I have visited many websites this week to see what others are saying about the Passion. There has been so much said about the fear of anti-Semitism...yet, I do see so much criticism towards Catholics and Christians of all faiths.

We are being mocked constantly. It astounds me. Why do people feel that it is justified to make fun of Christians for what we believe in?

I have not heard any unkind remarks about people of the Jewish faith as a result of watching this movie, not one and yet it seems that the movie has resulted in anti-Catholic and anti-Christian sentiments overflowingly.

On a more positive note, it has just been announced that the Passion has grossed $117 million dollars thus far - Mel Gibson has reaped his rewards financially and spiritually in only a few days!

-- MaryLu (mlc327@juno.com), February 29, 2004

Answers

Hi MaryLu,

I heard someone say that anti-Christian bigotry is the only bigotry NOT condemned by society, and so it is! But as Jesus said, "They persecuted me, they'll persecute you."

I hope, oh how I hope that Christians will stop persecuting each other. What a sad, sad thing it is to see Christians beating up on one another. As we sit here in this forum like sitting ducks to our fundamentalist friends, it breaks my heart that so many who say they love Jesus somehow deem it okay to come here and try to sabotage our faith, call us unbelievers, doomed to hell, etc., etc. I try, and sometimes fail, to respond with kindness. Lord, help me!

Some of my evangelical friends have said things to me like this: "Oh we must pray that Mel Gibson will get saved." LOL! Can you believe that? Oh, how I have to bite my tongue, MaryLu.

It is so nice to have you back on this forum. I have missed you.

Gail

-- Gail (rothfarms@socket.net), February 29, 2004.

Well, just to take the other side here for the sake of discussion, some Catholics do the same exact thing--telling people that they will not get to Heaven without being Catholic.

And I don't know the answer to that, either....

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), February 29, 2004.

Gail,

It is not anti-Christian bigotry. It is anti-Catholic bigotry. Most WASPs have it just fine.

-- Scott (papasquat10@hotmail.com), March 01, 2004.

Scott, I would tend to agree with that, except the term "WASP" really applies only to Episcopal Church types, much less so to other mainstream Christian denominations, but definitely not to the many individual independent Christian churches that seem to be everywhere, or to fundamentalist Christians in general.

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), March 01, 2004.

Why there are so many religions ??

Salut & Cheers from a NON BELIEVER:

-- Laurent LUG (.@...), March 01, 2004.

To the main point I speak, as it is somethign I have noted for years now. Being a Chrisyain has been gettign harder each passing year, and the media especially condmens Cjhristyains in general.

And it is true, make a joke about Jews, or Islam, or Buddhism, and its called Into,lerence, and you are a closed minded Bigot who hasn't th need for any respect.Make fyn of a Christain, and you fget an applause. Afte rall, its in good fun right?

Make a joke about hte other rleigions, and it hurts their feelings, and thats why its wrong. Make a JHoke about a Christain, and if it hurts their feeligns they need to grow up and take it, it was just a joke. ( At their expence, of course.)

Christains feelings need not be spared, and Christainity overall shoudl open itsself up to Inquest and queationing.

Note, we don't see web sites that expose falsehoods and villany in Paganism, or Islam as often as we do Christainity.For every site that talks about the Koran and its contradictgins, we see maybe 100 Bible contradiction sites.

The culprit and cause of such is society itsself. Christainity is a religion that teaches slavation, which has many ipset, for even though we as Chrisyains know, and realise, this as a great thing, the greatest thing that can happen to us, the outside world see's tjhis as an outrage and insult.

For starters, we are tellgn them that they are wrong, and that they will pay a price for their transgressions. And don't kid yourself, one thing I have learned about sin is that people generally do know when they are doing it. Even when they claim not to beleive in sin.

You see, and to clarify the above point, people inately know what is right and wrong, but still crave doing that which is wrong, and at the same time seek to be freed form the penalty form doing that which is wrong. Such is the case with Homosexuality.

I have Homosexual friends and aquaintnces, and I can tell you, just by looking into their eyes, they know, deep down insid they know, that this behaviour is wrong. But rathe rhtan admit it , and they, are wrong, they try ti rationalise it, explain it away, and convence you that its right. They don't try to convence htemselves, as they know its impossible, they simpley deny it is worng tot hemselves and create a state of denial which they can suppress any impulse that its wrpng in, nd then, try to convence you that its OK.

Ecven our old Fried Anti-Bush, whom was recently banned, knows, deep down, that these higns are wrong, but he makes a good example of what I mean here. Men want things to be right, so they invent excuses for them. Then they argue those excuses as though they are valid reasons, and often become hostile if we do not agree, and especially become hoistile if we show the failings of the argument.

This si also why those we call Liberals these days restort to jokes and insults, thought htey claim ot be rational people. How often do you see htem make their points as a jest at their oponants expence? Often, I do.

Reson is the greatst gify Huamnity has, it enables him to apprehgend concepts and accomplish a tamign of the forces of Nature, as well as the firm ability to controle his own actions to a degree unsurpasse din the animal Kingdom, and to accomplish body, mind, and soul what other animals canot even so imagine.

But reason can also cause problems if not pro[perly applied, and humans have an innate desire to self desruction, therefore jumans like to sin. And the wages of Sin are death.

Now, we know that, deep down inside that peopel know sin i sin, its obvious to anyone beign bjective. Remove the emotional state form people, and make them pure reaosn, and undilute tht reason form taught patterns of reason, and show them sonething, an they ought to tell you it is worng for a pyrley unemotional, objective stndpoint, again, imagine a beign for instance who has neve rheard od Humans or sexulity, who has no emotions, bign shown the human anumal for hte first time,he will conlcude male fgoes with femalw for reproduction, and asusme that male on male, or femle on female, sex is a perversion , or in he kleast a mistake, as it accomplisheds nohtign beneficial and yet, in he long run, destoryes.

But thouigh men know sin, they revel in it, and are now so engrossed in sin, so diluted in their reasoning, so lead astrya by their own whims and hteir own reaosning, that they simpley cannot brign themselves to mak the rational choice.

Then their is pride, and with it its child, rebellion.

Man also seeks to do things in iorder to one up his creator, in short, for spite. Man is built to function a certain way, and yet, seeing this, he thinks it dull abd begins to modify the sytem to his liking. OSme modification is done by us all, and not all of it is sin. Gor instane, I like grape juice, and drink far more of it than most poepel I know. This is no sin of course, but it is a modificaiton.

However, that modification is itsself in line with the workigns of the body, and we are discussing sin.

A sinner, however, wills to modify the sysyem for either his own pleasures sake, for exploration, or else for sheer spite.

Like the Child who snek out his window in order to disobey his parents and stay out past 10 PM, man wa ts to controle himself, and not be controeld by God, thereofre, he rejects Gids way, and seeks a way to show his independance.

Not only do Christains force reason upon the dilusionthat sinners live in ( And make no mistake, it is dilusion, and the Apost,e Paul declares it so.) But likewise ask for submisison to a higher authority than man himself, and likewise ask the sinner to repent. The sinner cannot repent though, for Pride prevents this, because if the sinner repents, this means admittign that he is wrong. It also means accpetign responcibility for his actions, hwich over time accumulate. It also mens submission. And how often do we hear modern man say " Do as Thou wilt" ? Thgey in fact react badly to this, exagerating us out of proportion. God becomes a Tyrant, tryign to controle their lives and enslave them. Christaisn become mindless sheep, who cannot think for themselves. They beocme heroes, castign off the shackles and thinkign independantlyh... but als this too is dilusion.

You see, beign a Chrisyain makes one MORE capable of beign themselves as it rees us from dilusion and madness and folly, and in the end death. By submitting to Gods way, God then allows us to find out what we where truely born to be. By submission, we are freed. Just like submisison to my Doctor frees me form illness, submisison to God frees me from sin. An their is ni sin iwhtout remedy, unlike the Doctor and his trade. Likewise, Whre the sinner claism the Christaun cnanot think got himself, it is often th sinner who must adopt anothers arguments, I seldom see a "Freehtinking atheist" who actualy has anyhtign origional to say, and yet see many embittered athists repeatign the same drivel. On the other hand, I note that althogu Christaisn come to th same arguments in deence of their faith , this si a nessesity to deflec the same attcks.

But in personal life, most people who are sinners seem to have far less self controel, and far less personality, han do Christains. Being a Christain mnakes one more like onesself than not.

God is likewise no tyrant, but our creator. Ojne of the most reprehensable things I hear is the analogies that critics make, that rduce God to soem man in the sky...when indeed he is wholly different in nature. God isnt so much a tyrant as a loving father though, tryign to get us, his prodegle children, to repent and not be lost to the madness and folly that we create, and to klive as we shoudl, as it will make us truely happy.

This message htough sill requires one to surrnder ones pride, and to give in yo yhe fact that one cannot carv eoyt ones own path.

This leads to stong reaction, the same way delign wiht a dilusional does. If you have ever spoken to a dilusional man, you will realise that he doesnt actulaly beleive his dilusio himself, its just make beleive. But he wants you to think he does, and if he can, he wans you to beleive it too.

Showign the facts to the dilusional man wll only cause anger, notbecause he honestly bleives what he says, but because he cannot abide admititng he made the whole thing up, and remember, his delusion is often his refuge.

Christainity thus seeks to speak otthe ultimatge dilusion that most poepel belong to, and even eferyone here has known, the dilusion of sin, and will reap the problems tht any truth will meet when oposed by a lie.

-- ZAROVE (ZAROFF3@JUNO.COM), March 01, 2004.

Laurent,
There are many religions because it is within man's nature to seek out God. There is but one true path, but there is a Satan out there tempting people to go this way and that to find happiness.

-- Bill Nelson (bnelson45-nospam@hotmail.com), March 01, 2004.

I have to wait until March 26th for the Passion to come out in my country... and it's been designated an '18' !!!

-- Andrew (andyhbk98@hotmail.com), March 01, 2004.

ANDREW what country is this, and whats an 18?

-- ZAROVE (ZAROFF3@JUNO.COM), March 01, 2004.

ANDREW what country is this, and whats an 18?

Something like this: Parental Advisory

In other words , it means: they say it's a movie for people with the age of +18 (Adults only)

Plz , correct me if I'm wrong !!

Salut & Cheers from a NON BELIEVER:

-- Laurent LUG (.@...), March 01, 2004.

The Passion Movie is an '18' in England (across the pond, from you guys)

-- Andrew (andyhbk96@hotmail.com), March 02, 2004.

I use to live in England lol... I now live in Tennsse. I suppose I am too Americanised...th reason for it though is the violence. so dont let it detere you form this film.

-- ZAROVE (ZAROFF3@JUNO.COM), March 02, 2004.