Mel Gibson's "Anointing"
by Sandy Simpson, 3/10/04


Ted Haggard and other Third Wave heretic Christian leaders claimed, along with Mel Gibson, that Gibson had an "anointing" from the Holy Spirit to do "The Passion Of The Christ".  He said on June 29, 2003 when Mel visited his New Life Church in Colorado Springs, CO:

Mel Gibson brings movie to city's church leaders

Actor Mel Gibson has been getting closer to God.

On Thursday, that led him to Colorado Springs, where he visited New Life Church and Focus on the Family and previewed his upcoming film, "The Passion."

Gibson, star of such films as the "Lethal Weapon" series and "Braveheart," said it was his Christian faith that inspired "The Passion," which depicts the final 12 hours in the life of Christ.

"I'm not a preacher and I'm not a pastor," Gibson said. "But I really feel my career was leading me to make this. The Holy Ghost was working through me on this film, and I was just directing traffic. I hope the film has the power to evangelize."

Although the film won't be released until March, Gibson brought it to Colorado Springs - a national hub of evangelical Christianity - for one day to make sure its depiction of the Gospel was acceptable to leaders at Focus on the Family and to hundreds of church leaders, including Ted Haggard, New Life's pastor and president of the National Evangelical Association.

"It conveys, more accurately than any other film, who Jesus was," Haggard said based on clips he viewed at New Life. "You can't help but be upset when you realize the gravity of what Jesus went through."

As a Hollywood superstar, Gibson carries quite a bit of gravity himself. As word spread he was at Focus on the Family screening the film, almost 300 giddy staff members and visitors gathered outside the visitor's center, hoping to catch a glimpse and get an autograph.

Gibson financed the $25-million film, which is seeking a distributor. He co-wrote the script, directed and produced the movie, which stars James Caviezel, a lesser known actor, as Christ.

On Thursday, he received feedback on the film, which has generated a buzz because it was shot in the Aramaic language of the time. Gibson, who has said the film will "transcend language barriers with visual story telling," wants to release it without subtitles.

But subtitles were in place during Thursday's showing for a small audience at the Focus on the Family visitor's center, and local religious leaders told him those subtitles should stay in place to help spread the movie's message to those not familiar with the story.

Based on the reaction of those who saw the film, they enthusiastically endorse it.

"I was very impressed," said Don Hodel, president of Focus on the Family. "It's certainly the most powerful portrayal of the passion I've ever seen or heard about. The movie is historically and theologically accurate."

Wearing a gray shirt and black slacks, Gibson appeared on stage at New Life Church before the screening to address an audience of more than 800 ministers gathered for the Life Giving Leadership Conference, an annual event.

He was candid in relating how events more than a decade ago led him to become a more committed Christian.

"I've been pastor at New Life Church for 18 years, and I don't remember anyone displaying a fear of God on our platform the way Mel did today," Haggard said.

A Catholic, Gibson attended Mass every morning during shooting because "we had to be squeaky clean just working on this," he said.

"It was a strange mixture of the most difficult thing I've ever done, along with this incredible ease," Gibson said. "Everyone who worked on this movie was changed. There were agnostics and Muslims on set converting to Christianity."

When Haggard thanked Gibson for making the film, Gibson said, "I was afraid not to."

(By KAMON SIMPSON- THE GAZETTE,  http://www.gazette.com/popupNews.php?id=408774, CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0367 or ksimpson@gazette.com)

First of all, the historical accuracy of this film is not very good.  Please refer to the many other fine reviews of this movie in the "Book Reviews" section of this web site under "The Passion Of The Christ". There is no need for me to go over the unbiblical details of this movie.  The fact that the president of the NAE, Ted Haggard and other Christian leaders like Jim Dobson could not discern the unbiblical aspects of the film proves they have little or no discernment on biblical matters.  They also allowed him to claim, from their pulpit, that "the Holy Spirit was working through me on this film".  Then they went on to say that Gibson displayed more "fear of God" than anyone who has spoken in their church before.  Now that IS scary!  We should all be afraid of people like Ted Haggard, especially when he states that "You can't help but be upset when you realize the gravity of what Jesus went through."  If Ted is not preaching "what Jesus went through" from his pulpit, then he is not preaching the Gospel!

Others have also claimed the film itself has an anointing.

The acting, directing, and overall quality of the movie is excellent, but there is more to it than that. There is an anointing on it. Even before I saw it, I knew it had the power to begin changing Christianity. I know this may sound like a wild exaggeration, but I believe it to be true. It is my earnest prayer that every Christian will see this movie. (Rick Joyner "Mel Gibson's 'The Passion' Has the Power to Bring a Change to Christianity", http://www.elijahlist.com/words/display_word_pf.html?ID=1874)
False prophets like Rick Joyner obviously have no idea what the Anointing is all about.  There is no such thing as an "anointing" on a film, because the Anointing is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in a person because of the Anointed One, Jesus Christ.  This is just one of the many ridiculous assertions about The Passion by International Coalition of Apostles members.

Also troubling is all the violence in the film.  Mel Gibson has a long track record of violent films. The following chart contains most of the cinematic films Mel Gibson has acted in or directed.  The ratings for SEX & NUDITY, VIOLENCE & GORE and PROFANITY come from Kid-in-mind.com and are rated on a 1-10 scale with 1 being the least amount and 10 being the greatest.
 
TITLE  YEAR RATING SEX & NUDITY VIOLENCE & GORE PROFANITY
The Passion Of The Christ 2004 R 1 10 1
The Singing Detective  2003 R 8 4 5
Signs  2002 PG-13 1 5 4
We Were Soldiers  2002 R 3 9 5
Patriot, The 2000 R 2 10 2
Chicken Run 2000 G 1 4 1
What Women Want  2000 PG-13 7 3 5
Payback 1999 R 6 9 8
Lethal Weapon 4 1998 R 2 8 8
Conspiracy Theory  1997 R 1 6 5
FairyTale: A True Story  1997 PG 0 2 2
Fathers' Day 1997 PG-13 3 3 3
Ransom 1996 R 2 8 7
Pocahontas  1995 G 1 3 0
Braveheart 1995 R 6 10 2
Casper 1995 PG 1 4 1
Maverick  1994 PG 2 3 3
Man Without a Face, The 1993 PG-13 3 1 5
Forever Young 1992 PG 2 3 2
Lethal Weapon 3 1992 R 2 6 7
AVERAGES 2.65 5.55 3.8

I generally don't allow my teenagers to see any movies with a rating of sex of more than 2, of violence more than 4, and profanity more than 2.  That should give you the guidelines I use.  Sometimes I have found that PG-13 movies can be worse for sex and profanity than some R movies rated for violence.  I made one exception for The Patriot because I felt it contained some valuable historical lessons.  I also allowed them to see The Passion Of The Christ, but with warnings that it contained extreme violence.  But as you can see, given an average rating for Gibson films since 1992, I would not allow my kids to see most of the films Gibson has directed or acted in. The only reason his ratings are not higher are because of the G rated films he generally did voice-over work for.  His normal cinematic films tend to be very violent, and sometimes displaying needless violence, which I would say is even true for The Passion.  I don't like my kids exposed to that kind of thing, and I think that the violence in The Passion is of a voyeuristic nature because all the blood, gore, worms crawling out noses, rotting animal corpses, hanging, demonic beings that looked disgusting, people laughing while Jesus' blood was gushing all over the place and other stuff was for effect and to make money.  So did the Holy Spirit cause Mel Gibson to make a movie like The Passion that is an R rated movie and has the highest violence rating possible?  You be the judge.

The above filmography does not cover his earlier films as I was unable to obtain ratings in the three categories for those years.  His earlier films include: Air America, Lethal Weapon 2, Tequila Sunrise, Lethal Weapon, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, The Bounty, The River, Attack Force Z, The Year of Living Dangerously, Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, Gallipoli, The Chain Reaction, Mad Max, Tim, Summer City.  Many of these films were extremely violent, full of profanity and not without sex and nudity.

And while we are on the subject of Mad Max 1, 2 & 3, Mel's next big film is a return to the Mad Max formula called "Mad Max - Fury Road" which will undoubtedly be rated R and contain a rating of 8-10 for violence.  Now, if Mel Gibson was driven by the Holy Spirit to make The Passion, wouldn't there be a lasting effect in his later work, meaning he would tend to QUIT MAKING VIOLENT SEXUALLY PERVERSE PROFANE MOVIES?  Some Christians who want to apparently defend this film to their dying breath are claiming Mel has said he will no longer make violent, filthy films.  But Mad Max 4 will be extremely violent and is a scheduled $100 million plus movie.  There is a possibility that Mad Max 4 will be put on the back burner for awhile because of location problems, but look at Mel's next acting project:

Prospects of Mel Gibson returning to the screen in his Mad Max persona faded today (Tuesday) when Daily Variety reported that the actor is in talks with Warner Bros. to star in Under and Alone, about an ATF undercover agent who infiltrated a motorcycle gang. Gibson had originally intended to shoot Mad Max: Fury Road in the southern Africa country of Namibia in May but halted preproduction citing security concerns following the outbreak of war with Iraq. Production offices in Swakopmund were shut down, dozens of contracts and leases for homes, apartments, car rentals, and caterers were canceled, and sets built for the $100-million movie were warehoused. Gibson later plunged into post-production of his biblical film The Passion, seemingly snuffing out the fire on the back burner, where the Mad Max feature had been placed. It had been reported earlier that Gibson decided to shoot the film in Namibia because George Lucas had booked all available studio space at Fox Studios in Australia to shoot Star Wars: Episode 3. Lucas completed principal production there last week. (http://www.countingdown.com/movies/2752480/news?item_id=3212551)
"Under And Alone" will also certainly be a violent R-rated film with profanity and sex since it is about a motorcycle gang.  Where is this changed life that Christians are claiming for Mel Gibson?  Where did the "anointing" go?

I would also like to ask, where are ANY truly born again people who were saved as a result of seeing The Passion?  It is an emotional experience, to be sure, but my prediction is that life will go on and lives will not be significantly changed due to the film, because emotional appeals are ALWAYS transitory.  What will happen, and what has been predicted by many reviewers, is that there will be a renewed fascination of many for the Roman Catholic Church as a result of the focus of this film on Mary and the book that inspired Gibson to make the film.  This is not the result true biblical believers are looking for.

Another very serious point is that Mel's continuation in the "violence-for-profit" genre was his use of pornography actors and a bisexual for The Passion.

MONICA BELLUCCI (MARY MAGDALENE)

It seems that one has had to star in a Dracula movie in order to qualify for casting as Mary or Mary Magdalene, since both Ms. Morgenstern and Ms. Bellucci were cast in Joe Chapelle's television special Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula (2000) and the American remake of Dracula (1992) respectively! Ms. Bellucci is not just a typical porn star, but perhaps the most vile in the history of mass-market movie-making.  Consider this excerpt from Steve Rhodes' (www.InternetReviews.com) review.

"Irreversible (co-starring Monica Bellucci) makes pure pornography look pretty appealing in comparison."

Consider also these excerpts from a press release from the Society for the Promotion of Community Standards (www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PO0303/S00182.htm).

"Premiered at last years Cannes Film Festival, 'Irreversible' proved so shocking that 250 people walked out, some needing medical attention" and (this movie is) "hard-core pornography." Ms. Bellucci insists that her father, who was at the premiere, enjoyed it. 'It was hard for him to watch, but he loved it', she said."

This praise by Bellucci's father is staggering when one considers he witnessed her being raped and sodomized in this film for a full ten minutes without interruption!  I wonder what James Dobson's reaction would be if this was his daughter he was watching in "Irreversible", and who would also be playing the part of Mary Magdalene?

In Irreversible (2002), she stars with her husband in a movie "with two of the most horrific scenes in cinematic history", according to film critic Steve Rhodes.  Rhodes, among other things, says that "Irreversible makes pure pornography look pretty appealing in comparison" and "nothing in this sleazy film is worthwhile".  See www.InternetReviews.com.

In the movie's "big" scene, Bellucci's character is raped and sodomized with a knife at her throat with almost no editing or camera movement for between five and ten minutes, depending on which reviewer is being cited.  Bellucci is on record as insisting that her father, who was at the premiere, enjoyed it.  "It was hard for him to watch, but he loved it", she said. I wonder what James Dobson's reaction would be if it was his daughter he was watching in the role of Mary Magdalene, and then was given a video of Irreversible, where he would see her raped and sodomized in graphic detail?

Jack Graham, Billy Graham, and all the other "leaders" who have endorsed this Hollywood/Catholic production should heed the words of the true Jesus Christ (not the Hollywood/Catholic Icon):  "Because thou sayest I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:  I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and annoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.  As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.  (Revelation 3:17-19, Authorized Version).

Excerpt from “Sexual violence depiction causes audience collapse” Friday, 21 March 2003, 8:20 am Press Release: Society for the Promotion of Community Standards.

“Premiered at last years Cannes Film Festival, “Irreversible” proved so shocking that 250 people walked out, some needing medical attention (see references below). One wonders whether medical teams will be on hand at the Office of Film and Film and Literature tonight to assist troubled film-goers. Following standard procedures the participants will be paid a tax-payer funded honorarium for viewing the hard-core pornography and will be served dainties to salivate the palate, diminish feelings of boredom, and psychologically assist them to cope with the deluge of abuse in the film directed at homosexuals and women. “Irreversible, directed by Franco-Argentinian director Gaspar Noe, describes a woman's rape and her boyfriend's bloody quest for revenge. Examining a drug-crazed man's violent pursuit of revenge against a twisted pimp he believes is responsible for raping and disfiguring his girlfriend, the film is undeniably shocking and disturbing. The script consists almost entirely of expletives directed against homosexuals and women, and a scene in which Italian actress Monica Bellucci is raped lasts a horrifying 10 minutes. Shown anti-chronologically -- the violent conclusion first followed by sequences taking the viewer back through events -- the film delivers a stomach-churning opening punch set in 'Rectum,' a sado-masochist gay club. “Fire wardens had to administer oxygen to 20 people (at the Cannes Festival) who fainted during the film - which includes a 10-minute depiction of sodomy and also contains graphic scenes of rape and murder. (The French sex-violence film Baise-Moi, which Bill Hastings failed to ban or impose cuts to, also has a lengthy explicit violent rape scene complete with penetration shots and depictions of sodomy). “'Irreversible' has received mixed reviews from critics, but those remaining in the audience at the end of the early Saturday morning screening at Cannes gave it a five-minute standing ovation. Italian actress Monica Bellucci, whose character is raped and beaten in the film, said it was good to let people feel a range of emotions. "This is a film that people love or they hate, but it's good to have these kind of extremes,' she said. “Critics had walked out of Thursday's screening of Irreversible, describing it as 'sick' and 'gratuitous'. Fire brigade spokesman Lieutenant Gerard Courtel said: 'In 25 years in my job I've never seen this at the Cannes festival. The scenes in this film are unbearable, even for us professionals.' Even Monica Bellucci admits she cannot watch some of the scenes without looking away. “Ms Bellucci insists that her father, who was at the premiere, enjoyed it. 'It was hard for him to watch, but he loved it,' she said. The film has also gained praise from critics impressed with its artistry, clever camera work and unrelenting examination of the pure anger that drives revenge.” (end quote)

MAIA MORGENSTERN (MARY, MOTHER OF JESUS)

Maia Morgenstern fares somewhat better than Bellucci in her bio, but I'm wondering if an appearance in a Dracula remake is a prerequisite to playing a starring female role in The Passion of the Christ, as we are told that Morgenstern appeared in Dark Prince:The True Story of Dracula (2000).  Let's briefly consider Ms. Morenstern's words as quoted in the trailer on the official movie website, those being that "she did her best film work prior to the Passion of the Christ in...The Oak Tree (1992) and Witman fiuk (Witman Brothers) (1997)".  According to a press release from the International Film Festival at Rotterdam, Witman fiuk is "a kind of Freudian case-study in the land of Dracula".  "Their (the two brothers') cold mother (played by Maia Morgenstern) is hardly affected by the death of her husband and she soon has a lover.  The boys are meanwhile obsessed by the death.  They pay nocturnal visits to their father's grave and start to dissect animals.  At school, their rather strange behaviour leads to reprisals by other pupils.  When the elder brother Janos meets the pretty young prostitute Iren, she becomes the new object of obsession."  Is this the "best film work" that groomed Morgenstern for her role as the mother of Jesus Christ?  One cringes at the thought!

CLAUDIA GERINI (WIFE OF PONTIUS PILATE)

Claudia Gerini, until her minor role in Under The Tuscan Sun (2003), was virtually unknown to North American audiences, appearing mostly in movie and television productions in Italy.  Gerini, who plays Pilate's wife in The Passion of the Christ, fits in well alongside fellow caste members Monica Bellucci (Mary Magdalene) and Maia Morgenstern (Jesus' mother Mary).  Why?  Because, like Bellucci, she is a big favourite on pornographic web sites!  As a matter of fact, many of the pictures in these photo galleries are more graphic than Bellucci's, and leave nothing to the imagination.  We are told in a mini bio that "her parents, young employees, had liberal ideas". Judging by their daughter's graphic photo galleries, these ideas affected (and infected) Claudia profoundly.  She married her manager, Alessandro Enginoli, in 2002.

ROSITA CELENTANO (SATAN)

Rosita Celentano seems to be bisexual, appearing in two films with shaved head and eyebrows, and some of her pornographic poses are  lesbian trash. Bisexuality would be appropriate for Celentano's role as Satan in “The Passion of the Christ” according to Mel Gibson. On Primetime, Gibson said of this character: “It's attractive, yet it's intimidating. Masculine yet feminine.”  David Bay presented a very insightful commentary on this character in the Cutting Edge Initial Eyewitness Report on The Passion:

“Virgin Satan Mother Carrying Divine Child -- This depiction of Antichrist is the most unbiblical and shocking part of this entire movie, in my opinion. As we stated earlier, Satan is depicted in this movie as a female who speaks in a male voice, thus possibly denoting androgyny. When I discussed this version of Satan during the Garden of Gethsemane portion, I said that we would discuss a time in the movie in which Satan was definitely fulfilling a feminine role. Listen to how this scene plays out.“During the time when Jesus was being flogged by Pilate's professional torturers, a considerable crowd gathered. The Virgin Mary and Mary Magdalene had pressed to the front, when the Virgin carefully watched every detail, aiding Jesus with her spiritual strength when he got especially low. The camera suddenly panned to the opposite side of the crowd. The female Satan was carefully winding her way through the crowd, looking very menacing; she passed behind the back of the Roman officer in charge of the flagellation. Like the Virgin Mary, this female Satan was wearing black, but without the white linen that denoted a nun's habit.“Suddenly, as this female Satan moved away from behind the officer, you could see that she was carrying a very large, white, almost-albino child. Clearly, this female Satan was depicting a Virgin Mother and Divine Child. On the one side of the crowd, the Virgin Mary was contemplating her Divine Child, Jesus. This female Satan was obviously being pictured here as the opposite of the Virgin Mary, which would make her Divine Child the opposite of Jesus, whom the Bible calls Antichrist. “The message can be no other. Now, why was an Antichrist scene included in this movie which was created to be consistent with the four Gospels? This scene is most definitely not Biblical and as far as I know, is not Catholic. Therefore, why was it included? Frankly, I do not know for certain. But, the world is hurtling toward the fulfillment of prophecy relating to the End of the Age and the appearance of Antichrist. We can see that Jesus is near, 'even at the doors'. Was the inclusion of this Virgin Satanic Mother and her Divine (Antichrist) Child meant to signify that the appearance of the Antichrist is near, even at the doors?”

Like Monica Bellucci (Mary Magdalene) and Claudia Gerini (Pilate's wife), Rosita Celentano's nude photos are plastered all over the Internet.

Conclusion

Here's my predictions, for what they are worth.

Mel Gibson will continue to direct and star in violent and often perverted and profane movies.  The actors he hangs with are doing the same, and now there is a voyeuristic fascination with the porn stars he hired to play key roles in The Passion.  The book that inspired Gibson (not talking about the Bible here!) called "The Dolorous Passion," by Anne Catherine Emmerich is a book that elevates Mary to Deity and will now undoubtedly become a big seller.  There will be a renewed fascination with the Catholic Church due to all the Catholic inspired material in the movie that is different from the biblical account, and due to the focus on "Mother Mary".

The film has further inoculated our children to violence and for the purpose of ticket sales, but this time our Savior Jesus Christ was used as the drawing card.  Why Christians are so quick to endorse a movie about Jesus Christ acted by porn stars, a bisexual, and other actors from violent, profane and sexually perverted movies is beyond me.  What is the redeeming value of this film?  We can only hope that the fascination with this subject will bring a few people into proximity of true believers where they can be "debriefed" with the real Gospel message.  But I'm afraid that this film will find many more converts to Catholicism than biblical Christianity.