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In Rio's reimagined Passion Play, drug lords kill ChristBy Marilia Brocchetto, CNN (CNN) - Opening night for the Passion of the Christ re-enactment in Rio de Janeiro's famous Cidade de Deus neighborhood Friday night was a little different. Instead of a Jesus with long strands of hair crucified, the packed theater saw the Son of God in dreadlocks being burned alive inside tires, in a torture by known by drug traffickers as "microwave." Directed and written by Adilson Dias, the play modernizes the words in one of religion's most well-known biblical stories and brings it home for a community surrounded by drug traffic and crime. All 15 actors, ages 18 to 30, had some connection with Rio's drug traffic. Survivors grateful after tornado tears through Missouri churchBy Greg Botelho and Phil Gast, CNN (CNN) -"Tear down this temple, and I will rebuild it in three days," Jesus said. Following those words, pastor Stacy Garner pressed pause on "The Passion of the Christ," then told the dozens of people watching the movie at Ferguson Christian Church to head into the basement. A tornado, he feared, was on its way. Within two minutes, the twister arrived - part of what the National Weather Service called a "tornadic supercell" that swept through the greater St. Louis metropolitan area Friday evening. And it didn't spare the church in Ferguson, about 10 miles north of the city and three miles east of the St. Louis Lambert airport, which also got hit hard. Yet all those at the church that night survived. So, too, did a silver cross depicting Jesus' crucifixion, which was untouched in an otherwise ravaged auditorium, while a portable cross brought out specially for the Passion weekend - the time between Good Friday and Easter, which are among the most special times on the Christian calendar - laid on its side, intact. |
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The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team. ![]() ![]() |
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