abu dhabi sunshine

life, times...and opinions from Abu Dhabi

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

The Passion

Two years later and I finally watch The Passion of the Christ. I know, I'm late, but I hate watching movies in the midst of their hype. I usually end up disappointed.

So back to The Passion...I'm not sure what to think of it. I also don't know how to judge a movie to which we already know the ending. If anything, it helped me brush up on my Sunday school teachings (which I have to admit, are very, very rusty.) But the sheer violence of it all was a little more than what little ole' me can generally take.

I did sit through it all in the comfort of my bed, but there is no way I would have been able to stand it in a movie theater. And at the end of it, I was really creeped out. I squirmed around in my bed throughout the whole movie, and later had trouble falling asleep.

Not because I'm religious or anything, but all the blood and Satan's various forms really scared me. And I wonder if that was the point of the whole movie, to scare us into believing.

My general opinion is that clerics (of all faiths) too often use fear as a tactic to rally people to the faith. Believe or you will burn in hell, believe or you will suffer the way Jesus did. I've always had an aversion to those tactics, ever since the days I went to mass with my dad and listened to the priest preach endlessly about people not going to church enough. What was the point of saying that to the people who were already in church??

Anyway. Obviously, Passion was a very catholic portrayal of the last 12 hours of Christ's life. To think that the world is up in arms about Islamic fundamentalism, while fundamentalist Catholics are just as ideologically crazy.

It may be pretentious of me to form my own little way of believing. But I prefer to think of the higher powers as my friend, not as someone who will chastise me for every thing I do throughout my life. And I'm sure I'm not the only one to want to see religion and faith that way. I don't know one person of my generation who is a big believer...maybe it's time for clerics to reach out to youths who possibly want something to believe in. Fear just won't do it.

7 Comments:

At 4:10 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

You're absolutely right. Fear is not very effective. The Passion of the Christ would have been far better if it had been a comedy :)

 
At 9:16 AM, Blogger Dubai Sunshine said...

Religions are supposed to be about love and understanding and caring and compassion and giving and sharing and goodness....

So I agree with Sky, why use fear to instill a sense of belief into people?

Clerics and religious bodies need to evolve and modernize their ways. The whole world is communicating differently! I'm not saying to change the message, I am saying, change the way you deliver the message.

 
At 9:24 AM, Blogger Jayne said...

Very, very well said Sky! I actually enjoyed the movie, but from the perspective of it being a 'story' & it was well made. The whole religion issue pisses on my battery big time. Sadly, I've lost a good friend of more than 20yrs because of it. She thinks that because she+family are all 'reborn' it gives her the right to come preaching under my roof. WRONG! What tickles me more than anything is that she+family are bigger hypocrite now than they ever were before!

 
At 10:39 AM, Blogger sky said...

A romantic comedy actually saad
:p

"I'm not saying to change the message, I am saying, change the way you deliver the message. "
You're so right DS. The more the world and societies evolve, the more religion needs to evolve at the same time. Something that may have worked 2,000 years ago has little chance of being effective now.

Thanks Jin. And I agree with you, reborns are the worst. It seems the only thing they can talk about is religion, and that really puts me off. I'm a big advocate of keeping faith to ourselves.

 
At 3:55 PM, Blogger nzm said...

dang - I wrote a long comment here earlier and it's disappeared, and as I write subconsciously, I can't remember exactly what it said! lol

Jin - alas, my experiences with born-agains are reflected in yours. I liken them to smokers who quit, and then have to tell everyone how wrong it is to smoke and how bad it is for you!

Sky - I've deliberately not watched The Passion for the simple reason that I don't want someone else's ideas of what I should believe rammed down my throat. Neither should anyone tell me what my God thinks - that's between me and my God.

I happen to know that my higher beings help me a great deal - I receive little signs of this all the time. I also know that they have a great sense of humour! :-)

I prefer to have my own experiences - such as when I was in Jordan, walking around Mt Nebo and crying my eyes out for no apparent reason, other than the place reached into me and touched my soul so gently, that the physical reaction was to cry - not of joy, sadness or any other emotion - it was just crying.

I've yet to blog about Jordan - and I know it's because of this experience and of other physical and emotional happenings that I had while there. One day, the story will flow out of me!

 
At 2:12 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

This movie is to show all of us that every wound Christ took is million times the love he feels for each one of us. Dont take the film just as what ur eyes see,like the brutality, look on it's meaning. if u get scared, it's actually the truth that's knocking in ur face. If ur not, then, there's so much about Love you still don't know.

 
At 3:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Shruti,
Not all christians has to pray with a picture in front of them. We have our own choice on how to practice our faith, like everyone else in different religions, and as a gift of freedom from God. Being a christian, is beleiving Jesus is our Savior. I am so much happy and contented being a Christian. Jesus taught us, "love thy enemies, cos if we love only those who loves us, what reward would we get?" That's a teaching no mortal can deliver cos we human being love getting back on each other and putting down those who has different beliefs with ours.

About the movie "The passions of The Christ", what about Mel Gibson staking his own money worth 30 Million dollars, when he is not even sure people would support it? Isn't that a good proof enough that he's not after the money to begin with? And when you said the message wasn't even delivered, we Christians already know the messages of Christ's existence, no movie will be much needed. The movie is merely the graphic presentation of what history and Bible has presented about Christ's existence it was in time for the Easter Season in the year it was released. The movie could't be much more simple, actually it was the simpliest way it could be. Don't you know that the actual event is much worse? I can tell, you might even wish you wouldnt see the more accurate movie. Gibson made the movie not to brainwash anyone, (altho in some ways being brainwashed into loving christ more, is a good effect) it's meant to tell people that our cruelty to Christ is not a reason for Him to unlove us. He always loves us. His passion/crucifixion is equal to his undying and devoted love to all of God's creations. And this also serves as a wake up call. Enhance what should be, turn back to what should be. We are forgetting Christ's message of Love as obvious to how our world is now experiencing, violence. His crucifixion has happened thousand of years ago but until now we are scourgin, spitting, nailing him over and over and over again.

And one more thing, face isn't important when u believe. U doubt Christ's face when no one has ever seen God's. We don't need just vision to move and live, do we?We have more senses given by God to be used. And about Bible being changed? If let's say it was, at least it never was made into makin anyone sinful. We know what's sinful and what's not. Bible remains to mirror the path of goodness God wants us. Not because some words or sentences we're changed (im not sayin it really did)would make Christians evil. Some books are revisioned, most has the purpose of presenting additional or revised information.

Your opinions are cool. Didn't offend me much, maybe a lil. But we have our own views and that I respect. God bless =)

 

Post a Comment

<< Home