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The 2005 National Religious Broadcasters (NRB)

Convention With Focus On

 Mel Gibson's The Passion Recut

The National Religious Broadcasters Convention (NRB) for 2005 ended with a banquet and a prestigious award being given to Mel Gibson for his The Passion of The Christ movie, which I reviewed extensively in the articles Mel Gibson's The Passion of The Christ. In the NRB Press Release of February 16, the following information was included.

February 16, 2005

Mel Gibson Accepts Prestigious Award at NRB Closing Banquet
Anaheim Convention Center Feb. 11-16, 2005

MANASSAS, Va. – At the NRB closing banquet on Tuesday night, Mel Gibson was honored with the Board of Directors Award for his work on “The Passion of the Christ.” Gibson surprised those in attendance with his appearance. He thanked NRB members for helping to make the film so well seen. The NRB Board of Directors
Award honors a Christian who demonstrates integrity, displays creativity and makes a significant impact on society. In recognition that broadcasting is not the only way to witness the power of the Gospel, the award winner may or may not be in the field of electronic communications.

NRB President Dr. Frank Wright stated, “For Christian broadcasters, technical quality and innovation....

In other news, Dr. Ron Harris was also elected as Chairman of the Board, along with other newly elected board members, which include: Jim Gwinn (Vice Chair), Janet Parshall (Second Vice), Rich Bott (Secretary), Roger Kemp (Treasurer), Stu Epperson, Bill Skelton, Michael Little, Bill Blount and Robin Jones.

Dr. James Kennedy and the late Dr. Steven Olford were inducted into the NRB Hall of Fame. Former NRB Chairman, Glenn Plummer was also honored by the NRB for his three years of outstanding service.

....NRB is a non-partisan, international association of Christian communicators with more than 1,600 member organizations representing millions of listeners, viewers and readers. NRB’s three-fold vision is to 1) proclaim the Good News of eternal life through Jesus Christ,..." [hotlinks added to CNP membership information]

Quoting from the article Michael Rood,  Sky Angel , Ron Wyatt & The National Religious Broadcasters

As an aside, many of the channels such as PAX, and Sky Angel, ran specials about the making of  "The Passion", and one NBC news reporter discussed the "targeted marketing campaign", and how there was a "Passion of The Christ" race car running on the NASCAR circuit. She then spoke about the NRB Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, and how the film was being promoted there. 

"NRB's sixteen hundred members including radio, TV, and internet organizations reach as many as 140,000,000 Americans each month, a potentially powerful influence to sell tickets, and ultimately they hope, save souls. And the irony that Hollywood, long the object of scorn may help their cause, is not lost on their leaders". 

The reporter then showed a short clip from an interview with Dr. Frank Wright, President of the ecumenical NRB, in which he stated, " It is a sense in which this film coming out of Hollywood is a great encouragement, because it's showing the Christian religion in a respectful, and more positive light than others have done."

The NRB issued a February 2001 press release stating that it's 1350 member group was no longer affiliated with the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE). [PR] The NRB had been a charter member since the NAE launched in 1944, and both are conduits for "New Evangelicalism" beliefs. Although no longer affiliated with the NAE, the National Religious Broadcasters is still affiliated with many that are members of the NAE and also those highly connected with the Council for National Policy (CNP), including the following CNP members, who are listed in the NRB's Board of Directors Class of 2005, 2006, 2007 ~ Dr. John F. Ankerberg,  Ben Armstrong, Edward G. Atsinger III, Dr. Theodore Baehr, Richard Bott, Allen Burkett, John Commuta, Richard Dunham, Stuart Epperson, Jerry Falwell, D. James Kennedy , Beverly LaHaye, Dr. Timothy LaHaye, Richard Mason, Thomas E. McCabe, Rev. Austin Miles , Sam Moore, Paul Pressler, Dr. "M.G." Pat Robertson, Jay A. Sekulow  Peter E. Waldron, Rev. Jim Woodall .

Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" movie is being re-released March 11, 2005 in time for the Easter crowd and is called "The Passion Recut." According to various sources, the film’s distributor, NewMarket, has no plans to release this version on DVD or VHS. Rather, the idea is to release this new "The Passion Recut" version of the film each year around Easter.

In 'consideration' for the massive amount of violence and in order to broaden the audience, Mel Gibson has eliminated about six minutes of the graphic violence to accommodate those who might be affected by too much gore and violence. Many are applauding this move and again the campaign is on to encourage church goers and any movie goers to support this movie.

http://www.newmarketfilms.com/synopsis.cfm?FID=26

Icon Productions’ “THE PASSION RECUT” will be released by Newmarket Films on Friday, March 11th in 500-700 theatres nationwide.

“We received many requests to re-release the film around the Easter holiday,” says Producer Bruce Davey. “Mel (Gibson) decided he wanted to recut a version that appealed to a broader audience without compromising the integrity of the original film one bit.”

“With ‘THE PASSION RECUT,’ Mel has succeeded in creating an experience just as emotionally riveting and powerful as before,” says Newmarket Films President Bob Berney. “The goal was to try and reach toward a PG-13 level, but the MPAA felt it still was an R due to the overall intensity of the film, so we are going out unrated and perhaps it’s ultimately somewhere in between. The end result is a shift in tone and balance that makes the film more accessible to a wider audience, particularly those that had concerns about some of the extreme moments in the original version.”

In an article released by the Catholic News Agency on Feb 11 2005 titled "Gibson to re-release Passion of the Christ", Mel Gibson's partner from Icon productions, Bruce Davey was quoted as saying "there are no new scenes, and the cuts are limited to the more violent aspects of the film, if that's the right term."

It is this writers opinion, that removing the many scenes that are based on the non-Biblical accounts of the Catholic mystics Emmerich, Mary of Agreda and Saint Bridget, the historically inaccurate information and the clearly Biblically inaccurate information, would probably be a wise decision as well. The problem being, that Mr. Gibson would end up with the opening and ending credits, with a very short film in between.

We are reminded:

2 Corinthians 6:14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

For more on the NRB 2005 Convention Please see: The 2005 National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) Convention With Focus On Michael Rood

All Scriptures from the KJB

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