OT: Paul Harvey Comments on The Passion by Mel Gibson

[Guest guest]

Thank you Butch!

Peggy

www.splendidsoap.com

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Wow! I had not read those. Thank you for sending both commentaries.

 

I have watched NUMEROUS previews of the movie, but have yet to see it, of

course. I am planning on going to see it this weekend if the crowds permit.

 

I was gripped and crying at the previews I saw. The movie is truly powerful. I

am so excited about seeing it.

 

From Road Warrior to present, I have yet to see a bad MG movie.

 

2004...More, More, More!

~~~Shelley~~~

There is M~O~R~E for me in 2004!

Manifestation~Order~Restoration~Expectation

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Hi y'all,

 

If you read this at all .. please read it as a Movie Review .. before

the fact. I am looking forward to seeing the film. Mel Gibson has

never, in my opinion, made a bad film. :-) Butch

 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

The majority of the media are complaining about this movie. Now Paul

Harvey tells " The Rest of The Story " and David Limbaugh praises Gibson.

 

Most people would wait and see a movie before giving the reviews that

have been issued by the reporters trying to tell all of us what to

believe. Paul Harvey's words: I really did not know what to expect. I

was thrilled to have been invited to a private viewing of Mel Gibson's

film " The Passion, " but I had also read all the cautious articles and

spin. I grew up in a Jewish town and owe much of my own faith journey

to the influence. I have a life long, deeply held aversion to anything

that might even indirectly encourage any form of anti-Semitic thought,

language or actions.

 

I arrived at the private viewing for " The Passion " , held in Washington,

DC and greeted some familiar faces. The environment was typically

Washingtonian, with people greeting you with a smile but seeming to look

beyond you, having an agenda beyond the words. The film was very briefly

introduced, without fanfare, and then the room darkened.

 

From the gripping opening scene in the Garden of Gethsemane, to the

very human and tender portrayal of the earthly ministry of Jesus,

through the betrayal, the arrest, the scourging, the way of the cross, the

encounter with the thieves, the surrender on the Cross, until the final

scene in the empty tomb, this was not simply a movie; it was an

encounter, unlike anything I have ever experienced. In addition to

being a masterpiece of film-making and an artistic triumph, " The

Passion " evoked more deep reflection, sorrow and emotional reaction

within me than anything since my wedding, my ordination or the birth of

my children. Frankly, I will never be the same.

 

When the film concluded, this " invitation only " gathering of " movers and

shakers " in Washington, DC were shaking indeed, but this time from

sobbing. I am not sure there was a dry eye in the place. The crowd that

had been glad-handing before the film was now eerily silent. No one

could speak because words were woefully inadequate. We had experienced a

kind of art that is a rarity in life, the kind that makes heaven touch

earth.

 

One scene in the film has now been forever etched in my mind. A

brutalized, wounded Jesus was soon to fall again under the weight of the

cross. His mother had made her way along the Via Della Rosa. As she ran

to him, she flashed back to a memory of Jesus as a child, falling in the

dirt road outside of their home. Just as she reached to protect him from

the fall, she was now reaching to touch his wounded adult face. Jesus

looked at her with intensely probing and passionately loving eyes (and

at all of us through the screen) and said " Behold I make all things

new. " These are words taken from the last Book of the New Testament, the

Book of Revelations.

 

Suddenly, the purpose of the pain was so clear and the wounds, that

earlier in the film had been so difficult to see in His face, His back,

indeed all over His body, became intensely beautiful. They had been

borne voluntarily for love.

 

At the end of the film, after we had all had a chance to recover, a

question and answer period ensued. The unanimous praise for the film,

from a rather diverse crowd, was as astounding as the compliments were

effusive. The questions included the one question that seems to follow

this film, even though it has not yet even been released. " Why is this

film considered by some to be " anti-Semitic? " Frankly, having now

experienced (you do not " view " this film) " the Passion " it is a question

that is impossible to answer. A law professor whom I admire sat in front

of me. He raised his hand and responded, " After watching this film, I do

not understand how anyone can insinuate that it even remotely presents

that the Jews killed Jesus. It doesn't. " He continued " It made me

realize that my sins killed Jesus " I agree. There is not a scintilla of

anti-Semitism to be found anywhere in this powerful film. If there were,

I would be among the first to decry it.

 

It faithfully tells the Gospel story in a dramatically beautiful,

sensitive and profoundly engaging way.

 

Those who are alleging otherwise have either not seen the film or have

another agenda behind their protestations. This is not a " Christian "

film, in the sense that it will appeal only to those who identify

themselves as followers of Jesus Christ. It is a deeply human, beautiful

story that will deeply touch all men and women. It is a profound work of

art. Yes, its producer is a Catholic Christian and thankfully has

remained faithful to the Gospel text; if that is no longer acceptable

behavior than we are all in trouble. History demands that we remain

faithful to the story and Christians have a right to tell it. After all,

we believe that it is the greatest story ever told and that its message

is for all men and women. The greatest right is the right to hear the truth.

 

We would all be well advised to remember that the Gospel narratives

to which " The Passion " is so faithful were written by Jewish men who

followed a Jewish Rabbi whose life and teaching have forever changed the

history of the world. The problem is not the message but those who have

distorted it and used it for hate rather than love. The solution is not

to censor the message, but rather to promote the kind of gift of love

that is Mel Gibson's filming masterpiece, " The Passion. "

 

It should be seen by as many people as possible. I intend to do

everything I can to make sure that is the case. I am passionate about

" The Passion. " You will be as well. Don't miss it!

 

-----------

 

This is a commentary by DAVID LIMBAUGH about Mel Gibson's very

controversial movie regarding Christ's crucifixion. It, too, is well

worth reading.

 

MEL GIBSON'S passion for " THE PASSION " How ironic that when a movie

producer takes artistic license with historical events, he is lionized

as artistic, creative and brilliant, but when another takes special care

to be true to the real-life story, he is vilified. Actor-producer Mel

Gibson is discovering these truths the hard way as he is having

difficulty finding a United States studio or distributor for his

upcoming film, " The Passion, " which depicts the last 12 hours of the

life of Jesus Christ.

 

Gibson CO-wrote the script and financed, directed and produced the

movie. For the script, he and his co-author relied on the New Testament

Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, as well as the diaries of St.

Anne Catherine Emmerich (1774-1824) and Mary of Agreda's " The City of God. "

 

Gibson doesn't want this to be like other sterilized religious epics.

" I'm trying to access the story on a very personal level and trying to

be very real about it. " So committed to realistically portraying what

many would consider the most important half-day in the history of the

universe, Gibson even shot the film in the Aramaic language of the

period. In response to objections that viewers will not be able to

understand that language, Gibson said, " Hopefully, I'll be able to

transcend the language barriers with my visual storytelling; if I fail,

I fail, but at least it'll be a monumental failure. "

 

To further insure the accuracy of the work, Gibson has enlisted the

counsel of pastors and theologians, and has received rave reviews. Don

Hodel, president of Focus on the Family, said, " I was very impressed.

The movie is historically and theologically accurate. " Ted Haggard,

pastor of New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colo., and president of

the National Evangelical Association, glowed: " It conveys, more

accurately than any other film, who Jesus was. "

 

During the filming, Gibson, a devout Catholic, attended Mass every

morning because " we had to be squeaky clean just working on this. " From

Gibson's perspective, this movie is not about Mel Gibson. It's bigger

than he is. " I'm not a preacher, and I'm not a pastor, " he said. " But I

really feel my career was leading me to make this. The Holy Ghost was

working through me on this film, and I was just directing traffic. I

hope the film has the power to evangelize. "

 

Even before the release of the movie, scheduled for March 2004, Gibson

is getting his wish. " Everyone who worked on this movie was changed.

There were agnostics and Muslims on set converting to Christianity...

[and] people being healed of diseases. " Gibson wants people to

understand through the movie, if they don't already, the incalculable

influence Christ has had on the world. And he grasps that Christ is

controversial precisely because of WHO HE IS. GOD incarnate " And that's

the point of my film really, to show all that turmoil around him

politically and with religious leaders and the people, all because He is

Who He is. "

 

Gibson is beginning to experience first hand just how controversial

Christ is. Critics have not only speciously challenged the movie's

authenticity, but have charged that it is disparaging to Jews, which

Gibson vehemently denies. " This is not a Christian vs. Jewish thing.

'[Jesus] came into the world, and it knew him not.' Looking at Christ's

crucifixion, I look first at my own culpability in that. " Jesuit Father

William J. Fulco, who translated the script into Aramaic and Latin, said

he saw no hint of anti-Semitism in the movie. Fulco added, " I would be

aghast at any suggestion that Mel Gibson is anti-Semitic. " Nevertheless,

certain groups and some in the mainstream press have been very critical

of Gibson's " Passion. "

 

The New York Post's Andrea Peyser chided him: " There is still time,

Mel, to tell the truth. " Boston Globe columnist James Carroll denounced

Gibson's literal reading of the biblical accounts. " Even a faithful

repetition of the Gospel stories of the death of Jesus can do damage

exactly because those sacred texts themselves carry the virus of Jew

hatred, " wrote Carroll. A group of Jewish and Christian academics has

issued an 18-page report slamming all aspects of the film, including its

undue emphasis on Christ's passion rather than " a broader vision. " The

report disapproves of the movie's treatment of Christ's passion as

historical fact.

 

The moral is that if you want the popular culture to laud your work

on Christ, make sure it either depicts Him as a homosexual or as an

everyday sinner with no particular redeeming value (literally). In our

anti-Christian culture, the blasphemous " The Last Temptation of Christ "

is celebrated and " The Passion " is condemned. But if this movie

continues to affect people the way it is now, no amount of cultural

opposition will suppress its force and its positive impact on lives

everywhere. Mel Gibson is a model of faith and courage.