Common Sense Has Fallen To Zero Tolerance

[I wrote the paper for a Language Awareness class at Capital University a couple of years ago.]

Jesse Harmon

UC 110 09

December 7, 2010

Common Sense Has Fallen To Zero Tolerance

“It is a thousand times better to have common sense without education than to have education without common sense.” –Robert Green Ingersoil

            Should someone be arrested for bringing a cell phone to school?  Should a child be jailed for bringing a nail trimmer into a school building?  Is it ethical to arrest a child for skipping a class?  Should students be suspended for bringing paper clips into the classroom?  According to 80% of school districts in America, it’s perfectly fine (Skiba).  This 80% of school districts have enacted a fairly new system called the Zero-Tolerance Policy system.  In this system, if a child breaks a rule, they receive the harshest punishment possible.  Although there have been instances of extreme violence in schools, the zero-tolerance policy is not an effective way to discipline students because there is no flexibility in these rules, (the zero tolerance policy can have a detrimental effect on the education of students).  The following essay describes how inflexible the zero tolerance policy can be. 

            Zero tolerance began in the 1980s after Congress passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984.  This law states the legal drinking age is to be set at 21 instead of 18 that many states had at that time, and that a Breathalyzer test should be conducted.  The minimum tolerance rate would be a 0.08 or a 0.1.  Today, this has been changed to include ANY number being shown on the Breathalyzer test (Hanson).  Schools have adopted this zero tolerance idea.  Since drugs were running rampant in the public school system in the 1980s, schools began to inflict harsh punishments on students who committed crimes, which mirrors the adult “get tough” attitude that many law enforcement and public officials were geared toward.  During the 1990s, however, that idea spread to many people in the community, who demanded schools include firearms, knives, drugs, alcohol, and violence.  However, this did not stop the massacre that happened on April 20, 1999 in Columbine, Colorado.  Two high school students brought guns to school, shooting and killing 13 and injuring 25 students and staff.  After this devastating situation, people across the country demanded schools to implement a zero tolerance policy.  What these people didn’t know was that this was an opportunity for school districts to gain control.  For example, the high school that the author of this essay attended, Logan High School, in Logan, Ohio, went through a period of change.   In November of 2000, the community of Logan voted for a levy that would allow the school district to construct new schools.  In November of 2008, the new high school was completed, and students and faculty moved in December.  Once the move was complete, the school installed policies that stated that all vehicles belonging to students and faculty were to be tagged and monitored throughout the time the vehicles were located on school property.  If a student was caught smoking in their car, which happened to be on school property, the student would get referred to the office, the privilege of parking was revoked, and the vehicle was to be towed at the owner’s expense.  This caused outrage throughout the student body of the school, but no one made a stand against it.

This policy was intended to deter students from doing criminal activity, but schools all over the country have pushed the issue too far.  There have been examples of why the zero tolerance policy is needed.  In September of 1997, a fight broke out at Decatur High School.  Two gangs started to yell, and a fistfight broke out.  Seven black students were suspended on October 1, 1997 because of the fight.  This sparked outrage from the community.  However, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, and thousands of members of a group called Operation PUSH, famously attended a protest at the school on November 14.  Reverend Jackson and several others were arrested two days after the protest, for disturbing the peace.  Reverend Jackson and PUSH filed suit against the district because of racial bias.  Six students were represented in the lawsuit, (the seventh dropped out of the district).  The plaintiff claimed the district handled the situation poorly; the punishment exceeded the original offense.  The presiding judge, Judge Robert McLosky, threw the suit out.  He claimed the district was well within its rights of suspending these students (Skiba). As obviously seen in this example, the zero tolerance policy could lead to racism.

The major problem is that schools are taking students away from the education that is desperately needed.  A seventeen-year-old student in Chicago, Illinois, shot a paperclip from a rubber band.  The paper clip, which was aimed at another student, instead hit a cafeteria worker, breaking the worker’s skin.  The student was expelled, and charged with a misdemeanor battery.  The school advised the student to drop out of school. 

There are many other incidences that do not make sense.  Russell J. Skiba’s 2000 article titled “Zero Tolerance, Zero Evidence,” and Dr. Nancy A. Heitzeg’s article, called, “Education Or Incarceration,” gives many examples of how the zero tolerance policy does not work.  Dr. Heitzeg’s thesis was that the zero tolerance policy gives no leeway, and that it is very rigid.

In May of 1999, in Pensacola, Florida, a sophomore student at the high school gave a friend a pair of nail trimmers with a file.  The teacher saw the nail trimmers, confiscated them, and reported the girl to the principal.  The girl, who was aspiring to be a doctor, was given a ten-day suspension and threatened with expulsion.  As the principal stated later, “Life goes on.  You learn from your mistakes.  We recommend expulsion.”  How could a pair of nail trimmers lead to expulsion?

The rigidity is obvious, but the zero tolerance policy also infringes on the rights of students.  In February of 1999, a freshman at a school in Ewing, New Jersey was sleeping in class.  The teacher suspected the student of doing illegal drugs, and asked the nurse to check the student’s vital signs.  When the student refused to conform to the ridiculous situation, the principal suspended the student and refused to allow him to return to school until he passed a drug test.  The father filed suit against the school, but the young man eventually gave in and took a drug test. 

Also in February 1999, a student was suspended from Westlake High School because he announced that the French teacher was not fluent in the French language.  The principal accused the student of “verbally attacking” the teacher  (Skiba).   According to the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”  In Tinker vs. Des Moines Independent Community School District, 393 U.S. 503, the United States Supreme Court extended the first amendment rights to students, (US Supreme Court Center).    Schools do not have the authority to infringe on the rights of students, but of course, they still do.

A student’s First Amendment right of freedom of expression was violated in Ponchatoula, Louisiana.  A twelve-year-old student, who was diagnosed with a hyperactive disorder, told students not to eat all of the potatoes in the lunch line, or, as he stated, “I’m going to get you.”  The twelve-year-old student was suspended for two days, and the police charged him with “terroristic threats.”  He was incarcerated for two weeks while awaiting trial (Justice Policy Institutions, The Advancement Project).   

In Arlington, West Virginia, two ten-year-old boys put soapy water on a teacher’s desk.  The boys were charged with a felony, with a maximum sentence of twenty years in prison.  The case was later dismissed.  The Eighth Amendment plays a role in this situation.  The amendment states that, “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.”

In another example of the Eighth Amendment being violated happened in Palm Beach, Florida, when a fourteen-year-old student, who was disabled, was accused of stealing a couple of dollars from a fellow student.  The principal called the police, and the fourteen-year-old student was charged with strong-armed robbery.  According to the prosecutor, the situation “depicting this forcible felony, this strong-armed robbery, in terms as though it were no more than two dollars, shoplifting fosters and promotes violence in our schools.”  Media pressure forced the court to drop the case (Heitzeg).  Because the student was disabled, does that give prosecutors and administrators the right to inflict harsh punishments?  Absolutely not.

There are many instances where the punishment considered is completely nuts.  An eleven-year-old student died from an asthma attack after the school wouldn’t allow her to carry an inhaler with her (Building Blocks For Youth).  In another case, an eleven-year-old girl was tasered by police, arrested, and charged with battery of a security resource officer after disrupting a school function and resisting with violence.  The eleven-year-old girl had pushed another student.  As of the writing of this source, one could assume the case was still on trial because of how Heitzeg wrote the text. 

Examples like these show that administrators will make ridiculous and outrageous decisions based on the zero tolerance policy.  The idea may be fantastic on paper, but in reality, it does not work.  Since the policy’s inception in the mid 1980s, it has been implemented in about eighty percent of school districts nationwide (Skiba).  According to statistics published by Dr. Heitzeg, about 3.3 million students are suspended each year.  One hundred thousand or more of these suspensions turned into expulsions after the fact.  What is outrageous is that this number doubles that of expulsions in the year 1974.  Schools have reported higher dropout rates in recent years because of students being suspended and expelled.  Evidence shows that there is absolutely no evidence to support that zero tolerance policy is effective in any way.  Despite a drop in school related crimes in the 1990s, schools still insisted that the zero tolerance policy be instituted.  School funding has decreased, while security measures have increased, (security measures meaning metal detectors, more officers in schools, et cetera).  Evidence has shown that there is absolutely no correlation between the zero tolerance policy and “safer schools.”  More and more minorities are being suspended and expelled since the zero tolerance policy went into effect (Heitzeg).  However, in Skiba’s 2004 essay titled, “Discipline is Always Teaching,” he states that the rates of suspension and expulsions are not divided equally by race.  African-American students are four times more likely to be suspended, and two and a half times more likely to be expelled than their Caucasian counterparts.  Skiba also mentions that ninety percent of out of school suspensions were because of disruptive behavior.   Basically, the zero tolerance policy does not work. 

There are many alternatives to the zero tolerance policy that schools need to consider.  Schools can have their counselors talk and mentor the troublesome students.  A middle school principal in Indiana did exactly this.  According to her, the school’s suspension rate dropped by nearly fifty percent (Skiba).  Another alternative is to have legitimately suspended students do community service.  The zero tolerance policy should be used only for the most serious infractions, such as bringing a real gun to school.  Schools should increase bully prevention programs, as violence is a major source of criminal activity.  An elementary principal in Indiana decided to participate in Project PEACE, a program that involves training the student early on that certain behaviors are not acceptable.  This principal stated, “We’ve taken it to the point that there are peace spots in every room, and there’s a poster in my office.  They click right into it…It’s amazing what the training does,”  (Skiba).

Another alternative is to apply the zero tolerance policy with greater flexibility in problem schools.  The situation must be assessed, and the age and context must be taken into consideration.  Reyes suggests that all infractions need to be defined, classified, and appropriate handling of each infraction should be sought.  School resource officers should take and pass developmental psychology classes, taught by a certified instructor, whether it be a college professor or a clinical psychologist (Reyes).

            As mentioned before, the Tinker case needs to be considered.  Another case, Goss vs. Lopez, 419 US 565 1995, should be assessed.  The ruling states that students may not be suspended without a hearing.  However, many schools do not follow this.  The fourth amendment is violated a lot in schools as well.  Schools conduct unreasonable search and seizures on students’ backpacks, lockers, and even their bodies.  However, a lawsuit sought by the Safford Unified School District #1 against Savana Redding, an eleven-year-old girl who was caught with ibuprofen in her backpack, was lost because the court ruled the strip search was unreasonable.  The bizarre ruling did state that the school was able to search her outer garments and her backpack, but that the strip search was too far.  Students now do not have much hope to be defended by the fourth amendment. 

            Of course there will be situations where the zero tolerance policy should be put into effect.  Students who bring real guns to school, dangerous and sharp knives, with the intent to harm people, known illegal narcotics, and gang fighting should all be taken seriously.  We do not need potential murderers and rapists in our public school system.  The troublesome students need to be mentored, counseled, and monitored.  A gun brought into the school by a teenager or pre-teen is a dangerous thing.  A butter knife and a toy soldier should not be the sole reason to expel someone. 

            The zero tolerance policy is obviously not working as planned.  Many people have suffered, and will continue to suffer for the rest of their lives because of it.  Students who were suspended for bringing nail trimmers now need to face the fact that they may not get a job because of their “criminal record.”  Parents need to get involved with their students’ activities as well.  In order for schools to be safer, officials need to consider the facts stated in this paper.  Common sense is needed in order for discipline to be effective.

Works Cited

Essex, Nathan. "Student Dress Codes Using Zero Tolerance?." Education Digest Oct. 2004: n. pag. Web. 8 Dec 2010. 

Hanson, David J. "The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984." Alcohol Problems and Solutions. Sociology Department, State University of New York, 2009. Web. 3 Nov 2010.<http://www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/ YouthIssues/1092767 630.html>.

Heitzeg, Nancy A. "Education Or Incarceration: Zero Tolerance Policies And The School To Prison Pipeline." Forum on Public Policy (2009): n. pag. Web. 3 Nov 2010. <http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/EJ870076.pdf>. 

"History of Zero Tolerance." Zero Tolerance Laws. Zero Tolerance Laws, 2008. Web. 3 Nov 2010. <http://www.zerotolerancelaws.com/historyofzerotolerance.html>. 

Kajs, Lawrence T. (2006). Reforming the discipline management process in schools: an alternative approach to zero tolerance. Education Research Quarterly, 29(4).

Reyes, Augustine. (2006). Are zero tolerance policies effective in the schools? an evidentiary review and recommendations. Discipline, achievement, and race; is zero tolerance the answer?, 63(9). Web.  29 Nov 2010.

"School to Prison Pipeline: Fact Sheet ." New York Civil Liberties Union. New York Civil Liberties Union, n.d. Web. 3 Nov 2010. <http://www.nyclu.org/schooltoprison>. 

Skiba, Russel. "Discipline is Always Teaching." Education Policy Briefs 2.3 (2004): 1-11. Web. 29 Nov 2010.

Skiba, Russel. "Zero Tolerance, Zero Evidence." Indiana University. Indiana Education Policy Center, Aug. 2000. Web. 2 Nov 2010. 

Skiba, Russel. "The Dark Side of Zero Tolerance." (1999): 372-382. Web. 10 Nov 2010.

“Tinker V. Des Moines Sch. Dist., 393 U. S. 503 (1969)." US Supreme Court Center. United States Supreme Court, 2007. Web. 29 Nov 2010. <http://supreme.justia.com/us/393/503/case.html>.

"Zero Tolerance." Building Blocks For Youth. Building Blocks For Youth, n.d. Web. 3 Nov 2010. <http://www.buildingblocksforyouth.org/ issues/zerotolerance/facts.html>. 

My Many Jesuses

[This paper is the final for my Jesus Through The Ages class at Capital University, where I am seeking a minor degree in religion.]

Jesse Harmon

RELIG 210

May 1, 2012

The Many “Jesuses”

            My favorite prayer of all time is this: “Help!”  This is the prayer that I usually say throughout the day.  I know that God is there to help me and that Jesus was there to take my sins away.  Jesus was divine, and yet, so human.  I am not a perfect person.  I’m very far from it.  I have major flaws that affect my relationship with God.  I have many demons that affect my relationship with people.  I pray to God to help me get past these flaws and demons and be a good person and a good friend.  I will be assessing the various “Jesuses” (a term I heard before class once) that are known throughout the ages, and then I will give my views on them.  In this paper, I will be describing my views on Jesus.

            Everyone teaches and everyone learns.  Jesus was the ultimate teacher.  His morals were very progressive and controversial for his time.  He taught things like love your neighbor, love your enemy, and love God.  Thomas Jefferson’s book called, The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth, is a compilation of the four gospels cut up and pasted together into a new story of Jesus.  Jefferson’s book says, “[Jesus said,] ‘How much then is a man better than a sheep?  Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the Sabbath days,’ And he said, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, and not the man for the Sabbath.’  Then the Pharisees went out and held a council against him…” (Jefferson).

            I am reminded of Mark chapter 7.  In it, Mark talks about the ceremonial washing of the hands.  Jesus and his disciples were eating without washed hands.  The Pharisees and teachers asked Jesus why they didn’t wash their hands because it was suppose to be done according to tradition, and Jesus replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written, ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.  They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men,’” (Bible Across America 1743).  Jesus then goes on to explain that we should follow God’s rules, and not man’s.  I guess this section sums up what the Anabaptists believed in the 1500s.  In a document called “Sixty-seven Theses,” Ulrich Zwingli said, “…all who consider other teachings equal to or higher than the gospel err, and do not know what the gospel is,” (Janz 189).  What does this mean?  Zwingli believed that anything not given by God in the Bible should not be in church.  There shouldn’t be any instruments in church that are not spoken of in the Bible, and that if something taught by humans isn’t in the Bible, it shouldn’t be taught at all.  I am a strong believer in having a liturgy in any worship service.  I support this by stating that many aspects of the liturgy are Biblically based.  For example, the Lord’s Prayer is comprised of sections from both Matthew 6:9-13, and 1 Chronicles 29:11.  I remember going to a non-denominational mega church in Columbus a few years ago, and they didn’t even recite the Lord’s Prayer, a prayer given to us by Jesus as a model for prayer, as well as a prayer to recite regularly.  I was actually offended that this worship service at this mega church did not recite this.  It is such an easy prayer to memorize, and the actual words and phrases themselves seem to propel you forward toward that final Amen.  I guess I just have a problem with the contemporary worship style that is very popular today.  I have actually debated with, and even started yelling at, people because of my views on the contemporary church, (I’ve even lost a friend because of it).  I know I shouldn’t, for any noise is pleasing to God’s ears. 

            Jesus is a lover, not a fighter.  Jesus said to love your enemies.  Luke 6:35 says, “…love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back.  They your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.  Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful,” (Bible Across America 1788).  A famous logic puzzle goes like this: A friend of a friend is a friend, and an enemy of an enemy is a friend.  A friend of an enemy is an enemy, and the enemy of a friend is an enemy.  Jesus turns this logic completely backwards.  What he is saying here is the enemy is a friend in the first place.  Jesus states at the Sermon on the Mount that anger is the same as murder.  This was completely turned around from what people were taught up to that point in time.  How can anger be the same as taking someone’s life?  I still find this hard to comprehend, since I do have quite a temper.  I hold grudges against people.  I still hold a grudge against someone from middle school that did nothing but harass me and insult me in front of others.  I know I shouldn’t, but I do.

If we follow Jesus’ logic, how can the anger of the nations of our world be justified?  I don’t think it can.  Iran is a current threat against Israel.  North Korea and South Korea are at odds with each other (again).  Sudan is bombing border towns of South Sudan as I type this paper (CNN Wire Staff).  Of course Jesus did say that there would always be wars.  I don’t like it though.  Jesus came to be a Prince of Peace.  Jesus did not refer to himself as the Prince of Peace, but a book in the Old Testament did.  Isaiah 9:6 says, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.  And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace,” (Bible Across America 1212).  Why didn’t Jesus refer to himself as this?  He was human, and he felt emotion.  Jesus expressed his outrage at the vendors in the temple, and he went through and flipped the tables and cast everyone out.  I don’t see flipping tables as a sign of peace.  That was a violent act.

            At the beginning of the year, I discussed a lot about the stained glass windows I saw at my church, but I mistakenly forgot to delve into what they were of.  The big stained glass window at the back of the church (standing about 20 feet high) used to be the entryway into the church until the present belfry and vestibule was built.  This image shows Jesus on the cross with the Mary Magdalene, Mary (James’ mother), and Mary of Cleopas.  The image is a typical crucifix, with a Jesus hanging limp on the perfectly built cross, with a blue or green sash around his waist.  Only recently have I come to realize the kind of pain that Jesus was in when he was crucified.  An image was shown in class of a South American Jesus screaming on a cross.  This picture is shown in a Brazilian church, which is very surprising.  I still have trouble understanding a painting of such pain and physical torment being shown in such a holy place.  I am reminded of this after watching The Passion Of The Christ for my movie review paper.  That film was horrifying!  In the film, we could see the actual flesh being torn away from Jesus’ body, while in the Brazilian painting, we could see the agony that was expressed by Jesus’ face.

            As recently confirmed by my pastor, one of the main problems I have with the conservative church, such as the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, is that they preach mainly the idea that God is damning you.  I think this is a turn off to potential future members of the church, as seen by the 30-year decline of membership, although donations have increased (Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod).  The liberal church, such as the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, (which I am a member of), tends to preach nothing but, as my pastor once put it, the “cute bunnies and flowers” of Jesus.  There needs to be some sort of balance between the teachings of Jesus.  God is not our buddy.  He can’t be.  When our time comes, he will be the one to give us that final judgment that may or may not send us to hell.  It is very important to respect him.  I know that I will not be running up to Jesus and patting him on the back saying, “Hey dude! How’s it goin’?”  I will be bowing down at his feet asking for forgiveness of all of my sins.  I fear that many young people today are viewing Jesus as their best friend.  I’m worried that when judgment does come, they will be shocked to see that whom they were so hoping to spend time around a campfire with will be the same person who is telling them whether they are going to heaven or hell.  Yes, Jesus is a good guy.  He’s a teacher of morals.  He’s a healer of the sick.  He’s the guy to comfort me in time of pain and sorrow.  He’s the man who was a servant to human kind.  He’s the man to save me from my sins.  He’s the man who will eventually judge me…

            Stephen Colbert once said, “If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn't help the poor, either we have to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are, or we've got to acknowledge that He commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition and then admit that we just don't want to do it.”  Jesus was very supportive of helping the poor.  The parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke is a great example.  According to this parable, a man was attacked and robbed.  A priest and a Levite walked by this man and did nothing.  However, a Samaritan, a person from a group of people who broke away from Israel and God after the reign of Solomon, came up to the man and helped him out.  The Judeans, whom Jesus is a part of, generally looked down upon the Samaritans.  Why would a shunned person help out a Judean?  The reason is simple: love and kindness.  Jesus gives many examples of love and kindness, reflecting the idea of “Son Of Man” that he mainly refers himself to.  After telling his followers to go to the other side of a lake, Jesus said, “Foxes have holes and birds…have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head,” (Matthew 8:12) (Bible Across America 1672).  It’s interesting to note that in the Gospel of Thomas, Jesus says something very similar, although a little more poetic.  “Jesus said, “Foxes have their dens and birds have their nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay down and rest,” (Patterson).  A similar phrase is found in Luke 9:58.  What does this apparently common saying mean?  I googled “did Jesus have a permanent residence?” because I was curious as to what other people were thinking.  I found something that I already knew.  Jesus did not have a permanent residence, because this world is not his to stay, for he said in John 18:21, “My kingdom is not of this world.  If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews.  But now my kingdom is from another place.” 

Why would Jesus say, “my servants”?  Let’s take a look at when Jesus washed his disciples’ feet.  John 13:5-10 says,

…he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.  He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”  Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”  “No,” Peter said, “you shall never wash my feet.”  Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me,” (Bible Across America 1877).

 Washing the feet of someone seems to be something a servant would do.  I think it’s interesting to note how Peter was telling Jesus how to act.  Jesus then chastised him for doing so, stating that if Peter does not accept this, he will not be part of the kingdom.  Feet are very important in the Bible.  Jesus walked on water using his feet.  Moses walked on his feet when he was to encounter the burning bush.  Without feet, the statue that Nebuchadnezzar saw would have had stubs of clay instead.  We need feet to kick off the dust in areas where we are rejected.  Without feet, we would have no sole!  As you can see, feet are very important to Jesus.  They are the things that connect directly with the earth.

Jesus was a servant.  He was a good servant.  He was also a king.  He was the kind of king who would take care of and protect his tenants-in-chiefs, lords, and peasants in a feudal system.  In Luke 1:32-33, the angel Gabriel says to Mary, “[Your child] will be great and he will be called the Son of Man of the Most High.  The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, his kingdom will never end,” (Bible Across America 1772).  I have always viewed Jesus as a king.  As I mentioned before, I would most likely not be giving Jesus piggyback rides and wrestling with him.  I would be at his feet trembling and asking for forgiveness of my sins.  The hymn “Crown Him With Many Crowns” shows the many Jesuses, paying close attention to the King of Kings.

Crown him with many crowns, the Lamb upon his throne

All hail him as thy matchless king, throughout eternity.

Crown him, ye kings, with many crowns for He is King of all.

I wrote my –now updated– verse to show my view on the “kingness” of Jesus.

Crown him the King of Kings, with power, evermore

Let every tongue on earth confess that Jesus Christ is Lord!

With faith, and only faith, let us be justified

Let every knee bow down and say, “All hail Him, Jesus Christ.”

The words, “crown,” “king,” “throne,” “hail,” and “knee bow down,” are all references to royalty.  Even Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus” displays Jesus as king.

Hallelujah! 
For the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth.

And he shall reign forever and ever.

King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.

If done properly, the “Messiah” can be a majestic thing, which symbolizes the majesty that Jesus is.

            The following analogy may be quite a stretch.  I love the television show NCIS.  One of the most power series of episodes happened at the end of season 2 and the beginning of season 3.  Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs (the protagonist) was in the process of getting up from the ground of a rooftop, with Special Agents Tony DiNozzo and Katelyn Todd also getting up.  A terrorist named Ari Haswari, sent to kill Gibbs, was at a building 600 yards away, and was aiming a sniper rifle (incidentally called a “Kate”) at the group.  He shot and killed agent Todd in the forehead after she stood up.  She was standing between Gibbs and DiNozzo, and she was the one shot.  This ended season 2.  At the beginning of season 3, Gibbs and his NCIS team are mourning the loss of agent Todd.  A new character is introduced named Ziva David.  After another episode, Ari found his way into Gibbs’ basement.  Gibbs went down in the basement, and was just about to be killed, when a shot rang out from the stairs.  Ziva David was the one who shot Ari.

            What’s the point of all of this?  Agent Todd could be seen as Adam and Eve, taking a bite of the forbidden fruit (taking the bullet in the head).  Ari could be seen as our sins and the serpent, and Gibbs could be seen as humans.  Ziva David (who happened to be the half-sister of Ari) could be seen as Jesus.  Ziva killed Ari, just like Jesus killed our sins.  Of course, the impact of our sins is still felt, just like the impact of the death of agent Todd is still felt to this current season.

            I believe 1 Corinthians 15 is the ultimate destination if someone wants to know why Jesus died.  Paul said to the people of Corinth, as seen in verses 2-4“…By this gospel you are saved, if you believed in vein.  For what I received when I passed on to you as of the first importance: that Christ died four our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,” (Bible Across America 2012).  Paul then goes on to tell the Corinthians that we too will be raised from the dead.  No, our “immortal spirits” won’t be taken out of our bodies and flung into heaven with God.  Way back in Genesis, God breathed into dust and life came to Adam.  God will do the same to us today.  He will take our bodies –even those cremated –and breathe new life into them.

This isn’t a new idea.  The oldest book of the Bible, Job, states, “I know that my Redeemer lives and that in the end he will stand upon the earth.  And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God,” (Bible Across America 975).  The term “immortal spirit” appears nowhere in the Bible, much to many people’s surprise.  Do we have a spirit?  Of course we do, but it’s not immortal, (sorry Thich Nhat Hanh).  Jesus just appeared after being raised from the dead.  He does not constrain to the physical aspects of humans such as walking through doors.  When we die, we turn into ash.  God will breathe to us new life into that ash, (ashes to ashes; dust to dust).  “When the last trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable [or incorruptible] and we will be changed.  For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.”  When this is done, “death [will be] swallowed up in victory,” (Bible Across America 2024). 

As seen here, there are many Jesuses that affect all of humanity, including me.  I think all of these images still speak to the human race.  While Jesus isn’t our buddy, he is our teacher, lover, king, Lord, prince of peace, and most importantly, savior.  After analyzing my view of Jesus while writing this paper, I guess I could add one more image of Jesus.  He seems to be like a big brother.  He will love you, but he will let you know when you’ve done wrong.  He will protect you, but he will rough you up if needed be.   When all is said and done, two verses pretty much sum up my faith, and they come from 1 Corinthians 15:57-58.  “[Thanks] be to God!  He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.  Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm.  Let nothing move you.  Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vein,” (Bible Across America 2024).

Works Cited

Bible Across America. New International Version. Grand Rapids. Zondervan, 2008, Print.

CNN Wire Staff, . "Witness: Sudanese warplanes strike at South Sudan border towns." CNN. Turner Broadcasting Systems, Inc., 23 Apr 2012. Web. 24 Apr 2012. 
<http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/23/world/africa/sudans-conflict/index.html?hpt=wo_c2>.

Janz, Denis, ed. Zwingli, Sixty-seven Theses. 2nd ed. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2008. 189. Print.

Jefferson, Thomas. The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth. 1. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1903. Print.

Patterson, Stephen, ed. "The "Scholars' Translation" of the Gospel of Thomas." Misericordia University. Misericordia University, n.d. Web. 24 Apr 2012.

"Synod membership declines, giving increases." Synod membership declines, giving increases. Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, 13 Oct 2010. Web. 23 Apr 2012. <http://reporter.lcms.org/pages/rpage.asp?NavID=17865>.

Atheists Wanting To Take Down Cross and Solution

Read This First.


Now, I've come up with a much simpler solution.  Offer to sell the parking lot for a dollar.  Now, the new owner will allow the city to continue to use the parking lot.  Problem solved, since the land is now private property.


What about upkeep?

The new owner of the parking lot will not have to do anything.  Since it is his/her land though, he/she will have to pay for all of the upkeep.  However, the city will refund the him/her with a check.

Or the owner can donate the money.


EDIT: How about this?  Go ahead and move the monument, but move it to a private area that will make it MORE visible to others.

There is a town not to far from where I live called Nelsonville, and there is a GIANT cross on a hill overlooking the town.  It's called Betty's Cross.

___________

Here are some of the comments from the article that I find striking.


I have another problem. Arlington Cemetary is littered with crosses and Stars of David. Let's go 
and pull them all up because, after all, they are on government land.




What I don't understand is why atheists can't ignore it. Christians ignore atheist billboards and all the other media out there. Why can't we just live and let live. It seems to me if you don't believe in Christianity you would just laugh at it the same as I would laugh at people who believe in aliens. Why is it so important to take it away from others?






I have to say.  Atheism is becoming its own religion.  Dictionary.com defines religion as,

1.

a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purposeof the universe, especially when considered as the creationof a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involvingdevotional and ritual observances, and often containing amoral code governing the conduct of human affairs.

2.

a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generallyagreed upon by a number of persons or sects: the Christianreligion; the Buddhist religion.

3.

the body of persons adhering to a particular set of beliefsand practices: a world council of religions.

Atheism sounds a whole lot like this to me.

Thich Nhat Hanh: _Living Buddha, Living Christ_

I'm reading a book for my Jesus Through The Ages class at Capital University.   We are currently in Thich Nhat Hanh's book called, Living Buddha, Living Christ.  On page 125, Nhat Hanh says this...

There is a story of one woman who invoked the name of Buddha hundreds of times a day without ever touching the essence of a Buddha.  After practicing for ten years, she was filled with anger and irritation.  Her neighbor noticed this, and one day while she was practicing invoking the name of the Buddha, he knocked on her door and shouted, "Mrs. Ly, open the door!"  She was so annoyed to be disturbed, she struck her bell very hard so that her neighbor would hear she was chanting and would stop disturbing her.  But he kept calling, "Mrs. Ly, Mrs. Ly, Mrs. Ly, I need to speak with you."  She became furious, threw her bell down on the ground, and stomped to the door, shouting, "Can't you see I'm invoking the name of the Buddha?  Why are you bothering me now?"  Her neighbor replied, "I only called your name twelve times, and look how angry you have become.  Imagine how angry the Buddha must be after you have called his name for ten years."

Have we been calling God's name hundreds of times a day for ten years, just talking, and not ever touching the essence of God?  Could this be why we are angry people?

Mark 4:34

I'm quietly participating in the Read The New Testament In A Year program at my church, even though I'm not attending the sessions because of school commitments take up my time.  Each day of the work week (Monday through Friday), we read one chapter. Today's reading was from Mark 4.

Jesus was at the river talking to the crowd of people, speaking in parables to them.  This sermon includes the parable of the sower and the seed.

Mark 4:34 

He did not say anything to [the crowd at the river] without using a parable.  But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.

A question came to my mind.

Why would Jesus not go ahead and explain the parables to the crowd?

Here are some of the solutions I came up with.

1. Jesus knew his 12 disciples well, and he knew they were the chosen ones to spread his good news, and everyone else was somehow not ready to receive it.
• I think number one is the best possibility.  Here's why.  Jesus wanted only those who were his true followers to know what his teachings.  We too can know these things if we ask God to help us understand them.  
2. Jesus was not ready to reveal his good news to the regular everyday people quite yet, but when the time came he would.
• I think Jesus knew that anyone who wanted to know what he meant was able to walk up to him and ask.  
3. Jesus knew the crowd of people wouldn't listen to him anyway.
• I'm stuck on number 3.  Jesus knew that he would have to die to save humans from sin.  He knew it would be humans who would put him to death, so why waste his time on trying to teach the very same people he knew would put him to death?  
4. The crowd was smart enough to figure the parables out, but his disciples weren't.
5. The disciples were smart enough to figure the parables out, but the crowd wasn't
• Jesus knew his disciples were to continue teaching about the kingdom of heaven, and he wanted his disciples, and only his disciples, to know about his Divine Word. 
6. Jesus didn't care about the crowd.

Of course, you are all probably thinking the very last one is blasphemous.  It is.  I agree with you.

I recall somewhere that when Jesus was speaking about the kingdom of heaven, he spoke in parables.  When he was talking about other subjects, he did not use parables.  

Just met a young woman walking...

I am sitting outside in my usual spot by Renner hall when a young woman, who we are going to call Destiny, walked up and said, "Hi."  She seemed nice.  We talked a little bit about academic programs at Capital, and she says she either wants to be a journalist, or a mortician.  Since I told her that Capital offers a biochemistry major, she asked me to look up journalism.  Sure enough, Capital offers a journalism degree.

We talked a little bit about her and I found out she has depression like I do.  She is currently on Prozac, the same medicine which my doctor took me off of.  She told me that she had recently swallowed a bottle of pills in an attempt to end her life.  Both of her parents are dead, and she was the person who found them.  I think this event may have triggered her depression.  She told me about how she doesn't like high school and that everyone was so immature, (I THOUGHT THE SAME THING WHEN I WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL).

After a while, she said goodbye and walked away.

Pray for Destiny.

Jesus in Movies Analyzed

[This paper was written for my Jesus Through The Ages class at Capital University, where I'm seeking a minor degree in religion.  In this assignment, I was to analyze three films that depict the images of Jesus: one a traditional film, a non-traditional film, and a film that isn't about Jesus, but could be seen as a metaphor for Jesus.]

Jesse Harmon

RELIG 210

April 16, 2012

Movie Images

            I chose to watch the following movies to see their various depictions of images of Jesus: The Passion of the Christ (2004), Jesus Christ, Superstar (1973), and The Matrix (1999).  This paper will analyze all three films to find literal, figurative, and metaphorical images of Jesus.           

            The first film I am analyzing is The Passion Of The Christ.  This movie, released in 2004, is a direct story of the death of Jesus, so analyzing it for the image of Jesus wasn’t hard at all.  This movie portrays Jesus just like the image at a Brazilian church.  Jesus is horrifically mortified and mangled, and in intense pain.  I think this is one of the most graphically detailed films I have ever seen.  I have never seen such intense pain and agony in one person than I have with this film. 

            During the start of the film in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus is obviously tortured mentally about his impending doom.  He is pleading to be spared.  He prays so hard that he is sweating blood.  When Judas and the authorities come to arrest him, his confidence grows and his golden eyes pierce you.  When Judas kisses Jesus, Jesus’ expression changes to one of disappointment.  After a fight ensues between Jesus’ followers and the police, and one of the guard’s ears is cut off, Jesus heals the man and reattaches the ear; the man is in shock and awe the rest of the scene.  This shows the compassion that Jesus has for everyone, and reflects what he said at the Sermon on the Mount: love your neighbor, and love your enemy.

            Jesus doesn’t resist or put up a fight when he was arrested.  He just accepts his fate and goes along with the brutality that is upon him.  The guards whip him and wrap chains and rope around him.  Arrests that are made today are much more human than thrown a man over the side of a bridge and catching him with a chain around his torso before he hits the ground.  I cannot imagine the internal damage done when something like this happens. 

            When the movie cuts to the scene in the woodshop, Jesus is seen working hard building a table.  Jesus is seen conversing with his mother about the rather tall table, and then when he washes his hands before dinner, he playfully throws water onto Mary.  Why would he do such a thing?  It’s because he’s human, just like us.  He likes to have fun and enjoys a good laugh.  I like to have fun and enjoy a good laugh.

            Back to the arrest scene, Jesus expresses disappointment after Peter denies him three times.  Peter, who then goes crazy, leaves the area crying.  Jesus again is shown with human attributes.  After confronting the Pharisees, Judas goes nuts as well and is assaulted by hallucinations of demonic children.  I would think any normal person would have a mental breakdown after turning someone so special, like Jesus, into the police (I know I would). 

            One of the more surprising things about the trial scene is how gently the Romans treat Jesus at first.  They don’t throw him around.  Pilate, as I will describe later, is very adamant about prosecuting an innocent man.  Jesus, who by now has about 75% of his skin torn off, is in dire need of help.  A King of Kings wouldn’t be seen as this bloody and this mangled.  A King of Kings would probably be seen in a nice air-conditioned courtroom with seven lawyers and many supporters around him.  This man, who is mangled and writhing in pain, is not a king.  He doesn’t even look like a king.  He is stooped over and desperately wanting to sit down.  I couldn’t even watch the scene where Jesus is being whipped.

            Along the Via Dolorosa, Jesus is in dire need to rest.  The cross (which interestingly is pre-made, unlike the other two) appears to be very heavy, making it nearly impossible for the very fragile and weak Jesus to carry alone (he eventually gets help).  Jesus here isn’t the superman that some pictures show.  He doesn’t have a rock-hard six-pack of abs and his biceps and triceps aren’t bulging.  His flesh is nearly falling off, and he can barely walk.  Why would a king or a savior be in such a condition?  Only a man could be like this.

            When the movie cuts to the Last Supper scene, Jesus is seen as a calm and compassionate man, unlike what I will describe later in Jesus Christ, Superstar.  He is talking calmly to his disciples and has a smile on his face.  He is happy explaining to his disciples that the only way to God is through him.

            Even though the nailing on the cross was graphic, it was nothing compared to what he had previously endured.  I don’t think it really makes any difference, after watching this movie, if Jesus died while nailed to the cross.  He suffered so much in this movie, and death seemed almost kind.

            His followers obviously see Jesus as a sweet savior.  His mother gently kisses his feet while he is on the cross, as to signify that she is kissing the feet of God himself.  Her hands are trembling a lot when she does this.  Who wouldn’t think he is God after experiencing an earthquake right after a man has died?  That seems too much like a coincidence to me.  The priests are obviously wondering what just happened.  Are they wondering if the death of a man caused this?

The second film I will analyze is the film adaption of the hit musical Jesus Christ, Superstar, by Andrew Lloyd Weber and Tim Rice from 1973.  This film portrays Jesus very differently than The Passion Of The Christ or The Matrix. I believe this film portrays Jesus as humanly as it can, much like the Gospel of Mark does.  It does so by showing Jesus’ emotions, and his almost being tempted by what appears to be a seductive Mary Magdalene.  We will discuss this later.

            I was reminded why I never liked this musical to begin with.  I think the story and the plot are fantastic, but the music, words, and acting can be severely improved upon.  Since I am seeking a degree in music technology, I tend to analyze things as an audio engineer.  The sound in this film is atrocious.  There are many horrible tape edits that I noticed (since digital recording wasn’t prominent until about 1982).  Recording was mainly done on old reel to reel tapes, which were poorly made to save money.  I noticed that there were absolutely no background noises.  I didn’t hear any birds chirping, or any sounds of sand shifting in the wind.  I wonder if this was intentional.  Did the director want us to focus on the storyline and the words instead of distracting us with noises from the background?  This also seems to reflect the Gospel of Mark.  Mark was probably the first gospel written that is included in the canon, and it is the shortest gospel.  Mark is very fast paced, almost like a journalist who wants to be the first person to get his story out.  He writes down just the basic facts, and doesn’t elaborate much on it.  For example, the story of Jesus’ temptation (which is not in the movie, but written here to explain a point), is fairly short.  Mark 1:12-13 says, “The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.  And he was in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts.”  While Luke’s account of the temptation is nearly 13 verses long, and Matthew’s is 10 verses long, both are about equal length (Aland). 

            Jesus Christ, Superstar can reflect the style of the Gospel of Mark.  Each song is a different part of the story of the Holy Week.  The first song shows us Judas’ personal conflict with Jesus.  He sees Jesus as a person, and not divine.  The song, “Heaven On Their Minds,” talks about Judas’ doubts about Jesus being the Son of God.  One of the lines is “strip away the myth from the man.”  I’m reminded of what Thomas Jefferson did to two Bibles back in the 1700s.  He took a razor, destroyed the sections of scripture that describe the “supernatural” aspects and miracles of Jesus.

Mary Magdalene is very touchy of Jesus during the song, “Everything’s Alright.”  She is putting oil on his face and being very seductive of him.  Some of Jesus’ expressions make me wonder what he’s thinking.  It’s not very obvious, but I think he’s very tempted to have sex with her by the way she’s seducing him.  I know I would be tempted by if a woman were to start caressing me and touching me like Mary Magdalene was touching Jesus.  Judas was obviously upset about the way the disciples were talking to Jesus and how they marveled at his works and teachings, since he thinks Jesus is simply a teacher of morals.

            Something interesting happened during the scene that comprised of the song called “Hosanna.”  I’m not sure if this was intentional, or just a glitch in the copy of the film that I have, but when the chorus was singing, “Hey J.C. J.C. would you die for me,” the camera froze on Jesus’ expression, and his expression was that of, “oh, no.”  If it is a glitch on my DVD, then it’s a great coincidence.  The expression shown also shows that Jesus was a human just like everybody else, and that he felt pain and emotion. 

            I never really imagined what would have gone on in the Temple when Jesus drove out the venders, but this film really showed me what might have happened.  I was horrified when I saw strippers and women prostituting themselves in the Lord’s house!  “This is appalling,” I thought, and then I wondered if Jesus thought of the exact same thing.

            The Jesus in Jesus Christ, Superstar experienced stress after being overwhelmed by the sheer amount of people outside the city of Jerusalem after driving the venders out of the temple.  I can only imagine what really happened to Jesus when hundreds of people storm him and crowd around him wanting to be healed.  I’m reminded of when country superstar Garth Brooks appeared at the old Fan Fair in Nashville, Tennessee, unannounced.  Fan Fair, now renamed the CMA Music Festival, is a day long event where country music stars conglomerate together in one place and sign autographs for fans.  They usually stay 3-5 hours and then leave.  Garth, on the other hand, signed for 23 hours.  I can only imagine how much time Jesus spent healing people and performing miracles.  Scripture says that many of the miracles haven’t been included in the Bible.  He stood on his feet for 23 hours straight signing autographs for people who didn’t expect him to be there.

            The Last Supper was an interesting scene.  In this scene, Jesus and Judas reach their climax.  Jesus and Judas are yelling at each other.  Judas, who has already offered to turn Jesus into the authorities, has asked Jesus who will betray him.  Jesus gets up, and storms over to Judas and yells that Judas will betray him.  I remember from the Bible that Jesus took Judas aside, and from what I understand, had a very calm and collected conversation about what is going to happen.  Matthew 26:20-25 shows a very calm and collected Jesus.  “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.”  It is fairly hard to express emotion on paper, but to me that seems calm.  The Jesus in the movie is very different.  His fuse is short, and his temper is flaring. 

            During the scene in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus is pleading with God to not die.  He even says, which surprises me, “If I die what will be my reward?”  I’ve never wondered what reward Jesus got for dying.  I really cannot come up with any conclusions as to what Jesus got out of dying except to say that he has been the only person who has been to hell, earth, and heaven.  This obviously shows the confusion and the sadness and anxiety expressed by someone who knows he or she is about to die.  There are five stages of death: Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.  This scene obviously shows the bargaining aspect.  The depression and acceptance stages are seen during the scene when Jesus and Pilate meet for the second time.  Pilate, in the movie, is a very condescending character, unlike what I see in the gospels.  The Pilate in the gospels seem confused and bewildered, and not at all the uptight and conceited man seen in the film.  He seems to have the “guilty until proven innocent” mind set (recall the Casey Anthony trial and the mindset that many people had about her killing her child, even though the evidence wasn’t there).  Pilate is like this the first time he meets Jesus, and also after the second time (after the atrocious King Herod Song). 

            The crucifixion itself is not at all bloody and gory that The Passion Of The Christ was.  This was like the first picture I showed during my art presentation; very modest and calm and collected.  The Passion Of The Christ, as I mentioned before, is like the image of Jesus at the Brazilian church.  The final stage of death, acceptance, takes place when Jesus says the last words, “Into your hands I commit my spirit.”

The third and final film is The Matrix, released in 1999.  The main character indirectly shows attributes to various Biblical characters such as Doubting Thomas and Jesus himself.  Trinity, another main character, is an obvious play on the Holy Trinity (God: The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit).  The Matrix (seen in a green color scheme) can be seen as the world of sin, and the real world (seen in a blue color scheme), can be seen as the salvation.

Neo, or Thomas Anderson, is not a direct parallel to Jesus, but has a lot of similarities to Jesus.  He was a man who was found to be “The One” to help the people of Zion (a Biblical city) survive.  Morpheus, who can be seen as John The Baptist, gives Thomas Anderson (whose first name, Thomas, can be seen as Doubting Thomas, and his last name means “son of man”), or Neo, the choice of taking a red pill or a blue pill.  This choice could mirror the belief or unbelief in the teachings and salvation that Jesus Christ brought to us when he died on the cross.  The One could be seen as God, and Neo could be seen as Jesus.  Why is this?  Neo is called as a successor to The One.  I find it interesting that the name Neo has the same letters as the word One.  Not only is Neo a good representation of Jesus, but also the whole story line can be paralleled to that of the Bible.  The first matrix was designed to be perfect.  This could parallel what God had in mind before destroying the world with a flood.

When Agent Smith captures Morpheus, he is drugged and nearly dies.  This struggle can be seen as someone entering the world of sin (the Matrix) and becoming stuck.  Sin is the pulling away from a relationship with God, and Morpheus can be seen as pulling away from the real world.  Neo and the gang go back into the Matrix to retrieve Morpheus from his captors.  Jesus came into this world to retrieve us from the bondage of sin. 

The climax of the movie involves Neo getting shot.  He is in a great battle with Agent Smith, and as Agent Smith shoots Neo, he dies in the Matrix and in real life.  This can sort of be seen as Jesus dying on the cross.  Neo was crucified.  Jesus was crucified.  After three days, Jesus rose from the dead.  In the movie, Trinity (acting as the Holy Spirit) kisses Neo and he comes back to life.  Neo has been resurrected from the dead, and is in love with Trinity.  After being resurrected, Neo is now Super-Neo is enters Agent Smith.  Agent Smith’s skin then starts to bubble, and eventually Neo destroys Agent Smith from within, just like Jesus destroyed sin and death from within. 

I personally believe The Passion Of The Christ portrays Jesus the best.  It shows the humanness of Jesus, while still maintaining a mystic figure.  It shows the humanness of Jesus.  It shows the Son of Man.  Jesus died on the cross to save us from sin and death.  The brutality that is shown in this film is almost too much to believe.  It’s hard for me to wrap my mind around the fact that someone took a bullet to save my life.  Sometimes, when I think about what Jesus did, I tear up because I know I’m not worthy of being saved.  I’ve done some horrible things in my life that aren’t worthy of being forgiven.  I’m very grateful for Jesus and what he did for me.  I wrote before that a king or a savior cannot be in such a condition that his skin is nearly falling off.  Only a man could do that.  However, Jesus wasn’t just a man.  He was God, and Man.  He had the best (or worst) of both worlds.  He had the divine power that God had, and he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.  He had the intimacy to be close to people, and he felt pain and suffering.

I’ve come to the conclusion that the main difference between The Passion of the Christ and Jesus Christ, Superstar, is that in The Passion, Jesus mainly feels physical pain and agony.  In Jesus Christ, Superstar, Jesus mainly feels emotional turmoil, rage, and frustration.  The Matrix really made me think about what it meant for someone to die from someone else.  I would really like to find a good movie that shows the divine aspect of Jesus, as well as a film that shows the continuing influence of Jesus on people today. 

Works Cited

Aland, Kurt. Synopsis of the Four Gospels. 3rd. United Bible Societies, 1979. Print.

Gibson, Mel, dir. The Passion Of The Christ. Newmark Films, 2004. Film.

Jewison, Norman, dir. Jesus Christ, Superstar. Universal Studios, 1973. Film.

Wachowski, Andy, dir. The Matrix. Warner Bros. Pictures, 1999. Film.