Saturday, March 6, 2004

RHINO'S WEEKEND BLOG - March 6th & 7th QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND "The Holy Ghost was working through me on this film, and I was just directing traffic." - - Mel Gibson THIS WEEKEND IN HISTORY March 6th, 1857 -- In the Dred Scott Decision, the U.S. Supreme Court rules blacks are not US citizens & as such, are not entitled to protection under the law. The "unhappy Black Race," wrote Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney in his opinion, had never possessed "rights which the white man was bound to respect."   March 7th, 1933 -- Charles Darrow's patent for the game Monopoly is approved. Appearing at the height of the Great Depression, Monopoly is a big hit because each player gets $1,500, tries to bankrupt the others by buying, selling & trading properties & by charging exorbitant rent, just like real businesses & land owners. WEB SITE OF THE WEEK: The Patriot Act Game The Patriot Act Game is designed to be a fun introduction to the Act, it's implications and actual results. Hundreds of actual cases and aspects of the law make up the game's content. http://home.earthlink.net/~thepatriotactgame/about.html CARTOON OF THE WEEK:  "Help I've Been Kidnapped!" Uncle Bam; The Trigger Happy Twin of Uncle Sam http://unclebam.homestead.com/BamVert59.html PHOTO OF THE WEEK:  Big Dubya Busch 3:55:09 PM    comment

WEEKEND BOTTOM LINE - Rhino On The Passion Rhino On The Passion by Gary Rhine, Rhino's Blog, 3/6/04 I finally made the time to see Mel Gibson's new film, "The Passion of The Christ" & am comfortable in reporting, from the Rhino's belief system perspective... - raised West Coast Reform Jewish, - turned 1970's spiritual seeker at The Farm in Tennessee, - read & re-read the red print in the King James version of The New Testament, - read & re-read "The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus The Christ" by Levi, - pondered "The Tales of The Hasadim" & "The Legend of The Bal Shem Tov" by Martin Buber, - meditated on "The Zen Teaching of Huang Po on The Transmission of Mind" - engaged in spirited dialog for over 3 decades on the pros & cons of religion & spirituality ... that it is wonder-filled. Mind you, if you're not fond of what some have called "The Greatest Story Ever Told," you know the story in the book that out sells all other books every year, then you probably won't like it.  And if you can't stand the sight of blood in a movie, even in stories where the blood is an integral part of the story (like say, "Catch 22") then you probably won't like it.  But if the story of Jesus has any positive meaning for your life, you will likely appreciate Mel's totally from the heart movie. Also, as a moviemaker myself, & a movie lover, this is an undeniable masterpiece. I understand the concerns of those who reflect on the history of violence which has sometimes occurred in response to some recitations of The Passion Play, but I don't believe this rendition will have those effects.  To those that would accuse Mr. Gibson of being anti-semitic, I disagree.  Some have said he disavows the Vatican because in Vatican 2, the blame claim for the killing of Christ was officially disavowed.  I doubt if most have ever heard Mel speak on his beliefs regarding The Vatican. I think its something he does very rarely if ever in public. One should bear in mind that many Catholics who have problems with the Vatican don't object to Vatican 2, but instead disagree with things the Vatican had decreed long before that. For instance, the banning of priests being married. This was done not for moral reasons but because the Vatican didn't want to be financially responsible for entire families. So The Vatican's financial  relief, seems to have caused many a young child's emotional burden. Mel's Father has made statements to journalists who I believe were looking for dirt on Mel, that are indeed outlandish, and many people have criticized Mel for not disavowing his Father's comments, but as he passionately said in a recent interview, he refused to let the media or anyone else cause a rift between him and any of his family members. He also said in no uncertain terms that he did not believe the Jews were responsible for killing Jesus, he recognizes the atrocities of the European Holocaust, & he has many friends who are Jewish. All the above is said from my perspective.  Now my wife happens to have a professional relationship with Mr. Gibson. She works with many very successful people in the entertainment community, but she has for years been especially impressed by the way Mr. Gibson's conducts himself, obviously a man of faith, not in terms of praying on Sundays, but in terms of his frequent acts of anonymous philanthropy. She has told me & others, on countless occasions that he is kind to everyone he comes in contact with, that she has witnessed his compassion for others, performing random acts of kindness with both friends & near strangers.  She's described how he befriends all who work on his projects, no matter what their position, & is actually more likely to hang & relate with the "little guys." He's also a notorious practical joker who keeps everyone on set in stitches. I say all this to offset what  I feel have been some recent unjustified accusations, condemnations & in some extreme cases, demonizations of  a man who I believe has stuck his neck out, using his skills as a moviemaker, to depict a story that has great meaning to himself and many others. While I don't personally believe that redemption can only come from accepting Jesus as the sole savior of mankind, I do believe that when he said, I am the way..., he meant that aiming your behavior toward the type of compassion that Jesus both taught & exemplified, is the way to spiritual enlightenment. From that perspective, I found the movie inspiring and sure to be a long lasting classic. "RHINO'S BLOG" is the responsibility of Gary Rhine. (rhino@kifaru.com) Feedback, and requests to be added or deleted from the list are encouraged. SEARCH BLOG ARCHIVES / SURF RHINO'S LINKS, AT: http://www.rhinosblog.info RHINO'S OTHER WEB SITES: http://www.dreamcatchers.org (INDIGENOUS ASSISTANCE & INTERCULTURAL DIALOG) http://www.kifaru.com (NATIVE AMERICAN RELATIONS VIDEO DOCUMENTARIES) Articles are reprinted under Fair Use Doctrine of international copyright law. http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html All copyrights belong to original publisher. Tell a friend about Rhino's Blog 3:07:58 PM    comment

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