Some questions about the Passion

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Why does this guy get picked on so much? I don't see that he is promoting Calvinism.

Ahem. Not that that would be a bad thing.............

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Does the movie have Simon of Cyrene carry the cross or merely walk beside Jesus holding His arm or something?

In the movie, Jesus is having trouble carrying the Cross and can't go on. A Roman soldier picks a man out of the crowd to help him. I'm not sure of the man's name, but he vehemently says that it's none of his business, and tries to run away, but the soldiers make him help Jesus.

He most definately carries the cross, over his shoulders, alongside Jesus. At the end, at Gethsamane, he tries to help Jesus, but the soldiers push him away and laugh at him.

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Does the movie add other non Biblical material like the FOURTEEN STATIONS of the CROSS, Veronica giving HIM water etc.?

No, no 'fourteen stations'. I thought the other woman in the movie was Mary Magdalene (it showed her having a flashback to when she was to be stoned as a prostitute, and Jesus stepped in to save her). And , yes, she offers Jesus a drink of water when he is lying on the ground, beaten, but the Roman soldiers knock it out of her hand before Jesus can drink it.

Edited to add - mistaken about it being Mary M. giving him a drink. Sorry, I was confused.

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When's the last time any movie evoked that kind of response? Can't we make a "right" judgment in this matter, rather than a contentious argument? They are going home and opening THE WORD people! How much closer to victory can you get aside from having an actual church service in the theatres? They are going home to THE WORD! I don't need to split hairs, if one person seeks out the Truth/Word as a response to this movie, then a right and noble thing has been accomplished.

When any preacher preaches, can he make a mistake in interpreting passages, ever? So why do you require perfection in this movie?

The message that brings people to the Cross and the realization of the price paid and BY WHOM it was paid, was irrefutable. There was no question as to the Glory of Christ and His Victory on the Cross, that cannot be mistaken in this movie. It accomplished a purpose very precisely.

Amen, Suzanne. ITA. There will always be some who want to pick apart and criticize everything.

Mel Gibson got saved 11 years ago. He had a vision for this movie, and he made it. He made it clear that everything AFTER the death has been done and done again. He wanted to do what nobody has yet done -focus on the 12 hours up to and including the death. It, too, has importance that he felt was being ignored. He is just a man. He is not infallible. But he did a very good job, and I'm grateful to him.

[Catsmeow]

I saw only a snipet on a movie review on History Channel. Can anyone tell me if the guy who plays Satan is male or female or what?

It's hard to tell..it looks like a unisex pale rider on the 4th horse of the Apocalypse.

I only saw the part in the Garden.

[nebula]

The woman, Veronica (station 6) is said to have wiped Jesus

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At one point when carrying the cross he falls (again), and Mary flashes back to a time when He fell as a child and she ran to Him. In the present, she likewise runs to Him to comfort Him (what mother wouldn't?). But this time, He comforts her: "See mother, I make all things new!"

That part really did me in.

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SPOILER ALERT!!! ~ please scroll down past this post now if you have not seen the movie, but are planning to.

Lady, that stomping-on-the-snake scene was by far the best part of the movie IMO. I just wanted to JUMP out of my seat and cheer!

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Neb, you aren't pickin' on the movie "Ten Commandments" are ya?? Watch it, girlfriend! That's my fave movie. :laugh:

[Catsmeow]

For what it's worth, I can understand how you feel. I get annoyed with the movies The Ten Commandments and Jesus of Nazereth for that very reason.

Hey, I loved "Jesus of Nazareth"! I thought it was the best ever...long but excellent!

[Guest LadyC]

whatsitmean.... i'm not sure if i'm getting the point you're trying to make, but it seems to me like you're dogging the movie because it includes some aspects that are not defined in scripture.

is it that some of the characters were expanded upon for the sake of the story, or is it that the characters were expanded upon in a manner that invokes some aspects of the catholic myths?

i'm not catholic. i had no knowledge of the 14 stations. i thought the expansion of the characters was good storytelling.

spoiler.... skip the red part if you haven't seen the movie yet but plan to go:

there were other nonbiblical scenes that definitely were not part of any 14 stations! like the flashback of Jesus building a table that was too tall, and He and mary engaging in some playful banter about whether or not rich men will one day eat at tables while sitting on chairs.

ok, you can all read again...

it doesn't matter to me what catholics believe occurred along the road. that mary had a flashback of helping her child up when he fell, that some woman attempted to bring Jesus water and wipe his face, etc, those things very easily COULD have happened. whether or not they DID happen does not change the sacrifice that Christ made for us! and that, whatsitmean, was the focus of the movie.

and the others are right... no image of His face transferred onto the cloth the woman wiped his face with... or actually let Him wipe his face with. Jesus did comfort his mother when she rushed to His side and had that flashback.

as for the 'woman with a man's voice', yes, that was satan. regardless of whether scripture tells of each of satan's appearances, do you, whatsitmean, believe satan wasn't there, watching every aspect? personally i thought some of the satan scenes were cheezy. but spiritual warfare is very real, and that day of Christ's crucifixion was the biggest battle of spiritual warfare to date. why shouldn't that be shown in the film?

i think mel did a superb job of demonstrating in this movie that, despite his catholic upbringing, he is a Christian, first and foremost. he did an excellent job of keeping the focus on Christ's sacrifice, and being very careful NOT to elevate mary to any "Holy" platform.

[nebula]

Hey, I loved "Jesus of Nazareth"! I thought it was the best ever...long but excellent!

Sorry, cats!

I know it has meaning to you, but the first time I saw the movie was way after I knew the Gospels, and I spent the entire time going, "No, that's not how it was written!" or "No, you missed [shuch-n-such]!" or "That's not right!" or "No. . . ."

Sorry.