JESUS Film for Women

Three decades ago a low-budget movie based on the life of Christ was produced by Campus Crusade for Christ and few could have expected that it would go onto to become the most viewed film of all-time. JESUS, a two hour picture based on the gospel of Luke, has been viewed by over six billion people with over 220 million people indicating decisions to place their faith in Christ as a result of viewing the movie.

And now, a new version of the film has been made with a special emphasis on reaching out to women, especially those from Middle Eastern and Eastern cultures. Carolyn Arends recently wrote a review of Magdalena: Released from Shame which can be found here. As Arends says,

"The filmmakers also appear to have been intentional in reaching out specifically to cultures in which women are abused, oppressed, or made to feel ashamed. An article on InterVarsity's International Student Ministries website notes "internationals from honor/shame cultures may especially be able to relate with [Magdalena's] message." Although Western understandings of the gospel tend to center around guilt and innocence paradigms, many Middle Eastern, Indian and Asian cultures relate more strongly to concepts of honor and shame. For example, in his 1994 EMQ article "The Gospel for Shame Cultures," missionary Bruce Thomas details the breakthrough he had in evangelizing Muslim friends when he moved from legal-model understandings of the gospel to explaining that Christ dealt with the defilement and shame of human flesh by becoming flesh himself."

A website has been developed to help in providing resources in conjunction with the release of Magdalena. Hopefully this movie will be widely used in helping to share the Christian message with women that are often neglected in missionary efforts.

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