[churchillbuff]

Another commentator who is really attacking the Gospels (in the guise of attacking Gibson) and putting christians on notice that they are not supposed to take their beliefs to the public square --- or they'll be ridiculed, denounced and, if the bigots can pull it off, financially ruined. (Didn't work with the courageous Mel Gibson, but the message -- like a horse's head - - may intidimate other christians in hollywood into keeping their heads down. As in the past, they may take the course of least resistance and let the anti-christian bigots who run the place (many of them, like Safire, jewish, alas) continue to put out their soul-destroying crap without interference or protest.

[ZULU]

Safire is just another leftist liberal whose condemnation of this film is in effect an approval rating.

Gibson, hopefully, will go on to produce more Biblical epics to further enrage the Godless left.

[Cronos]

where were these guys when KILL BILL/SCREAM were released???

[Taliesan]

And finally, outrage: who was responsible for this cruel humiliation? What villain deserves to be punished?

Which is exactly the response Jesus forbids, in the very same movie Safire sat through.

[Mamzelle]

re: Another commentator who is really attacking the Gospels (in the guise of attacking Gibson) and putting christians on notice that they are not supposed to take their beliefs to the public square --- or they'll be ridiculed, denounced and, if the bigots can pull it off, financially ruined)))

ping ;-)

[HenryLeeII]

Movie mayhem, long resisted by parents, has found its loophole; others in Hollywood will now find ways to top Gibson's blockbuster, to cater to voyeurs of violence and thereby to make bloodshed banal.

One sentence, four major errors.
1) Since when have many parents cared about the violence their children see in movies, on TV, in the computer games they play, or depicted in the music they listen to? A lot of parents have no idea about what their children are fed by the entertainment industry.
2) Mel Gibson is not exploiting any "loophole;" violence, and very graphically portrayed, is a major ingredient in a lot of entertainment these days.
3) Audiences are not flocking to The Passion for the violence; its for the message, the story, the passion of the Christ.
4. Graphic violence has a place in certain movies (e.g. Saving Private Ryan), but The Passion is not going to make mainstream producers push the envelope of violence. Its already been pushed and will continue to be pushed until there is no longer a prurient market for it.

[roses of sharon]

So another Manhattan salonite speaks.

Do elites have term limits? They have overstayed their welcome by about 30 yrs.

[cupcakes]

Now would be a good time for the average Jew to rise up against the Pharisees in Hollywood. Let their voice be heard.

[GraniteStateConservative]

But biblical times are not these times.

Let's put the Bible into the PC shredder pronto!

[XJarhead]

However, a group of Catholics rejects that and other holdings of Vatican II. Mr. Gibson is reportedly aligned with that reactionary clique.

That's a horribly misleading statement, and Safire is too smart not to recognize that. Vatican II addressed a great many issues, and disagreement with Vatican II does not necessarily mean disagreement with the specific conclusion that all jews should not be blamed for the death of Jesus. In any case, Gibson has expressly stated his view that jews in particular should not be blamed for the death of Jesus, and that all people, of all backgrounds, share that blame. For Safire to imply that Gibson believes otherwise is a knwing misrepresentation.

I don't have a strong religious faith of any kind, but these unfair attacks on Gibson are really bogus.

[NeoCaveman]

The richness of Scripture is in its openness to interpretation answering humanity's current spiritual needs.

Current spiritual needs? What's current? Human nature hasn't changed one bit in 2000 years.

[tsomer]

I had never heard of this "Oberammergau" thing. So, I googled:

http://www.jrep.com/Jewishworld/Article-44.html

Oberammergau is a Bavarian town that has staged the Passion annually over the last 370 years. It remains a big tourist draw.

Here's a quote from the article:

"For Jews, the drama, which blamed them for the crucifixion, has had a darker side. It often stirred the crowds into a frenzy of anti-Semitism. After attending a 300th anniversary performance in 1934, a delighted Adolf Hitler praised the play as a "precious tool" in the war against the Jews."

I'm growing weary of this, making Christians responsible for twisted, intentional subversion of the doctrine. Nazism and anti-semitism is not Christian. Its roots are in resurgent national paganism and eugenics; these were intellectual movements.

[1Old Pro]

Safire should go play shuffleboard with Andy Looney and Walter Cronkite in Florida. I saw the film. The thing that the anti-Gibson crowd fear the most is the re-awakening of Christians and Catholics who they have tried for years to "put down" and mock.

[junta]

Bill Safire the perfect living allegory of liberalism, old and senile.

[MississippiMan]

Matthew in 10:34 quotes Jesus uncharacteristically telling his apostles: "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword." You don't see that on Christmas cards and it's not in this film, but those words can be reinterpreted -- read today to mean that inner peace comes only after moral struggle.

That's not my core interpretation of the line at all. I think He was letting us know that He would be divisive when His full message is told. That's certainly how it is. Mention some vague notion of "God," and no one objects. Say the name "Jesus," and watch the reaction. And among some "Christians," it's fine as long as you stick to the Jesus-is-love tact, but point out that He also has a warrior persona, and watch the fireworks begin.

IMMHO, this divisiveness is the core element of what Jesus was foretelling in that verse.

MM

[nmh]

Beginning to see who is who out there. I didn't expect this from Safire. Usually he is clear headed EXCEPT on moral issues.