God the Son, Student Workbook, SW10

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G O D T H E S O N

The Passion of the Christ

In response to the blockbuster film, The Passion of the Christ , many evangelical churches held evangelistic meetings designed to share the Good News in conjunction with the debut of the film. The graphic nature of the sufferings of the Messiah shown in the film have produced wide ranging responses, from deep feelings of remorse and love to shock and horror. The film is perhaps the most dramatically violent depiction ever of the sufferings of Jesus. Some have said such showings simply go too far in highlighting the violence of Calvary without really dramatically revealing the underlying reasons for it. What is your opinion about such dramatic interpretations of the passion of Jesus. Ought we to produce more of these, or have we had enough of them for now? In many of our more “seeker sensitive” churches, we are witnessing a strange silence to the stigma and passion of Calvary. Many of the sermons and homilies are on subjects of wide public interest, usually avoiding topics and themes which are overtly theological and doctrinal. When the cross is presented, it is usually done in a way that highlights the self-actualization of the hearer rather than as an explicit solution to the transgression of humankind. Teachings on the blood sacrifice of Messiah have been replaced by homilies on positive thinking and building family memories. Many of the old hymns which highlighted the wonder, power, and mystery of the cross have been replaced by a flood of choruses, all of which focus on the joy of the worshiper and not the underlying suffering that makes worship possible. While many churches continue to emphasize the cross as the central event in salvation history, our methods of evangelism and outreach tend to focus on more positive themes for the sake of attracting new visitors. What is your opinion as to the growing and strange silence of the cross in the preaching, teaching, and worship in our churches today? A Strange Silence

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