I'm not going to see "The Passion of the Christ" for a while, so I can't comment on the movie itself. The reviews are quite interesting, though. I've noticed that most of the reviewers who did not like it are not religiously observant, and that their criticism almost uniformly faults Mel Gibson for dwelling too much on the physical sufferings of the event.
Such criticism is not always uninformed. One negative critic on the Today show said that the movie downplayed the Resurrection. A fair comment, if true. It is ironic that committed Christians are enthusiastic about seeing a movie where the God-man they worship is tortured to death, but secular people are offended by it.
Many secular commentators have said that they wished Gibson had more of the Sermon on the Mount, and less of the brutality. They seek to reduce Jesus to their dessicated conception of what a religious leader should be, saying things like "Blessed are the peacemakers." Someone ought to remind them that Christ also said, "Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword." (Matthew 10:34)
+J.M.J+
In a recent press release, the Catholic League lambasts some reviewers who complain about the violence in TPOTC but have praised flicks like "Gladiator" and "Saving Private Ryan".
I wonder how many of these reviewers loved "Kill Bill Vol 1"?
In Jesu et Maria,
The religiously uneducated tend to think of Jesus as a very nice man, a kindred spirit to Buddha and Confucius and whoever else they think of as generally amiable and somewhat spiritual. The Jesus-as-archetypal-hippie is certainly not scriptural.
Ignoring the bloody aspect of our redemption is not scriptural, either. To do so is to miss the point. Of course we are
"resurrection people," but the resurrection could not have happened without the passion and cross.
Finally, have the colors on this site been changing with every liturgical season? I don't remember purple during Advent, for instance. (It's verra nice-a.)
I saw the movie last night in an advanced screening. As the credits started rolling, I couldn't even move. Phenominal work of art.
The Apostle Paul said "we preach Christ and him crucified" and that it was "a scandal and offensive stumbling block" to the Jews and to the Gentiles "absurd and utterly unphilosophical nonsense" But to those who are called Christ is "the Power of God and the Wisdom of God" (I Cor. 1:21-24, Amplified Version)
Surely we see this reaction playing out to Gibson's cinematic portrayal/preaching of Christ crucified.
Hi, Bryan, the Lenten purple is new. I'll make a note to use the exact same color during Advent. :-)