The Passion of Marc

[From May'09 intro]  The Passion of Marc centres on a young born-again Christian and abstinence proponent, as well his own personal struggle with his faith. The director constructs this short documentary from remarkably revealing and candid interviews, taking a commendably restrained approach to what could have been open tabloid territory.

This documentary is worrying because of how much it has to take into account low levels of thinking and high levels of emotional responses. The classroom scene of privileged students would contrast with privileged classrooms of fifty years ago in the liveliness and keenness of the students and the ability to express themselves clearly and thoughtfully. I thought the approach to sexual behaviour was muddled, quite apart from disagreeing with some of it.

Young people miss out on understanding alternatives to early promiscuity – not as a negative abstinence, but knowing more about the possibilities in love and its expression, and understanding more about their own bodies – their precious brains, and the Christian perspective of being ‘temples of the Holy Spirit’, also has a secular side. How to cope with sexual urgencies in adolescence needs far more discussion in the media generally – the constant stimuli are not at all good.

The youngsters in the documentary were aware of peer and commercial pressures to ‘have sex’ rather than ‘make love’. Training is needed in how to think and behave independently, according to conscience, rather than to have to be like everyone else in – even in the ways they try to be ‘different’. Do you have a ‘Thinking’ documentary on conscience and truth?

[The Passion of Marc] Marc reveals the secrets of his past and by doing so enables us to see the problems he encountered as well as the peace he now knows. This is real peace, the ‘peace that transcends all understanding’ (Philippians 4:7); the peace that comes from faith in Jesus Christ.

The film is up close and personal, giving Marc’s private thoughts and feelings. He reveals how he had sexual addictions and was healed by God after he repented. I like the way we are taken into Marc’s confidence as he shares his past. The film allows us to hear and see Marc in a way that the written word could not do – this is especially so when he speaks directly to the camera.

Forgiveness is a powerful theme in the film. As well as God’s forgiveness, we see his wife’s forgiveness and their resolve to restore their relationship.

The most encouraging thing is to see how Marc is using his past experiences to help young people address matters of sexuality. He exposes myths about condoms and ‘safe sex’. But we don’t feel he is lecturing – he is sharing from the heart. When he speaks to a school class we see his genuine interest and concern for them; that abstinence prior to marriage really does give freedom and helps to avoid the pressures of the world.

The film reminds us that, no matter what we’ve done – and we’ve all done wrong things we regret – God will forgive us if we repent and say we’re sorry. It doesn’t mean there aren’t consequences that follow sin, as we see in Marc’s story. However, God can enable us to use those experiences to help others.

I think that the film effectively shows the heart of the Christian message of repentance and forgiveness by highlighting Marc’s poignant personal story. Do you?