Posted on 04/08/2004 7:42:13 AM PDT by Mr. Silverback
Surprisingly, theaters in Doha, Qatar, and Amman, Jordan, are showing The Passion of the Christ. A Qatari English-language newspaper, The Peninsula, headlines, “Passion runs full house.” On March 21 three theaters in Doha were sold-out and pre-booked for days ahead. An official of the Qatar Cinema and Film Distribution Board boasts that Qatar is so open that no film was refused permission for showing there last year and that the distributor was amazed when Qatar requested The Passion. Censors okayed it without any cuts, and the official expects the film to run for at least two months.
And some mullahs are encouraging their Muslim followers to see the film. Why such an unexpected endorsement? The false rumors that the film is anti-Semitic have reached the mullahs, and as one missionary explains, “since they hate the Jews, they want to see it.” Muslims recognize Jesus as a prophet, and although they believe Muhammad superseded Him, they still revere and respect Christ. So when they hear of a film which is alleged to show Jews crucifying Christ, some Muslims welcome the opportunity to revel in a depiction of the wickedness of their long-time enemies.
But many Muslims are responding to the film in ways their mullahs hadn’t intended. One viewer recognized, “When they show a story of the Romans . . . in ancient times, it doesn’t mean the present-day Italians are responsible.” By analogy, he reasoned that, even if he construed the film as depicting first-century Jews as instigators of Christ’s crucifixion, that would not be an indictment of modern Israelis.
An even more important consequence shows up in an e-mail from a missionary, who marvels, “In two short hours more Qataris heard the Gospel than I have been able to reach in nearly five years living here. At the 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. showings, the film was running in all three theaters.” He estimated that more than 50 percent of the people in the theater were local Muslims—including completely veiled women.
After viewing the film with a former student, he told him in Arabic, “You think that this film is here because of ‘freedom of speech’ or the new openness of your government, but actually God Himself has sent this film to correct your total misunderstanding about who Jesus is and why He came to earth.” For two hours, the missionary and the student discussed the differences between Islam and Christianity, and the cross—the heart of our message.
The missionary adds, “How interesting that God is using this film to communicate the Gospel [in] the very opposite spirit that might be motivating [Muslims] to see it. The message to love your enemies, and Jesus’ praying for them to be forgiven while on the cross, would hit the Muslim moviegoer in a powerful way.”
With theaters in Jordan and Qatar scheduled to show the film for at least two months, and with videos and DVDs selling briskly, the potential is staggering.
Isn’t God amazing? He is using charges of anti-Semitism to stimulate Muslim mullahs to encourage their followers to see a Christian film during Holy Week—in essence, to make fiery darts backfire.
You forgot your sarcasm tag, Stu.
Let me be clear what I meant, though you probably got it just fine. A carpenter claimed to be God. He said he would be killed and rise in three days. This came to pass. He also had said that there was only one way to reach the Father, and that was through the carpenter.
If all your stuff about religion being human constructions conventions is true, then this man was a lunatic, or perhaps a liar, who might as well have been proclaiming himself to be a ham sandwhich. But then how did he rise from the dead? Would God raise some poor lunatic in an effort to spread a gospel of insanity? Would he reward a blasphemous liar with new life and a pulpit of greatly increased power? Either the Resurrection is real (and confirmation that Christ is the one Truth) or it's not. But if it is, there is no way that Christianity is just another human construction. If Christ rose from the dead, Christianity is Truth, period. And if Jesus is God (see below) then the quote I included is exactly what God thinks about this issue.
"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty." --Rev. 1:8
"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. ... I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches." --Rev. 22:13,16
I heard an excellent illustration on this exact point, but can't remember who made it, maybe D. James Kennedy. Exodus says his heart was hardened, and the illustration was this: If you leave wax in direct sunlight, it softens; if you leave clay there, it hardens. The difference is in the material, not the sunlight. God wouldn't necessarily have to reach into Pharaoh's brain and turn on his jerk switch, he could just have His presence in a situation and the godly and ungodly react in different ways.
Well, why don't you look into it?
Fair warning though, the ranks of Christian apologists are littered with people who tried to disprove the Resurrection.
A question all people reading this thread are asking of you stu.
You said if God wills it...just goes to show that there truly is one God, and it really doesn't matter what you name Him...God, Jesus, Allah, etc....He hears all prayers You then went on to claim the equality between Muhammad and Jesus and tweak the noses of the Christians who dared disagree with your intimate understanding of God.
Well why are you saying its God's will for the Arabs to see the movie you haven't seen? What about this movie would make it's God's will, and for that matter, since when do agnostics claim He hears all prayers? Sounds like you are saying whatever you want to confuse people. What arguement's angle are you here to start this time?
That's a direct hit!
Why exactly?
That's a direct hit!
Yeah thanks, I "sank his Battleship" on here before, but the proud don't acknowledge being bested very gracefully.
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