I'm Not Catholic, But Ash Wednesday Is Otay!

In thinking about the release of The Passion of Christ tomorrow, I started to speculate why it would have so much controversy. The film The Last Temptation of Christ drew a lot of criticism, but mostly from the conservative side. I don't remember The Left saying much, but what do I know, I was 10. It was a big budget project too, but not in the same light as Mel Gibson's newest. It's stated that Mel spent 25 million of his own funds to make it. The Passion tries to take an accurate look at the life of Christ citing historical books in the Catholic field and as well as the canonized Gospel narratives. It has also been said that everyone who worked on this film has had some sort of life changing experience. I do not think you could say that about Martin Scorsese’s Last Temptation. I don't have any quotes from the boom guy, but I've heard a lot of people have come to know God through this. That's incredibly powerful. Yet, in this same line of thoughts, I wondered why it would have so much negative feedback. I had never even heard the anti- Semitism argument before about The New Testament. That could just be because I'm not well read. But, still, why that argument instead of its authenticity, accuracy, or even that it would be a good story to tell. Then it hit me, Satan. The Enemy doesn't want you to see this picture. This movie tells the story of why sinners were ransomed from the fire. Why imperfect man was separated from a Holy God and needed a mediator. This movie seems to be anointed because even the most staunchly atheist would have to marvel at the production and direction of the film itself. Satan had to use something like anti-Semitism to persuade people not want to see it. To me, it feels like God called Gibson to make this picture, which he himself has been quoted saying. I hope that it's graphic nature of a more accurate depiction of what our Savior actually went through gets into the minds of people. It's powerful stuff to think about what God did for us by sending Jesus. Breathtaking and certainly wonderful. How great Thou art!