Dear sir:
I was very disturbed to see in the Fort Frances Times a review of a movie the writer had not seen, making judgments on the motives of the director and the people who go to see it (“‘The Passion’ only feeds our passion for violence, March 3”).
She does not understand that the violence in this movie is of a different order from any other, and to measure this film in the same way one would any other ‘R’-rated movie indicates she has missed the entire point (of this movie she did not see).
To watch a cinematic portrayal of great suffering that has no purpose or redemptive value is destructive, but Jesus Christ is Purpose and Redemptive Value personified.
We are shaken not only to see a man in the worst imaginable circumstances, but we are challenged by the fact that He kept His head, remembered His purpose, and even prayed for those who were in the act of killing Him.
This is the violence that counts because it dealt the final blow to the kingdom of darkness from which it will never recover. And this is the violence on which we need to concentrate as we enforce His victory on this earth, “leading lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God.” (2 Peter 3:12-13)
“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” Will we lay down our lives and come against evil by drinking the cup of His suffering, picking up our cross daily, and putting our love for Him above all affection for family, goods, and even this life itself?
Do those of us who say “yes” to Him really count the cost?
Thank you, and God bless you.
(Signed),
Jean Clink
Barwick, Ont.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
