It’s impossible to be objective about The Passion because almost everybody already has an opinion about Jesus, and the story of His life. Everyone will see the movie through their own lenses, so watch for that when you read and hear what reviewers say, and what your friends and neighbours say. You’ll hear Christians talking about how it was the “story of their faith”, and that it was “moving.” You’ll hear rabbis calling it a “lie.” Some will complain about the violence, others that it wasn’t historical. But of course, movies are art, and everyone’s opinion on art is different, as you may have noticed the last time someone recommended a movie to you and when you watched it you wondered why.

That being said, in an effort to be as objective as possible, here are some thoughts. First, the pros:
* Attention to detail
* Good acting (most of the time)
* An attempt to use the information we have in all four Gospels (thank you!)
* A little humour (yes, really)
* Artistic interpretation

And now a few not-so-good or at least neutral things. First, this movie is not 100% accurate in every detail. For example, as Judas is coming three of the disciples are standing watching Jesus. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus is in the midst of waking them up as Judas comes (Matt 26:44-47). Jesus and Pilate speak together in Latin (I believe Latin was used mostly for official purposes; Pilate would normally speak Greek). The woman with Mary is Mary Magdalene, and the movie portrays her as the woman caught in adultery (John 8), but the Bible doesn’t make the connection, but says that Jesus cast 7 demons out of her (Mark 16:9). There are other things I noticed as well.

The movie adds a lot and changes a bit, which is not necessarily bad all the time. After all, every time you put a book on film you have to add something, and interpret. You’ll hear a lot of dialogue that you’ll never read in your Bible. Some of these things worked well, but many could have been avioded.

Let me say again, this is a very violent, gory movie. And lest you wonder how many movies I’ve seen, note that well known film critic Roger Ebert said that this was the most violent film he had ever seen (see his review here). Unless you have a very different philosophy than me, you’ll keep your kids away from this movie for sure. (Note: It’s actually a little funny how much complaint there has been in the news about the violence of this film, considering how highly movies like Gladiator or Braveheart seem to be valued. Perhaps the reason is that it is considered a “religious” film and therefore thought to be a “family” affair)

Viewers may also want to be warned about the prominence of the demonic in The Passion. Oh yes, the demons are obviously the bad guys, I’m not suggesting the movie is demonic. But Satan and his demons are portrayed prominently throughout the movie, and some viewers may find it shocking.

Interestingly, it could be argued that Mary is the main character of The Passion. At least, Jesus and Mary are the main characters. You may find yourself connecting more with her character than his. Another thing to note (as Ebert did in his review) is that the script is very much inspired by the Stations of the Cross, used by Roman Catholics as a tool to meditate on the sufferings of Christ. (Gibson himself belongs to a conservative Catholic sect, and has announced publicly that he believes there is no salvation outside the Roman Catholic Church.)

As far as movie making quality goes, the movie is well done. I wouldn’t at this point rate it as one of the all time greats.

Is it an evangelistic tool, or a Sunday School lesson? Well, one thing I noticed is that a viewer would often be lost if she or he didn’t have a fairly good knowledge of the Bible. There is very little context, very little explanation. Unlike the Jesus film (1979) for example, you hear very little of Jesus’ teaching about who He was and why He came. You really won’t hear the Gospel or really get to know Jesus in this film unless you already know quite a bit. Don’t expect people who go to the movie to come out with a sudden understanding of Christ. Because of this and some of the controversial aspects such as the violence, I would not call it an evangelistic tool or Sunday School lesson.

However, much of the “evangelistic thrust” has had a different focus. The idea is this: people will see the movie, and they’ll have questions. Are you ready to answer? That kind of approach I’m in support of. God can use anything that helps us to think about the big questions of life, and this movie does that. We should be ready to point people in the right direction, at a time when discussions about Jesus are at the highest they may be for years to come. (for more on the promotion of the movie by evangelicals and others, see my previous blog entry)

Yes, Jesus was a real man. He changed the course of history. Why? Well, He claimed to be God in the flesh. He claimed to be the Way, the Truth and the Life. He suffered and died willingly, and then came back to life. He was seen alive by hundreds, and today is followed by millions. Take the time to find out why!

See our quick explanation of the life of Jesus here. For other tools related to The Passion, see my previous blog entry on the topic.

It’s possible that you haven’t yet heard of “The Passion of The Christ”, the new movie starring James Caviezel (Frequency, The Count of Monte Cristo) and directed by Mel Gibson (Braveheart). But if you haven’t heard about it, you may have been away from the TV, radio, internet, post office, and discussion about movies or religion with friends or neighbours. To me, the movie seems to be everywhere. Friends have seen it, I’ve seen posters, promotions, news stories, and I’ve gotten form letters in the mail urging me to watch it.

Of course the movie, which depicts the story of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, follows a long tradition. The writers of the Gospels are storytellers – yes, accurate in what they say, but saying it in an artistic way to reach a certain audience. They followed the example of Jesus Himself, who used storytelling extensively (both stories that may have been fictional as well as true stories and even current news events). Throughout 2000 years of history, Christians have used drama and storytelling to share the Gospel with an often illiterate audience. Both believers and non-believers have used the media at their disposal to tell this story. Some have been accurate, others have toyed with the facts or completely perverted them. In the past 100 years, numerous movies have been made depicting the life of Christ, such as The King of Kings (1927), King of Kings (1961), The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965), Jesus (1979), Matthew (The Visual Bible) (1997), and The Gospel of John (2003).

I’ve had the chance to direct and act in dramas featuring the life of Christ. And I’ve seen some of the movies, and have usually wished for something better. Of course, you can never do the life of Christ justice. Maybe I’m just overly critical, although there have been good points in most of the depictions I’ve seen. After all, when you know Christ you can often be touched by the parts that ring true.

Now we have The Passion. Many Christian leaders have seen it and recommended it, including Billy Graham, the late Dr. Bill Bright (Campus Crusade), Dr James Dobson (Focus on the Family), Eric Reed (managing editor Leadership Magazine), Darrell Bock (professor at Dallas Theological Seminary), Jack Graham (president, Southern Baptist Convention), and Max Lucado (Christian author). Visit the International Bible Society to get your “The Passion” themed Bibles. Ministries are creating study and evangelistic materials, organizations such as Josh McDowell ministries, Rick Warren (The Purpose Driven Life guy), Lee Strobel (The Case for Christ guy), the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, and the Willow Creek Association. Of course I’m sure non-evangelicals will be on the bandwagon as well (Catholics probably leading the way, Gibson himself belonging to a conservative Catholic sect. The Pope has even seen it.). Websites are also popping up – check out TheLife.com, ShareTheLife.com, another site for Passion Outreach, and for something in a whole bunch of different languages try The-Passion.org. And guess what? The Jesus Film (the 1979 movie seen over 5.6 billion times) website has a special page just to promote The Passion. Yikes! I could go on and on.

Though you may find such popularity disturbing, the fact is of course that people will be seeing this movie and talking about Jesus, and we should be ready, as always, to share the truth. And I hope that Christians who see the movie will have opportunity again to meditate on the real Jesus and all He is. The story of Christ’s passion is powerful because it’s true, and it’s still changing lives because He is still changing lives.

Now you’ve read this far so that you can find out – is Jim going to watch it? Yes, I am. The movie comes out on Ash Wednesday. We’ll be sure to tell you what we think! This movie has had it’s share of controversy. Jewish organizations have been concerned that it will fuel anti-semitism. They have a reason to be concerned, of course, after the history of persecution they have had. But we as Christians should know that the world as a whole is responsible for Jesus’ crucifixion. It was a gentile that hammered the nails, and it was all our sin He carried. I doubt that an accurate telling of the story will fuel more hatred of Jews, except in those who are already racist and anti-semitic. As Gibson himself said, when asked who killed Jesus,”The big answer is, we all did. I’ll be the first in the culpability stakes here.”

It should be said that this movie is also rated R. It is meant to be realistic and so it is graphic. This has always been a catch-22 for movie makers. The reality is so brutal, so horrible, you just can’t depict it on screen if you want anyone to watch it. We’ll see how Gibson handles the details.

Anyway, enough about that! I meant to just write a brief note and talk about other news too, but I figured while I was at it I might as well be thorough! To conclude, then, here are a few more things to check out if you’re interested:

* The official The Passion website
* Reviews, trailer and graphics (slow loading page)
* Christianity Today’s The Passion page
* Campus Crusade is at the forefront of The Passion evangelism. If you’re interested to hear what they have to say, download their free flyer by right clicking on the link below and saving it. It’s a pdf file.