ive got to see this movie now....

 

 

From: Jody Dean, Dallas/Ft. Worth CBS news anchor

>

> There've been a ton of emails and forwards floating around recently from

> those who've had the privilege of seeing Mel Gibson's "The Passion Of The

> Christ" prior to its actual release. I thought I'd give you my reaction

> after seeing it last night.

>

> The screening was on the first night of "Elevate!", a weekend-long seminar

> for young people at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano. There were about

> 2,000 people there, and the movie was shown after several speakers had

taken

> the podium. It started around 9 and finished around 11... so I reckon the

> film is about two hours in length. Frankly, I lost complete track of

time -

> so I can't be sure.

>

> I want you to know that I started in broadcasting when I was 13-

years-old.

> I've been in the business of writing, performing, production, and

> broadcasting for a long time. I've been a part of movies, radio,

television,

> stage and other productions - so I know how things are done. I know about

> soundtracks and special effects and make-up and screenplays. I think I've

> seen just about every kind of movie or TV show ever made - from extremely

> inspirational to extremely gory. I read a lot, too - and have covered

> stories and scenes that still make me wince. I also have a vivid

> imagination, and have the ability to picture things as they must have

> happened - or to anticipate things as they will be portrayed. I've also

seen

> an enormous amount of footage from Gibson's film, so I thought I knew what

> was coming.

>

> But there is nothing in my existence - nothing I could have read, seen,

> heard, thought, or known - that could have prepared me for what I saw on

> screen last night.

>

> This is not a movie that anyone will "like". I don't think it's a movie

> anyone will "love". It certainly doesn't "entertain". There isn't even the

> sense that one has just watched a movie. What it is, is an experience - on

a

> level of primary emotion that is scarcely comprehensible. Every shred of

> human preconception or predisposition is utterly stripped away. No one

will

> eat popcorn during this film. Some may not eat for days after they've seen

> it. Quite honestly, I wanted to vomit. It hits that hard.

>

> I can see why some people are worried about how the film portrays the

####.

> They should be worried. No, it's not anti-Semitic. What it is, is entirely

> shattering. There are no "winners". No one comes off looking "good" -

except

> Jesus. Even His own mother hesitates. As depicted, the Jewish leaders of

> Jesus' day merely do what any of us would have done - and still do. They

> protected their perceived

>

> "place" - their sense of safety and security, and the satisfaction of

their

> own "rightness". But everyone falters. Caiphus judges. Peter denies. Judas

> betrays. Simon the Cyrene balks. Mark runs away. Pilate equivocates. The

> crowd mocks. The soldiers laugh. Longinus still stabs with his pilus. The

> centurion still carries out his orders! And as Jesus fixes them all with a

> glance, they still turn away. The ####, the Romans, Jesus' friends - they

> all fall. Everyone, except the Principal Figure. Heaven sheds a single,

> mighty tear - and as blood and water spew from His side, the complacency

of

> all creation is eternally shattered.

>

> The film grabs you in the first five seconds, and never lets go. The

> brutality, humiliation, and gore is almost inconceivable - and still

> probably doesn't go far enough. The scourging alone seems to never end,

and

> you cringe at the sound and splatter of every blow - no matter how steely

> your nerves. Even those who have known combat or prison will have trouble,

> no matter their experience - because this Man was not conscripted. He went

> willingly, laying down His entirety for all. It is one thing for a soldier

> to die for his countrymen. It's something else entirely to think of even a

> common man dying for those who hate and wish to kill him. But this is no

> common man. This is the King of the Universe. The idea that anyone could

or

> would have gone through such punishment is unthinkable - but this Man was

> completely innocent, completely holy - and paying the price for others. He

> screams as He is laid upon the cross, "Father, they don't know. They don't

> know..."

>

> What Gibson has done is to use all of his considerable skill to portray

the

> most dramatic moment of the most dramatic events since the dawn of time.

> There is no escape. It's a punch to the gut that puts you on the canvas,

and

> you don't get up. You are simply confronted by the horror of what was

done -

> what had to be done - and why. Throughout the entire film, I found myself

> apologizing.

>

> What you've heard about how audiences have reacted is true. There was no

> sound after the film's conclusion. No noise at all. No one got up. No one

> moved. The only sound one could hear was sobbing. In all my years of

public

> life, I have never heard anything like that. I told many of you that

Gibson

> had reportedly re-shot the ending to include more "hope" through the

> Resurrection? That's not true. The Resurrection scene is perhaps the

> shortest in the entire movie - and yet it packs a punch that can't be

> quantified. It is perfect. There is no way to negotiate the meaning out of

> it. It simply asks, "Now, what will you do?" I'll leave the details to

you,

> in the hope that you will see the film - but one thing above all stands

out,

> and I have to tell you about it. It comes from the end of Jesus'

temptations

> in the wilderness - where the Bible says Satan left him "until a more

> opportune time". I imagine Satan never quit tempting Christ, but this film

> captures beyond words the most opportune time. At every step of the way,

> Satan is there at Jesus' side - imploring Him to quit, reasoning with Him

to

> give up, and seducing Him to surrender. For the first time, one gets an

> heart-stopping idea of the sense of madness that must have enveloped

Jesus -

> a sense of the evil that was at His very elbow. The physical punishment is

> relentless - but it's the sense of psychological torture that is most

> overwhelming. He should have quit. He should have opened His mouth. He

> should have called 10,000 angels. No one would have blamed Him. What we

> deserve is obvious. But He couldn't do that. He wouldn't do that. He

didn't

> do that. He doesn't do that. It was not and is not His character.

here is a link to 4 historians take on who killed jesus...crossan is one of the experts...its a long read but its really interesting

 

 

 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4315203/