Posted on 02/29/2004 5:59:33 PM PST by Coleus
'Passion' shakes North Jersey clergy to the core
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Sunday, February 29, 2004 |
One Catholic priest in Morris County was so appalled by Mel Gibson's "The Passion of The Christ'' that he described the film as "religious barbarism.''
But a Protestant minister in Harrington Park was so moved that afterward he drove to a park, where he prayed and sat silently for almost an hour.
Meanwhile, a rabbi from River Edge said the movie could bring Jews and Christians closer, despite the film's insistence that it was the Jews who pushed for the execution of Jesus.
Arriving in theaters last week on Ash Wednesday, "The Passion's'' harrowing vision of the final 12 hours of Jesus' life has struck a nerve in the landscape of American faith, inspiring countless believers, polarizing others, and giving fresh focus to interfaith activism.
The bloody, two-hour movie has outraged some Jews with its portrayal of the Jewish high priests as vicious, scheming power barons. And it has turned off some Christians who believe the film's sole focus on Jesus' violent death misses the essence of Christianity.
The film has also delighted millions of conservative Christians - who showed their growing clout by packing theaters coast to coast, helping make the movie a box-office bonanza.
Yet among clergy, the movie's supporters and critics can't be neatly divided along denominational lines.
The Rev. Jack Lohr, a pastor in Franklin Lakes who preaches a liberal brand of Christianity, said the movie startled him personally and raised fundamental questions for all Christians.
"For us who claim to have taken up the cross to follow Jesus, the film challenges any convenient or comfortable reading of the cost of discipleship,'' said Lohr, of the Presbyterian Church at Franklin Lakes. "I shall never again be able to sing the sweetly sentimental lines of 'The Old Rugged Cross' without a dreadful sense of irony.''
And the pastor at one of the most progressive parishes in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Paterson said the film woke him up to the realities of Jesus' death in a way that trumped years of Bible readings.
"It made me realize I've had a pretty sanitized view of what Christ did for me,'' said the Rev. Kevin Downey of St. Mary's in Pompton Lakes. "I've read the story so much, and felt I knew the story so well, that after a while, you take it for granted.''
One thing's for certain, "The Passion'' isn't going away. The movie took in $23.6 million on opening day, a box office showing that suggests the film could wind up in the same esteemed league as such screen classics as "Ben-Hur'' and "The Ten Commandments.''
But unlike those earlier religious blockbusters, "The Passion'' draws razor sharp theological lines that attract and repel.
The movie dwells almost entirely on Jesus' torture and execution, emphasizing that he chose death on the cross to bring salvation to mankind. The movie's violence is now notorious. Jewish leaders call for his death, mocking and spitting on him. Then Roman soldiers take over, whipping him over and over until the flesh is ripped from his back. Finally, his hands and feet are nailed into the cross.
The Rev. Kenneth Lasch, a veteran Catholic priest, said he was repelled.
"I saw it as religious barbarism ... in my opinion, God did not send his son to die,'' said Lasch, of St. Joseph's Church of Mendham. "God sent his son to live, to be faithful. And in being faithful, it cost him his life.''
Lasch, who saw the movie Thursday, also said the film's uncompromising, in-your-face approach reflects a growing divisiveness and belligerence within the major religions.
"As I was sitting at the end of movie I thought, 'This is not bringing us together,''' he said. "This is increasing the separation.''
Others share his fears.
Rabbi Neil Borovitz said he couldn't help but think about "Fiddler on the Roof,'' the classic musical about life in an Eastern European shtetl. The show, which had a revival open on Broadway the same week "The Passion'' reached the theaters, ends tragically with pogroms against the Jews.
"It was the claim of the Jews killing Jesus that inspired people to slaughter thousands of innocent people,'' said Borovitz, of Temple Sholom in River Edge. "I think Mel Gibson has taken a similar approach in this movie, and it's very bothersome.''
But Borovitz also holds out hope. He attended the movie Wednesday with Catholic and Protestant clergymen that he has known for years. And he points to a fresh round of interfaith activism in Bergen County that will make "The Passion'' the main topic of conversation. On Thursday in Teaneck, for example, two scholars, one Catholic and one Jewish, will speak to religious educators and clergy on the complexities of the crucifixion story and how to explain them to students and other lay people.
Borovitz said he respects the story of the Resurrection as the central narrative of Christianity. But he said Gibson has told the story in a provocative, manipulative, and mean-spirited way.
"I feel much more comfortable with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops or the National Council of Churches teaching this story than I do with Mel Gibson,'' Borovitz said. "But Mel Gibson is going to reach more people than they will, and that's what concerns me.''
Many pastors found the movie so compelling they're seeing it again.
The Rev. George Kaden, of Community Church in Harrington Park, saw the movie Wednesday and drove to Van Saun Park in Paramus for 45 minutes of reflection. He is seeing the movie again today with his family.
"It's a film that challenges us to look in our own hearts and ask ourselves about our relationship with God,'' Kaden said. "Each person has to come to grips with what they are seeing and what they are wrestling with in their personal life.''
Others said the movie is transforming the season of Lent, the period of introspection that began on Ash Wednesday and culminates on Easter Sunday.
The Rev. Steve Giordano will preach about the movie in his sermon today. Giordano, of Clinton Avenue Reformed Church in Bergenfield, cited the movie's opening scene in which Jesus decides to face the cross rather than run from it.
"That's the same question that we face at the beginning of the Lenten season,'' Giordano said. "Are we going to accept the challenge of making a significant spiritual season, or is it just going to be business as usual?''
This article contains material from The Associated Press.
There are some long-time residents in Mendham who are decent people, mostly in the in-town areas such as Old Brookside, I think.
But if you wanted to buy a house anywhere in Mendham now, even a shack, you'd have to be a multi-millionaire. It's that bad and has been for a couple of decades.
That's what I meant. The person, in the article, saying "the Jews" makes it sound as if every single Jew living back then was taking part in it, which was not the case. If those persons, claiming there are anti-Semitic themes in Mel's movie, had never voiced those claims, I would never had dreamed that the subject would be brought up. To blame the entire Jewish race for the Crucifixion is just as ridiculous as blaming all white people for slavery.
Pope John Paul II's Pilgrimage to IsraelThe Pope has also warmed relations between the Vatican and Israel, which were frayed for nearly half a decade. No pontiff has ventured into the Holy Land since Pope Paul VI visited for just 11 hours in 1964. The Vatican and Israel had no diplomatic ties until 1994, and the two sides were so estranged that Paul VI traveled only to Christian religious sites, never mentioned Israel by name in public and refused to address the Israeli president at the time, Zalman Shazar, by his title. In 1993, however, John Paul II agreed to the Fundamental Agreement between the Holy See and Israel establishing relations between the two states and, in 1997, the Legal Personality Agreement recognizing church officials in Israel.
by Mitchell Bard
March 21-26, 2000What did Pope John Paul II do in World War II?Wojtyla, who was penniless even before the war, had lived for just one year in a tiny basement apartment in Krakow. When he briefly sheltered a girl from his hometown who was trying to escape slave labor, his landlords told him to send her away because they would not risk an unregistered tenant... He was pledged to UNIA, which ran 20,000 guerrillas, provided false papers to 50,000 Jews, and hid 2,500 Jewish children. UNIA also sponsored "cultural resistance," which involved upholding a vision of a democracy, human rights, faith and religious freedom. Wojtyla -- who was an aspiring actor -- was part of an underground theater company that fostered those ideals through secret plays held in homes... The actors would have been executed if they had been caught. His entrance into the underground seminary in 1943 placed his life in even greater danger... [F]ilm maker Marek Halter, who had wanted to include John Paul in a documentary on rescuers. Halter said he asked the pope if he had many Jewish friends before the war, and John Paul said "yes." Halter then asked if John Paul had done anything to save them, and the pope said, "I don't believe I -- no. No." ...When the war came, Wojtyla was 30 miles away in Krakow, without a car or telephone and with Germans in between. Certainly he feels terrible that he did not help his friends... Wojtyla was raised among Jews in Wadowice, where he sometimes played goalie on the synagogue soccer team. The cardinal archbishop of Warsaw was an outspoken anti-Semite, but Wojtyla's parish priests refused to propagate the cardinal's teaching. John Paul recalls his pastor preaching that anti-Semitism is anti-Christian... His skills and circumstances may have dictated that he play one role and not another in the resistance. But he risked everything to resist and to urge others to do likewise. To say that he did nothing is an attempt to rewrite history. And one of the enduring lessons of the Holocaust is that such revision is the root of great evil.
by Ann Rodgers-Melnick
Sunday, March 05, 2000Pope wants EU to call itself ChristianThe Vatican argument is that Christianity's fundamental role in shaping European culture should be acknowledged in what is destined to become the EU's key document... A reference to the EU as a Christian institution would further complicate the debate in Europe over whether Turkey is eligible for admission, some analysts said. Turkey, officially a secular state, is seeing a revival of its Muslim origins... European sources said the Turkey issue is only a secondary point. Although the picture was mixed, few of the 15 EU member states, and of the new members scheduled to join in the next two years, include a reference to religion in their respective constitutions... Putting an emphasis on Christian values now could alienate the large immigrant populations of Muslims that now reside in virtually every member country.
by Roland Flamini
January 23, 2003Vatican Controlled by Jews, Say Syrian AcademicsSoheil Zakar, one of Syria's top historians, recently argued that "immense pressure" by American and European Zionist groups forced the Vatican in 1965 to absolve the Jews from the "historical responsibility" for the death of Jesus. Zakar, a Muslim whose 1983 book Popes From the Jewish Ghetto claims that three medieval popes were of Jewish origin. A Syrian Catholic historian, Michel Munir, alleges in a new book that Pope John Paul is the architect of a conspiracy to undermine the Catholic church by placing it under the control of Jews. Munir's book hit bookstores about a month before the pope's visit. The papal trip to Syria was meant in part to trace the travels of St. Paul, who spread the Christian faith throughout the Roman empire in the first century after he had a vision of Jesus on the road to Damascus.EU wary of ending Israel's isolation at UNUnder arcane United Nations rules, Israel should be part of the Asian regional group, which includes its Middle East neighbors. But Arab nations have opposed its membership for years so Israel is seeking a place in the Western group. Many committee posts as well as the 10 nonpermanent seats on the Security Council are nominated by regional groups to retain a geographical balance. Although some countries never get nominated for a seat, only Israel cannot compete at all... Within the European Community, diplomats said Germany, Sweden and Belgium were strongly in favor of Israeli membership while France and Britain kept a low profile. At the Nov. 26 meeting, Spain was said to have raised objections although Italy, Ireland and Portugal had voiced reservations in earlier discussions, diplomats said.
ReutersIsrael Halts Mosque ConstructionIsrael announced a permanent halt Sunday on construction of a large mosque next to the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth, drawing strong condemnation from Muslims in the biblical town. The Islamic Movement in Nazareth, the group that wants to build the mosque, accused Christian leaders abroad of meddling in a local affair and said it would not abandon its plans... Christian leaders have said that building a mosque so close to the Basilica - the largest in the Middle East and the site where tradition says the Angel Gabriel foretold Jesus' birth - would be disrespectful. Pope John Paul II threatened to cancel a visit in 2000 over the issue... Natan Sharansky, the Israeli Cabinet minister in charge of a committee the government set up last month to resolve the dispute, announced Sunday that construction of the mosque would be halted for good... Sharansky accused representatives of the Islamic Movement in Nazareth of intimidating Arab Christians in the city of 70,000 and warned extremists not to violate the government's decision.
by Jamie Tarabay
Mar 3 2002
HUH????????
I'm almost 51, have been Catholic all my life, have lived in 5 different states and have met thousands of Catholics, and have NEVER met one who was anti-Semitic. I'm not saying that there aren't a few. It seems to be more of a European thing, but I don't believe for a minute that the Catholic church is FILLED with people who hate Jews.
As for the Pope's concern about the Palestinians, don't forget that there are MANY Christians living in Israel, and the Pope surely feels a need to minister to them. He can't help it if the Syrian government abused his visit; that reflects more poorly on it than him. I believe the Church did not recognize the the State of Israel until it was reasonable sure that ALL its citizens would be treated fairly, not just the Jewish ones.
Well, they do serve a purpose.
Next time someone accuses Gibson -- or anyone else in a similar context -- of antisemitism, because of his (or the Gospels') portrayal of the Pharisees in a bad light, simply show them what these turkeys are all about, and then tell them that this is the type person he's talking about. Whether the "Phariees" in question are Jew or Gentile is immaterial. It's what they do, not who they are.
These guys fulfil the "blind lead the blind and they both fall in the ditch" imagery to a "T".
In Matthew the Jews cried his blood is on us, and our children after us.
First, Mel Gibson did not include this statement in his movie
Second, this statement is in our bible, and there is nothing that we can do to erase it.
Third, In 1968, the Vatican came out with a clarification to calm down the fears of the Jewish people, the Pope declared that Christians do not hold current Jews responsible for the Death of Christ.
Fourth, we in the West do not carry the grudge like the tribal desert cultures do, and did. We do not punish the children for the sin of their parents, because we believe that everyone is responsible for his/her own conduct.
To this end, the paranoia, and hysteria of the Jewish people to threaten Mel Gibson or to deny him his rights of free expression is an illustration of irresponsibility bordering on minority oppressing the majority.
Let me see how the Jewish people doing with the Koran; it orders Moslems directly to kill Jews. It even said, when a Jew runs away from you to hide behind a tree, the tree will cry out there is a Jew behind me o'believer, come and kill him!
The Jewish people need to save their hostility and join the Christian people in combating Islamic radicalism, and perhaps help the Moslems reform their violent religion.
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