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Summary: What The World Needs Now
Review: "A Guide to the Passion" feeds directly into efforts to instill morals, ethics, and character education into America's institutions. After all, it all starts with God's word. As a high school and college consultant, I have recently been recommending books such as "West Point: Thomas Jefferson: Character Leadership Education" by Norman Thomas Remick to inform and teach morals, ethics, and character to all ages and levels of education. As the teaching of God's word here on Earth through Jesus is "the most sublime and precious morsel of philosophy of morals, ethics, and character which has ever fallen from the lips of man" (Thomas Jefferson), I am now going to add "A Guide to the Passion" to the books I recommend. Books like these are what the world needs now.
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Summary: Great book and...
Review: "One word crap! The belief that Jesus died for original sin was created in the 5th century by Augustine. Dogmatic Christians have been lead like a bunch of blind sheep to follow this hollow doctrine. If your a Christian why don't you do yourselves a favor a lookup Attis or Mithras and maybe you will finally see who and what you are worshiping"
Whoever wrote this is a complete idiot.
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Summary: A great book
Review: A timely and informative book. A must read during the easter season
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Summary: Explanation of Jesus' Divinity Worth Price
Review: Besides providing answers to one hundred questions people have about Mel Gibson's movie, this book has several helpful appendices. The first one gives a cogent argument for why Christians believe Jesus is God. That explanation of Jesus' Divinity is worth the price of the book. It also has prayers one can say after recognizing who Jesus is and what he has done for us.
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Summary: Clear, concise -- completely catholic
Review: Fine explanation of beliefs found in the stellar movie. For ALL Christians, not just catholics with a large "C". If you have seen or plan to see the movie (which is a stunningly spiritual event I wholeheartedly recommend seeing), do yourself a major favor and buy this book.
Actually, based on what many in The Media have written, I'd say each "journalist" needs a copy as well --- they get so many of their ideas about it incorrect.
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Summary: A good guide
Review: I found the book a very good guide and I learned somethings I didn't know before. I believe it did a great job explaining the Catholic faith and would be a useful tool for those with questions about the Faith. It was short and concise but also contained many resources for further study. I loved the book and would recommend it to friends.
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Summary: Passionate about "The Passion"!
Review: If you are passionate about "The Passion of the Christ", this book is a MUST for you! The movie is a truly Catholic Christian movie. This book will enlighten you to all the artistic enhancements to the Gospels provided by Mel Gibson's work of art. This book will show you that the movie is not just a show of violence...it is a story of the covenant between God and mankind. The book will enable you to look beyond the graphic images of the movie...to make sense of it all...to further your understanding of the great mystery of Christ, the Paschal Lamb...the mystery of eternal Life and Love. The movie changed my life...the book explained why. May God bless you on your journey.
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Summary: The Perfect Companion to Mel Gibson's Film
Review: If you're anything like me, after watching Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ," you walked out of the theater in complete silence, and with many questions. Why do Mary's eyes meet those of the devil during Jesus' journey to Golgotha? Why does the film show Pilate's wife giving Mary an armful of linens? Why do demon children torment Judas? AND, the most commonly-asked question about the film: What did the anti-Marian, demon-with-child image represent? This wonderful and much-needed little book answers all of those questions and many, many more. Written in a simple, straight-forward style with an abundance of Scripture references, this book is the perfect guide to the film. As well it should. One of the film's collaborators - Tom Allen, who was intimately involved with the film's fundraising and promotion - helped create the book. You'll see his name listed among the credits near the end of the film. The first press-run, of 160,000, sold out before the book was off the press. As a result of the demand, and the most-commonly asked question, the second printing and all subsequent versions of the book contain the answer to the demon-with-child question. As of this writing, the book has sold more than 300,000 copies. Based on the number of incoming orders, the publisher expects that it will sell at least 1 million. Created by Tom Allen, Dr. Marcellino D'Ambrosio, Matthew Pinto, Mark Shea, and Dr. Paul Thigpen (who has a reflection book of his own out on The Passion), the book closely follows the film and its major scenes (from the Garden of Gethsemane to the Resurrection) answering many questions raised by the film. Priced as a give-away, the publisher has made it extremely easy for theater-goers, churches, or individuals to purchase the books in bulk to give away at screenings. In fact, my wife and I purchased 100 copies to give away at a local screening. I could have used three times that number. The books are written in such a way that they would work well for small-group faith-sharing or Bible study discussions. The second part of the book makes the case for Christ, and offers suggestions for what viewers can do with what they have just seen. An appendix includes the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary, the Stations of the Cross, and the Seven Last Words of Christ, upon which the film is based. Finally, a resource bibliography at the end directs readers to further books and resources that would be helpful in a person's journey with Christ. Christians and non-Christians will benefit greatly from the insights that this book offers into Mel Gibson's film.
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Summary: More than just a Q&A on the film
Review: If you're curious about Christianity in general, or Catholicism in particular, this book is a great place to start. It will give you a forthright look at Christianity from the inside. Written by popular Catholic writers who are very aware of modern sensibilities, it introduces you to the relevance of that defining event--Jesus Christ in human history. The first section answers 100 questions about the movie, and the answers are straightforward--which incidents in the film come from the Gospel, what's from early Christian tradition, or saints' visions, or just Gibson's "artistic license". But they also explain the meaning that Christianity traditionally sees in the various incidents in the story. The second and third sections will especially interest skeptics, doubters, and the just plain curious: Who was Jesus? In about 15 pages, various theories are briefly examined--myth, misunderstood rabbi, megalomaniac, etc. Finally, after listing a few traditional Catholic devotions (the stations of the cross, the seven last words), the book concludes with a large well-organized selection of suggestions for further study--books, websites, etc. As a next step, Catholic.com has a terrific overview of the faith, Pillar of Fire, Pillar of Truth. It's available in an inexpensive 32-page booklet or free online. Go to http://www.catholic.com/library/pillar.asp.
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Summary: a great guide to the film, and much more
Review: In Part 1, "100 Questions and Answers", the authors are clear and concise in this guide book to Mel Gibson's extraordinary film "The Passion of the Christ", helping us to fully understand the many events that take place, and the symbolism sometimes hidden in the scenes; also for those not that familiar with the Bible, to know what parts are scriptural, and what represents the filmmaker's artistic license.
This slender book goes much further though, and gives insight into parts of the New Testament, how Christ's Passion relates to the Jewish Passover, and more. Part 2, "The Case for Christ", compares Jesus to other religious figures, and gives answers to the question Jesus asked his followers, "Who do you say I am ?", and lays the case for the five possibilites: "a legend, a liar, a lunatic, a light and fluffy New Ager, and the Lord"; it's a terrific little chapter.
Part 3, "And the Story Continues", is how the apostles spread the Good News.
Part 4, "Quo Vadis ?" (Where are You Going ?), on what to do if you find yourself at a spiritual crossroads. The back of the book has useful appendices, resources, and mini-bios of the five authors who contributed to this book, and they are: Tom Allen, Marcellino D'Ambrosio, Matthew Pinto, Mark Shea, and Paul Thigpen. If you found inspiration and value in Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ", you will appreciate this book, which brings to light aspects one misses even after several viewings of the film.
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