Originally posted by divegeester
I can understand a documentary making the TV airwaves, but a movie about abortion...nope, not a moneymaker. No controversy there in my mind.
But about The Last Temptaion of Christ, what about it did you find to be an "abomination"?
The last temptation of Christ was not a very good movie. The only reason it sold a lot of seats is because of the controversy. Here is a taste.
Christians were offended by more than one aspect of The Last Temptation of Christ. Particular incidents and dialogue were offensive, but the entire world view and theology of both the book (by Nikos Kazantzakis) and the movie (directed by Martin Scorsese) were objectionable as well.
For many Christians, the most repugnant elements in the movie are those in the hallucination sequence in which Jesus, while suffering on the cross, envisions himself as having denied the road to Calvary and having lived a "normal" life instead. He visualizes himself as having married Mary Magdalene and having sexual relations with her. She then dies abruptly and he marries the other Mary, Martha's sister. Later, when this Mary is out of the house, Jesus has an adulterous affair with Martha.
For obvious reasons, this sequence is deeply insulting and offensive to Christians. But the rest of the movie is little better, for the Jesus portrayed throughout is a fetid counterfeit of the biblical Jesus. At the very beginning, Jesus is depicted as a coward and traitor, working with the Romans by making crosses for their many crucifixions. Judas, a heroic and honorable figure in the film, castigates Jesus for this:
Judas: You're a disgrace. Romans can't find anybody else to make crosses, except for you. You do it. You're worse than them! You're a Jew killing Jews. You're a coward! How will you ever pay for your sins?
Jesus: With my life, Judas. I don't have anything else.
This rendition of Jesus as a sinner like any other man is a dominant theme in the movie. In different places, Jesus both confesses his sins and asks various people for forgiveness. In one scene, Jesus is in the desert with a group of ascetics, to whom he confesses: "I'm a liar, a hypocrite; I'm afraid of everything. I don't ever tell the truth, I don't have the courage....I don't steal, I don't fight, I don't kill — not because I don't want to — but because I'm afraid. I want to rebel against you, against everything, against God, but I'm afraid. You want to know who my mother and father is? You want to know who my God is? Fear! You look inside me and that's all you'll find."
The Jesus of this movie is simply a man, someone chosen by God to become the Messiah, the Christ. He is not God, but slowly becomes divine by following God's will. He is portrayed as a weak, mentally-tormented, sin-ridden person. This Jesus seems to teach universalism, that everyone will be saved. And he plots his own martyrdom with Judas, much against Judas's wishes, so that he can become the Savior.
The historical Jesus — the Jesus of Scripture and of the Christian creeds — bears no resemblance to the sinful and cowardly Jesus of Martin Scorsese. The Gospel of Luke tells us that Jesus did not become the Messiah or Christ; rather, He was the Christ from birth. Likewise, He did not become a Savior. The angelic proclamation was, "For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:11, NKJV).
The New Testament witnesses attest that Jesus is eternal God become a man to die and atone for our sins (John 1:1,14; 5:18; 8:56-58; 10:30-34; 20:28; Mark 2:1-11; Phil. 2:5-11; Col. 1:16-18; 2:9; Matt. 20:28; etc.). Jesus is described by all who knew Him as being perfect and sinless (1 Pet. 2:22; Heb. 4:15; 2 Cor. 5:21; John 8:46).
Likewise, His entire life was devoted to the truth. Jesus said of Himself: "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). Elsewhere, Jesus excoriates His enemies as following their father, the Devil, "for he is a liar and the father of it" (John 8:44).
The mockery of Jesus which Scorsese offers is completely foreign to the
pages of the New Testament, which is the only authentic source for knowledge of the subject. It is extremely affronting to the historical Christian faith, which worships Jesus as Lord and God!
Scorsese attempted to deflect criticism by issuing the following disclaimer at the beginning of the film: "This film is not based on the Gospels but is a fictional exploration of the eternal spiritual conflict." However, this hardly assuages the personal feelings trampled on by the blatantly offensive and unhistorical representation given.
I suppose the Gosnell movie could have generated the same level of controversy, if only the press would have covered it like they did the Last Temptation of Christ movie being a controversy, but they would never do that. They would prefer to ignore the movie altogether and not let people know it is out there to see.
Dr. Gosnell movie
07 Dec '16 22:342 edits
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