Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” ~ An International Hoax

Watch unto Prayer ^ | February 18, 2004 | Barbara Aho

[GeronL]

... why you punish yourself with this site?? =o)

[Deo volente]

"Gibson, who claims to be Catholic, belongs to an extreme sect in Malibu, California called the “Holy Family”"



(shaking my head in disbelief)
Mel Gibson, who IS Catholic, has set up an independent chapel in Malibu, California with an ordained CATHOLIC priest to offer the Mass. "Holy Family" is simply the name of his independent parish.

How do people have the time to dream up this nonsense? Don't they have jobs, like the rest of us?

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

I'm sorry but this author needs help. This is the most erroneous, illogical, rambling piece I've read in a long time.

[kosta50]

If for a moment you can distance yourself from what seems normal to us, and pretend that you are from Mars just observing, what could you report to your Martian friends back home?

Chances are you would describe Christianity as a custom by some groups of earthlings who kiss a dead man on a cross, drink his blood and eat his flesh.

True but off the target.

[Aquinasfan]

I got down to the "principal figure" stuff before I realized that whoever wrote this is barking up the wrong tree without a paddle.

The following is an indictment?

“Jim Caviezel: The catharsis for me to play this role was through Medjugorje, through Gospa [Our Lady]. In preparation, I used all that Medjugorje taught me. Mel Gibson and I were going every day for Mass together. Some days I couldn’t go for Mass, but I was receiving the Eucharist. Somewhere along the line, I heard that the Pope was going for confession every day, so I thought that I should go for confession as often as possible… So, the confession was the preparation for the Eucharist. Ivan Dragicevic and his wife Lorraine gave me a piece of the true cross. I kept this on me all the time. They made a special pocket in my clothes for it. I also had relics of Padre Pio, St. Anthony of Padoua, Ste Maria Goretti, and saint Denisius, the Patron saint of Actors. Another thing was fasting. I read many of the messages continuously. Every day everyone could see me with the rosary in my hands… I ask Mary to guide me and my career... This film is something that I believe was made by Mary for her Son.”

Jim sounds like a great guy.

[HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity]

“Although Mr. Gibson is Roman Catholic and the movie is replete with Catholic touches, like the Stations of the Cross and the centrality of Mary, influential Pentecostal and evangelical leaders have embraced it anyway, seeing its value as a tool in evangelism. Evangelical Christians account for 30 percent to 40 percent of the American population, and many of them have recently been hearing their leaders declare that the nation is primed for a return of the ecstatic Great Awakenings that moved Americans in the 18th and 19th centuries to convert to Christianity in droves.

“Mr. Gibson's film company has hired several marketing firms experienced in reaching Christian audiences, including the publicist for the Rev. Billy Graham. But much of the promotion was initiated by an assortment of ministry agencies, churches and individual Christians...

“Mr. Gibson's company held early screenings of the film in churches led by pastors renowned in Christian circles for pioneering evangelization techniques. They include the Rev. Bill Hybels of Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Ill.; Bishop Eddie L. Long of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta; and the Rev. Rick Warren at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., author of the best seller 'The Purpose-Driven Life'.”

As a result of Gibson's ingenious marketing, “The Passion of the Christ” is receiving rave reviews throughout the Christian community.

Christophobia Alert

[GirlShortstop]

Can anyone make sense of this dreck? What are they claiming?

Under an assumption that most, if not all FReepers inclined to respond/post are mentally coherant (and not *off* their meds like the author of the subject rambling drivel), I don't think you're likely to get a quick summary in response.

If your question includes an implied "what purpose does this article serve?", I'd offer up what I see as a nail on the head assessment (from Antoninus):

  You have *got* to be kidding me. This is simply pathetic.  
  Satan will expend every bullet trying to destroy this movie.  But he will fail.

the father of lies will fail once again.  FReegards.

[SoothingDave]

I got down to the "principal figure" stuff before I realized that whoever wrote this is barking up the wrong tree without a paddle.

Ditto, and well put.

I must admit that straining at what is meant by "the last twelve hours" is nearly as ridiculous as trying to parse what an American means when she mentions "unknown actors."

SD

[Texas2step]

Where's the barf alert?

Notwithstanding this glaring problem in reference to the "last 12 hours of Christ's life on earth.

Good grief, woman. Technically incorrect, but a glaring problem? Not really. You'd think that the movie doesn't portray the resurrection!

at least 10,000 pastors and leaders of Christian ministries and media have previewed the film and, although the majority of Christians have not seen the movie, entire churches are being mobilized to promote it

Not only does she slam Mel, she implies that the 10,000 Christian pastors/leaders are complicit in "Mel's conspriracy". Yeah, right.

influential Pentecostal and evangelical leaders have embraced it anyway, seeing its value as a tool in evangelism.

These leaders have told her that they embraced it because of its value as a tool? Or, maybe some because it appears to be an accurate portrayal of Jesus death, and His love for us? She's assuming the reason they are embracing the movie.

Since the movie has yet to be released, all reviews have been written by selected individuals who were invited to the private screenings. The typical review, which sounds almost scripted, goes something like this one written by Catholic apologist Keith Fournier:

Selected individuals like Matt Drudge? Michael Medved? Jack Valenti? Billy Graham? Yeah, these men are all cut from the same cloth, and I'm sure they used Mel's "review script" for writing their reviews. It's beginning to look like an intentional hit piece, to me. :-)

Focus on the Family is committed to promoting the Mel Gibson movie and, to our knowledge, has not repudiated the review attributed to Danae.

An allegation is a reason to repudiate someone? I allege that ms. aho is stupid. She should now repudiate her stupidity.

The actors in this film may be unknown to American Christians

Hey barb! Unknown, as in not blockbuster stars! Unknown, as in not box office draws. Ever gone to a movie because Jim Caviezal was in it? (Not in the past, but they will now, in droves, he'll be unknown no longer!)

to say that James Caviezel and Monica Bellucci are well-known is an enormous understatement. Monica Bellucci, who plays Mary Magdalene in Gibson’s “Passion” movie, is a famous pornography star!

To say that Monica Bellucci IS well-known would be an ENORMOUS overstatement. You, know, kind of like have done. If it was well-known that Monica Bellucci was a porn star, for example, don't you think that we'd have, uh, heard about it. The fact is, she's not done a single movie I've seen, and according to Yahoo's bibliography has NEVER done a single porn movie. Kinda tough to be a PORN STAR when you don't do PORN movies. This is outright slander.

I was going to read the whole thing and continue to debunk, but I've read enough of this drivel. This lady has some agenda, who knows what. Maybe she's PO'd because she wasn't invited to an early showing.

Hmmm, who to believe? barb aho, or Billy Graham. Yeah, that's a tough one.

[al_c]

Bottom Line: 'The Passion' = 'The stations of the Crucifix.'

Did any of the events in the Catholic stations of the cross not happen? Are they not in the Bible?

Reality,.....Jesus suffered for 'sins' because of/for completed salvation once (1 time ended!)

You'll get no argument on this from any Christian.

(Salvational-sin-suffering-was-ON-THE-CROSS)

Does that mean that nothing leading up to that point matters?

Christian focus is in it's completion/ending/finished....Our sins have been PAID IN FULL. (The SIN-PENALITY is PAID in FULL)

That's our only focus? Then why do we have so much more in scripture?

This point is in Jesus' DEATH and FINISHED BLOOD SHEDING!

Which is exactly what Gibson is showing in this film.

The Cross suffering/death of Jesus is OVER.

Yep!

He is NOT suffering for our sins ANYMORE!

Agreed!

'The Passion' = 'The stations of the Crucifix'.

Again I ask, are not the stations directly from scripture?

:-( Martin Luther is Rolling Over!

Is it important to please Luther?

[GirlShortstop]

Thank you for taking time to post those pertinent points, and an interesting question as well.   FReegards.

[Texas2step]

OK, I couldn't help myself. I had to try and see what was driving this paranoid, delusional, "Christian" author...

She slams the marketing efforts and implies that 10,000+ Christians, Jews, and others are complicit in a grand conspiracy by Mel Gibson.

She blast Bellucci as a RENOWNED PORN STAR, when at most she's done some movies where she removed her clothes. By this definintion, Nicole Kidman is a porn star, along with Jody Foster (ugh!) and thousands of other actresses. ;-)

She implies that Caviezel is some cultish Catholic (but different from Mel's cult, BTW).

Then, we begin to get to the meat of her delusion filled arguements. She takes ONE reviewers comments about the Principal Figure and based the remaining 68,000 words on the assumption that the Principal Figure is Mary Magdelene as described in the fictional novel "The Da Vinci Code".

Not having seen the movie, she makes this assumption. That's funny, when I read that, I assumed that the Principle Figure was God, or Christ (the same to me). Wonder why this "Christian" doesn't assume the same? Could be she has some other agenda?

Then, mysteriously, she turns it into a historical review of Braveheart. Beats William Wallace all to hell and back, and she's back on some strange kick about Gnostics.

Lot's of delusional paranoia about the problem of the movie shot in dead languages, implying that we won't know, for sure what the actors are really saying. You know, like we're going to be influenced by languages we don't know.

So, in summary, this author is completely off her rocker.

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

Happy ecumenicalism al. :)

BigMack

[al_c]

LOL! Thanks, Mack.

[TradicalRC]

Actually, the station where Veronica wipes the face of Christ revealing the miraculous Mandylion isn't in the Bible.

[Maximilian]

Can anyone make sense of this dreck?

No. It's hysterical anti-Catholicism disguised under a veneer of psuedo-objectivity. Probably the only valid point is that Monica Belluci can be seen naked on the internet (I dont' know this for a fact, but I assume she's not lying about that much). But after all, Belluci is playing Mary Magdalene, and she's a legitimate actress in Europe, not just a porn star as the author claims.

[Sloth]

Most bizarrely, “The Merovingian” ran a nightclub called “Hell” in an underground city named “Zion,”

This is about as accurate as the rest of the article.

[HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity]

narses wrote: Can anyone make sense of this dreck? What are they claiming?

Apparently, there is an underlying assumption guiding this "essay" that the Catholic faith is identical with Gnosticism and the strange mythology about Jesus marrying Mary Magdalen and spawning the "Merovingian" dynasty a la the 1981 camp howler Holy Blood, Holy Grail. Leaving aside the complete unfamiliarity with Catholic theology and the orientation of the traditionalist movement, this might actually be somewhat funny if it were not so serious and self-righteous. Some people are apparently offended that there is a connection between Jesus and the Catholic Church. And, indeed, between Jesus and his Mother Mary, as bizarre as that might seem.

[HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity]

No. It's hysterical anti-Catholicism disguised under a veneer of psuedo-objectivity. Probably the only valid point is that Monica Belluci can be seen naked on the internet (I dont' know this for a fact, but I assume she's not lying about that much). But after all, Belluci is playing Mary Magdalene, and she's a legitimate actress in Europe, not just a porn star as the author claims. 56 posted on 02/19/2004 6:59:20 AM PST by Maximilian

The casting selection may have had to do with a desire to attract international appeal for the film. Christ came to save sinners. Mel has admitted and confessed to his own weaknesses and derelictions of Christian duty. Who knows what is going on inside Monica Bellucci's heart. Maybe she will convert or maybe she already has...

There were "sinners" in the New Testament story. Maybe he thought it would make it more realistic to have the real McCoy in the role. That would be a valid artistic intuition. The Incarnation and Redemption are about redeeming the whole flesh.

[Sloth]

One has to wonder if the producers of “The Passion” aren’t the real Christ-haters, who derived pleasure from reenacting the Crucifixion with meticulous attention to the details of Jesus’ torture. Those who enjoy watching torture will probably love this film.

I recommend this as a new tack for Foxman/ADL to take. With the revelation that it is Mel Gibson's hands that pound in the nails on film, Foxman should explain that Mel wanted to live out his sick fantasies of crucifying Jews.