USING THE PASSION TO RIDICULE CHRISTIANS

What Happened to the Critics Yelling for the Crucifixion of Mel Gibson?

“And so it came to pass that The Passion of the Christ opened to a five-day gross of $125.2 million, and some people said that the movie was good and some said that it wasn't good, but Hollywood marveled at its miraculous boxoffice take… (It should enter the weekend with about $160 million). And so even those who doubted have been silenced�
–The Hollywood Reporter, March 5, 2004

With the incredible box office success there has been a deafening silence in the media from the critics regarding Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ. Before opening day Mel Gibson received an unprecedented attack from the press and religious “leaders.� Not so much at his film, but at him. There seemed to be a hope that the Passion would crash and burn. Now that it is one of the top grossers of all time, critics are at a loss as to what to say.

Most of the attacks on Gibson had to do with agendas, which had little to do with the film itself. When asked by Diane Sawyer if he thought Mel Gibson was anti-Semitic, Abraham Foxman, chair of the Anti Defamation League, answered “No.� He gave the same answer for whether he thought the film was anti-Semitic. And yet, certain media critics have used the ADL concerns (that the film could be used to “fuel hatred toward the Jews�) to virtually crucify Mel Gibson personally for being “anti-Semitic.� I would suggest that at the heart of this is a view is an agenda against Christians, Christian faith and the Biblical accounts of Jesus.

What is at stake here is artistic integrity, creativity, freedom of speech, and religious belief. Being a Christian who believes in the Gospel accounts of Jesus does not equal anti-Semitism.

The Christian community has gone out of its way to assure their Jewish neighbors that they are loved. No one that I know of within the Christian community is attacking the precious people of Jewish faith because of this film.

Conversely, film critics, religious “leaders� and “scholars� are attacking Christians and Christian faith through their misuse of this film.

Vanity Fair film critic Christopher Hitchens says Gibson is a member of a “wacko� religious sect. He called the film “boring� and “fascistic� and had predicted people would stay away from the film (that it would bomb). He has called Christians who see the film “sickos.�

Would Mr. Hitchens call any Jewish religious community “wacko�? So why use such language to describe Gibson’s Christian community? Would he call Jewish film goers “sickos�? Why is it okay to call Christian film goers that?

Newsweek’s Jon Meacham stated, “Gibson has relied on a very literal reading of the New Testament texts… (which) are not historically accurate necessarily… if we read them in this way we fall into very dangerous territory.�

Would Meacham also state that Jewish texts are “dangerous� because they are “not historically accurate�? Additionally, would he have the guts to follow the logic of his statement and say that Bible-believing Christians are dangerous?

In a PBS televised interview New Yorker film critic David Denby said, “I do not see where there is any spiritual meaning here in what is in effect a two hour snuff film… Mel Gibson is crazy.� The film is “dangerous …(and) I’ll be damned if there is any spiritual meaning in it.� In the New Yorker he denies that the Gospels are the work of eyewitnesses but rather the work of “nameless Christians� decades later. He condemns Gibson for believing that the Gospels are accurate, and scolds Gibson for “brush(ing) away� the work of “scholars and historians.�

Is he really saying Gibson is crazy and dangerous because he has based his movie on the Biblical texts? Isn’t this a slam on all Christian believers as well?

Things are suddenly changing, however, which might explain some of the recent silence from the critics. There is the realization that offending the Christian market may not be in anyone’s best financial interest. In today’s Daily Variety, columnist Todd McCarthy writes, “Never before has the contemporary Christian market, which is often portrayed as indifferent at best and hostile at worst to pop culture, been tapped to anywhere near this extent by a motion picture… Gibson's epic has startlingly exposed the extent of this seriously untapped public, which is unlikely to remain so ignored in the future.�

One of the practices at Hollywood Jesus is never to throw rocks at any artist or their work. Rather, we approach each work on its own terms, find common ground and open the doors of dialogue. I have a Christian friend who is upset with me because I won’t warn people against the evils of Mel Gibson. He feels the movie is too violent. He has not seen the movie, of course, and referred me to the New Yorker magazine review to back his opinion. However, I cannot join such “enlightened� people and pound more nails into the already publicly crucified Mel Gibson. Nor will I crucify any other artist, actor, or work (Check out my comment in the March 5 weekend edition of USA Today, pg 11A).

In the current March 2004 issue of Christianity Today there is an article entitled “Multi(per)plexed." It concerns the differences between Christian movie reviewers who are moralistic-centered and those of us who are dialogue-centered. It states, “In contrast, David Bruce, founder of the website Hollywood Jesus, voices an increasingly popular view: Let's engage films, and find God's common grace woven into even the most seemingly objectionable of them… Bruce says, ‘I don't take a moralistic or legalistic approach, but start with dialogue.’�

I usually call upon fellow Christians to stop throwing moralistic rocks at artists and movies that do share a Christian worldview. Now I call upon secular critics and religious leaders to stop the rock-throwing at artists and movies that have a Christian worldview. I ask them to stop the name-calling of those who hold worldviews different from them. I say, find common ground and open the doors of dialogue. People are worthwhile. Respectful dialogue and openness to others are essential elements to “peace on earth and good will toward all.�

I challenge you to love and respect your religious neighbors, regardless how they differ from your rock-throwing opinions. In the words of Jewish scripture and of Jesus, “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.� You can start by not calling your neighbors with religious faith “wackos.�

In view of the huge popularity of the Passion, it seems to me, there are a lot of “wackos� out there that you need to learn to love and dialogue with. Otherwise you will find yourselves without a voice –which for the moment seems to have been quieted.

“What the world needs now, is love sweet love!� Just as the old 60s pop song goes, “Come on people now, smile on your brothers, everybody get together, try to love one another right now!� Catch the loving Passion of the Christ for others!

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