems that the storm, indeed, is coming, and God is with us as we face it.

It is odd that Moriarty has linked the movie, and 9/11. I have too, I'm not sure why. There are gears turning, this is our moment to stand or not stand, and I sense, feel, like we are in one of those hinge moments that determine the course of everything to follow. I feel like we are face forward into the storm, but God is with us, if we will only stand.

Consider the timing of 9/11 occuring just three months before the release of another film about epic conflict between good and evil... "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring."
Consider that Lord of the Rings, also the creation of a devout Catholic, J.R.R. Tolkien, struck a resonant chord through each of its three releases that paralleled the War on Terror.
Consider that "The Return of the King," which depicted the fall of Sauron, was released three weeks prior to the capture of Saddam Hussein. ROTK also depicts the triumphs of it's two Christ-figue protagonists, Frodo (suffering First Incarnation) and Aragorn (Kingly Second Incarnation).
Consider then, that "The Passion of the Christ" was released in the midst of the the tumult over the attempted perversion of marriage, that marriage is the first institution of human civilization, and that marriage between one man and one woman is the living symbol of God's relationship with Israel and Christ's realationship with the Church.
Consider the controversy over "The Passion of the Christ" that has tested the friendships of Jews and Christians, leading us into conversations hot possible a month ago.
Consider as well that in the very week of the release of "The Passion of the Christ," which depicts the First Incarnation of the King whose return we await, "The Return of the King" swept the Academy Awards.
Events are yet unfolding, and there will be more to consider, but we must consider this question:
By Whose Hand was this scripted?

There are gears turning, this is our moment to stand or not stand, and I sense, feel, like we are in one of those hinge moments that determine the course of everything to follow. I feel like we are face forward into the storm, but God is with us, if we will only stand.

I was baptized in the summer of 2001. I had been feeling a need to get that done for several months. I had a hard time explaining it to others, because I didn't know myself *why* it was suddenly so urgent at my age, especially since I hadn't been to church since I was a child.

9/11 was a couple of months later, and after that I knew why. You are right. Eventually we are all going to have to declare where we stand.