"Passion": Revisited

What?!! An article regarding the "Passion"? I know that is what you are thinking. Yes, this is about "The Passion Of The Christ", February 25, 2005, Directed by Mel Gibson. I'm aware there was probably somewhere in the neighborhood of 100,000 plus articles written on the movie, and that was before and after its release of five years ago.

There was a lot of controversy back then, prior to its release. Mostly, many were concerned of the possible anti-Semitic message. But, I think for the most part all were content with its release. It was the first time a film of this production quality focused on the trial and crucifixion of Jesus. It did well in the box office, and even better on DVD, and was nominated for 3 Academy Awards.

The other day, I had a fellow Christian stop following my page. When I visited their page, I found a link to an article regarding... you guessed it! I read the 'not so flattering' rant against Mr Gibson, the movie, and most especially, the Catholic Church. "The Passion of Rome: To Bring All Wayward Catholics Home" on The Cutting Edge page, certainly cut to pieces Mel, the Church, and the movie. I assumed this is why the individual cut relations with me, as I promote and recommend the film.

I provided the link, to be fair, so that you can get the same feeling of hate, as I did, if you so choose. I wouldn't advise purchasing the variety of videos and books they have for sale, as that is their ulterior motif. Just as David MacPherson does, in his hateful rants against today's prophecy scholars, Cutting Edge uses the controversy to sell their wares.

The major difference, I found, between MacPherson (post-trib promoter) and this article, is MacPherson has so many holes in his argument, while Cutting Edge has a lot of truth. Both were relentless in their assaults. I don't feel either were warranted. MacPherson's belief in post-trib rapture is no more supported in the Bible than pre-trib rapture, however, he brutally assaults several men of God, for their beliefs.

The Cutting Edge is correct in most of their biblical assertions, but, their brutality was unnecessary. They clearly hate the Catholic Church, and I get the feeling they think that no Catholics will be in Heaven. True, the Catholic Church inserts a lot of its own doctrine into the Gospel, which is just not there. The church teaches to confess your sins to a man, and pray to various Saints and the Virgin Mary, but, they basically believe as all Christians, Jesus died for our sins, and was risen. Most Catholics believe, and attempt to follow, the Commandments of God. Many Catholics stand a better chance for salvation than do many misguided evangelists.

The author claims he was Catholic when he was young. He obviously had a bad experience. Most evangelists speak with much disdain for the Church. I am not a follower of Catholic doctrine, but, for whatever strange reasons, they believe in the ritualistic prayers and correspondence with the Saints. However, the Catholic Church also pays more attention to the Eucharist, and sharing Communion, which is biblical, and mostly ignored by evangelists.

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Every religion has its holes and self imposed doctrine, contrary to scripture. That is why they are a religion. Even non-denominational Bible believing churches preach things which just are not in scripture, and ignore things which are. My constant message and general theme is for all Christians to know what the Bible says about all issues, and not to rely on any man for their salvation. We all make mistakes, but, if you find a Church continuously falls away from scripture and preaches their own agenda, you should find a Church with which you feel more comfortable.

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Mel Gibson is Catholic. What should we expect, but, that he would use what he has was taught all his life to write his screenplay? He did what no man had ever accomplished before. He drew millions to view a film about Jesus, weep, and decide to re-dedicate or give their life to Christ. Most of those people were completely unaware of the Catholic doctrine, unless they were Catholic, or well read in Theology. I don't know how successful the film was in "Flocking" Catholics back to the Church, which were not already there. I do know, the film "flocked' many to "a" Church. With my (accused) narrow view of Biblical integrity, I still fail to see how this classifies Gibson as a heretic.

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I am not involved in the Catholic religion, but, I thank God my mother was. If my mother only did one thing right, it was to insist I go to Church and catechism classes. My demons came from my family. My godly seed came from the Catholic Church. Knowing whether Jesus used a clay cup, or a chalice, at His Passover supper with the Apostles, isn't going to keep us out of Heaven.

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There are a lot of confused Catholics, which whom, do not see the need to be saved. That doesn't mean any one who walks into a Catholic Church is a heretic. The Catholic church, unbeknown to Nancy Pelosi, is the strongest and most outspoken advocates of right-to-life. When I cannot get into a Baptist Church, or any other Chapel after hours, I will go to a Catholic Church to pray. I must say, there is stronger presence of Jesus, and the cross, in Catholic Churches, than most Baptist or Evangelical Worship Centers.

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I am more concerned with evangelicals, which have become more concerned with numbers, than salvation of their members. Preaching things to their congregations which lead them away from living a godly life...that's what stirs my blood. Just the other day, I heard Larry Huch spew more ridiculous doctrine. He was doing what he does best, trying to convince people to send money to TBN, the Christian television network. He stated he can find nothing in scripture which condemns smoking. This is his exact quote: "There is no scripture that says, 'Thou shalt not lighteth uppeth a Marlboro'!" Then, he went on to bring up his drug past and how God forgave him even though he "went to church high". Apparently you still are high, Larry. Repent, and read the Bible, for real.

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* I provide links to many Christian sites. I may not thoroughly agree with all of what they have to say, but, I still generally respect them as godly people. Not all will agree with me, or read my articles, they just check what links I have to offer. If I can lead them to another site where they will be led to Christ, I'm happy. Most of those sites wouldn't consider linking to mine, as I am not in full agreement with there doctrine, or I don't have a $3,000 page.

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I will definitely continue to suggest people view "The Passion of the Christ", as I can find nothing else which stirs more passion for what Jesus endured for us. Most of whom will not pick up a book, or the Bible, will watch a movie. Whatever drives people to the Christ, cannot be all that demonic as the Cutting Edge accuses. *I was very knowledgeable of Catholic doctrine when I first viewed the film; I never, for one second, thought Jesus was referring to the Virgin Mother as He advised the Apostles a "Friend" would be coming to assist them. I knew He was referring to the Holy Spirit, which is biblical. This was just another unfair accusation by Cutting Edge.

Crossfire: Cross Focus

Most of us are aware of the show that was broadcast as far back as I can remember, called Crossfire. Similar to today's "Hannity & Colmes", there were two hosts with apposing views on contemporary issues of the times. It came to mind as I contemplated a view published by a Christian ministry regarding Arthur Blessitt and his forty year journey carrying the Cross around the world. They claimed in their article he was led by Satan, "Parading around, making a spectacle of himself, to draw attention to himself, using the symbol of what man did to the Lord."
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The article went on to say, the Cross is the symbol of Christ's death. When he was risen, and lives, we continue to worship a tree, a piece of wood. Their was much more rambling, but, you get the point. Apparently, many believers share this point of view. While I found their argument intriguing and compelled to give them the benefit of the doubt, there is one huge mistake in the basis for their point of view. Man did not kill Jesus.
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Jesus knew His fate, all along the way. He did it willingly, and no man had a choice in the matter. Praise Jesus. Everything that Jesus experienced was written, and could not be stopped, even if there was a Roman equivalent to Perry Mason at the time. That "tree" is the symbol of His willing sacrifice, just to give us the gift of salvation. We humans have a hard time remembering exactly what Jesus went through, for our sake only. We cannot conceive of His Passion, in the midst of our selfishness.
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I have tried to get my sister to watch Mel Gibson's, "The Passion of the Christ", again. She has seen it once, and according to her, that is enough. To watch it again, "would just be morbid", is a common opinion. We have a thousand excuses when it comes to rationalizing our neglect of the attention God so rightly deserves. The Bible says we are to 'pray without ceasing'. We get caught up in the worldly things and events and think that since we are busy, we are excused from any direct, consistent involvement with the Lord. We don't even think about Him for days, sometimes. We think about Him right away, though, when a setback, or tragedy arrives to disrupt our fleshly lives.
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When we become Christians, we are saying to God we are dying to that fleshly, or worldly life, and committing to seek His Will. How many times have we gotten caught up in a project, maybe at work or around the house, and completely forgot a previously scheduled errand. Maybe it was something we promised to do for our boss, or spouse. We genuinely intended to carry out the task with all our heart, but, their reaction is as though we never intended to do it at all. Aren't we lucky to have such a wonderful, awesome Lord, which whom, has the just and merciful nature, such as He does. Rather than a Draconian god, who would punish us for a mishap, a mistake; we have a loving, merciful, all knowing Father, that sees in our heart, and judges us righteously.
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We cannot begin to conceive of His Holiness, and Goodness. We tend to do things we are aware are not agreeable to Him, or know right out, He hates. He hates all sin, big or small, but, we rationalize it, anyway. No!... we definitely need something to remind us of just how far He was willing to go for us, and what we owe Him. The Cross is the symbol of His sacrifice, and a reminder of our responsibility to stay on the narrow path, as a Christian.
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To ignore the importance of the Cross, would be just as silly as denying the privilege of sharing Communion with Jesus. They are both the gifts of being Christians. The Cross is the constant reminder of how dirty we are, and what it took to wash us clean. His blood was shed on the Cross, so we would have the opportunity to one day share His kingdom, which there will be no end.
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This world, which we cherish so much we are willing to deny Him, will end someday. To receive His forgiveness, and the gift of the Holy Spirit in our lives, all that is expected of us is to repent, and honor His sacrifice. We are not worshiping a tree when we pray in front of the Cross. We are not paying homage to wood when we lay our iniquities at the foot of the Cross. We are acknowledging the greatness of a supreme Being that would do something so wonderful for someone who is so undeserving. It is only through His Goodness that we are given the opportunity to deserve it.
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We must realize, every time we ignore the Cross, and turn away from our Saviour, we are spitting on Him, and His graciousness. It is only through His Grace, we are able to turn away from the temptations of today, and partake in a supernatural relationship with Him, through faith in the Cross. There should be more emphasis placed on the Cross. We are letting a relative few heathens dictate where we can place a Cross, as it offends them. Why would a simple tree, or piece of wood, offend anyone? It is not a "green" issue. It is not a violation of nature that stirs some to violence and rebellion. It is what the Cross stands for. If only it stirred so much passion in the believer.
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Christians typically take the Cross for granted, as they have rationalized its importance. Just as the typical agnostic refrains from admitting the reality of it, as they would have to turn away from the lifestyle they so cherish, we are not truly committed. We are real quick to profess our love for Jesus, but, when it comes to turning away from those things we know are offensive to God, we choose to ignore. We figure, if we play stupid today, and get away with 'this thing', we will do extra atonement tomorrow. That would be great, if, our Lord was as stupid as we are.
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If you focused more on the Cross, or Jesus, you might be rocked back to reality. You cannot fool God. You are not hiding anything. You are only fooling yourself, and pleasing Satan. The atheist has more of a chance to get to Heaven, as he may truly wake up, before it is too late, repent, and accept Christ as his Saviour. The common professed Christian will be blindsided when the end comes and he was walking in iniquity, believing he was saved, as he said a prayer a few years ago.
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It is amazing how much angry mail I receive, for trying to pull people out of their fantasy world of believing Jesus went through what no man would, so we could live in iniquity without feeling guilty. It is even more amazing, many preachers(?) are preaching that very message. At least, they will be keeping you company. I can understand the atheist wanting to rid the world of the Cross and what it stands for, but, a Christian? There are many people who say they are Christian, and they will no more see heaven than a ravenous wolf. That is Biblical. Satan believes in Jesus, and knows He is Lord. Do you really believe Satan has a chance in... well, you get the point.
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Wearing a cross for decoration around the neck is disgraceful, unless you are ready to respond in a godly manner and display what it stands for, through your actions as a Christian. As far as I am concerned, whether intended, or not, wearing a cross as decoration, unless specifically intended to portray a discipleship, is blasphemy. One should be very careful in making that decision. It brings to mind the horrific feeling which comes over me when I see a piece of the American flag being used as a pocket patch. Or, what of the common hoodlum who wears battle fatigues. The military uniform stands for many men and women that gave their lives for our freedom.
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In the same manner, the Cross stands for the One that came down from Heaven, so we could be freed from our sin. We all remember how everyone rallied behind our flag, post 9/11. You would be hard-pressed to find a car which had no flag on the antennae, or sticker of a flag in the window. Now, we barely remember the feelings which drove us to such unity that dominated our lives. We should be even more driven to such unity, as Christians, to rally around OUR Cross. We should show non-believers the same unity and strength as Christians, as we showed the rest of the world our strength as Americans.
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Another major terrorist attack is presumed likely, in America. The return of our Lord is definite. Are you ready? A tragedy could befall you tonight. Are you sure where you stand? Are you that sure you are saved, because a confused evangelist says you are. Be sure. This is the most important thing you have to worry about. Make sure you have truly repented of your sin, and give your heart to the Lord. Then, you don't need to worry about the affairs of the world, or the economy, or anything else. Where you stand with the Lord is the only thing you need to consider. If you are on the narrow path that leads through the narrow gate to His kingdom, it matters not what happens to you in this short life.
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Why would an atheist take the chance there is no god, out of their ignorance. If their genius proves to be misled, they are damned to an eternity in hell. If, by their standards, we are wrong as Christians, with all the proof needed, what have we lost? The atheists choose to ignore all the solid evidence, written hundreds of years before Christ, telling of His coming. There is no hope for them if they don't receive the truth in time. The more common Christian, however, is worse off, as they are now informed of the truth, and expected to know better. Please, secure your salvation by investigating the truth, which is the Word of God.
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Do not take my word, or anybody's word, when it comes to your salvation. Examine yourself immediately, and know for sure, with all your heart and soul, you will be with your Lord, should you not have the time left you fantasize.