The Passion...Good, Bad, or a Sign of the Times?
I have a dilemma. I knew when I first heard of Mel Gibson's 'passion' movie that it would
take the "less-than-discerning" Christian community by storm. This kind of thing always
does. We have seen wave after wave of "new things" sweep in and then out of the church;
and we knew ahead of time that these sort of things would be coming, because God has
told us in His Word that they will "creep in". The problem is, many of the latest
"movements" to come into the church HAVE NOT had to "sneak" or "creep"
in...the front door, and sometimes even the pulpit are opened wide for their receiving!
Now, some of these things are fairly harmless, and will just go away; but others strike at
the very foundations of evangelical Christian faith, often in subtle ways. I believe, even
though it may be with the best of intentions, the "passion" movie will introduce destructive
teachings into Christianity. Let me explain.
Gibson is quoted as saying that reading the dolorous passion of the Christ
was his inspiration for making this film. (You can read this Catholic work for yourself
online at
www.emmerich1.com, which declares the visions of Anne Emmerich as "...incredibly, highly detailed and descriptive, revealing to us more information about the Life of Jesus Christ besides what we read of Him in the Bible."
)
Many Christians are unaware that this mystic writing has any connection with the
movie, but many of the extra-biblical lines that are added to the Gospel accounts, are
taken from it. Here is a short quote, taken from the biographical part "about Anne Emmerich":
| "The childhood of Anne Catherine bore a striking resemblance to that of the Venerable Anne Garzias de St. Barthelemi, of Dominica del Paradiso, and of several other holy persons born in the same rank of life as herself. Her angel-guardian used to appear to her as a child; and when she was taking care of sheep in the fields, the Good Shepherd himself, under the form of a young shepherd, would frequently come to her assistance. From childhood she was accustomed to have divine knowledge imparted to her in visions of all kinds, and was often favoured by visits trom the Mother of God and Queen of Heaven, who, under the form of a sweet, lovely, and majestic lady, would bring the Divine Child to be, as it were, her companion, and would assure her that she loved and would ever protect her. Many of the saints would also appear to her, and receive from her hands the garlands of flowers which she had prepared in honour of their festivals...."
|
And these quotes from later in her life...
"On the 28th of August, the feast of St. Augustine, the patron of her order, as she was
making this prayer in bed, ravished in ecstasy and her arms stretched forth, she beheld a
young man approach her surrounded with light. It was under this form that her Divine
Spouse usually appeared to her, and he now made upon her body with his right hand the
mark of a common cross. From this time there was a mark like a cross upon her bosom,
consisting of two bands crossed, about three inches long and one wide."
"She received the stigmas on the last days of the year 1812. On the 29th December, about
three o’clock in the afternoon, she was lying on her bed in her little room, extremely ill,
but in a state of ecstasy and with her arms extended, meditating on the sufferings of her
Lord, and beseeching him to allow her to suffer with him. She said live Our Fathers in
honour of the Five Wounds, and felt her whole heart burning with love. She then saw a
light descending towards her, and distinguished in the midst of it the resplendent form of
her crucified Saviour, whose wounds shone like so many furnaces of light. Her heart was
overflowing with joy and sorrow, and, at the sight of the sacred wounds, her desire to
suffer with her Lord became intensely violent. Then triple rays, pointed like arrows, of the
colour of blood, darted forth from the hands, feet, and side of the sacred apparition, and
struck her hands, feet, and right side. The triple rays from the side formed a point like the
head of a lance. The moment these rays touched her, drops of blood flowed from the
wounds which they made. Long did she remain in a state of insensibility, and when she
recovered her senses she did not know who had lowered her outstretched arms. It was
with astonishment that she beheld blood flowing from the palms of her hands, and felt
violent pain in her feet and side. "
|
*whew*...I don't know about you, but that sends chills down my theologic spine! THIS is the book that inspired Gibson's making of the movie? THIS is the book from which bits of "prophetic vision" are used to 'fill in the gaps' where the Gospel is silent? And many evangelical leaders want to endorse this movie?
Wow.
Historically, Christians have accepted that God's Word (the Bible) is a closed canon, and
rejected any "additions" to it. This includes anything brought via 'visions' or 'special
revelation', after the Bible was completed. God Himself tells us in His Word "I testify to
everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these
things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes
away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the
Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. - Rev
22:18,19" [see also Deut. 12:32]
Mormonism is rejected at many levels, but mainly because Joe
Smith had an "angel of light" appear to him, etc.etc.etc. He (and the cult built by his
followers) preach a different gospel, based on "new revelation".
Would any Bible believing
Christian accept a mormon gospel as "pretty good" and maybe even a great way to
evangelize non-believers? No way. 'Why not' you ask? Easy. The Scriptures demand that
no other Gospel be preached, (Gal 1:8,9) and not even an angel from heaven can change
what has been declared. Quite simply, no "light beings" seen in visions, or "messengers of
light" or "angels of light" can add to or take away from what God has given us thru His
Word.
Back to my dilemma. How can I, without criticism, recommend that Christians use "the
passion" as an evangelistic tool, with all its extra-biblical quotes and such, while at the
same time rejecting others who use the same methods?
In other words, why is it okay
to take my unsaved friends to see a movie which has additions to the Gospel accounts,
then tell those same friends they must reject Mormonism (or the JW's or whatever)
because they add to or take away from the Gospels? Talk about confusing. I believe
we erode the base we stand on for rejecting extra-biblical cult teachings, if we
recommend Mel Gibson's version of the crucifixion as a viable means of evangelism.
To be Continued after the release of the movie...
Update added 03/05/04
If the numbers are any indicator, 'the passion' will indeed have an impact within the Christian community. It had some $117+ million 5 day numbers. (Can you say "lemming"? I knew you could!) What sort of impact, and to what degree, is yet to be seen. Will it be similar to PK's impact? You know, the guys go get all hyped up, then after promising to be more devoted to their pastor, they leave the church to find one that "better suits them" (usually vineyard or other charasmaniac place). Will Christians be lead astray to Roman Catholicism, and the idolatry that inevitably ensues? I don't know. I pray that they won't, but recent history, and the Scriptures, tell me they sure could.
My concerns
As already stated, I have certain reservations about
this movie that have nothing to do with 'anti-semitism' or graphic displays of crucifixion.
BEFORE I list my concerns, I would like to make a few things very clear:
1. The charges of anti-semitism are just plain
silly...every Christian knows that each time we sin we are crying out "crucify Him!" It
matters little who physically nailed Christ to a cross, He came "to give His life a ransom
for many" [Matt 20:28]
2. Mel Gibson is not at fault for the evanjellycal
'lemming' reaction to this film...he has made it very clear that this is his version of
the passion...it is the big name leaders within Christendom that have turned this into some
sort of 'don't miss out' opportunity to share the gospel. More on this a bit later.
3. I have no problem with crucifixion being
displayed with realism. Jesus Christ suffered horrible, torturous pain. (I happen to believe
that the physical torment was NOTHING in comparison to bearing sin, ANY sin, let
alone the sin of each and every person Jesus died for) This brings me to a list of concerns
about this movie. Take them for what they are worth.
I dislike ANY presentation of the Gospel which has been added
to, even a film version. I've already explained the bit about extra-Biblical revelation, so I
won't belabor that point here.
I believe there may be real concern over idolatry and images presented in this film. I have not really addressed this issue here, because others on the web have dealt with it quite well. See the link at the bottom of this page to read more indepth on idolatry concerns.
The very uncritical
nature with which the Christian community is heralding this film. The cries of "this is the
best opportunity..." and "don't miss this opportunity..." are sickening. What happened to
sharing Jesus with people the same way He has been shared for 2,000 years? What
happened to calling a spade a spade, and sharing with folks that they are SINNERS in
need of redemption? Why does it take an image on a screen to move
people, when they should be moved by reading/hearing the Gospel accounts of the
crucifixion? Shouldn't that very response speak volumes to a person that claims to know
Jesus Christ as savior? (I'll address those that may find salvation through this film in
another section of this paper).
The quotes from 'Christian
leaders' (in the broad sense) about this film. You can read these for yourself at passionchrist.org. Here are a
few:
"Every time I preach or speak about the Cross, the things I saw on the
screen will be on my heart and mind." -Billy Graham
"I have no doubt that the movie will be one of the greatest evangelistic tools in modern
day history. I think people will go to it and then flood into the churches seeking to know
the deeper implications of this movie." -Ed Young Jr., Pastor
"I believe The Passion of The Christ may well be one of the most powerful evangelistic
tools of the last 100 years...." - Greg Laurie, Harvest Crusades
"I found it deeply moving, factually accurate and unprejudiced in its
presentation. - Jack Hayford underline emp.
mine
"This will do for "Jesus" movies what "Saving Private Ryan" did for war pictures. Every
Christian MUST go see this movie and hold Mr. Gibson up in prayer...." - Paul
Crouch, TBN
"Brilliant, biblical - a masterpiece." -Rick Warren, Pastor underline emp. mine
"I can't tell you how I admire, respect and applaud you. May God give you the blessing
you need, where you need it most. The Passion is an awe-inspiring portrayal of the last
hours of Jesus' life. It is an accurate account of Jesus' real sufferings for the sins
of the whole world. This is not a film anyone should miss. - Robert Schuller,
Crystal cathedral underline emp.
mine
"...Mel has chosen the narrow road of staying true to the Scriptures." - Stan
Kellner, International Bible Society underline
emp. mine
"...if they're critical of the film, they would be critical of the Gospel." - Archbishop
John Foley, the vatican
Those are just a handful of quotes...there are dozens (if not hundreds) more out there.
That last quote really gets me. It is indicative of an ever-present, ever-growing attitude within Christianity that to "critique" anything is to attack it, or worse, the person who is the messenger, so to speak! How are we to be Berean's, how are we to test the spirits, if we cannot question things from a Biblical viewpoint? How many 'average' Christians will just accept that "such leaders couldn't possibly be wrong...could they?" attitude? How many people went to see this film only because it was the mass-marketing, 'everyone else is doing it', "let's just follow the crowd" mentality? [Hence my 'lemming' remarks]
How many people are even
aware that Mel Gibson is Catholic? (and a conservative one at that?) I found it interesting that 7 out of 10 people that I
talked to about this movie (in one day) did NOT know Gibson was catholic OR have any
knowledge that The dolorous passion of the Christ was used to "fill in" where the
Bible is silent. How many of the above quotes declare this movie to be Biblically
accurate without any thought to what those words should mean? Are these leaders saying that we should now accept extra-biblical revelation as a legitimate source of God's truth?!? I would bet that if asked directly, they would (at least some) deny they believe such a thing, but that is what they are 'saying' without saying it by declaring such things as "biblical", "true to the scriptures", etc.
It leaves off at the best part! At
least the Resurrection is a part of the film, albeit mere seconds at the end. Doesn't the
focus on just the crucifixion change the emphasis of WHY Jesus came to earth and put on
flesh in the first place? Didn't His teaching for 3 years explain the 'why'? Doesn't His
resurrection give us the blessed hope of eternal life, because He conquered death? It will be interesting to see who (if
anyone) picks up from this point of the movie and continues it...
I believe those who uncritically
recommend this film are sending a subtle message that it doesn't matter how the Word of
God is handled. You can add to it (for film purposes), take things away that actually did
happen, or just slightly alter what Jesus said ("it is accomplished" rather than "it is
finished". Look up the Greek [teleo] to see what I mean)
This will continue the trend
in modern Christianity toward Biblical illiteracy, something we should be striving to avoid, not encouraging.
I could go on about the mass-marketing mentality, etc. but I think you get the point by now. There ARE genuine concerns about this movie, and ANY Evangelical Christian will see them, if they pause long enough from the "lemming" activities of what passes for Christianity nowdays.
All that having been said, what should our response
be to this film? Well, first off, I want to address the issue of "what about those that come
to Christ because of this film?" I will be praising God the same way I praise Him for
everyone else He draws to Himself...by HIS means! But just because God can use a film,
or the foolishness of preaching, or even a donkey to draw people to Himself, does not
mean Christians can advocate anything/everything as a means of presenting the Gospel! I
know people who were saved in the mormon cult (they have since, of course,
left)...should I then recommend people join the mormons as a means of getting saved? Of
course not. I know one man who found Jesus Christ as savior at an Amway
meeting (no...REALLY!). Should you & I now encourage everyone to join the "fake it til
you make it" crowd to find eternal life? No way!
All that means is that God works in
spite of what we may get involved in...but that in NO WAY gives us the right to go about
preaching a different Gospel.
I believe we should be ready to point people to the
Scriptures, to the TRUE Gospel accounts (and beyond), to find the REAL Jesus as God
has revealed Him to us....THROUGH HIS WORD.
(Now that that is out of the way, cuz I know the e-mails would 'go there', we can get to what to do...)
There are a few things you can do before seeing this movie (and even after, if you have
already seen it).
Here are some suggestions:
Read the account of
the crucifixion in the Gospels. Have fresh in your mind what God recorded/preserved for
us to know about this event. This way, you will be able to recognize and (hopefully) filter
out extra-Biblical material.
You will also be able to tell when BIBLICAL events, statements, etc. are left out.
Ask yourself, honestly, if you are one that might fall into idolatry after viewing a
person portraying Christ. In other words, will you begin picturing Jim Caviezel (the actor who played Jesus) whenever
you go to prayer? Will his face, and others stick in your mind and affect how you read
your Bible, pray, interact at fellowship, etc.? If you believe you are susceptible to such
things, it might be best for you not to see the movie at all.
Pray and ask God to keep you on
the path of discernment (that's a good prayer ALL the time!) and to keep you from being
deceived. Remember, deception doesn't work if it isn't sneaky! Sounds obvious doesn't it? We are to be on
guard, keeping watch, for just such a reason. Those things which would deceive do not
announce to all "hey, look out...I'm trying to deceive you!"; "better put up your guard now,
I'm going to trick you soon!"
Doesn't that sound silly? But you know, for some reason
the modern Church seems to operate under the assumption that "being on guard" only
applies to those things which are blatantly wrong. Mix in a little Jesus, a few bible words,
and hey....it's just got to be okay....right? They don't seem to realize that is how Satan tricked Eve in the garden...just slightly add to God's word...twist it just a bit...that can't hurt, can it?
I want to conclude by sharing with you first-hand experience of how Christians can
unwittingly spread error, while trying to do 'good'. I was sitting in a fairly large arena, for
a Christian concert, just after the release of The Passion. I listened to a
young, popular singer share with the crowd what a powerful film this was. She
encouraged everyone to see it....then related one part of the film. Unfortunately, it was a
part which is NOT from the Scriptures, but rather from the recorded visions of Anne
Emmerich. Everyone cheered, and the concert continued.
I don't think that young
singer had any idea what she had just done. I know most of the audience didn't.
It is bad enough when one individual shares untruth as though it were Biblical. Magnify
that with the voice that popular musicians, pastors and authors have in the modern church
and you have the makings of disaster. Lies and false teaching spread at a multiplied,
amplified rate in this modern age of technology. Radio, television, and the Internet can be
powerful tools, but can also powerfully (and quickly) spread a false gospel.
Almost all the people that have come to me with questions about the movie, have
questioned things which DID occur in Scripture...while they don't seem the least bit
concerned about those things which are NOT recorded in the Word.
It is more important than ever to know WHAT we believe as Christians, and WHY we
believe it. It is more important than ever that we be on our guard, watchful for deception.
It is more important than ever that Christian leaders, particularly PASTORS, guard the
flocks with which they have been entrusted...to make sure the 'seducing spirits' and
'doctrines of demons' don't creep into the church.
I'll end with a few predictions, or more accurately future possibilities that I see in regards to this movie. (Please don't take these as some kind of prophecy...I'm just making educated guesses using historical observation) Here we go:
(This one was brought up by a
pastor friend of mine) Will we see life-size cardboard cut-outs of Jim Caviezel gracing
the foyers of churches? Why not? If this movie is an aid to spreading the Gospel, why not
an aid to worship in the church? Hmmm?
I don't know if the movie will be
released on DVD/VHS in time for 2004 Resurrection weekend, but I wonder if whole
churches won't either rent a movie screen (as already happened for the release of the
film), or set up wide-screens in the church, and show this film in place of a Good Friday
service.
The 2005 Resurrection season will
no doubt be inundated with "Passion" related memorabilia...how many Christians will
abdicate sharing Christ with their friends and neighbors, and just give out versions of "the
Passion" instead?
I wonder how long it will be before
"the passion" study Bible is printed, complete with pictures (you know...for historical
accuracy!) Don't think that can happen? Look at how many 'types' of Bibles are being
printed nowadays...Student, Teen, Men's, Women's, Prophecy, Charismatic...you name it,
they probably print it! Why NOT a 'Passion' version?
[added 3/11/04] Well, it's not a study bible, but the International Bible Society now has for sale a New Testament with actor Caviezel on the cover.
"To help churches reach individuals who have seen the film, International Bible Society has created a special edition New Testament and Gospel of Luke with scenes from the movie, The Passion of the Christ. Each piece contains imagery from The Passion of the Christ, as well as helps to assist first-time Bible readers."
Wow.
From other groups, you can buy all sorts of religious trinkets like a crucifixion spike on a necklace, 'the passion' bracelets, etc.
How many organizations will seek
to "pick up where Mel left off", and make a resurrection film, but will beg for money
from average Christians instead of financing it themselves (the way Gibson did)?
[added 3/11/04] Someone told me they have information from a well known group that is indeed soliciting funds to produce a "part deux". More on that as I verify details.
I can't believe I forgot to add the many 'knock-offs' that will no doubt be spawned by the "success" of the passion movie...but the unbelievably cheezy "Judas" made for TV flick has got to take the cake! I wonder how many evanjellycal leaders will pronounce THAT one as "biblical, factual, true to scripture" etc...?
In my opinion, this movie is indeed a sign of the
times in which we live. If you are a born-again Christian, you have no need of worship 'aids'...no need to 'see with your own eyes' the crucifixion, in order to KNOW what Christ finished for you at Calvary. Remember Jesus words to Thomas? "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
