“Currently, The Passion of the Christ is riding a groundswell of nationwide support from both Evangelicals and Roman Catholics, with many well-known Evangelical congregations, such as best selling author and Pastor Rick Warren's Saddleback Church which purchased 18,000 tickets at seven theatres, doing everything they can to ensure that The Passion of the Christ will be a smash hit amongst Christians and "seekers". Expressing a widely held view amongst the film's supporters, Lisa Wheeler, associate editor of Catholic Exchange, a Web portal dedicated to Catholic evangelism, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "It's the best evangelization opportunity we've had since the actual death of Jesus."[1]

  Commenting further in the article Webb writes, “Even though Evangelicals are promoting The Passion of the Christ, it is not an Evangelical movie. As Mel Gibson, a devout Roman Catholic put it so well; "It reflects my beliefs." The Passion of the Christ is a Roman Catholic movie, made by a Roman Catholic director, with Roman Catholic theological advisers, which gained the endorsement of Pope John Paul II who said after viewing it, "It is as it was."

  In fact the actor that played the role of Jesus in the film, James Caviezel, stated in his first nationally broadcast interview that the making of the film influenced many of the crew to convert to Catholicism.[2]

Andrew Webb, in his insightful article, points out that the movie is not just based on the Bible as has been widely reported. He writes: “Although it is widely thought that the script for the movie is based entirely on the gospel according to John, this is not the case. The script for The Passion of the Christ contains much extrabiblical material, and is based in part on a mystical Roman Catholic devotional work by an 18th century German Nun (Sister Anne Emmerich) entitled The Dolorous Passion of the Christ. Gibson stated on EWTN that reading Emmerich's book was his primary inspiration for making the movie. By introducing extrabiblical elements, not only does The Passion of the Christ change some of the theological emphases of the Biblical account of Christ's crucifixion, but it will also create a false impression amongst the very "seekers" that Evangelicals are trying to reach, that things were said and done at the crucifixion that did not actually happen. For Evangelicals, who would feel very uncomfortable with a version of the Bible that put words into the mouth of Christ that He never spoke, to endorse a movie that does the very same thing seems hopelessly inconsistent. Protestants traditionally rejected the Apocrypha precisely because these books were fabricated and contained inauthentic material, despite the fact that these books might have been useful for evangelism. For modern evangelicals to embrace a vehicle that is inauthentic in order to achieve evangelistic ends indicates a serious decline in faithfulness.

The script for The Passion of the Christ not only adds things that didn't occur in the Bible, it cuts out other things that did.”

“The script of The Passion of the Christ was specifically intended to link the crucifixion of Christ with what Roman Catholics believe is the re-sacrificing of Christ that occurs in the mass. Gibson's intent is to show us that the sacrifice of the cross and the sacrifice of the altar (the mass) are the same thing. Protestant Evangelicals have historically rejected the idea that Christ can be sacrificed again and declared it "abominable."’[3]

Sister Anne Emmerich and The Dolorous Passion of the Christ

Gibson has stated that the movie is based in part on the work of one Sister Anne Emmerich entitled, The Dolorous Passion of the Christ. But who is she?

One pro-Catholic site says she was a “Mystic, Visionary, Stigmatist, Prophet The greatest visionary in the history of the Church... Anne Catherine Emmerich was told by Our Lord that her gift of seeing the past, present, and future in mystic vision was greater than that possessed by anyone else in history. Born at Flamske in Westphalia, Germany, on September 8, 1774, she became a nun of the Augustinian Order at Dulmen. She had the use of reason from her birth and could understand liturgical Latin from her first time at Mass. During the last 12 years of her life, she could eat no food except Holy Communion, nor take any drink except water, subsisting entirely on the Holy Eucharist…Anne Catherine Emmerich possessed the gift of reading hearts, and she saw, in actual, visual detail, the facts of Catholic belief which most of us simply have to accept on faith. The basic truths of the catechism--angels, devils, Purgatory, the life of Our Lord and the Blessed Mother, the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, the grace of the Sacraments--all these truths were as real to her as the material world. Her revelations make the hidden, supernatural world come alive.”[4]

The site says some of the followings things were revealed to her :

1)“She saw that the Church never has allowed children of Catholics to be raised outside her fold, and that as soon as solidly established, she banned mixed marriages.”

2) “She saw how the various indulgences we gain actually remit specific punishments which otherwise would await us in Purgatory.”

3)  “She deposes that it is more holy to pray for the Poor Souls in Purgatory than for sinners who are still alive.”

4)  “She revealed that saints are particularly powerful on their feast days and should be invoked then.”

5) “She continually saw a false church, and wicked men scheming against the Catholic Church and doing much harm--both in her own time and in the future.”

6)“She saw the revival of the priesthood and the religious orders after a period of great decadence.”

The site then quotes from some of her writings. She says, "The Church is the only one, the Roman Catholic! And if there were left upon earth but one Catholic, he would be the one, universal Church, the Catholic Church, the Church of Jesus Christ against which the gates of Hell shall never prevail."

Again she says, "Then I had the sweet assurance that Mary is the Church; the Church, our mother; God, our father; and Jesus, our brother."

Finally she says, "Mass badly celebrated is an enormous evil. Ah! it is not a matter of indifference how it is said! . . . I have had a great vision on the mystery of Holy Mass and I have seen that whatever good has existed since creation is owing to it."[5]

 Speaking of the visions of Emmerich, Gibson said, “She supplied me with stuff I never would have thought of” (The New Yorker, Sept. 15, 2003).

Again when asked by a Protestant interviewer if someone can be saved apart from the Roman Catholic Church, Gibson replied, “There is no salvation for those outside the Church” (Peter Boyer, “The Jesus War,” The New Yorker, Sept. 15. 2003).

An MSNBC article reported the following:  “Mel Gibson has come under fire for being hard on Jews in his film “The Passion of the Christ” — but apparently, he feels that Protestants are also doomed to damnation…. Gibson was interviewed by the Herald Sun in Australia, and the reporter asked the star if Protestants are denied eternal salvation. “There is no salvation for those outside the Church,” Gibson replied. “I believe it.”

He elaborated, “Put it this way. My wife is a saint. She’s a much better person than I am. Honestly. She’s, like, Episcopalian, Church of England. She prays, she believes in God, she knows Jesus, she believes in that stuff. And it’s just not fair if she doesn’t make it, she’s better than I am. But that is a pronouncement from the chair. I go with it.”[6]

PRAISES FROM PROTESTANTS

 Amazingly, after a private showing, many Protestants praised the film. “Billy Graham praised it. Mission America Coalition plans to use the movie for evangelism. Campus Crusade is promoting it. Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church in southern California purchased 18,000 tickets. The Evangelical Free Church of Naperville, Illinois, purchased more than 1,000. Two members of Wheaton Bible Church in Wheaton, Illinois, have offered to buy out two screenings of the movie at a local theater. Morris Chapman, president of the executive committee of the Southern Baptist Convention said, “I don’t know of anything since the Billy Graham crusades that has had the potential of touching so many lives.” Jack Graham, president of the Southern Baptist Convention, said, “The movie is biblical, powerful and potentially life-changing..” After Gibson showed part of the movie to a convention of the Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship, he received a standing ovation. Afterward, the daughter of the organization’s president laid hands on Gibson and asked Jesus to “bind Satan, bind the press, we ask you, Lord” (Peter Boyer, “The Jesus War,” The New Yorker, Sept. 15. 2003).

“Worship Leader magazine for Feb. 2004 offers a free guide to Gibson’s movie and says, “There has never been a film like it! Powerful, life changing, an unprecedented opportunity for evangelism & discipleship.” Robert Schuller of the Crystal Cathedral was given a private showing and afterward proclaimed, “It’s not your dream, this is God’s dream. He gave it to you, because He knew you wouldn’t throw it away. Trust Him.” The movie has been recommended by psychologist James Dobson and by Don Hodel, the current president of Focus on the Family. Ted Haggard, president of the National Evangelical Association, called Gibson “the Michelangelo of this generation.” members for $5.”

VATICAN APPROVES

“The film was shown to members of the Vatican Secretariat of State, the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and all of them expressed unanimous appreciation and approval.”[7]

PROPHET OF GOD OR SATAN

Msgr. Schmogen describes as a "mysterious power that emanated from her." …She levitated. When she entered a cloister, she was frequently seen inexplicably above the ground. She was said to "bilocate."

In vision -- or bilocation -- she saw the execution of King Louis XVI, and "visited" Marie Antoinette, queen of France, in prison. As a child, she was taken to see the suffering souls in purgatory. Historic pictures flashed before her eyes -- images like those that would spawn The Dolorous Passion, and serve to fill in details (like those in the… movie) that are not recorded in Scripture.”[8]

THE EMOTIONAL ATTACK

Jody Dean, a CBS News anchor, shared his "Perspective on 'The Passion of the Christ' in an article posted at Religion Today. He says, “I want you to know that I started in broadcasting when I was 13-years-old. I have been in the business of writing, performing, production and broadcasting for a long time. I have been a part of movies, radio, television, stage and other productions - so I know how things are done. I know about soundtracks and special effects and make-up and screenplays. But there is nothing in my existence - nothing I could have read, seen, heard, thought or known - that could have prepared me for what I saw on screen last night.

This is not a movie that anyone will "like". .. It certainly doesn't "entertain". There isn't even the sense that one has just watched a movie. What it is…an experience - on a level of primary emotion that is scarcely comprehensible. Every shred of human preconception or predisposition is utterly stripped away. No one will eat popcorn during this film. Some may not eat for days after they've seen it.

The film grabs you in the first five seconds, and never lets go. The brutality, humiliation, and gore are almost inconceivable - and still probably does not go far enough. The scourging alone seems to never end, and you cringe at the sound and splatter of every blow - no matter how steely your nerves. Even those who have known combat or prison will have trouble, no matter their experience …What you've heard about how audiences have reacted is true. There was no sound after the film's conclusion. No noise at all. No one got up. No one moved. The only sound one could hear was sobbing. In all my years of public life, I have never heard anything like that.”[9]

Woman Collapses During Showing of "The Passion Of The Christ"

Wichita                     

KAKE News

A woman collapsed in an East Wichita theatre this morning, during a showing of "The Passion Of The Christ". Peggy Law apparently suffered a heart attack. She was pronounced dead a short time later at a Wichita medical center.

Peggy Law, also known to some by her married name Peggy Scott is a respected figure in the local broadcasting community. The tragedy has hit some here at KAKE especially hard. She was a former employee.

People viewing the movie at the Warren Theatre East say Law collapsed during the portion of the movie where the crucifixion of Christ was shown.

A few off-duty doctors and nurses who were in the audience tried to revive her. But when she was taken away in the ambulance, authorities say Law still had no pulse.

The movie has been criticized for its graphic portrayal of Jesus' death. Religious leaders around the country and here in Wichita say people need to be prepared for the graphic brutality.

Whether Law's death and the timing in the film are related, we will never know, but religious and medical officials stress this film is not for the faint-hearted.”

THE ACTORS IN THE DRAMA

“The actors in this film may be unknown to American Christians who never darken the door of a movie theater, or frequent pornography websites, but they are quite well-known to the rest of the Western world which does. In fact, to say that the actors and actresses who perform in “The Passion” are well-known is an enormous understatement. Three of the actresses who have key roles in this film are not only internationally renowned actresses, but are hardcore pornography stars!  Monica Bellucci, who plays Mary Magdalene in Gibson’s “Passion” movie, is quite the rage as a European porn queen as well as “one of the hottest actresses in Hollywood” (according to one fan site). Rosita Celentano, who is the androgynous character of Satan in “The Passion”, and Claudia Gerini, who plays the role of Pilate's wife, are hardcore porn stars as well. A simple search on the internet for any one of these Italian actresses brings up numerous pornographic websites featuring photos of them posing in varying degrees of nudity, partial to full.

These disturbing matters raise not a few questions. Would a Christian film director cast hardcore pornography stars in a movie about Jesus Christ? And why has not one of the alleged “Christian” reviewers of “The Passion of the Christ” mentioned these appalling facts? Nor does the official website for “The Passion” tell the truth about Monica Bellucci’s profession, or Rosita Celentano’s, or Claudia Gerini’s. Surely Christians should have accurate information before they circulate favorable reviews of a movie (which they have not seen) via e-mail or bring their unsaved friends and acquaintances to the opening performance, which they are being pressured to do. And won’t the world be scandalized when Christians turn out in record numbers to support a movie starring Italian porn stars?  There is also the matter of Christians filling the coffers of the entertainment industry, a portion of which will go toward funding the lucrative careers of these hardcore porn queens.”[10] 

James Caviezel, “The Passion of the Christ.” Caviezel has starred in over twenty movies, including box office hits like “The Count of Monte Cristo.” He is a devout Roman Catholic who is reported to be a model of moral integrity, Caviezel has credited the Marian apparitions at Medjugorje as his inspiration for taking on the role of Jesus. In this Croatian village in Bosnia-Hercegovina, numerous apparitions of Mary, the mother of Jesus, have been reported since June 24, 1981.

THE DEEPER MEANING

One writer has noted, “Gibson’s extra-biblical sources are prudently omitted from the “rave reviews” and other promotionals targeting the Christian market, which may not suspect there is false doctrine in the script until it’s too late. An altogether different gospel may emerge than that which Christians have endorsed — sight unseen.”

 The same writer explains how the occult powers often use movies to veil occult teachings. Writings of the “Matrix Reloaded” he explains: “In “The Matrix Reloaded”, which set a new opening box office record ($42.5M), Monica Belluci’s role as wife of “The Merovingian” conveyed an esoteric message to occultists everywhere, who won’t need subtitles to understand the Aramaic/Latin script of Mel Gibson’s “The Passion.” A contributing editor of the Wall Street Journal wrote, “This is a story marked by, among other things, a certain amount of intrigue, and some of it is like something out of ‘The DaVinci Code’.” Although Peggy Noonan was referring to the equivocations of the Vatican regarding Gibson’s movie (and whether or not John-Paul II said after viewing the film, “It is as it was”) the reference to Dan Brown’s DaVinci Code should not go unnoticed. (Incidentally, should the Vatican in Rome be issuing favorable comments about a film starring an Italian porn queen?”

  What is the DaVinci Code? The writer answers, “The DaVinci Code is a best-selling Merovingian novel in which hidden clues in DaVinci’s paintings lead to the discovery of a secret which promises to “shake the foundations of Christianity.” (Leonardo DaVinci was Grand Master of the Prieuré de Sion, the high command of secret societies, from 1510 to 1519.)”[11]

  After providing more information, to lengthy for this paper, the writer continues, “From the evidence gathered so far, “The Passion of The Christ” would appear to be a mind control operation of international proportions. Mel Gibson said of his film, “I wanted it to be shocking. And I also wanted it to be extreme. I wanted it to push the viewer over the edge.” The ABC Primetime camera showed scenes of visibly distraught people who had just previewed “The Passion” in church settings, with the comment that “many react to the film with ecstasy and weeping.” The preview sessions were held primarily in Evangelical and Catholic churches, where experience-based spirituality is fast replacing the teaching of sound Bible doctrine.”

  Alice Bailey, basically an Illumaniti (Secret Society) High Priestess, wrote in The Externalisation of the Hierarchy, “that “the Christian church in its many branches can serve as a nucleus through which world illumination may be accomplished.” In The Emerging Order, Jeremy Rifkin specifically identified the Evangelical Church as the vehicle through which the New World Order would be birthed.”[12]

  “Trauma-based mind control programmers and Satanic ritual abusers know that viewing graphic violence triggers dissociative states in their victims. This is especially true when victims are forced to watch the torture and/or death of a loved one. Dissociation is a disconnection from full awareness of self, time, and/or external circumstances––a mental condition that is fertile ground for altered states of consciousness. Victims of trauma-based mind control are so overwhelmed that they must “go somewhere else” mentally. In such a state, a person may become agitated, programmed or even demonized to commit acts of violence that would otherwise be unthinkable. Less violent portrayals of the Crucifixion in medieval passion plays frequently sparked anti-Semitic violence in Europe. Images of the excessive violence done to Jesus in “The Passion of the Christ” may flash across the mind of susceptible persons for long periods of time after viewing the film, triggering latent reactions of hatred and revenge.”

  Diane Sawyer asked Mel Gibson rhetorically, “It’s your hand in the film holding the nail?”, he answered: “It is, yeah. My left hand. In Italian, ‘sinistra’ or sinister hand.” He explained this as footage was being shown from the “film in which Gibson’s left hand held the nail which pierced the hand of Christ, as a hammer pounded it into the cross. Although Gibson put a Biblical gloss on his reasons for doing this, he gave his true intentions away through an esoteric allusion.”

In the occult underground, there is a Satanist warrior order called the Ordo Sinistra Vivendi or “Order of the Left Hand Path,” which practices ‘Black Magick’ and promotes rebellion against Christ and His Church. left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.” To these Satanists, “Left Hand Path” means “Anima/Yin, feminine principle of the universe, intuitive, receptive, dark” and, according to the OSV, “The sinister Way recognises the need to restore balance through opposition (heresy); to create through destruction... The best-known archetype of opposition to stasis is Satan...”

  In fact one Ordo Sinistra Vivendi Website says: “The Order consists of both men and women who are bound by the will to progress (in times past this past was the original meaning of evil, to go beyond). The OSV is proudly European in Tradition and outlook. What we offer are not answers of solutions but an understanding, over time, of the forces that create and cause change in the world. Because we see things as they really are, we are regarded by many with fear and skepticism, this is the nature of genuine heresy. It opposes and accuses, that is the way of our Prince
 

 The site continues : “The term sinister is derived from Latin and translates as 'to the left' or in the context of the occult) in opposition to the status-quo. That which goes against the prevailing current. The Sinister Path is Natures Path, it is the way of balance in the biological and social organism. In the past these differing aspects of the 'whole' (male or virile and female or distaff) have been duelized, separated and given a false morality. The main proponent of the unnatural balance is the Judeo-Christian church and it's sickly Magian cult. The Fiery Path is the metaphysical and practical synthesis of the polarities of life, it is the interplay of life and death, dark _and_ light, it is struggle and overcoming. “We seek to restore balance to both the individual adherent and the societies of the Western civilization.
We oppose those creeds political and religious which would see the societies of the west subversive.
We will create that which has value beyond tomorrow.”

“The Passion of the Christ” is a thoroughly Satanic production, and occultists worldwide know exactly what Mel Gibson meant by “‘sinistra’ or sinister hand” as well as many other esoteric signs attending, not only this film, but the entire genre of occult films that are inundating movie theaters.”[13]

2Thess 2:7-12

God Bless

K.M. Henry