Beyond the Blood: The Real Meaning of The Passion of the Christ

Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ has generated widespread reaction from both secular and Christian critics. For the most part the reviews have been positive-appropriately so. Secular reviewers, while not always appreciative of Gibson's pro-Catholic, pro-Christian perspective, at least appreciate the cinematographic power of the film. Christian reviewers, especially evangelical Christians, praise the film for its accurate portrayal of the suffering Jesus Christ endured. The response of the general public has been overwhelmingly positive. Already, both attendance and revenue records are being set. Mel Gibson is to be commended for producing a significant, impactive motion picture that compels an emotional response from the viewers. Without question, the most talked about feature of the film is its graphic nature. The movie is two hours of relentless, wanton brutality with almost nonstop bloodshed, anguish and torture. Only the most unfeeling individual could watch this film and not have an emotional response. The blood of Christ is particularly prominent throughout the film. From the pool of blood that covered the ground following His flogging...to the droplet of blood that dripped down over his eyes after He was crowned with thorns...to the flow of blood that spewed from His side on the cross...His blood is everywhere. What is the significance of Christ's blood? The movie does not answer this question clearly. But the Bible-Gibson's inspiration for the film-does. God's Word indicates that there can be no forgiveness of sins without the shedding of blood (Heb. 9:22). Jesus' death was more than just the senseless and cruel murder of an innocent man at the hands of a misguided Jewish mob. Jesus' death was God's means of providing redemption for all of mankind! By His death, Jesus paid the penalty for the sins of mankind once and for all. By His resurrection, He defeated death and earned the right to provide eternal salvation to all who will freely receive it. What distinguishes Christianity from every other religion known to man is that Christianity is the only religion that adequately solves mankind's sin problem. The reality of evil in the heart of man scarcely needs to be asserted. Even a casual glance at the daily news makes this self-evident. Every human being is born with an evil nature that results in a proclivity for sin. The problem is mankind can never enter heaven in such a sinful condition. Furthermore, no amount of self-effort can attain the kind of perfect righteousness that heaven demands. So in the greatest demonstration of true love, God sent His Son, born of a virgin, to die as a substitute for fallen mankind at Calvary. Today, all who trust Jesus Christ to give them the gift of forgiveness and eternal life are declared-at the moment they place their faith in Him-totally and completely righteous. Personal salvation is by faith alone in Christ alone...nothing more...nothing less. Thus, the message of Gibson's movie, while graphic in nature, is really a message of hope. Because Jesus suffered and bled and died on our behalf, we can have our sins forgiven and receive the free gift of eternal life. Have you placed your faith in Jesus Christ for your personal salvation?

Generation in a Mess

The reason we have this mess in our generation is not because youth in our generation are not getting enough nutrition or education, RATHER IT IS BECAUSE OF AN ALL OUT RAGING WAR BETWEEN THE FORCES OF HEAVEN OR HELL, and our generation is right in the middle of this Crisis.

Is the Bible the Truth, here are some of the Disussions.

"Somebody ought to tell the truth about the Bible. The preachers dare not, because they would be driven from their pulpits. Professors in colleges dare not, because they would lose their salaries. Politicians dare not. They would be defeated. Editors dare not. They would lose subscribers. Merchants dare not, because they might lose customers. Men of fashion dare not, fearing that they would lose caste. Even clerks dare not, because they might be discharged. And so I thought I would do it myself.
" Col. Robert G. Ingersoll, The Works of Robert Ingersoll (453)

"Whenever we read the obscene stories, the voluptuous debaucheries, the cruel and tortuous executions, the unrelenting vindictiveness, with which more than half the Bible is filled, it would be more consistent that we called it the word of a demon than the word of God. It is a history of wickedness, that has served to corrupt and brutalize mankind; and, for my part, I sincerely detest it, as I detest everything that is cruel.
" Thomas Paine, The Age of Reason

"The Bible is not the 'word of God,' but stolen from pagan sources. Its Eden, Adam and Eve were taken from the Babylonian accounts; its Flood and Deluge is but an epitome of some four hundred flood accounts; its Ark and Ararat have their equivalents in a score of Deluge myths; even the names of Noah's sons are copies, so also Isaac's sacrifice, Solomon's judgment, and Samson's pillar acts; its Moses is fashioned after the Syrian Mises; its laws after Hammurabi's code. Its Messiah is derived from the Egyptian Mahdi, Savior, certain verses are verbatim copies of Egyptian scriptures. Between Jesus and the Egyptian Horus, Gerald Massy found 137 similarities, and those between Christ and Krishna run into the hundreds. How then can the Bible be a revelation to the Jews?" Lloyd Graham, Deceptions and Myths of the Bible

Intimacy

In today’s society, intimacy means practically nothing more than having sex. Couples meet and immediately begin enjoying sexual intercourse, committing either to immoral hedonism or to the idea that sex will serve as the foundation for love. This goes a long way toward explaining why so many marriages, built on no stronger foundation than sexual thrills, end in divorce soon after the flames of passion have died down.

One Request.

“I have but one request to make, and that is that you will persevere. I implore you to maintain your zeal and never let it go. I urge you never to stop doing the things you did at first, never to leave your first love, never let it be said of you that the things that you did in the first part of your Christian life were better than the things you did in your latter years. Beware of cooling down. All you have to do is to be lazy, and to sit still, and you will soon lose all your zeal. You will soon become another person from what you are now. Oh, don’t think that this is a needless exhortation!”