Question:

Answer:

I would fully agree with you on this. Why? Because it will not be a film that tells the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. And anything less than exactly that is dishonoring to God and to Christ. In the Bible we have the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. And it is the will of God that our faith - and our concept of Him and of His Son Jesus Christ - be formed by that Word alone. That is why God chose the foolishness of preaching - not painting and not dramatic play acting - to save sinners. Just as the greatest artist who ever lived (lives, or will live) cannot really paint a picture of Christ (but only a picture of his own imagination of what he thinks Christ looked like), so no film maker can really depict the person and work of Christ. Always in representations of Christ (other than the divinely inspired account of the Bible itself) there is error, distortion and untruth. It is also, always, an evidence of apostasy from the truth when men want this sort of thing (images, pictures, dramatic representations,and the like) instead of churches that faithfully preach God's Word.

John Calvin was right when he said the sinful mind of man is a veritable factory of idolatry. People love to worship a Christ of their own creation instead of the Christ of Scripture. And it is clear evidence of the decadence of the times in which we live that so many Evangelical Christians are enthralled with such things. The ironic thing is that Islamic people seem to have more consciousness of the evil of trying to depict God than many Christians.

Thank you for your concern! (GIW)

See also "Outline of Adult Bible School Class on Mel Gibson's 'The Passion of the Christ'" by the Rev. William Shishko, pastor of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church of Franklin Square, New York and a member of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church Committee on Christian Education.