A horrible review.It was shocking to read Peter Gilmour's June Odds & Ends, ("Horror flick") in which he accuses Mel Gibson Noun 1. Mel Gibson - Australian actor (born in the United States in 1956) Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson, Gibson U.S.A., United States, United States of America, US, USA, America, the States, U.S. of portraying God as a monster in his movie, The Passion of the Christ. As Christians, we believe that Jesus was crucified to redeem sinful man, and that his death in this manner was in accordance with the will of God. Crucifixion crucifixion, hanging on a cross, in ancient times a method of capital punishment. It was practiced widely in the Middle East but not by the Greeks. The Romans, who may have borrowed it from Carthage, reserved it for slaves and despised malefactors. was a horrible, brutal death. Mel Gibson didn't invent it (nor did God); he depicted it as it was. Most American Catholics are accustomed to mono-chromatic, sometimes stylized styl·ize tr.v. styl·ized, styl·iz·ing, styl·iz·es 1. To restrict or make conform to a particular style. 2. To represent conventionally; conventionalize. crucifixes, and we may forget the true hideousness of this form of execution. I think Gibson wanted to remind us of what Jesus suffered for us, and in this age of graphically violent films, he hoped to reach a (possibly) desensitized de·sen·si·tize tr.v. de·sen·si·tized, de·sen·si·tiz·ing, de·sen·si·tiz·es 1. To render insensitive or less sensitive. 2. Immunology To make (an individual) nonreactive or insensitive to an antigen. audience by portraying the reality of it. As for the monstrosity monstrosity 1. great congenital deformity. 2. a monster or teratism. of God in requiring this death of Jesus: One has only to read or watch the news to see what monsters human beings can be in their dealings with each other and the unbelievable and sometimes unbearable suffering this causes. The monstrosity is not God; it is humankind without God. Jesus died not because God was punishing him on our account (Jesus is God, after all) but to redeem us from our burden of monstrousness, to show his love for us, to help us on our way, and to share our suffering as our brother. Gibson's is a movie of hope, not horror. Lani Peterson Merrillville, Ind. I am disappointed again in yet another review of Mel Gibson's movie The Passion of the Christ. Never mind that The Passion portrays realistically and accurately the violence of the crucifixion of our Savior; never mind that the violence in this movie is not the sensational and senseless sense·less adj. 1. Lacking sense or meaning; meaningless. 2. Deficient in sense; foolish or stupid. 3. Insensate; unconscious. stuff we are surrounded with daily; never mind that this movie powerfully connects with audiences by showing them the power of love as revealed through Jesus' teaching that "no one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends" (John 15:13). The most offensive part of Gilmour's review is his contention that the unseen monster in this "horror flick" is God because "only a monster would demand beatings, flaying For other uses, see . Flaying is the removal of skin from the body. Generally, an attempt is made to maintain the removed portion of skin intact. Scope An animal may be flayed in preparation for human consumption, or for its hide or fur; this is more commonly called of flesh, crowning with thorns, and crucifixion" Whoa, back the train up. God isn't the monster; sin and evil are. It seems that Gilmour has forgotten the basic element of Christianity: Christ was crucified and died because of us. We can't blame what happened to Jesus on God. Jesus died because of our sins. I came away from the movie deeply moved and grateful for a Savior who chose to die for me that I might have eternal life with him in heaven. That his death was full of pain and suffering makes it what it truly was--a sacrifice, and thus, even more meaningful to me. Maris Stella Bentley Amherst, Neb. Gilmour sees God portrayed as a monster in Mel Gibson's film, The Passion of the Christ; I certainly didn't. I saw a loving Jesus who went through horrible torture as part of our redemption, and it made me all the more humbled by this love. The film was never intended to tell the whole story of Jesus' life, it was to depict the final 12 hours. Do the Stations of the Cross Stations of the Cross depictions of episodes of Christ’s death. [Christianity: Brewer Dictionary, 1035] See : Passion of Christ portray God as a monster? Should we put a sugar-coated spin on those last 12 hours or pretend they never occurred? John Buege San Juan Bautista San Juan Bautista (săn wän bətē`stə), mission, W Calif., in the fertile San Juan valley. Largest of the California missions, San Juan Bautista (1797) draws thousands of visitors annually. , Calif. |
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