The Passion Of The Christ:
A DVD To Avoid
Peter Ditzel
Much was made of The Passion of the
Christ when it was released in theaters. Now the DVD is available.
This motion picture caused great controversy in the church because so
many evangelicals and others praised it so highly while a few discerning
Christians utterly condemned it. But for the Christian who claims the
Bible alone as his or her authority for belief and practice, there
should be no controversy. I intend to cover as many points as possible
in a short space to show why this movie is not only unsuitable viewing
for Christians, but is in fact blasphemous and a tool, not for bringing
people to Christ, but for preparing them for Antichrist.
1) Any actor attempting to depict Christ makes himself an idol. Jesus
Christ was not only a man, but also God (John 1:1, 14; Hebrews 1).
Attempting to depict Him becomes an attempt to depict God. This is an
idol. Paul wrote, "Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like
to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping
things" (Romans 1:22-23).
2) Any attempt by a man to depict Christ is immediately a blasphemous
lie because a mere man cannot picture Christ. Christ was God and man,
but a man can only attempt to portray Christ’s human nature and not His
God nature. Anyone trying to find refuge in the excuse that the actor is
only trying to portray the humanness of Christ commits the heresy of
Nestorianism, which said that Christ’s divine and human natures were
separate. Christ’s divine and human natures cannot be separated, even in
His flesh.
3) Remembering Jesus’ death by acting it out is contrary to Jesus’ own
instructions. The only tangible and visible symbols Jesus gave us by
which to remember His death are the bread and the wine (1 Corinthians
11:23-26). Any other means, including acting out His death, violates His
instructions.
4) This film does not contain a statement of the Gospel. Therefore, God
will not use it to save anyone. A gory acting out of scourging and
crucifixion will work salvation in no one. The Gospel is spread by
words, not by sight. Paul wrote, "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing
by the word of God" (Romans 10:17). Addressing Thomas’s lack of faith,
Jesus said, "blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed"
(John 20:29). A couple of verses later, John wrote concerning the
accounts of Jesus’ works, "But these are written, that ye might believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might
have life through his name" (John 20:31). God does not spread the Gospel
by sight, but by written and spoken words (see also Romans 10:14 and 1
Corinthians 1:21).
5) The man behind this film, Mel Gibson, could not present the Gospel
even if he wanted to because he does not know it. In a publicity
statement, Gibson is quoted as saying, "My new hope is that The Passion
of The Christ will help many more people recognize the power of His love
and let Him help them to save their own lives." To Gibson, Jesus Christ
only helps us save our own lives. That is a false gospel. As Paul wrote,
"But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto
you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed"
(Galatians 1:8).
6) This is a Roman Catholic film. Both Gibson and Jim Caviezel, the lead
actor, are Roman Catholics. Gibson had a priest on the set to perform
the mass each day of filming. Caviezel told Gibson, "I think it is very
important that we have mass every day--at least I need that to play this
guy." Caviezel also carried on him during filming a supposed piece of
the true cross as well as relics of various other Roman Catholic saints.
He is quoted as saying, "This film is something that I believe was made
by Mary for her Son."
7) The Passion of the Christ is not even close to being an accurate
reenactment of the Bible’s account of the last hours of Christ’s life or
a presentation of the Gospel. It was not intended to be. Although some
is based on the Bible, much is also from the visions of two Roman
Catholic nun-mystics, Anne Catherine Emmerich and Mary of Agreda.
According to Gibson, Emmerich, in her The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord
Jesus Christ, "supplied me with stuff I never would have thought of."
Another source of extrabiblical inspiration were the apparitions of Mary
of Medjugorje (in Bosnia and Herzegovina). Jim Caviezel told a priest in
Medjugorje, "The catharsis for me to play this role was through
Medjugorje, through Gospa [Slovenian for "Our Lady"]. In preparation, I
used all that Medjugorje taught me." Also, Gibson did not intend the
film to closely follow the Bible, but to be a reenactment of the Roman
Catholic Mass. As Scripps Howard News Service columnist Terry Mattingly
said, "It is crucial to realize that the images and language at the
heart of The Passion of the Christ flow directly out of Gibson’s
personal dedication to Catholicism in one of its most traditional and
mysterious forms — the 16th century Latin Mass.... The goal of the
movie is to shake modern audiences by brashly juxtaposing the ’sacrifice
of the cross with the sacrifice of the altar — which is the same
thing,’ said Gibson. This ancient union of symbols and sounds has never
lost its hold on him. There is, he stressed, ’a lot of power in these
dead languages.’" ("The Passion of Old Words and Symbols," January 21,
2004). Also, as Richard Bennett and J. Virgil Dunbar point out in their
excellent article, "'The
Passion of the Christ': Mel Gibson’s Vivid Deception", the role of God the Father is replaced by Mary. The film suggests
that it is Mary who offers her Son, thereby denigrating the role of the
Father.
One of the most disturbing aspects of The Passion of the Christ is the
praise it has received from those who claim to be Evangelical,
Protestant, or Baptist. How can these people lay sound judgment aside in
favor of the emotions produced by this film’s biblically inaccurate
screenplay and special effects? Richard Bennett and J. Virgil Dunbar, in
the article cited above, state: "The Evangelical church’s acceptance of
Gibson’s movie gives shocking - maybe apocalyptic - insight into the
state of popular Christianity today. Will history reveal this day as the
time when Evangelicalism, on a popular level, merged with the Roman
Catholic Church?" If you have been deceived into a favorable opinion of
this movie, there is still time to repent (I certainly know what it is
like to be deceived and then have God open my eyes). But I do believe
that we may be seeing a line being drawn visibly separating God’s elect
from false Christians. We cannot ignore Matthew 24:24: "For there shall
arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and
wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very
elect." The implication is that, even though everyone else may fall into
deception, the elect will not be deceived. "Little children, keep
yourselves from idols. Amen" (1 John 5:21).
Print-friendly PDF Version
Copyright © 2004-2009 Peter Ditzel