'Passion' Merits 'Two Thumbs Up'
Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ was released last week, to a good amount of controversy. The movie depicts what Christians believe is one of the most important event in history, the last twelve hours of the life of Jesus of Nazareth. Even before its release, the movie generated a firestorm.
Unlike many of the film's critics, I decided to be fair enough to actually see it before I made any judgment. So on Ash Wednesday, I crowded into a packed theater at 10:30 PM (the only showing that wasn't sold out) to see the movie that has caused so much passion.
I wasn't disappointed.
Viewing The Passion is truly a moving experience. It isn't easy to watch. The forty lashes, the brutal beating, the crucifixion. It's not a movie you should go to if you want to be entertained, but it is a movie you should see. That is, if you can handle the truth.
Since I believe that Jesus is the Messiah, I was little biased when I saw this film. It made sense to me because I knew the events leading up to where the movie began. A non-Christian might have a more difficult time understanding it, but if they view it with an open mind, I have no doubt they will also be moved.
Many have charged that the movie is anti-Semitic. After seeing it, I don't believe it is. Yes, some of the Jewish leaders were not portrayed in a positive light, but this is simply in keeping with the Gospels. The movie makes it clear that the Jews were not collectively responsible for the crucifixion. A radical preacher like Christ was bound to clash with religious leaders. Such a scenario is not unique to the Jesus' time and place. Just look at the history of the Reformation.
Just as in the Gospel, there were Jewish heroes and Jewish villains in the movie. The Romans are portrayed as almost entirely evil, also in keeping with the Gospels. Perhaps the problems most people have are with the Gospels, not with Mel Gibson.
There is no denying there have been many instances of Christian anti-Semitism throughout history. All right-thinking Christians acknowledge and regret this. They also recognize that anti-Semitism is un-Christian; after all, aren't the Jews God's Chosen People? Wasn't Jesus also a Jew? How then could any true, Bible-believing Christian be anti-Semitic?
Many of the attacks on this film, and on Mel Gibson personally, are not motivated by a belief that the film is anti-Semitic. This charge only gives them cover. No, they are truly motivated by disdain for Christianity. The Passion is one of the few movies to actually depict Christianity in a positive light. This is simply unacceptable to some.
It would be unfair to dismiss all the criticisms of Mel Gibson's film, however. Given the centuries of suffering by Jews, often at the hands of Christians, it is understandable why many would be concerned. To them I would ask that they see the movie before passing judgment on it.
The great irony of this film is that, while it has been blasted for its alleged promotion of hate, The Passion is ultimately about love; the love of Christ, who laid down his life for all humanity. It's a love we cannot fully comprehend. The Jews didn't kill Christ. We all did. During one scene of extreme violence and blood I thought to myself, what horrible people these Romans were. Then I realized that I was very bit as responsible as the Romans were. In fact, in a dramatic scene of self-implication, Gibson himself even appeared in a scene driving a nail through Jesus' hand.
I'm no theologian, but I have read the Gospels, and Gibson's film is accurate. The differences were a Satan character being added, demonic children, and the role of Simon of Cyrene was stressed a bit more than in the Gospels, probably to emphasize the heroism of many Jews. None of these directly contradict the New Testament.
The Pope reportedly said of the movie, "It is as it was," though this was later denied by Vatican officials. Billy Graham said, " I doubt if there has ever been a more graphic and moving presentation of Jesus' death and resurrection." In more secular quarters, movie critics Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper gave the film two thumbs up. Roeper described it as, "…the most powerful, important and by far the most graphic interpretation of Christ's final hours ever put on film."
For me, I can sum up The Passion in one word: Amen.
John Brown is a senior in political science and history at the University of Tennessee @ Knoxville. Contact him at johnnyb325@aol.com, or visit www.johnnorrisbrown.com. This column originally appeared in the March 4, 2004 edition of The Daily Beacon, available here.