By request, here follows my review of The Passion of The Christ. As a disclaimer, I am a Christian of over slightly more than one short year and am no expert. Instead, I count on God working within my heart to guide me in all things, this review included.

In the months leading up to the release of The Passion, I had serious doubts about Mel Gibson's ability to portray God properly. With the reports of his serial infidelity, hurtful comments about a former business partner, his father's various controversial stances on religion and politics; I was concerned that Gibson would use the movie to open old wounds or advance his own flavor of Pre-Vatican II Catholicism. While no longer a practicing Catholic in the exclusive sense, I consider myself Christian and therefore a member of what's referred to as the body of Christ which extends beyond any specific banner. Because of this I see the Vatican II as a major breakthrough in the spiritual development for my brothers and sisters in the Catholic Church.

In the end, regardless of my trepidations about Mr. Gibson, I had to forego judgment of him as a person and leave my opinion to rest solely upon his art. Christ came to help those that could see their own sin, not those that thought they didn't need his help; and if he decided to use this man to touch the hearts of people then who am I to argue? I sincerely hope that making the movie was a rich spiritual exercise for all involved, and that it brought them closer to God.

So on to the movie itself. When my church purchased a theater for Saturday morning and sold tickets for five bucks a piece, I signed up for two tickets in the hope that I could encourage someone that wanted to know more about Jesus to come with me. I've got friends with questions about Christianity, and as a baby Christian I feel insufficient in my ability to speak to them properly about something so important. My hope was that the movie would speak with power and insight to the hearts of people that knew little about Jesus, enticing them to start their own personal study. In the end it turned out that my Dad joined me and I was just as happy to have his company.

The main problem with previous movies I've seen that portrayed Jesus was that they were largely factual recountings of him as a historical figure. He went here, did this miracle, said that teaching. The man's stated purpose was to win our hearts to him, it's only fitting that an artistic representation of him should try capture us emotionally. It is this aspect of the movie I'm most interested in.

The greatest accomplishment of The Passion of The Christ was its portrayal of the character of Jesus. I'm absolutely fascinated by this man who had such character as to convince droves of critical humans, even his own brother, that he was the son of a living God. At the start of the movie, we see Jesus struggle with his fate, but not his desire to do God's will. Even though Satan stands by him and taunts him while Jesus prays to God, he does not question his Father's wisdom and sovereignty over him. Once sure of his mission, he rises and crushes the snake that Satan has put beside him. With a stern look in his eyes, we see a Jesus that is rarely portrayed in retellings of his life: confident and determined.