I don't think you have to endure an hour of spectating helplessly while someone is beat to a pulp in front of you. Maybe it's all right to inflict that on those who are incapable of grasping the concept without the full catastrophe, but most of us get the idea in the first ten seconds. Gibson is a bully, or a sadist, and I won't add myself to the number of his victims.

So you haven't seen the movie yet? I'm not trying to be confrontational here, but many of the reviews I've read have said that it's a very stirring movie. It's not sadistic, just brutally honest.

Yeah, brutally honest. I think one can draw the lesson without sharing the brutality.

I don't know about that. Christian doctrine says that Christ died for man's sins, and a lot of people today think "Oh, he was nailed to a cross." But there was a lot more than that. The bible even speaks of Jesus being whipped by the Romans, and historicly the Roman whippings were often lethal.

And to be honest, when compared to modern movies (like Kill Bill or Windtalkers, for recent examples) I can't say that this movie is any bloodier than much of what comes from Hollywood these days.

Wow, IS, you really miss the point. For example, my grad school degree rarely helps me do my job, but I couldn't have been hired w/o it. Sometimes it's better to endure things, though you already know the facts intellectually.

In the last 30 min, I couldn't wait for the movie to end. A few hours later, I wanted to see it again. It's the least I can do.

On a blegging note, a friend told me that original scripture suggests Christ was beaten until he was "unrecognizable." Gibson did not go that far. Does anyone know if this is accurate? Thanks!

It's from the prophecies in Isaiah 52 and 53. Isaiah 52:14 says "So His appearance was marred more than any other man", in the Bible translation I have. It could be clearer in other translations but is taken to mean Jesus was beaten until unrecognizable and people who saw him were shocked. Isaiah 53 then goes into much more prophetic detail about what Jesus suffered before he died.

NIV:
As many were astonished at him--his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the sons of men

I'd rather focus on the resurrection. You know, when Jesus woke up in the tomb and realized, "I'm alive. Damn, I have to tell people about this."

My almost-14-year-old daughter went to see the movie last week with a few friends from school and their mother. I warned my daughter alot beforehand and hoped she would be able to take the gore. I wouldn't have ever allowed her to go to any 18A/R-rated movie except that this one had huge redeeming Christian qualities. She DID survive it very well (but she doesn't recommend it for me as I am more wimpy). The bunch of girls went through half a kleenex box and they don't obviously want to see the movie again. However I believe it really helped their faith to be able to SEE what Jesus could have suffered for us in a visual way. The creed just says "he suffered and was buried". Now they KNOW what that means.

I am going to definitely buy the DVD when it comes out. My daughter recommends that I see the first half hour and the last 5 minutes. People have said how wonderful it is to see 'Jesus' alive again in that last 5 minutes, after watching all that suffering and brutality. That last 5 minutes makes the movie - and it really is the core of our Christian faith.