Mel Gibson's 'The Passion' Most Offensive Film

WorldNetDaily.com ^ | August 27, 2003 | Elizabeth Farah

[joesnuffy]

Mel Gibson's 'The Passion': Most offensive film ever made

Posted: August 27, 2003 1:00 a.m. Eastern

© 2003 WorldNetDaily.com

Have you heard of the controversy and heated debate swirling around Mel Gibson's yet to be released film, "The Passion"? Just to be clear, I will summarize: Detractors, supposedly leaders of Jewish groups, as well as Catholics and Protestants, are concerned that this documentation of the final hours of Jesus Christ's life and His resurrection "will fuel hatred, bigotry and anti-Semitism." Since this portrayal is arguably one of the most accurate of all movies ever made about any aspect of Christ's life, we should be asking what these concerned "leaders" are saying about the Gospel of Christ.

Are they saying that the Gospels fuel hatred? If they are, they hit the nail right on its head. The Gospels have always fueled hatred against Christians as Jesus Christ very clearly forewarned they would. One would think Jesus' message and mission of truth, love and mercy would inspire all men to a perpetual state of warm and fuzzy mutual affection. But if you actually read Jesus' words, He will disabuse you of that notion in an instant.

And He went out from thence, and came into His own country; and His disciples followed Him. And when the Sabbath day was come, He began to teach in the synagogue; and many hearing Him were astonished, saying, "From whence hath this man these things and what wisdom is this which is given unto Him, that even such mighty works are wrought by His hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?" And they were offended at him.

– Mark 6:1-3

Yes, Jesus was offensive to all who were unwilling or not yet ready to believe his message. His message was so offensive that mobs attempted to stone Him or throw Him off a cliff because of His teaching and healing. Yes, as Jesus was healing the dying, the lame and the blind, there were men and women desiring His death. What kind of message could elicit this great condemnation?

It was and is still very simple: Jesus is the Son of God. God chose to sacrifice His Son in order to pay for the sins of all mankind. The only cost to the sinner is the putting aside of our foolish pride in order to accept this free gift. God categorically declares that no man can earn this salvation with good deeds. We are universally and individually altogether too sinful to pay the price. We have to accept that Christ is the Son of God and died for our sins.

So what is the big deal? Free gift. Only have to accept the gift. No biggie, right?

Not so fast. The problem is this: Today's American can't even see they need salvation! "What have I done? I haven't murdered anyone, have I?" This message of redemption is really, really offensive to a whole bunch of people.

So, as it was in His day, the story is just as offensive now as it was then. Millions of Christians over the centuries since Christ have paid for their unswerving declaration of Christ's Gospel with horrifying persecution.

And what did Christ say we Christians should feel when persecuted? Prepare yourself for the most ridiculously politically incorrect characterization of unjust suffering ever offered:

Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in Heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

– Matthew 5:11-12

When Jesus says "blessed are ye," how would that be translated into modern English? Blessed" means "happy"! Yes! Believing Christians are told to be happy about their persecution because it is for Christ and truth.

Now Mr. Gibson will not likely pay the greatest price of all (thank goodness!), as so many Christians before him, but he will – as will other Christians – be persecuted for this kind of boldness.

Any movie telling an accurate account of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ will and must elicit a stinging rebuke from the world.

Accordingly, I declare Mel Gibson's "The Passion" as the "single most offensive movie ever made." It is also the finest and greatest tribute to Christ I have ever seen in film.

You might be wondering why some movies about Christ do not offend as well as this one does. There are a few reasons. For starters, in past efforts, Christ's scourging and torture is left unrealistically brief and inconsequential. "The Passion" is the only movie ever made to show the horrifying brutality of the pre-crucifixion price paid by Christ.

The Old Testament prophetically describes the results of Christ's beating as rendering Him unrecognizable by His own people. Gibson and producer Steve McEveety address this modern omission head-on with the single-most graphic depiction of a true-life torture ever filmed. No, the Gospel is not for the faint-of-heart. This violence was not gratuitous, but appropriate.

What other things bother today's critic? To be blunt, unbelief. Jesus is clearly shown as the Son of God. And, importantly, unlike many movies that end with Jesus' death on the cross, "The Passion," in the last brief scene, shows Christ in His tomb resurrected in the promised victory over death.

You see, Christians only see this bodily resurrection as an accurate representation of the life of Christ – unbelievers have to reconcile the claims of the Gospels with their belief systems. Many people today feel particularly offended by Jesus' claim to be "the Way, the Truth, and the Life" and that "no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."

Anybody can make a film about a great guy named Jesus, an itinerate carpenter-teacher humbly dispensing words of wisdom just like Buddha, Confucius and the Dalai Lama – nobody gets offended, everybody's happy. However, no other recognized spiritual leader in history has claimed deity, nor have they been killed and brought back to life. Jesus drew a line in the sand between Himself and all past and future "spiritual leaders."

Jesus said His message would put His followers on one side of a line and all other humanity on the other. This would extend even to believer's families:

Whosoever therefore shall confess Me before men, him will I confess also before My Father which is in Heaven. But whosoever shall deny Me before men, him will I also deny before My Father which is in Heaven.

Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.

He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of Me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after Me, is not worthy of Me. He that findeth his life shall lose it; and he that loseth his life for My sake shall find it."

– Matthew 10:32-39

A third reason this film must be reviled is its lack of condemnation for those who were responsible for Christ's death. Critics, disingenuous or ill-informed, believe that because the Gospel's account of the events leading to Jesus' crucifixion, portray Jewish religious leaders and Jewish mobs as actively involved in Jesus' sentencing and execution, is, anti-Semitic!

Let's see how silly this gets with a little illumination. Jesus, the condemned victim of torture and injustice is ... Jewish. His mom, the virgin, the blessed among women, is ... Jewish. Peter ... is Jewish. Simon, the man who sacrificially and with utterly inspiring abandon, carries the cross for Christ at the expense of pain and suffering, is ... Jewish. Jesus' brother James, the "Marys" who discover Jesus' empty tomb and Joseph of Aramathia – the rich man who offered his pristine sepulcher as Jesus' burial tomb – were all ... Jewish! The religious leaders who argued in opposition to the Jewish religious leaders instigating for Christ's execution were ... Jewish! Matthew, Mark, John, and Paul were all ... Jewish. Could I go on? Of course! Almost endlessly.

By the way, most Christians agree that Jews are God's chosen people and they consider the father of the Jewish race, Abraham, the father of all Christians as well! And here we are come full circle. The Gospel of Christ – a Jew – is characterized as "anti-Semitic," and therefore its portrayal in film is as well. Most wonderful of all, Jesus, hanging from the cross, prays to His Father and asks forgiveness for His persecutors as they "know not what they do."

Lastly, a particularly bizarre charge is made that Gibson's film inaccurately portrays the Jewish religious leadership and the mob as orchestrating the illegal execution of Jesus. Maybe some of the films detractors haven't read the New Testament Gospels yet. I suggest they do.

Yes! Corrupt Jewish religious leaders whipped up the primarily Jewish mob, to demand Jesus' death. The execution was illegally conducted, Jewish law was broken. The story is therefore not a condemnation of the Jewish faith and its law, but of sin and corruption. All times, all institutions have experienced corruption at the hands of greedy, power-hungry men. Nothing new here – and certainly nothing anti-Semitic.

Everyone should see this movie. Not only is it "the greatest story ever told," it is a cinematic tour de force. I predict this movie will become a classic: millions will see it, millions more will buy it in DVD. It will be shown in millions of homes every Easter. It will be seen around the world. And best of all, many viewers, once "offended" will be transformed.

Elizabeth Farah is co-founder of WorldNetDaily and serves as senior vice president of marketing.

[tame]

Mean Daddy: If Jews don't believe in Christ, how can they be saved?

All, even the Jews, are responsible for reponding to the gospel that they have heard. If they don't accept Christ, they canot be saved.

John 8:21-24:
Once more Jesus said to them, "I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come." This made the Jews ask, "Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, 'Where I go, you cannot come'?"
But he continued, "You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins; you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins."

freedumb 2003: The answer is they don't need saving.

Yes, they do. Forget what everyone else says. Just read what Jesus said, and then classify yourself (with or against him). Consider the above verses, plus:

John 3:18: "Whoever believes in him [Jesus Christ] is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son."

John 10:1 and following: "I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber...I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved."

John 14:6: Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me."

[tame]

I must make a Correction. John 8:24 should read, "If you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins."

[Saundra Duffy]

Everyone should see this movie.

What's it rated? I think Mel Gibson should be commended for having the GUTS to do this film. All the hoopla is probably a good thing. Everyone is curious now. Hopefully it will cause people to fall in love with our Savior, Redeemer, Soon Coming King. Hallelujah!

[Guillermo]

Yeah, but if you don't convert, Osama will kill you. The Koran says so.

If you don't convert to Christianity, the Bible says to shake it off, like "dust off your feet."

Your moral equivalancy is absurd, and it doesn't hide your agenda well.

[Cacophonous]

Thank you for the thoughtful answer, and I do enjoy CS Lewis' work.

[Cacophonous]

Who's judging? I was answering a question.

[cschroe]

Your post reminded me of the following...

Ah, holy Jesus, how hast thou offended,
that man to judge thee hath in hate pretended?
By foes derided, by thine own rejected,
O most afflicted.

Who was the guilty? Who brought this upon thee?
Alas, my treason, Jesus, hath undone thee.
'Twas I, Lord Jesus, I it was denied thee:
I crucified thee.

Lo, the Good Shepherd for the sheep is offered;
the slave hath sinned, and the Son hath suffered;
for our atonement, while we nothing heedeth,
God intercedeth.

For me, kind Jesus, was thy incarnation,
thy mortal sorrow, and thy life's oblation;
thy death of anguish and thy bitter passion,
for my salvation.

Therefore, kind Jesus, since I cannot pay thee,
I do adore thee, and will ever pray thee,
think on thy pity and thy love unswerving,
not my deserving. 

[freedumb2003]

>>freedumb 2003: The answer is they don't need saving.

tame:Yes, they do.<<

Well folks, that pretty much wraps it up. The Jewish faith is wrong and they are all condemned to eternal damnation. You heard it here first -- Pius II was wrong.

No point in continuing when the argument boils down to My Book Is Right So There.

It is amazing how much damage has been caused across the centuries by such a mindset. You people frighten me.

[Deb]

I saw that in Variety the other day. It's a standard press release that means nothing. All four are tiny boutique companies supplying art house theatres.

We'll see who'll hang in there once the JDL and other groups launch their attacks. There also hasn't been a word about it since.

Hollywood is scared to death of this movie. Newmarket (?) for a movie made by one of the top box office draws in the World and the guy who gave them "Braveheart"?

It always makes me laugh when people say all Hollywood cares about is money. Their politics always come first.

[Cacophonous]

Well, let me ask you: is the differing view on Original Sin the only distinction between Jews (i.e., the reason they don't need salvation) and Christians (i.e., the reason they DO)? Is the lack of Original Sin in Jews the only reason they do not need salvation?

[tame]

My book is right. What Jesus said is true. So your problem/disagreement is with Jesus.

Question: Was Jesus a liar, a lunatic, or was he correct?
Please provide a direct answer concerning what Jesus said, and not any problem you may have with any of us.

[freedumb2003]

My book is right. What Jesus said is true. So your problem/disagreement is with Jesus.

I don't disagree with the Bible at all. I just think that the idea that Christanity is The One True Way is an arrogant and conceited concept. I think Christian procelytes are really trying to tell the world how great they are because they are Saved. Remember the folk in pre-war Afganistan who admitted to breaking the then Afgani law -- and then wanted the US to help them out when they were caught? What unmitigated arrogance!

Don't try to frame the discussion as one of a disagreement with Christianity per se. This is a dsagreement with those who think theirs is the Only Path To Salvation. I disagree with Jews, Wiccans, Hindus, Buddhists and Druids who think the same. Since intolerance of other views is an intinsic part of Islam, I reject it out of hand. And make the comparison to those Christians who make the same claim (although I know that Christianity does not espouse killing those with other views [but tell that to the thousands killed during the Inquisition and the Crusades])

[tame]

I don't disagree with the Bible at all.

So then you agree with the Bible when it says Jesus is "the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through me." ???

I just think that the idea that Christanity is The One True Way is an arrogant and conceited concept.

Since Jesus taught he is the "onlt true way", then he is "arrogant and conceited"?

What unmitigated arrogance!

Would this apply to Jesus words?

This is a dsagreement with those who think theirs is the Only Path To Salvation.

you mean like Jesus who said hhis was the only path to salvation>

...the comparison to those Christians who make the same claim...

Like Jesus?

Please address Jesus words directly--not other christians interpretations or views. I asked you to do this earlier.

Yes or No? Was Jesus wrong when he said he was the only way to the father and that anyone who tried to get into the kingdom any other way is a "thief and a robber"?

Please address his specific comments. Not those of his followers. Let's eliminate the middle man and go straight to Jesus words.

[A.J.Armitage]

So suppose I become convinced that the thuggee way is right, and that the way to Heaven is through robbery and murder in honor of Kali.

Will God hold me to that?

[Only1choice____Freedom]

The problem is sin. What do we do with it? What provision has God made for us. He designed us, he knew what we would do when we had a chance.

The Jews did have a way of dealing with sin. It was to have a sacrifice in the temple or Tabernacle once a year. The sacrifice was to take the sins of the entire nation until the next sacrifice. Since the destruction of the temple, the subsequent generations of Jewish people's sins have not been forgiven per God's covenant. However, with Jesus' life, our sins have been forgiven with his sacrifice as he is the only person ever who has been blameless and without sin. His death took our sins. When the Jewish people realize as stated in Isaiah that Jesus really is the messiah, they will be forgiven. What the animal did for the Jews, Jesus did for humanity. Just as Adam and Eve did once for humanity, Jesus was the fulfillment of the scriptures. Would you not want to know the person who would do such a thing for you? When he returned after three days, he said he would return as the Holy Spirit to testify to those who need to know of him. That is the presence you feel whenever two or more are gathered in his name.

The difference between Christianity and the others is that he is alive and even though I was not there when he arose, I know he lives. Another difference is that since he lives, he can have a relations ship with you. The spirit I feel when I spend time alone among nature is the same spirit I feel whenever I am among other believers and in his presence. Sure, It seems like a self-fulfilling prophesy from the outside but there are things I can't explain that have happened in my life that are personal and can only come from a God who loves me.

Another difference is Love. Islam does not have it (Osama - hate). Buddhism doesn't have it (All life is suffering). There are other religions that do have some Love in it, but at a price. God's Love in unconditional and our reflected Love must be.

Christians are commanded to love their enemies. Just because somebody who claims to be Christian doesn't show that trait, doesn't mean it's not true. Base your beliefs upon the heart of the matter and look at Jesus' words and life in the gospels. Compare the actions of his people to his intentions and you will see most are in line. Some are not. Humans screw things up when they get a hold of it. It's our nature. God knows this, he made us that way. He also made provisions. He did that because he loves us.

[Belial]

Question: Was Jesus a liar, a lunatic, or was he correct?

There is another possibility to this oft-stated query.

Our understanding of Jesus is an amalgamation of ideas and texts which were put together by people decades or even hundreds of years after his death. The Biblical Jesus is the product of political wrangling that ultimately settled on the four Canonical gospels, to the exclusion of others. The Jesus we know is indirect, heavily processed and unreliable.

[Belial]

So your problem/disagreement is with Jesus.

FWIW, I agree with you that a literal reading of the Bible leads one to the conclusion that Jews, Muslims...basically folks of all other religions other than Christianity will automatically rot in hell.

Your average second-grader knows that a man like Gandhi shouldn't suffer eternal torment, but he would be in hell if the Bible truly represented God's mind.

[montag813]

Gospels have always fueled hatred against Christians as Jesus Christ very clearly forewarned they would.

Amen. There are massacres of Christians going on around the world as we speak. I don't hear the so-called "watchdogs of hate" like the ADL screaming about Muslims murdering Christians in Indonesia or Sudan or Nigeria. Yet they are always whining about "skinheads" in the U.S., who haven't done squat in decades. Total hypocrisy.

This film will convert more Muslims to Christ than all the missionaries who ever lived. That is good for Jews and Christians (and all humans) alike. What WILL increase anti-Semetism is the attempts at NAKED CENSORSHIP of this film. And these hypocrites will bear all the blame if that happens.

[wtc911]

Something I never understood....

We assume/believe/are taught that God is omniscient. He knows what was/is/will be. God created us. We are imbued with free will. If these statements are true (and I do not question them), then God knows how we will exercise our free will before He creates us.

Now the question I have had since sixth grade...why would a loving, forgiving God create a soul, knowing how that soul will live on earth, and then condemn that soul for eternity should that soul offend Him?

[Anitius Severinus Boethius]

Good quotation, Young Rhino, only Jesus wasn't saying that we shouldn't judge others, but that we should attend to our own matters first, otherwise we would rightfully be called hypocrites. Read in context, it does not give the same implication that we as believers should not judge others.

Paul says in his first letter to the Corinthians:

1 Cor 6:1-4

1 Does any one of you, when he has a case against his neighbor, dare to go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints?
2 Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is judged by you, are you not competent to constitute the smallest law courts?
3 Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, matters of this life?

So, sorry, but the ability for a Christian to judge is an important ability to learn. BTW, judging is often construed as condemning, which is forbidden. We hold judgements, we don't condemn. That is above our paygrade.