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Post by Michael on Feb 4, 2004 5:10:54 GMT -5
“The Passion of The Christ” Sells Out Around Iowa Wednesday, February 04, 2004
By Craig Brown - TV9 Cedar Rapids Newsroom
A new movie about the final days of Jesus Christ is already creating controversy, and it hasn't even hit the theaters yet. Unlike any movie before it, some Iowa churches are buying out entire showings ahead of time so their members can see it.
"The Passion of The Christ", directed by Mel Gibson, doesn't come out for three weeks, and already the Wynnsong Theater in Cedar Rapids has sold out several shows.
Cedar Rapids First Lutheran Pastor Tom Pietz is one of the few people in the world who's seen Mel Gibson's new film. He watched a preview with Gibson recently in Chicago.
"Mel was just himself, and yet shared his faith very openly.”
Gibson, a devout catholic, told the crowd he directed a film he self-describes as a career killer.
But Pietz was so moved by the violent portrayal of Christ's crucifixion, he reacted the same way a lot of Christian pastors did… he called the theater for tickets.
"We've got 210 seats booked so we’ve got the whole thing, and they sold like hot cakes this weekend," said Pietz.
But the film is not without controversy. Jerry Sorokin is the director of the Hillel Jewish Center at the University of Iowa. He echoes the concerns of many Jewish leaders who have seen the film...about the portrayal of Jews.
"The whole notion of collective responsibility for the death of Christ or deiced, the killing of God, can lead to backlash that would effect the way the Christian community treats the Jewish community as a whole."
However, both men agree the film will be a useful tool to lead people of their respective faiths to future important discussions about Christ.
"We can be critical of some aspects of the movie,” added Pietz, “which in some ways we need to be and yet, we also need to go.. this is pretty accurate."
The movie is also pre-selling out in Des Moines. In Dubuque, the Cinema 8 Theater is scheduling private showings in the morning, if groups have more than 100 people.
"The Passion of The Christ" opens nationwide on February 25th. The movie is rated "R".
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see also same item under PRAYER REQUESTS
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Post by Michael on Feb 5, 2004 9:27:35 GMT -5
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Post by Michael on Feb 6, 2004 13:24:23 GMT -5
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Post by Michael on Feb 6, 2004 13:24:57 GMT -5
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Post by Michael on Feb 7, 2004 6:57:41 GMT -5
from Koilias ( Messanic Jew)
"Yeshua condemned the high priests because they kept the tithes of the produce of their own lands to themselves (after all, they were Levites). Josephus says that the high priests would send their slaves to the threshing floors in order to beat the tithes out of their tenant-farmers...and then they would not feed the orphans, widows and poor Levites with their tithes, but kept them for their own houses, completely missing the point of tithing as described in Deut. (First of all, they weren't supposed to own land, but in the second temple period the high priests were often wealthy landowners). Josephus says that some of the poorer priests were dying of hunger as result.
Yeshua told the people in the temple the parable of "the Vineyard, the Son and the Wicked Tenants" to speak against this evil, which is a parable DRIPPING with irony. He compares the temple to a vineyard whose tenant farmers we understand are the high priests. The owner (God) sends his slaves to collect the produce, but the tenant farmers decide to keep the owner's portion (the tithe due to God, that is the tithe for the widows, orphans and the poor) to themselves, and they beat the slaves, sending them back empty handed! So the owner sends His son and they kill him. Yeshua was demanding that the high priests hand over the tithes to the widows, the orphans and the poor! They themselves sent their slaves to beat the tithes out of their own tenant-farmers, so that the widows, the orphans and the poor could not take it, but now when God wants to collect those tithes from the temple, they beat His slaves (the prophets) and murder his own son!!! What Hutzpah! They " devoured widow's houses "! When Yeshua spoke this parable, straight-away THE HIGH PRIESTS DECIDED TO KILL HIM AT THAT VERY MOMENT, for they knew what kind of rebellion his words could foment against them, but they feared the people, and they began to conspire his death in secret. They crucified Yeshua because Yeshua had demanded that the tithes go to the widows, the orphans, the strangers and the poor Levites!"
It is no accident that right after the widow casts her two minahs, that Yeshua began to prophesy the destruction of the temple. People miss this irony...It should have been the OTHER way around, the temple should have been paying the widow!!!! That is why "she gave more than all the others"! Because for her two coins God sold His house! He would rather feed widows than have precious stones!
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five10
New Member
Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; ...it shall not stand: for God is with us.
Posts: 20
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Post by five10 on Feb 17, 2004 11:27:03 GMT -5
02/17/04 - East Texas Local Minister Previews Controversial "The Passion of the Christ" Movie by Alex Carias "If you read the scripture, you see that it's very accurate to the scripture, Biblically and it follows, it lines up with the three synoptic gospels and the Gospel of John so, if you say the movie is causing controversy, then you have to say the bible is causing controversy as well," said Pastor Jeff Robinson of Southside Baptist Church. Pastor Jeff Robinson has dedicated his life to the Bible and the word of God. And now those words have come to the big screen in the form of the most controversial religious movie in recent history. One topic receiving national and international debate is the graphic depiction of Christ's crucifixion. But after seeing the movie, Robinson says the portrayal is accurate. "It was very gruesome, it is very graphic, but crucifixion in those was absolutely graphic, it was the most inhumane way to kill a person, it was a horrible execution. This gave a very realistic picture of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ's," added Robinson. Robinson says as the movie ended, the theatre was silent, except for the sounds of weeping that filled the room. It's that realism of the story of Christ's, says Robinson, that will allow churches of any denomination, to capture and spread the word of god. "What most are doing are buying blocks of tickets and then inviting people who may be nominal church goers, or non church goers to be part of the movie and see how it impacts them, it's even been said that this is the greatest evangelistic tool we've had in 2000 years," explained Robinson. Churches across the country are being sent supplemental material to help them incorporate the movie into their sermons. Robinson says he plans to use clips and themes from the movie in his sermons, both before and after it hits the big screen. Source:- www.ktre.com/Global/story.asp?S=1647836&nav=2FH5KrSj
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Post by Michael on Feb 18, 2004 6:38:14 GMT -5
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Post by Michael on Feb 18, 2004 6:54:34 GMT -5
There are several sources regarding FREE literature on the Passion Of The Christ Movie. It may be worth while obtaining some of the materials for evangelism purposes. One such site is:- www.praythepassion.com/The Way of the Cross 34 Why Have You Forsaken Me? About three o clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, Eli, Eli, lama sabach-thani? which means, My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Matthew 27:46* Jesus cry from the cross that God had forsaken Him should perplex us: How is it possible that God the Father could have abandoned God the Son? Could such a rift actually tear through the heart of the Blessed Trinity? We may never enter fully into the tremendous mystery presented here, but we should note that He was crying out the words of a Psalm whose several details had prophesied His death (Psalm 22). Some have speculated that, since Christ bore our sins in that moment, a perfectly holy God turned His face away as part of the punishment Jesus suffered in our place. Others have insisted that the Father was always present; but in His agony, Jesus in His human nature had lost His awareness of that Presence. Anne Catherine envisions yet another possibility: Christ, she said, was speaking on behalf of all those who in their hour of death are tempted to despair. He has walked the way before them, borne their desperate hopelessness, and earned for them a sure and certain hope. Jesus sufferings were inexpressible. But it was through them that He merited for us the grace necessary to resist the temptations to despair that will assail us at the hour of death that dreadful hour when we will feel that we are about to leave all that is dear to us here below. When our minds, weakened by disease, have lost the power of reasoning, and even our hopes of mercy and forgiveness have become, it seems, enveloped in mist and uncertainty, then it is that we must fly to Jesus. We must unite our feelings of desolation with that unspeakable abandonment He endured on the cross, and be certain of obtaining a glorious victory over our enemies from hell. In that moment, Jesus offered to His eternal Father His forsakenness. For this reason, no one who is united to Jesus in the bosom of His Church must despair at the awful moment preceding his departure from this life, even if he is deprived of all light and comfort of the senses. For he must then remember that the Christian is no longer obliged to enter this dark desert alone and unprotected. Since Jesus has cast His own interior and exterior abandonment on the Cross into this gulf of desolation, the Christian will not be left to cope alone with death, or be allowed to leave this world in desolation of spirit, deprived of heavenly consolation. All fear of loneliness and despair in death must therefore be cast away. For Jesus, who is our true Light, the Way, the Truth, and the Life, has gone before us on that dreary road, has scattered it with blessings, and has raised His Cross on it. Just one glance at that Cross will calm our every fear. In His cry of abandonment, then, Jesus (if we may put it this way) made His last will and testament in the presence of His Father, bequeathing the merits of His death and passion to the Church and to sinners. The cry He allowed to pass His lips in the height of His agony was intended not only to show the enormity of His sufferings, but also to encourage all afflicted souls who acknowledge God as their Father to lay their sorrows at His feet with the confidence of a child. The Dolorous Passion Now, as in my hour of death, Lord Jesus, I place all my trust in You.
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Post by Michael on Feb 20, 2004 13:49:04 GMT -5
On the Passion of Christ link, i.e. www.angelfire.com/md3/pafn777/passion.htmlHave added a link off this called Photographs, Spiritual Connection Plus. It has a link to a film called the Gospel of Matthew and some other interesting material. God bless, Michael.
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Post by Michael on Feb 25, 2004 8:32:03 GMT -5
''...As clouds gather and Jesus dies, a single raindrop, a tear from God the Father? falls from the sky. A storm has come; the gates of hell are broken; back in the Temple, Caiaphas, buffeted by the earthquake, cries out in anguish amid the gloom. Then there is light, and a discarded shroud, and a risen Christ bearing the stigmata leaves the tomb. It is Easter..'' www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4212783/
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Post by Michael on Feb 26, 2004 5:21:29 GMT -5
The Power of 'The Passion'Greg Laurie Harvest Ministries The Power of The Passion A number of years ago I had the privilege of having lunch with the famed evangelist, Billy Graham... But I finally turned to him and said, "Billy, if you knew as a younger preacher what you know today, would you emphasize anything more as a younger preacher that you find yourself emphasizing today?" www.harvest.org/passion/images/Jesus003.gif Without missing a beat, he responded, "I would preach more on the cross and on the blood. That is where the power is." I took note of that. I have remembered that to this very day. There is power in the message of the cross, in the shed blood of Jesus Christ. This power Billy Graham spoke of is the message of Mel Gibson's new movie, The Passion of The Christ. It chronicles the last twelve hours of the Lord's life and ministry, starting at the Garden of Gethsemane and following Him through His trial with Pontius Pilate and up to the Crucifixion and Resurrection. The Passion of The Christ is difficult to watch at times because of its graphic nature, but it is also deeply moving because it is true. It's the true story about how God became a man and intentionally suffered and died on a cross for humanity's sins. Let me make this clear: Jesus' death was no accident. He was born to die. Hundreds of years before Christ's virgin birth, Scripture tells us the Christ would be born of a virgin, "Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel ? 'God with us.' "(Isaiah 7:14 NLT). The Bible also predicts His death over and over again in the Psalms and in the Prophets (see Psalm 22:1, 16-18; Isaiah 53:12; Zechariah 12:10). It was clearly Jesus Christ's purpose to fulfill the Scriptures by being crucified for the sins of humankind. There is power in the message of Jesus' crucifixion. Yes, it is arresting. Yes, it is controversial. To some, it is even offensive. But it is the absolute truth. And it is a message often neglected today. Because of that neglect, many people do not understand the significance of what took place on that Roman cross two thousand years ago. This is why we at Harvest Ministries have developed a new resource entitled, The Passion of the Christ: a Biblical Guide. It is my hope and prayer that it will help you know God better through the story of His Passion, and that you'll utilize it as a tool to share the message of the cross. Because that is where the power is. ... Source:- www.harvest.org/passion
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Post by Michael on Feb 26, 2004 10:59:19 GMT -5
As a follow on from the previous post it is worth studying / considering the Blood of Jesus in more detail. As a starting point consider the following link:- www.biblelife.co.uk/blood/index.php
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Post by Michael on Mar 1, 2004 5:12:01 GMT -5
'Passion' Hauls in $117.5M in Five DaysSunday February 29 2:56 PM ET Mel Gibson's gamble on "The Passion of the Christ " paid off enormously, riding a storm of religious debate to a $117.5 million haul in its first five days, according to studio estimates Sunday. "The Passion," which debuted on Ash Wednesday, rocketed to the No. 1 box-office slot for the weekend with $76.2 million from Friday to Sunday. It was the seventh-best three-day opening ever, behind "Spider-Man" at $114.8 million and such Hollywood franchises as "The Matrix Reloaded" and the first two "Harry Potter" movies. "The Passion" put up the second-best five-day figures for a movie opening on Wednesday, behind last year's "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" at $124.1 million and ahead of "Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace" at $105.6 million. The first movie released in 2004 to cross the $100 million mark, "The Passion" easily passed the weekend's No. 2 flick, "50 First Dates" at $88.7 million, as the year's top-grossing film. Once considered a niche film that would appeal mainly to conservative Christians, the bloody chronicle of Christ's crucifixion swelled to blockbuster proportions as Gibson rallied church groups to support it and accusations of anti-Semitism brought mainstream attention. "It's an event movie," said Bruce Davey, Gibson's partner in his film company Icon Productions. "It all began with the grass-roots campaign we started, but the controversy has obviously helped in creating awareness." Some Jewish and Christian leaders have said they fear "The Passion" will revive the notion that Jews collectively were responsible for Christ's death. Gibson has denied such accusations, and key cast members including Jim Caviezel , who plays Christ, and Maia Morgenstern, a Jewish actress who plays Mary said Gibson approached the film with great respect for Judaic traditions. Gibson put up the movie's $25 million budget and will reap most of the returns. Hollywood studios passed on the movie, so Gibson put it in theaters through independent distributor Newmarket Films, which will get a cut of Gibson's profits. "The Passion" provided a box-office jolt for theaters, whose ticket sales were running 7 percent behind last year's. After four straight weekends of declining revenue, the top 12 movies took in $132.1 million, up 53 percent from the same weekend a year ago. "The Passion" took in more money than the rest of the top 12 combined, with other new movies making barely a ripple. The Ashley Judd crime thriller "Twisted" debuted at No. 3 with $9.1 million from Friday to Sunday. " Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights ," a prequel to the 1980s hit, opened in fifth place with $5.9 million. The horror spoof " Broken Lizard's Club Dread" premiered at No. 10 with $3 million. Playing in 3,043 theaters, "The Passion" averaged a whopping $25,041, compared to $3,367 in 2,703 cinemas for "Twisted." The success of "The Passion" is more remarkable considering it was shot in two dead languages, Aramaic and Latin, and plays with English subtitles. The movie's violence, including a savage depiction of Christ's scourging and crucifixion, also did not deter movie-goers, who lifted "The Passion" to the second-best R-rated opening ever behind "The Matrix Reloaded" at $91.8 million for its first weekend. "'The Passion' is the most unlikely blockbuster I've ever seen. I don't have enough adjectives in my repertoire to describe it," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. "Even nonbelievers probably felt the need to see this film because it's undeniably about one of the most important events in history, and everybody is talking about it." Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at North American theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures will be released Monday. Source: movies.yahoo.com/movies/feature/weekendboxofficea.html
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Post by Michael on Mar 1, 2004 6:32:41 GMT -5
I read somewhere that Mel Gibson recently said, " As I meditated on His wounds, He healed mine!" I like that don' t you?
More from a related article @:-
An even more ardent motive drives Passion?s producer/director, Mel Gibson. In a recent ABCNEWS Primetime interview with Diane Sawyer, Gibson told of hitting the bottom of ?spiritual bankruptcy? 13 years ago. While abusing alcohol and drugs, he considered killing himself. Instead, he turned to the Bible and, through prayer, experienced deliverance.
?I just hit my knees," Gibson said. ?I just said, 'Help.' . . . And then, I began to meditate on it, and that's in the Gospel. I read all those again. I remember reading bits of them when I was younger." Since his spiritual encounter, Gibson has poured over ten years of creative energy and many millions of his own money into The Passion.
Jesus Christ "was beaten for our iniquities," he explained to Sawyer. "He was wounded for our transgressions and by his wounds we are healed. That's the point of the film. . . .It's about faith, hope, love and forgiveness. . . . I believe that. I have to ? for my own sake ? so I can hope, so I can live."
from:http://www.chipleybugle.com/editorial/
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Post by Michael on Mar 2, 2004 8:29:13 GMT -5
From John Carey Part 1
Mat 27:1 In the first light of dawn, all the high priests and religious leaders met and put the finishing touches on their plot to kill Jesus. Then they tied him up and paraded him to Pilate, the governor. Judas, the one who betrayed him, realized that Jesus was doomed. Overcome with remorse, he gave back the thirty silver coins to the high priests, saying, "I've sinned. I've betrayed an innocent man." They said, "What do we care? That's your problem!" Judas threw the silver coins into the Temple and left. Then he went out and hung himself. The high priests picked up the silver pieces, but then didn't know what to do with them. "It wouldn't be right to give this--a payment for murder!--as an offering in the Temple." They decided to get rid of it by buying the "Potter's Field" and use it as a burial place for the homeless. That's how the field got called "Murder Meadow," a name that has stuck to this day. Then Jeremiah's words became history: They took the thirty silver pieces, The price of the one priced by some sons of Israel, And they purchased the potter's field. And so they unwittingly followed the divine instructions to the letter. Jesus was placed before the governor, who questioned him: "Are you the 'King of the Jews'?" Jesus said, "If you say so." But when the accusations rained down hot and heavy from the high priests and religious leaders, he said nothing. Pilate asked him, " Do you hear that long list of accusations? Aren't you going to say something?" Jesus kept silence--not a word from his mouth. The governor was impressed, really impressed. It was an old custom during the Feast for the governor to pardon a single prisoner named by the crowd. At the time, they had the infamous Jesus Barabbas in prison. With the crowd before him, Pilate said, "Which prisoner do you want me to pardon: Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus the so-called Christ?" He knew it was through sheer spite that they had turned Jesus over to him. While court was still in session, Pilate's wife sent him a message: " Don't get mixed up in judging this noble man. I've just been through a long and troubled night because of a dream about him." Meanwhile, the high priests and religious leaders had talked the crowd into asking for the pardon of Barabbas and the execution of Jesus. The governor asked, "Which of the two do you want me to pardon?" They said, "Barabbas!" "Then what do I do with Jesus, the so-called Christ?" They all shouted, "Nail him to a cross!" He objected, "But for what crime?" But they yelled all the louder, "Nail him to a cross!" When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere and that a riot was imminent, he took a basin of water and washed his hands in full sight of the crowd, saying, "I'm washing my hands of responsibility for this man's death. From now on, it's in your hands. You're judge and jury." The crowd answered, "We'll take the blame, we and our children after us." Then he pardoned Barabbas. But he had Jesus whipped, and then handed over for crucifixion. The soldiers assigned to the governor took Jesus into the governor's palace and got the entire brigade together for some fun. They stripped him and dressed him in a red toga. They plaited a crown from branches of a thorn bush and set it on his head. They put a stick in his right hand for a scepter. Then they knelt before him in mocking reverence: "Bravo, King of the Jews!" they said. "Bravo!" Then they spit on him and hit him on the head with the stick. When they had had their fun, they took off the toga and put his own clothes back on him. Then they proceeded out to the crucifixion. Along the way they came on a man from Cyrene named Simon and made him carry Jesus' cross. Arriving at Golgotha, the place they call "Skull Hill," they offered him a mild painkiller (a mixture of wine and myrrh), but when he tasted it he wouldn't drink it. After they had finished nailing him to the cross and were waiting for him to die, they whiled away the time by throwing dice for his clothes. Above his head they had posted the criminal charge against him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
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