1) The first scene in the movie begins to reveal liberties taken with the "scriptures". The Bible does not say that Satan is in the garden. It never says Jesus stepped on a serpent during his non-existant confrontation with him.
It was a spiritual struggle. Remember, in our Christian walk, the struggle is not against what is seen, but what is unseen. Remember, if we are constantly in a spiritual battle, how much more of a struggle would Christ have had. If you stick only to the Bible, the only information you will have will be about that five minutes worth of reading.
2) Jesus did not fall off a cliff and look Judas in the face. Great liberties were taken to reveal the evil within Judas as well.
Yes, liberties were taken, but just because it's not in the Bible does not mean it's anti-biblical. Remember what anit-bibical is, it's something going
against the scriptures, and extra-biblical is something
not in the Bible, but does not go agaisnt the scriptures.
3) I read no account of Jesus sitting half naked joking around with his mother about a table he has made.
Of course not. There's a good twenty years of Christ's life that we haven't written about. What's against the scriptures of seeing Jesus building a table (he
was a carpenter, afterall), or joking with his mother?
I also read no accounts of Jesus studying the scriptures, obeying his mother, or eating, sleeping, or drinking during his younger years. It may not be in the Bible, but it does not go against what the Bible teaches.
4) I didn't read anywhere in the scriptures about where Mary said "So be it" when they arrested Christ.
Again, you only read about 5 minutes of 24 hours. Do you think that she just stood there calm, relaxed? No, I'm sure that she stood there in some fright, some pain, some greiving. But she delivered the Messiah! And she knew from his birth that this was to take place. She probably knew that she couldn't stop it, even if she tried. So...in order for Gibson to show this to the audience, he chose to have her say,'So be it'.
5) Mary did not have some supernatural connection with Jesus being able to tell where he was being held prisoner, even through the cold hard ground.
Now...I didn't see it as 'supernatural connection', rather as her listening for his groaning. You'd be surprised what you can hear when you put your ear pressed against some things. As for 'knowing' that he's there. Many times, when my husband tries to sneak up on me, or it's completely dark, there is a 'connection' and I know that he's there, even when's it's completely dark, and I have the van. There are some connections that you have when you love someone enough. And who's to say she didn't. She was the mother of Jesus, who is also God.
6) After Peter denied Christ 3 times he never refused to have Mary touch him because he was "unworthy"
I suspect he would have said that to anyone. To deny Christ, three times, who
would feel worthy enough to be touched by another human being, much less the mother of the person who you denied? No, these are not in the Bible, but they are not anti-biblical.
7) Mary was not reffered to as Mother (capital M) in the scriptures and never did the disciples call her that.
It may have been in the culture that you called your friend's mother, 'Mother'. When I call my mother, mother, it's with a capital letter. It is a pronoun. Proper pronoun at that. Gibson did a lot of studying of the culture of Jesus' time. No, he did not stick to just the scriptures, but if he did, there would really be much of a movie, would there? However, he did use the scriptures, and stayed true to them.
8) I didn't read about Mary running to Jesus when he fell on the cross or when he was a boy
Motherly instinct. Would you stand by and just watch your child struggle, or would you try to help them any way that you could? Again, not anti-biblical, extra-biblical.
9) No one came and had Jesus wipe his face on her shroud.
We don't know that. Only snippets of Christ's cruxification is recorded in the Gospels. There's hours upon hours upon hours not recorded there.
10) The Bible does not teach that Mary wiped up his blood with rags.
Again, could very well have been cultural. Have you studied their culture. Their culture may have been that the family and friends of the one punished was to wipe and clean up his blood. Again, not anti-biblical, extra-biblical.
11) Mary did not say she wanted to die with Christ.
Mary was alone at that time, the only family she had left was Jesus. Would you want to live if the only person left in your life was being taken away, or would you want to die with him? Would the pain within you be minute, or would it be so overwhelming, that you'd think of not wanting to live. It's still not anti-biblical, rather, it is extra-biblical.
12) The Bible doesn't say anything about Satan or his baby being there. (What is up with the baby anyway?)
What makes you think that Satan
wasn't there? His enemy was being cruxified, punished, being condemned to death. Satan's whole prerogative (can't think of a more proper word) was to make sure that Jesus was to die. Do you think that Satan thought that Jesus would rise again? Or do you think that Satan was hoping that once Christ died, that it would be just that, death. That Satan would be the winner, that God's plan would be ruined?
13) The Bible doesn't mention a bird plucking the eyes out of the other theif on the cross (the one that didn't acknowledge Christ)
It very well could have happened. The man was mocking God's son on the tree. God may have sent those birds to get him to leave Christ alone. Who knows? But it still doesn't go against the Bible. It's not contrary to the Bible. We know that he was mocked on the tree. And that he was mocked by one of the other two men on the tree.
14) In the Bible when the tomb was opened, Jesus was not there he was risen. The movie shows him sitting in the tomb.
I'm sure that Jesus
did sit down when he arose. Think about when you get up in the morning. What's one of the first things that you do when you get up? Think. First you: open your eyes. Then you: pull back the covers. Then you: sit up! Yes, you sit up,
before you stand up! It was a glimpse of the ressurection...right
after the resurrection. That's not anti-biblical, it's actually common sense.
15) The movie tried to show that Christ often got his strength from his mother. (Their eyes meet and he suddenly is able to continue) The Bible never makes such observations.
Or, it could have been that when he saw his mother, he'd remember why he was doing it. For those he loved. To save those he loved. To save his mother! To save his disciples! To save his friends! It may have been him getting strength by remembering
why he was doing this. Just because it's not in the Bible doesn't make it anti-biblical.
16) There were many other scenes with Pilate and his wife and other such "dialogues" that were NOT in the Bible.
Again...We don't know what went on behind the scenes. We can only
imagine what went on behind the scenes. We don't know what happened and said every moment, we can only
imagine what happened and what was said. These things are extra-biblical, not anti-biblical. It does not go against the message of the scriptures.
This movie was not made to 'win' individuals to Christ. Gibson even said that. It was made because Gibson needed to do it for himself. To reinforce his faith. Now, in turn, he has helped many, many, many to reinforce their faith. Watching our Lord be cruxified is not being anti-biblical, becaues if it was, then those who were at the foot of the cross would have been in error, in sin.
It is a movie that expresses what went on, and it does have some liberities, but those liberties are not anti-biblical, rather, they are extra-biblical.
In Him,
AD
