The Passion of the Christ: The Key to a Republican Landslide

Men's News Daily ^ | March 11, 2004 | Bruce Walker

[maestro]

Thanks.

Very Interesting!

bttt

[sneakers]

bump to read later

[nobody_knows]

"Leftists love to whine about wedge issues, even as they create wedge issues all the time. Their real concern is when conservatives fight back. It is time to fight back. It is time to ask Americans if they want a government based upon their sovereignty and their faith in a Blessed Creator or if they want a government based upon the sovereignty of judges and other bureaucrats and their faith in atheism. If the question is asked, the good guys - that’s us - will win. Let’s ask.

Go tell it on the mountain brother!

[alloysteel]

This did not at first appear to be a wedge issue, and in a sane and rational world, it would not have been. But there is an underlying fissure in the politics of America, and this wedge just might open a broad differentiation, dividing the sheep from the goats.

[independentmind]

I think it's a terrible mistake to politicize Gibson's film.

[GulliverSwift]

I highly doubt that a movie released in February will have an impact in November.

[AMDG&BVMH]

"I think it's a terrible mistake to politicize Gibson's film."

True.

It is not the film that relates to politics.

It is the fact that people flocked to it. I.E. believing Christians now KNOW that they are not a minority to be whipped into silence by political correctness, and CAN let their voices be heard, as citizens.

[bobjam]

These are important do's, but here's a very important don't: Do not fall victim to the media assertion that the voters don't like candidates who attack their opponants. Kerry's leftist agenda and radical voting record are fair game to most voters.

[presidio9]

I think it's a terrible mistake to politicize Gibson's film.

Too late. The left already took care of that.

Meanwhile, the President, a devout Christian has gone out of his way not to step on anybody's toes. We don't know if he's even seen the film yet. I bet he has.

[familyofman]

"It is not the film that relates to politics.

It is the fact that people flocked to it. I.E. believing Christians now KNOW that they are not a minority to be whipped into silence by political correctness..."

I get the distinct feeling that a lot of folks around these parts believe that only conservative christians are going to see this movie. Or, that the message of the movie has no meaning to liberals. Both ideas don't make any sense at all to me.

[My2Cents]

All conservatives understand that we are in a “culture war” with the left, and that this war has been going on for some time – for the better part of a generation. But it isn’t so much a culture war as it is a spiritual war – and, frankly, I believe that the wider spiritual war going on in our society has allied some on both the left and the right against the influence of faith in God in our society. To wage spiritual warfare requires using the weapons of faith – the recognition that there is a power above and outside of ourselves to whom we all owe allegiance. President Bush is probably the most sincere and public believer in God we’ve had in the White House. We live in dark days, and simple ideology will not get us through them. The light of honest and real faith in God, bringing God back as a foundational value of our society, will, more than any political philosophy, dispel the darkness. This is an important aspect of what President Bush brings to the Presidency. That's why the real issues behind this election (issues which will not be mentioned openly) are spiritual issues, not so much issues of policy, ideology, personality, or party.

[Dog Gone]

The assumption here is that all conservatives are religious and all liberals are not. And that's incorrect.

[far sider]

I think it's a terrible mistake to politicize Gibson's film.

Did you read the article? The author isn't suggesting that...

Americans overwhelmingly believe that Jesus was crucified for the sake of mankind. Mel Gibson has done nothing more than restate and defend what the American people believe. President Bush should do the same, but he should restate and defend even more generally held religious American beliefs.

[dmz]

I could not agree with you more. Politicizing religion ain't a good idea, and you just don't know whose face it will blow up in.

Repeat after me...It's only a movie....

A movie that will be, what did I read, a 200 million dollar payday for Mel. Sincerely, bully for him. And I am also happy for the folks who have felt cut out of moviegoing due to the wasteland that it often is. Spending that money out is good for America.

It does not however, completely override my deeply ingrained cynicism when I see people making a ton of money on their faith.

That being said, I'll see this one, and just about any other movie he makes. (I have to anyway, my wife nearly swoons at the thought of him).

[independentmind]

Who me? Post a comment without reading an article? :)

Let me rephrase my earlier comment. Conservatives need to be very careful about not appearing to polticize the film. In that sense, I think the title of the article is unfortunate.

[LiteKeeper]

SPOTREP - ELECTION 2004 - BUSH - THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST

[My2Cents]

I agree with you. And I hope no one overtly politicizes "The Passion." But rather than being an "issue" in the campaign, I think the movie, and the strident reaction to it, illustrate a deep divide in the nation -- and it's primarily a spiritual divide -- a divide which will play into the election. We need to be careful how we broach or discuss this divide, but it is there. Gibson film has helped to reveal it. We can't deny its existence. Rather than use the film as a wedge issue, my approach is to go to God in prayer about the condition of our society, and with the use of scripture, prevail upon Him to do His will within our nation. I believe God wishes to grant us mercy; but judgment isn't out of the question.

[ZULU]

WE have not politicized Gibson's film, the LEFT has. It has made it a target of criticism, not because of its violence, but because of its message, a message the left overwhelming rejects.

Christ is not their God, neither is Yahweh or Allah. MAN is their god.

[ZULU]

Your right. The cultural overtones of the war we are engaged in are merely symptomatic of the underlaying spiritual struggle.

I saw the Lord of the Rings trilogy and thought it pretty much describes what's going on in America and the western world in general, today.