The Passion of the Christ

I meet up with a friend and we decided to go watch a movie. The movie we decided to watch was The Passion of the Christ. My initial reaction was that this is the bloodiest and most gruesome movie I've ever seen. There was alot more violence then was necessary. But I must admit, between the blood, the violence and the in-your-face special effects, underneath all that was a good movie. Mel Gibson really poured his heart and soul into this movie. When you hear news reports about how religion had saved his life, you can see the devotion and faith he has in the movie. I went to a Catholic school. I studied religion. I went to mass and I said my daily prayers. Yet I never felt that I was truely a Catholic. I believe in *a* God. I believe every religion is talking about the same God and he has only revealed himself in a different way to different people. Jesus, to me has always just been some guy out of some book. However, after watching the movie, after seeing the "story" come to life, it became almost like reality to me. No i'm not having an epiphany......atleast not yet. But i must admit, the movie has me thinking. Maybe I've been wrong all along. Maybe its my lack of faith and my couldn't-care-less nature during school that I don't believe as much as I should. Maybe it doesn't matter what I believe as long as I do good. I don't think watching this movie is going to change me into a weekly church goer and a devoted Catholic. Whether I'll mull over the meaning of life or continue on with my life as it is, its defintely a movie that would make you think. Although I must warn anyone wanting to watch it.....it's not for the faint hearted. Chances are you'll walk out of the cinema like me...wanting to be a vegetarian for the next week or month or so. No, this isnt a review of the movie.....just my thoughts that I would like to go through a few years down the track.....Please ignore...