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"Don't waste bandwith on this guy, madison -- he's a hater (see his post dismissing the christianity of the American and Brit soldiers who fell fighting Hitler)."

Exodus 20:16. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

It is important to remember that Jews who honor the Torah (I'll call them "Jews", but there are many Jews who do not) cannot accept the idea that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God or part of a trinity and effectively God himself. To do so would be to renounce the teachings of the Torah and to violate the First Commandment. There are tremendous and insurmountable disagreements between the Torah and all of those things. Arguments which assume Jesus is the Messiah are meaningless to Jews.

A key point that seems to be lost in this discussion is the fact that Jews do not accept the Gospels as being historically accurate or sacred and inviolate. Rather they are viewed, with significant historical justification, as slanderous, hurtful and dangerous to Jews. Arguments based on the Gospels as historical truth are meaningless to Jews.

But I think it is important for Jews to recognize that the Gospels are sacred to Christians, and outline the foundations of their faith. To ignore that, even in light of key conflicts between Christianity and Judaism, undermines attempts to foster mutual understanding and respect. That is wrong.

For my part, I disagree with Abe Foxman and the ADL in their approach, but that does not inspire me to defame and attack them. They have legitimate reasons for concern, as this thread and other public discussions amply demonstrate. But their concerns do not trump Mel Gibson's right to express himself freely in any way he wishes, especially where his religious beliefs are concerned.

Would Mr. Foxman and his associates stand idly by if Christians and Muslims insisted on dictating changes regarding important details of a movie about Moses and Mount Sinai if it was being made by a Jewish producer/director? I think not, and I would not want them to. But the hypocrisy of going after Mel Gibson in light of such a thing should be obvious to anyone, regardless of faith.

I hope Mel Gibson will present the movie he wants to present, free of external tampering and pure to his vision.

I hope Abe Foxman and the ADL will come to recognize the fallacy of attacking the religious beliefs of others, even those which may be seen as hurtful, while seeking to defend Jews and Judaism. Such an approach ultimately will put Jews at odds with everyone else, and is not consistent with long-established Jewish tolerance for the non-violent religious practices of Gentiles. Disagreement need not mean conflict.

I also hope that those who call themselves Christians while indulging in the spread of lies, hatred and evil (you know who you are) will stop to consider who such endeavors really serve, and remember that such roads unfailingly lead away from God. If you truly embrace the teachings of Jesus, then live by them.

Exodus 20:16. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

Thank you for reminding us all of that divine injunction - - - The anti-christian and anti-mel gibson posters especially should take heed before continuing to try to tar christianity, the gospels, and any effort to dramatize the gospel passion story, as somehow connected with the outrages of naziism.