Jul 10, 2004
New Survey Examines the Impact of Gibson’s ‘Passion’ Movie
(Ventura, CA) - Mel Gibson’s controversial movie about the last twelve hours of the life of Jesus, The Passion of the Christ, stunned the movie industry by becoming the eighth highest-grossing domestic film of all-time.
Much of that success can be attributed to the fervent support of churches, many of whom labeled the movie as "one of the greatest evangelistic tools in history."
A new national survey of more than 1600 adults, conducted by The Barna Group, examines not only how many people saw the movie, but what impact the film had on their life.
Among the most startling outcomes drawn from the research is the apparent absence of a direct evangelistic impact by the movie.
Despite marketing campaigns labeling the movie the “greatest evangelistic tool” of our era, LESS THAN ONE-TENTH OF ONE PERCENT of those who saw the film stated that they made a profession of faith or accepted Jesus Christ as their savior in reaction to the film’s content.
Equally surprising was the lack of impact on people’s determination to engage in evangelism.
LESS THAN ONE-HALF OF ONE PERCENT of the audience said they were motivated to be more active in sharing their faith in Christ with others as a result of having seen the movie.
[SOURCE: The Barna Group]
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Jul 06, 2004
Jesus Actor Mistaken for the Real Deal
James Caviezel has been swamped with requests to perform miracles by Mexican fans who believe he really is Jesus Christ. The 35-year-old actor, who played Jesus in Mel Gibson¹s THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST, was on a one-week tour of the east Mexican state of Veracruz.
According to Mexican newspaper "Reforma," dozens of residents from villages throughout the state, one of the poorest in the country, asked Caviezel to heal the sick and perform other miracles as he passed through.
The actor, who is himself a strict Catholic, said: "The belief of these people really moved me. It was a shock for me to see how they came up to me to ask for my help. I had to explain to them that I was only an actor, and wasn¹t really the son of God."
Mexico has the biggest population of Catholics in the world after Brazil and has been visited by the Pope five times.
[Source: www.ananova.com 7/6/04]
[NOTE: "For all of the 'missions-oriented' enthusiasm generated by evangelical leaders for THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST, they have disregarded the reality that the movie does nothing to dissuade Catholics from their Church's false gospel that can save no one." -- T.A. McMahon, The Berean Call]
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