During his Sunday morning sermon at the Lincoln Middlecross church, it was easy to tell that something was on pastor Mike Kinter’s mind. He seemed fidgety and distracted during the first hymn and mixed-up the words to the Lord’s Prayer. He just seemed kind of off. It was during Kinter’s sermon that he was able to clear his mind of what’s been troubling him.
After his monthly watching of “The Passion of the Christ” (2004), he once again found the film powerful and an enriching depiction of Jesus’ sacrifice. But what Kinter loves more than “The Passion of the Christ” is the book that the film was based on, otherwise known as the Bible. According to Kinter, the book presents a more accurate depiction of the events that happened that day, along with thousands of other stories about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Kinter was irked that anyone should think “The Passion of the Christ” could be better than the book, and challenged those who do to think about their choices.
“’The Passion of the Christ’ is a great film. Instant classic. But the book was better, it just is,” Kinter explained. “You find a deeper richness in reading the words of the Lord over having them reinterpreted by Mel Gibson.”
Quickly though, the sermon changed from an evangelical examination of our devotion to one of those rambling people who complain about their favorite books being adapted into movies and want to nitpick about every little detail.
“And what about the entire Old Testament, huh, are we just going to ignore an entire book about the creation of life just for dramatic effect?” Kinter complained. “Also, you cannot focus on a relationship between Caesar and Pontius when you’re telling a story about the Lord, come on.”
The crowd quickly caught on to Kinter’s tirade and grew tired of the of the sermon when the pastor began questioning why the three days and three nights wasn’t a full three days long.
Kinter, though, is proud of what he had to say, and plans to offer any other criticism when he sees fit.
“I’m thinking next I’ll do a seven-week series critiquing the inaccuracies of the Harry Potter films.”
