Definately! -Ed On Tue, 17 Feb 2004 10:46:04 -0600, Travis Wayne wrote > I can't wait to see it! If it comes out on video I want to show it > at Rangers some night. > > Commander Travis "CrazyOx" Maddox > > >From: "Jim Hufferd" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >Reply-To: "Jim Hufferd" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >Subject: [RR] Paul Harvey Comments on The Passion of Christ > >Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2004 06:17:50 -0800 > > > >Paul Harvey comments on "The Passion" by Mel Gibson > > > >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 filmmaking 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!" > > > >**************************************** > > > >(2) 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." > > > > _________________________________________________________________ > Get a FREE online computer virus scan from McAfee when you click > here. http://clinic.mcafee.com/clinic/ibuy/campaign.asp?cid=3963 > > _______ > > List host: http://eBible.org/mpj/ List info: http://eBible.org/rangernet/faq.htm > > To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe rangernet" to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > or visit http://eBible.org/subscribe.htm
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