LOS ANGELES, Feb. 24 (UPI) -- Church leaders have prepared sermons and study guides to address questions about "The Passion of the Christ," which opens in U.S. theaters Wednesday.
"The Bible, the Jews and the Death of Jesus: A Collection of Catholic Documents," prepared by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishop, and "A Jewish Response to Mel Gibson's 'The Passion of the Christ'" by the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews are only two of the publications that have been created to help make sense of Gibson's film, USA Today reported Tuesday.
"The Passion" is "one of the best opportunities I will see in my lifetime to help other people investigate God," said Lee Strobel, co-author of a study guide called "Experiencing the Passion of Jesus," distributed by the Willow Creek Association, which has about 10,000 churches worldwide. The booklet poses questions such as "What did the Resurrection accomplish?"
"It's good that the passion of Christ is on people's minds," said the Rev. Frederick Edlefsen, a Catholic priest in Falls Church, Va.
"But we want people to understand it for what it is, as God sees this," Edlefsen said. "There is something more important than curiosity there. It's a search for truth."
