the daily snivel
No Passion for Rob
Tonight my principles finally won out over my runaway affection. Some friends, including a certain colleague for whom I have strong, unrequited, and utterly hopeless feelings, had been planning to go see "The Passion of the Christ" on account of them being good guilt-ridden Catholics (and, in one friend's case, just a big fan of bloody zombie movies). I had, up until this point, allowed myself to be talked into coming along, despite an earlier conscious choice not to see the film.
Now, to those who have seen it and found it inspiring I say, well, more power to you, and to Mel Gibson. But for me, the movie sends entirely the wrong message about the life, teachings and suffering of Jesus Christ. I am not a religious person, but the humility, compassion, tolerance, and wisdom expressed in Jesus' ministry are values I applaud and cherish (and additionally lament the general absence of in everyday life, particularly among the most devout). After all, the movie is based as much on writings given almost no spiritual weight by the Vatican as on the Gospels. Much of the movie is inspired by The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ After the Meditations of Anne Catherine Emmerich, who was a 19th century Augustinian nun. The book was published nine years after her death by the German Romantic poet Clemens Brentano, who frequently sat at Emmerich's bedside while she had visions. While Emmerich herself is well on the way towards beatification (which is to say, Sainthood), her writings are generally discounted by the Church as inauthentic because of the evidence that Brentano coloured his books with information provided by maps, travel books, and biblical apocrypha. See, for example, the following article: http://www.americamagazine.org/articles/omalley-emmerich.cfm.
But, because a certain someone was intending to see the movie, I was wishy-washily thinking about going to see it, too. Which is absolutely ridiculous, and that only struck me today. Why should I do anything, particularly attending a movie I am personally opposed to spending money on or even seeing, just because a girl I presently like is doing it? Somewhere, somehow, I found myself some backbone when it comes to the opposite sex and letting friends down (my two greatest weaknesses). So, when the call came in this evening to go see the movie, I told a little white lie about not feeling well, and stayed home with my dear friend Mélanie and my cat, and we went through her many travel photos from a trip to New York this past weekend.
And then the plans fell through anyway, so my resolve was pretty much for naught.
And then I promised myself that I won't go next time, either, because no person (however lovely and funny and clever and pleasant-smelling) is worth that much bloody blasphemy.
For a review of the movie that I rather liked, click here: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2004/04/16/notes041604.DTL&nl=fix
Now, to those who have seen it and found it inspiring I say, well, more power to you, and to Mel Gibson. But for me, the movie sends entirely the wrong message about the life, teachings and suffering of Jesus Christ. I am not a religious person, but the humility, compassion, tolerance, and wisdom expressed in Jesus' ministry are values I applaud and cherish (and additionally lament the general absence of in everyday life, particularly among the most devout). After all, the movie is based as much on writings given almost no spiritual weight by the Vatican as on the Gospels. Much of the movie is inspired by The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ After the Meditations of Anne Catherine Emmerich, who was a 19th century Augustinian nun. The book was published nine years after her death by the German Romantic poet Clemens Brentano, who frequently sat at Emmerich's bedside while she had visions. While Emmerich herself is well on the way towards beatification (which is to say, Sainthood), her writings are generally discounted by the Church as inauthentic because of the evidence that Brentano coloured his books with information provided by maps, travel books, and biblical apocrypha. See, for example, the following article: http://www.americamagazine.org/articles/omalley-emmerich.cfm.
But, because a certain someone was intending to see the movie, I was wishy-washily thinking about going to see it, too. Which is absolutely ridiculous, and that only struck me today. Why should I do anything, particularly attending a movie I am personally opposed to spending money on or even seeing, just because a girl I presently like is doing it? Somewhere, somehow, I found myself some backbone when it comes to the opposite sex and letting friends down (my two greatest weaknesses). So, when the call came in this evening to go see the movie, I told a little white lie about not feeling well, and stayed home with my dear friend Mélanie and my cat, and we went through her many travel photos from a trip to New York this past weekend.
And then the plans fell through anyway, so my resolve was pretty much for naught.
And then I promised myself that I won't go next time, either, because no person (however lovely and funny and clever and pleasant-smelling) is worth that much bloody blasphemy.
For a review of the movie that I rather liked, click here: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2004/04/16/notes041604.DTL&nl=fix
