RYEDALE Salvation Army members have booked an entire cinema for a showing of Mel Gibson's controversial film The Passion Of The Christ - and they are giving tickets away free.
The Biblical epic about the last 12 hours in Jesus' life has sparked furious criticism from people unhappy at what they see as its bloody detail and negative portrayal of Jews.
Following the example of a number of religious organisations across the country, the Malton Corps of the Salvation Army has bought all 142 seats at the Palace Cinema, Yorkersgate, Malton, for its 7pm screening of the film on April 29.
"We've done it because it's a good way of encouraging people to actually go and see it," said Cpt Colin Stevens. "I've seen the film, and I would say Mel Gibson has done an excellent job of translating what it says in the scriptures, both old and new, into the film that we see.
"As a Christian church, we feel that people knowing about what Jesus has done for them through dying on the Cross is at the core of our beliefs.
"The more people that actually get to know about what Jesus has done for them, the better.
"The motivation behind purchasing tickets for the film and giving them away free is to give as many people who wouldn't necessarily get to see it have the chance."
Tickets will be available on a first-come, first-served basis from Beecham Health Food Store on the corner of Yorkersgate and Saville Street, Malton, from April 19.
The film has an 18 certificate.
Updated: 12:01 Wednesday, April 14, 2004
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