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Sounds like a good idea. Due to the graphic nature
of the film we need to tell the parents what they will be viewing first ... some
of the parents may object and others will want to sit in.
Mike Archer
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, February 17, 2004 10:46
AM
Subject: RE: [RR] Paul Harvey Comments on
The Passion of Christ
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."
>
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