The Passion Aftermath (Leftist Rabbi SLAMS Mel and His Passion - [interesting read though])

AISH.COM ^ | March 1, 2004 | Rabbi Benjamin Blech

[Pylon]

Ping

[CathyRyan]

And the sorting has begun.?

[Snuffington]

There does seem to be a stark contrast in reactions to the film. Those who see Jesus as God suffering for His creation, see all the ironies throughout the film, and those who see Jesus only as a man, see it as a cruel film, God being cruel to humans, and that seems wrong.

Yes, but remember, this is offered very openly as a religious work based on the Christian gospels. Anyone approaching it in an attempt to see Jesus as "just a man" is playing dishonest games. You don't see many reviews of Handel's Messiah mocking the notion that they're singing about God being born as man. But that's exactly the sort of review we're seeing repeatedly here. "Oh, I don't accept the Gospels, so I'm going to pretend that guy up there is just a man, and ignore the rest of the context." Huh?

At the very best, that is piss-poor reviewing of any work of art. It reduces all those Renaissance paintings of the crucifixion into... how does the Rabbi so kindly phrase it?... "violence in the misplaced service of veneration and love." Perhaps more accurately, it is using the art to attack the artist's religion.

[HiTech RedNeck]

Sister Mary Boys, a professor at the Union Theological Seminary in New York, who was part of an ad hoc group that was asked to read an early screenplay, publicly warned that it could inflame anti-Semitism. The result? Sister Boys said that not only was Gibson furious

If Gibson is "furious" about such remarks, he must be blowing his stack off 24/7. Methinks Boys exaggerates....

[BobS]

Hemingway made friends where he traveled. He might no know about what he was speaking at the time. Rabbi Blech doesn't seem to want to leave friends after he passes by them. See my post #7.

[kittymyrib]

I had no idea that Jews were so pro-life. I always thought they were abortion-loving Democrats.

[jwalsh07]

The Rabbi made no effort to wear my shoes, walburg did. And for that I commend him.

[Cicero]

It ought to be possible for a Jew to understand the Passion, even if he didn't agree that Jesus is the Messiah.

Isaiah's Suffering Servant is very much in line with it. And so is Psalm 22. One theory is that Jesus was reciting Psalm 22 on the Cross, and that two of his Last Words were quoted from it:


1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from the words of my groaning?
2 O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, and am not silent.

3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the praise of Israel.
4 In you our fathers put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.
5 They cried to you and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not disappointed.

6 But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by men and despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads:
8 "He trusts in the LORD ;
let the LORD rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
since he delights in him."

9 Yet you brought me out of the womb;
you made me trust in you
even at my mother's breast.
10 From birth I was cast upon you;
from my mother's womb you have been my God.
11 Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.

12 Many bulls surround me;
strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
13 Roaring lions tearing their prey
open their mouths wide against me.
14 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
it has melted away within me.
15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
you lay me in the dust of death.
16 Dogs have surrounded me;
a band of evil men has encircled me,
they have pierced my hands and my feet.
17 I can count all my bones;
people stare and gloat over me.
18 They divide my garments among them
and cast lots for my clothing.

19 But you, O LORD , be not far off;
O my Strength, come quickly to help me.
20 Deliver my life from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dogs.
21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
save me from the horns of the wild oxen.

22 I will declare your name to my brothers;
in the congregation I will praise you.
23 You who fear the LORD , praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
24 For he has not despised or disdained
the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
but has listened to his cry for help.

25 From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
before those who fear you will I fulfill my vows.
26 The poor will eat and be satisfied;
they who seek the LORD will praise him-
may your hearts live forever!
27 All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to the LORD ,
and all the families of the nations
will bow down before him,
28 for dominion belongs to the LORD
and he rules over the nations.

29 All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
all who go down to the dust will kneel before him-
those who cannot keep themselves alive.
30 Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord.
31 They will proclaim his righteousness
to a people yet unborn-
for he has done it.

[HiTech RedNeck]

It's awfully difficult for a Jewish person to be sympathetic to Christian theology. The Jewish culture militates against any one of their own going that way, just as it did almost 2000 years ago. They will wink at their fellows who dabble in new age (Buddhist/Hindu), but the gospel? Anathema!

[ultima ratio]

This is sheer paranoia. The Jewish outcry began a year ago--with the help of a handful of far left Catholic scholars--and it has not abated. To expect that Christians would not feel put upon, would not object, would not feel outrage at the arrogance of this bunch, is beyond belief. This rabbi really thinks HE'S the persecuted one--he takes no responsibility whatsoever for the contempt he shows for Gibson's right to make whatever kind of film he wanted to make, nor for the audience who appreciates what Gibson has done. Nor does he see anything anti-Christian in his perspective whatsoever--he only sees an imagined hostility toward himself that, if it exists at all, was initiated in the first place by those he admires.

[meema]

bump to read later

[liberallarry]

I don't think you can attribute differences in perception to any one thing.

A film-buff friend - secular and not Jewish - surprised me. He loved it, but not for religious or political reasons.

He thought it was an example of great film-making, story telling at its best.

[Outraged]

"The Passion" doesn't connect with Jews because we reject the very notion that God can be tortured, can scream out in pain, and can die.

I guess this guy is a "reformed" Jew. He must ignore Psalm 53 that fortells a Messiah who very much suffers like an everyman.

But the real truth is people like this are anti-Gentile and still holding fast to their "we are the chosen people" (and you are not) superiority...Yes, they are the anti-Christ and often tend to vote for liberalism at every satanic opportunity.

[sarasmom]

Pardon my pseudo-Pagan take on Judeao/Christian theologic differences...
The Christians are the descendants or adherrants of former "Jews" who believe Jesus Christ was the promised messiah, and current Jews, are those who still await his first coming, while Christians await his second coming, to prove to the current Jews that the first coming was really the promised messiah, but untill those still faithfully Jewish recognise the messiah, in the first or second coming of the messiah, God is going to allow evil to reign free over all of mankind.
Ask the Rabbi if I have the gist of the theological arguments down pat.
Now lets add in what Buddha, Kali, Vishtu, and the Sacred Spirit of the Buffalo believers add to the conversation, and debate in earnest the fight of good versus evil.
The "Passion" is a beautifull and powerfull film about the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.If you can watch the film, and not cry or be deeply moved, you need serious professional mental help.
God blessed Mel Gibson.
Believe or not, this movie portrays Jesus Christ in a way that is truly holy.

[jwalsh07]

It's awfully difficult for a Jewish person to be sympathetic to Christian theology

Yeah I know. When I was in high school my girlfriends father placed me off limits. LOL

[Fenris6]

"What makes the dispute so unnerving, though, is the surfacing hatred that threatens to overwhelm any dialogue"

Exactly. So please shut up and quit whining. No one blames the Jews except a handful of loonies. I guess when Gibson does "The fall of rome" the Italians will bitch for any blame associated with Christians being fed to the lions? Hardly. The more Jews moan and rant about themselves, the more I lean toward contempt. Its frickin history - set in a Jewish community. BTW - the Preists had influence over Pilate and Rome, as evidenced by their petitions and appeals to Rome later on. So knock off of the PCBS about Jews not being responsible for the crucufixion of their own kind. One would think you are *inviting* more persecution... cause it makes you feel victimized and special. Get over it, move on, everyone else has.

[goodnesswins]

Here's what I say to his ramblings.....BLECH

[thoughtomator]

Go figure... I'm as Jewish as anyone, not Messianic or part of any weird sect, but I liked the movie.

For some reason it is taboo for any Jew to openly discuss Jesus. I personally accept that Jesus did a lot more good in the world than Caiphas and his corrupted priesthood, and I don't have to think Jesus to be God come to walk the earth, nor do I have to reject any part of Judaism, to do so.

[thoughtomator]

Just FYI in Judaism the Messiah is human, not divine (other than in the sense that all humans are the result of divine will).

[Mogollon]

I guess this guy is a "reformed" Jew. He must ignore Psalm 53 that fortells a Messiah who very much suffers like an everyman. Also, Daniel chapter 9 talks about the Messiah being "cut off".