We invited comments on Mel Gibson's
Passion.
Feel free to send
yours,
in a note to be shared here.
We're receiving a nice variety of comments about "The
Passion of the Christ."
Just keep scrolling through these -- you'll find pro's
and con's!
We've also gathered a list of links to
resources and commentaries on the film.
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The Rev. Bobbie McGarey, being a
poet, comments a bit more briefly than some - and with sharp insight.
[3-16-04]
Yes, I saw it... Thought it was necessary to do so to comment.
So interesting... The set up... liked the movie... oh faithful
didn't like the movie.... where's your faith...
I
think the Presbyterians should produce a bumper sticker...
Seen the Movie? We're the sequel.
or
Love Jesus not a movie
or
How many hungry people would 250 million feed?
When did we see you hungry?
No I can't recommend it. and I wish Mel would take a page from Paul Newman's
book...give away more than you are worth!
But yes perhaps people are talking...
Perhaps we should break a Lenten rule... and sing Joy to the World....
all the time...
Bobbie
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The Rev. John Erthein sees
the film as an intense affirmation of the true humanity of Jesus - and as a
cleansing experience [3-16-04]
This movie must be seen, in my opinion, having just seen
it tonight.
I cannot imagine doing justice to this movie in an email
or even a sermon, but I was tremendously moved by the Passion.
You experience Jesus as a real human being ... a friend
and a devoted son of Mary (who was beautifully portrayed).
The violence and bloodshed is sickening at times, and you
want to look away ... but isn't that as it should be? Wasn't the crucifixion
an act of unbelievable horror and pain?
And Jesus was truly human, and he experienced the horror
and pain first hand ... for us. It was not merely going through the motions
... a real man suffered and died.
And yet it was for all of us that he did so.
I felt two things after the movie, aside from some nausea
at the bloody violence and deep sadness at the God-man being victimized and
abused and killed ...
I felt cleansed inside, as if the blood of Christ truly
washed away my sins.
And I KNEW that everyone, including those portrayed in the
movie who betrayed, abused, tortured and killed Christ ... could receive
forgiveness if they asked for it from God. No one is off limits for Christ.
This movie was an act of spiritual devotion and grace, and
it needs to be seen and supported.
God bless you all,
John
Rev. John B. Erthein
Elderton Presbyterian Church
Elderton, PA 15736
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The real passion of Jesus was in
his living, not his dying [3-16-04]
The Rev. John Shuck, pastor
of First Presbyterian Church in Billings, MT, wrote about "The Passion
of the Christ" in
the Billings Gazette. He took issue with the film's publicity
blurb that "Dying was [Jesus'] reason for living," arguing that there were
more important things in Jesus' life for some of us - things such as "his
parables, which were an invitation to cross over to a new way of thinking,
loving and living [as well as his] passion for justice, his acceptance and
elevation of the marginalized, his love of enemies ..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jeffrey DeYoe expresses concern about the "blame it on
the Jews" interpretation of Jesus' death.
[3-16-04]
What a
difference a few decades make. Back in the '70s when
Jesus Christ
Superstar hit the theaters, it was pilloried by the conservative,
religious establishment of the day (although at the same time it was
reflective of its era -
HAIR redux?-
and very influential on the religious landscape for years to come) for its
artistic license regarding the gospel record, as well as its unconventional
theological approach.
In
The Passion
we are given a production which is, once again, reflective of its era (what
is more descriptive of these times than extreme, gratuitous violence on the
big screen and who better to give it to us than Mel Gibson, a true
heavyweight in cinematic violence?), as well as a jumbled mess of Roman
Catholic mythology, directorial musing about Satanic presence, and a total
lack of understanding about the historical context and intentions of the
Gospel of Matthew.
My greatest
concern with the film, however, is not the violence (a bit over the top in
my estimation), Mel Gibson's pre-Vatican II theology, nor even his beliefs
about Satan. My greatest concern is how and why he made the directorial
choices he did regarding the Jews. When the presence of Satan is depicted in
a production in an entirely extra-biblical manner, the director
chooses to
do it a certain way. In regard to his decision concerning the scenes in
which Satan is depicted first, among the group of Jewish priests, and later,
in the midst of the Jewish crowd, Gibson began with the following four
options: 1) Do not depict the presence of Satan in nonbiblical ways at all;
2) Depict Satan in the midst of both the Roman authorities and soldiers, and
the Jewish authorities and people; 3) Depict Satan
only in
the midst of the Romans; 4) Depict Satan
only in
the midst of the Jews.
Theologically
speaking, if you want to send a message that it was the sins (or evil, as
the case may be) of the whole world that sent Jesus to the cross, which
option best represents that understanding? We now know the director chose
option 4. A non-Christian viewing this movie, who knew nothing about our
theological understanding that the sins of the world sent Jesus to the
cross, would never have reason to deduce this from the film itself. In fact,
there is nothing in the movie, in and of itself, that tells us that the Jews
were not
the primary culprits. Yes, the Roman guards were depicted, generally
speaking, as barbaric neanderthals; but their boss, Pilate, could almost
have been confused with Socrates pondering the meaning of truth.
The spin tells
us that we are supposed to believe that Gibson's upbringing and his
radically conservative theological views have nothing to do with the choice
he made to absolve the empire that would eventually give rise to his Church,
and point the finger at the temple priests and Hebrew peasants. This seems a
bit ludicrous.
And how is it
that biblical literalists can embrace a movie about Jesus in which great
portions of the gospel record are corrupted by the imaginings of a Hollywood
mogul, and yet go nuts when mainline preachers make faithful attempts to set
the biblical tradition within a realistic historical/cultural framework? The
problem with taking a gospel record, that was an
in-house
conversation between Jewish sectarians and Jewish traditionalists, and
handing it over to the Gentiles, of any era, is that because we are not part
of that cultural conversation, then and now, our presentation of the story
will
always be anti-Semitic if we do not take great pains to understand
history and culture and then be faithful to it in how we proclaim the story.
Jeffrey DeYoe
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One Witherspooner offers thoughts on "The Passion."
Brian "BJ" Jordan has sent us these reflections.
[3-11-04]
Have you seen the movie? Share your own thoughts - just
send a note!
(Or maybe you haven't seen the movie, but have opinions
anyway. You won't be the only one!)
I had the opportunity to go see the top grossing (pun) movie in America this
past Thursday with a few friends.
As presented, and clearly by Gibson's design - this movie was anti-Semitic.
It not-so-subliminally (Satan sifting amongst various Jewish factions
throughout - funny I didn't recall that from Sunday school)
attempts to drive deeper darker wedges between Jews/Christians and
liberals/conservatives, while fostering bonds between both Roman Catholic
and Protestant right wing contingents. As all of this is accomplished, the
director and his supports make lots of tidy little piles of cash. For this
reason, I've got to believe "the passion" would have been a story unto
itself in a 21st century gospel. I could see the Messiah walking
into Cineplexes, turning over ticket counters and shredding down movie
posters. Those who hold Love as the core ideal of Relationship understand
the crucifixion as being perpetrated by the whole of humanity, an event that
occurred as a result of the totality of our communal sin and therefore one
for which all are responsible.
To pin the murder of the Messiah on the Jews, absolve the
Gentiles, and then profit by marketing it within the Church is a 21st
century blasphemy that might inspire the same kind of tirade Jesus went on
when he entered the temple and started turning over tables.
However, in the midst of all of this I do see some value to the movie. "The
Passion," by virtue of its elitist arrogance, exposes the very worst
revisionist history that the Christian Tradition has to offer. Apparently,
the evolution of God's people really hasn't gotten too far downstream from
the point of the stone being rolled away to the giddiness over Gibson's
movie. Perhaps we've even de-evolved as a tradition if this film is any
indication. While Gibson is quick to earmark the Jewish Hierarchy as the
sole and unified prosecutors of the human damnation of the Christ, the
reality is that The Christian Neo-Orthodoxy (CNO) has become a more
dangerous establishment than the Pharisees of the 1st century
ever were. The CNO holds many of the purse strings to the power structure at
the heart of the most profitable, powerful country in the history of the
world. And unlike the Pharisees, they are intimately influencing foreign
policy and domestic agenda. Their Bush family prodigy rubber-stamps their
legislative priorities and cloaks their 21st century greed-driven
crusades in ways that unite not out of Love, but out of Fear. The value is
realized in the exposure. Better to bring the anti-Semitic elitist agenda
out into the light for all to see it for what it is, than to keep it hidden
as the real subtext of the right wing agenda. Out in the open it is clearly
open to critique, on the table for debate and a target to be dismantled by
anyone who thinks clearly. For this I am grateful.
Movies like this perpetuate and profitably market hysteria that ends up
perverting the essence of the stories they pretend to tell. In this way,
this film is no different from a 2:00 AM TV-evangelism crusade which incites
emotion in its viewers and a resultant "spend" on cheeses of Nazareth,
horse-nail cross pendants, or cubic zirconia prayer beads. The essence of
the story was lost in "the passion." The bottom line in the real Passion was
not how much flesh the Messiah lost at the hands of floggers or which group
was inciting the crowds to murder the Christ; rather it was the glory
foretold and realized when the stone was rolled away - which received a
meager 8 seconds (I counted) from Director Mel. For the non-Christian, what
a depressing tradition to consider entering. The resurrection isn't even
shown other than by a naked messiah, with apparent stigmata, getting up from
a stone bench - which one would only know as his tomb if one had already
heard the story.
In conclusion, I see this movie as just a piece of propaganda crafted to
drive the masses into buying into a very black and white world view. It is
one that segregates Good and Evil and shows that each is quite discernable
within the family of humanity. Good and Evil are not portrayed as results of
actions, but as inherent characteristics of groups themselves. One might
argue that such a world view - such a portrayal - is really what defines
present day Evil. The goal of this world view is to ensure that the masses
remain tied to the Christian Neo-Orthodox Elites and that their agenda
continues to be acted upon unabated. By focusing on the persecution of the
Messiah with little regard for the redemption afforded, the Culture of Fear
so prevalent today is given ultimate justification onscreen through a
Passionic Gorefest.
I pray that the experience of this film leads us all to find a common ground
so desperately needed in this world - a common ground that transcends
historical revision and divisiveness and restores a faith in each other.
Maybe then we can move beyond Christians being a people of hate and return
to being a tradition fostering Love. May we all find ways to refute Gibson's
subtext by affirming the power and totality of a Sacrifice borne of Agape
vs. one that merely sells tickets and sows division.
I'm tired of being told subtextually to hate Muslims
because of 9/11, and now to hate Jews because of "The Passion." Whom will we
be led to hate next? What are the Hindus up to? Who's keeping tabs on the
Taoists or those Shintoists in Japan? Can the right wing just give us all a
rest for a while? Mentally flogging the masses into submission with hate is
no way to realize the Kingdom of God on earth. NO, This isn't what the
Church is about, in fact, it's exactly the opposite of what I believe Jesus
was all about.
Let's get back to Love and make Him proud.
Brian "BJ" Jordan
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More comments on "The Passion"
[added 3-23-04]
March 16, 2004
I saw THE PASSION. and would like to see it in a big theatre again!
POWERFUL
AWE INSPIRING
WOW!
A must see!
God Bless,.
Jacquie Chapman-Loden
Deacon-First Presb. Oceanside Calif
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
March 17, 2004
"The Passion" was awesome! A must-see! An absolute
masterpiece! We don't understand the few nay-sayers out there. This is a
film about our Lord Jesus Christ! And it is magnificently, skillfully and
artfully done! No blond-haired blue-eyed Savior with a British or
surfer-dude accent. Aramaic - wow! You could almost touch Jesus, He was SO
real. (Isn't that what a believer longs for? To be face to face?) The theme
that God so loved the world, Jew and Gentile, that He gave His only Son,
comes through so poignantly. And that Christ died for the sins of the world,
is driven home.
No anti-semitism whatsoever. Just the Biblical truth. It's
in the Gospels that the Jewish religious leaders wanted to kill Jesus. It
was even prophesied that God's people, the Jews (Israelites), would kill
their Messiah. That the Romans carried out the execution, shows that the
entire world killed Jesus. This comes through painfully in Gibson's film.
Jews are portrayed beautifully and compassionately. Jesus was a Jew. Enough
said. We would pray that everyone see this film! And be blessed.
D & S Suddarth, Memorial Presbyterian, Montgomery AL
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Here are some
other reviews of "The Passion," suggested by
Brian
Cave, Union Theological Seminary Master of Divinity Student.
"Cover Your Eyes-but wonder," by Judy Coode
"Black Theology and the Passion," by Robert M. Franklin
