WEll, thanks for this and I don't know I have mixed thoughts from all I've
heard I guess I will just have to see for mywelf with prayer that the Holy
Spirit will guide my thoughts and reactions.

Lelia


----- Original Message -----
From: "Kathy Du Bois" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, February 25, 2004 6:11 AM
Subject: Re: FW: Paul Harvey


> Okay, I dont mean to get into a battle of the reviews here, but perhaps
> you can at least see from this article that, just maybe, this film can
> still go places in which the church has rendered herself impotent.  If we
> put all our hope in this film, we are wrong, but it can be a tool for
> evangelism if we are willing to use it.
> God bless,
> Kathy
>
>
> You probably have heard of the Mel Gibson film "The Passion," opening
> tomorrow in many theaters.
> Much debated and often contraversial, here is a testimoney from Paul
> Harvey,
> after personal viewing the movie.... Pretty powerful...
> From: Barbara Voges
> >To: 'Howard & Dorothy'
> >Cc: 'Diana Voges' ; 'Andrea Voges' ; David A. Voges
> >Sent: Monday, February 23, 2004 7:41 AM
> >Subject: RE: Paul Harvey "The Rest of the Story"
> >
> >
> >Thanks for this forward even though Harvey is not someone I prefer to
> list
> >too.  But there has been a lot of talk about this film and it was good
> to
> >read while noting that I have not seen the film.  Generally I cannot
> bear
> >violent films so don't know if I will see it.  I was struck but the
> >comments of one of the viewers "It is my sins that killed Jesus."  And
> that
> >is the key, MY sins - not the sins of others.  It seems in this world
> that
> >the sins of others are judged to be more significant than our own.  I
> can
> >think of no where in the Bible where it ranks sins from worst to least.
> >And this pain that God suffered goes beyond our human understanding.  We
> >only get a small taste of it when we lose someone we love.  And I pray
> each
> >day for compassion for our human race which is so often so very
> >disappointing but evidently highly treasured by our God.
> PAUL HARVEY COMMENTS ON "THE PASSION"  BY MEL GIBSON
> >
> >The majority of the media are complaining about this movie. Now Paul
> Harvey
> >tells "The rest of the story". Most people would wait and see a movie
> >before giving the reviews that have been issued by the reporters trying
> to
> >tell all of us what to believe.
> >
> >Paul Harvey's words:
> >
> >I really did not know what to expect. I was thrilled to have been
> invited
> >to a private viewing of Mel Gibson's film "The Passion," but I had also
> >read all the cautious articles and spin. I grew up in a Jewish town and
> owe
> >much of my own faith journey to the influence. I have a life long,
> deeply
> >held aversion to anything that might even
> >indirectly encourage any form of anti-Semitic thought, language or
> actions.
> >  I arrived at the private viewing for "The Passion," held in
> Washington,
> >DC and greeted some familiar faces. The environment was typically
> >Washingtonian, with people greeting you with a smile but seeming to look
> >beyond you, having an agenda beyond the words. The film was very briefly
> >introduced, without fanfare, and then the room darkened. From the
> gripping
> >opening scene in the Garden of Gethsemane, to the very
> >human and tender portrayal of the earthly ministry of Jesus, through the
> >betrayal, the arrest, the scourging, the way of the cross, the encounter
> >with the thieves, the surrender on the Cross, until the final scene in
> the
> >empty tomb, this was not simply a movie; it was an encounter, unlike
> >anything I have ever experienced.
> >
> >In addition to being a masterpiece of film-making and an artistic
> triumph,
> >"The Passion" evoked more deep reflection, sorrow and emotional reaction
> >within me than anything since my wedding, my ordination or the birth of
> my
> >children. Frankly, I will never be the same. When the film concluded,
> this
> >"invitation only" gathering of "movers and shakers" in Washington, DC
> were
> >shaking indeed, but this time from
> >sobbing. I am not sure there was a dry eye in the place. The crowd that
> had
> >been glad-handing before the film was now eerily silent. No one could
> speak
> >because words were woefully inadequate. We had experienced a kind of art
> >that is a rarity in life, the kind that makes heaven touch earth.
> >
> >One scene in the film has now been forever etched in my mind. A
> brutalized,
> >wounded Jesus was soon to fall again under the weight of the cross. His
> >mother had made her way along the Via Della Rosa. As she ran to him, she
> >flashed back to a memory of Jesus as a child, falling in the dirt road
> >outside of their home. Just as she reached to protect him from the fall,
> >she was now reaching to touch his wounded adult face. Jesus looked at
> her
> >with intensely probing and passionately loving eyes (and at all of us
> >through the screen) and said "Behold I make all things new." These are
> >words taken from the last Book of the New Testament, the Book of
> >Revelations. Suddenly, the purpose of the pain was so clear and the
> wounds,
> >that earlier in the film had been so difficult to see in His face, His
> >back, indeed all over His body, became intensely beautiful. They had
> been
> >borne voluntarily for love.
> >
> >At the end of the film, after we had all had a chance to recover, a
> >question and answer period ensued. The unanimous praise for the film,
> from
> >a rather diverse crowd, was as astounding as the compliments were
> effusive.
> >The questions included the one question that seems to follow this film,
> >even though it has not yet even been released. "Why is this film
> considered
> >by some to be 'anti-Semitic?" Frankly, having
> >now experienced (you do not "view" this film) "the Passion" it is a
> >question that is impossible to answer. A law professor whom I admire sat
> in
> >front of me. He raised his hand and responded "After watching this film,
> I
> >do not understand how anyone can insinuate that it even remotely
> presents
> >that the Jews killed Jesus. It doesn't." He continued "It made me
> realize
> >that my sins killed Jesus" I agree. There is not a
> >scintilla of anti-Semitism to be found anywhere in this powerful film.
> If
> >there were, I would be among the first to decry it. It faithfully tells
> the
> >Gospel story in a dramatically beautiful, sensitive and profoundly
> engaging
> >way.
> >
> >Those who are alleging otherwise have either not seen the film or have
> >another agenda behind their protestations. This is not a "Christian"
> film,
> >in the sense that it will appeal only to those who identify themselves
> as
> >followers of Jesus Christ. It is a deeply human, beautiful story that
> will
> >deeply touch all men and women. It is a profound work of art. Yes, its
> >producer is a Catholic Christian and thankfully has remained faithful to
> >the Gospel text; if that is no longer acceptable behavior than we are
> all
> >in trouble. History demands that we remain faithful to the story and
> >Christians have a right to tell it. After all, we believe that it is the
> >greatest story ever told and that
> >its message is for all men and women. The greatest right is the right to
> >hear the truth.
> >
> >We would all be well advised to remember that the Gospel narratives to
> >which "The Passion" is so faithful were written by Jewish men who
> followed
> >a Jewish Rabbi whose life and teaching have forever changed the history
> of
> >the world. The problem is not the message but those who have distorted
> it
> >and used it for hate rather than love. The solution is not to censor the
> >message, but rather to promote the kind of gift
> >of love that is Mel Gibson's filmmaking masterpiece, "The Passion."
> >
> >It should be seen by as many people as possible. I intend to do
> everything
> >I can to make sure that is the case. I am passionate about "The
> Passion."
> >You will be as well. Don't miss it! Paul Harvey
> >__________________________
> >Please copy this and send it on to all your friends to let them know
> about
> >this film so that we may all go see it when it comes out on February
> 25th.
> >We can then form our own opinion.
> >
> >Dan & Grace Fogarty
> >20549 Breezyhill Drive
> >Ashburn, VA 20147
> >Home:    (703) 729-1853
> >Dan Cell (703) 772-1799
> >Grace Cell (703) 727-6773
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
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