Webmaster, you have some great views my friend. To the Christians, please read the following, word for word ...
Roman Catholic sources are chortling over the success of "The Passion", even as they are wondering why Evangelicals are so enthusiastic! Let us now review some of these Catholic authors as they write about Gibson's movie.
II. Official Vatican website crows that "The Passion" is a Mass! When you went into the theater to see this movie, did you have any inkling you were really walking into a Mass? Furthermore, did Dobson, Billy Graham and Rick Warren tell their people they were going into a Roman Catholic Mass? Listen to this revelation from an official Vatican website, "ZENIT: The World Seen From Rome"
NEWS BRIEF: " 'The Passion' … for Its Author, Is a Mass", Vittorio Messori, ZENIT - The World Seen From Rome, Date: 2004-02-18, Code: ZE04021821
"Gibson, a Catholic who loves the Tradition, is a strong champion of the doctrine confirmed by the Council of Trent: the Mass is ... 'above all' Jesus' sacrifice, the bloodless renewal of the passion ... This film, for its author, is a Mass."
How can this be? Could this film really have been created specifically to be a Mass? Yes! Once you understand the Mass - yes - the film is a Mass. How can this be, you ask, for this film simply depicts Jesus' scourging, false trial, and brutal crucifixion. Right? Exactly right! But, did you not know that this is precisely what a Mass is?
Let us define this most blasphemous of religious ceremonies, carried out worldwide by the innumerable thousands every day. Let us define the Mass, drawing from a Roman Catholic Catechism:
"The Mass continues the Sacrifice of the Cross. Each time the Mass is offered, the Sacrifice of Christ is repeated. A new sacrifice is not offered, but by divine power, one and the same sacrifice is repeated. 'As often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord, until He comes (1 Cor 11:26). In the Mass, Christ continues to offer Himself to the Father as He did on the Cross. And in the Mass, the Father continues to accept His Son's gift as He did in the Resurrection and the Ascension." ["The New Saint Joseph Baltimore Catechism", Catholic Book Publishing, p. 171]
Sacrificing Jesus daily, putting Him back on that Cross daily, is an abomination to God! Not only did God keep Moses from entering the Promised Land because he struck the rock (Jesus) twice, but the writer to the Hebrews makes it quite plain that a person cannot even be saved as long as they hold Jesus up to shame continually! Listen:
"If they then deviate from the faith and turn away from their allegiance--it is impossible to bring them back to repentance, as long as they nail upon the cross the Son of God afresh ... and are holding Him up to contempt and shame and public disgrace." [Hebrews 6:6; Parallel Bible, KJV/Amplified Bible Commentary]
For centuries, Roman Catholic people were frozen out of simple salvation as long as they continued to go to Mass! As long as they participated in the daily torturing and crucifixion of Jesus, they could not be saved! Once they became Born Again, the Holy Spirit would bring a conviction to their heart that they could no longer go to Mass! In the vast majority of centuries since Martin Luther, this decision could very well result in their martyrdom!
When Evangelical Christians believe that there is no real difference between Catholicism and Christianity, they are impugning the entire Protestant Reformation! By their actions, they are stating that Martin Luther was wrong and that over 70 million Protestants died in vain! Yet, Evangelicals must take this view or they would not be urging their people to attend this movie, thinking it would help lead people to the genuine Jesus!
People are all caught up in the current fever that this movie represents one of the greatest evangelizing tools of all time! Would you take a prospective convert to a Roman Catholic Mass in order to win them for Jesus Christ? Of course, not, you say. Then, you would not take them to this Hollywood Mass called "The Passion"!
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I hope people understand that this movie is a Catholic mass. I provide another quote here ...
III. NEWS BRIEF: "What's Catholic About 'The Passion'? A Lot", Belief Net, http://www.beliefnet.com/story/140/story_14094_3.html
Some more info ...
IV. NEWS BRIEF: "Hymn to a Savage God: Mel Gibson uses a 'hidden script' based on visions of a German nun in making his film", By John Dominic Crossan, Belief Net, http://www.beliefnet.com/story/140/story_14099_1.html
"Before you see Mel Gibson's film, 'The Passion of the Christ,' read the script. I don't mean the film's actual script, or even the New Testament, upon which the film is based. Rather, I mean the hidden script: "The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ" from the Meditations of Anne Catherine Emmerich. Sister Anne Emmerich was an Augustinian nun and mystic who lived from 1774 to 1824 in Germany. Her life was one of poverty, hardship, and suffering, with its final decade spent bed-ridden in constant pain. During the last Lent of her life, she experienced visionary meditations on Jesus' passion, recorded by the poet Klemens Brentano and published in 1833. Inspired by this work of mystical visions, Gibson has created a film that is two hours of unrelenting brutality. The fleeting flashbacks to the earlier life of Jesus and Mary serve more to intensify than alleviate the savagery. They do not explain how Jesus' life led inevitably to this death or why anyone wanted him dead let alone publicly crucified. He is victim, not martyr."
And some more info ...
V. Official Vatican website crows about how many precious resources Gibson poured into his movie.
NEWS BRIEF; " 'The Passion' … for Its Author, Is a Mass", Vittorio Messori, ZENIT - The World Seen From Rome, Date: 2004-02-18, Code: ZE04021821 - Quoted above, in item, II.
"The Gamble - Mel has said it with pride tempered by humility, with pragmatism kneaded with mysticism which becomes in him a singular mixture: "If this work was to fail, for 50 years there will be no future for religious films. We threw the best in here: as much money as we wished, prestige, time, rigor, the charism of great actors, the science of the learned, inspirations of the mystics, experience, advanced technology."
Mel Gibson is the consummate, traditionalist Roman Catholic. He poured between $25-30 million into this movie and for what reason? To promote the Traditionalist Catholic viewpoint. And, to draw Protestant and Liberal Christians to the altar of Rome, where they can join the Hindus, Buddhists and other mother goddess religions of the other side of Rome's altar. The One World Church is taking shape! The Illuminati chose the Pope to be its False Prophet figure in 1991 (NEWS1052) and now it has released "The Passion" to make this plan a reality.
I urge people to read through this very carefully before replying. Anyway, in my opinion, we should be going out with our Bibles and preaching the Word to people without the aid of a movie. We have a wonderful helper, the Holy Spirit, and Gods Word.
In the meantime, now that this movie has been released, i guess theres not much we can do except for use it to ask people questions and through that try to tell them the Gospel.
This is the end of days people, and we have to be careful, as soon as this movie's news came out, just because it was about Jesus, thousands flocked blindly to book tickets and stuff for it. Now if people cant be careful, whats going to happen when the False prophet and the Anti-Christ's ruling starts? Are people going to flock to see whats going on, or will people open up their Bibles and see what God says and what he has to say about it?
We are in the END OF DAYS. Im so disturbed that people dont notice this, especially Christians.
Anyway, this is all my 0.2 cents, please leave any scriptural views you have on this and why you think it would be good to go and see this movie and re-crucificy Jesus, i'd love to see some scriptures and be corrected. Keep in mind though, this is a movie which has a script based on a mystic german nun's vision and Catholic doctrine inserted into it, now do we really need the unbeleiver to show us the Death of our Saviour, do we need 125 minutes of seeing our Saviour die and only 12 seconds of our Saviours resurrection, or should we promote something that preaches the Gospel and not the death of our Lord but his death, resurrection, forgiveness of sins etc etc?
I'd like to see some scriptural views on this, this movie for sure is going to create a stir in the world. And remember guys ... Revelation talks about the Great apostacy and this whole Catholic business, this is WHY we need to stop following this media frenzy and get a grip on our Bibles and see what God thinks about it, not man. This is why i particularly feel very strongly about this and disappointed that people still want to see this movie.
God bless you all.