In an attempt to boost their congregations, four Church of England parishes in Kent are offering free tickets to The Passion of the Christ, and have already booked £20,000 worth of tickets. Russ Hughes, director of worship and prophecy at St. Luke's Church in Maidstone said: 'This is the greatest opportunity for the church in the last 30 years and if we did not use it we may not get such an opportunity again.'

This may seem daft, but wouldn't it be more Christian to spend the £20K helping the needy? I mean, how long does it take to recoup that sort of money via the collection plate, even with a congregation elevated to new levels of righteousness by their brush with 'Mad Max' Gibson's celluloid extravaganza? And what on earth is a 'director of prophecy'? How exactly does he earn his corn? Lastly, if this is the 'greatest opportunity for the church in the last 30 years', what happened back in 1974? Does anyone know?