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The Passion Aftermath (Leftist Rabbi SLAMS Mel and His Passion - [interesting read though])
AISH.COM ^ | March 1, 2004 | Rabbi Benjamin Blech

Posted on 03/04/2004 6:59:48 PM PST by gobucks

"Well," people ask me, "did you finally see the movie?"

The answer is yes -- and no. I went to a showing of "The Passion of the Christ," I watched for as long as I could bear it, and then, when the scenes of sadistic torture began to make me feel physically ill, I closed my eyes. True, I had been duly warned by reviewers that this is no less than "The Goriest Story Ever Told," a Marquis de Sade version of the Gospels; in the words of Leon Wieseltier, the literary editor of The New Republic, "a repulsive, masochistic fantasy, a sacred snuff film." And still I was not prepared for what appeared on the screen.

As the movie mercifully came to an end and the lights went on in the theater, the woman seated next to me, a total stranger, turned and asked how I had liked it. I was in no mood for a theological discussion so I simply said I was appalled by the violence. "You must be Jewish," she said.

For a moment I felt complimented. Surely what she meant was that I had reacted by way of my religion's sensitivity and abhorrence of bloodshed. But her anger and the words that followed made me understand the real problem with a film that has already achieved not only unparalleled press but also a veritable cult following. "Jews are always going to find fault," she said, "with a story that tells the truth about our Lord!"

And then I understood. How is it possible for so many to witness graphic images that ensure nightmares -- and happily bring their children along with them? How can an American society that becomes frantic at the momentary sight of a breast at the Super Bowl be so indifferent to the 90-minute display of unimaginable cruelty?

The answer? Americans have profound respect for religion, and the genius of Mel Gibson is that he has marketed this film as a spiritual experience. It masquerades as a sacred work of art, a Hollywood production disguised as the holy wood of the cross. It asks to float above criticism because the theater has become a cathedral and you, the viewer, are privileged -- just like the specially invited guests of evangelicals who were for two months invited to pre-screenings for "the faithful" --- to be witness to the word of God.

Don't be grossed out by the blood and the gore -- or even watching a raven pluck out the eye of the thief on the cross next to Jesus, a scriptwriter's pure fantasy -- because Gibson has successfully made it seem that his Mel O'Drama is nothing less than the Bible and a family outing to this film is as spiritually significant as a Sunday morning church service.

Disagree with any part of "The Passion" and for many you aren't anti-Gibson but anti-God, a non-believer who doesn't deserve the courtesy of a hearing because you're obviously simply a heretic.

But to my mind the most important truth that has to be publicized is that the movie isn't the New Testament, Gibson isn't the voice of God, and the Jews of the film aren't the Jews of church doctrine.

Jewish critics of "The Passion" have to be careful, as some have correctly pointed out, not to edit Christian doctrine. We don't have a right to tell others what to believe. But when Gibson tells Diane Sawyer, "Critics who have a problem with me don't really have a problem with me and this film; they have a problem with the four Gospels" -- well, to put it bluntly, he's not telling the gospel truth. It is Christian scholars who take Gibson to task for manipulating the Gospels he relies upon to tell an incomplete and distorted story; for fabricating events that appear in none of the Gospels and for incorporating as New Testament-verified history the visions of two nuns of the 17th and 18th centuries.

A panel of church leaders, not Jews, (as reported in the New York Times, Feb. 25), said the movie "deviated in bizarre ways from the Gospel accounts...and is numbingly violent." The Rev. Philip Blackwell put it succinctly: "Mel Gibson says it's a literal interpretation. It's not. It's Mel Gibson's interpretation."

And when it comes to the way the movie treats Jews, it's crucial for us to remember that Gibson doesn't have the right or the moral authority to speak for the Church.

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

By now we've got to pretty much agree to disagree on the question of whether "The Passion" is anti-Semitic. The argument rages beyond the assumed biases of viewers. There are Jews who are satisfied with the fact that the Romans are identified as the actual executioners. There are Christians who are disturbed by the portrayal of a Jewish mob demanding Jesus' crucifixion from a supposedly unwilling Pontius Pilate. What makes the dispute so unnerving, though, is the surfacing hatred that threatens to overwhelm any dialogue -- an unfortunate consequence of Gibson's claim to the depiction of truth by virtue of his having had "the help of the Holy Ghost" when he made this film so that whatever he did can't be questioned.

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 but since the group made those criticisms, she and other members have been attacked by supporters of the movie as "anti-Christ, the arrogant gang of so-called scholars, dupes of Satan, forces of Satan and other terms that I cannot use in polite company." Mess with Gibson's version, is the apparent message, and you're messing with God.

But the truth is that the Church is on the side of Sister Boys. For Jews who have used this movie to confirm their conviction that Christians will always hate Jews, Gibson has perpetrated an unforgivable crime that negates one of the most remarkable acts of communal religious repentance in history. The Second Vatican Council acknowledged the sin of the Church for almost 2000 years in blaming the Jews for the death of Jesus. Neither the Jews of that generation or of those to come, they decreed, bear any guilt for deicide. In 1988, the Vatican published Criteria for the Evaluation of Dramatizations of the Passion, with a list of nine points that any future depictions of Passion Plays are to use as guides. Gibson's movie ignores every one of them.

To blame "the goyim" instead of Gibson is for Jews to ignore progress of incredible import in interfaith relations. Pope John Paul II just welcomed the Chief Rabbi of Israel as "my older brother." He has condemned anti-Semitism as "a sin not only against the Church but against mankind." We are no longer in the age of Christian-approved pogroms or Crusades and we dare not let a "Mel"-evolent lie blind us to a theological turning point of history.

"The Passion" is a movie that ought to give pause to Christians not only because it is unfaithful to Church doctrine. It is pornography that asks to be accepted as inspiration; it is violence in the misplaced service of veneration and love; it is the message of Jesus summarized not by the teachings of his life but by the horrors of his death. As Peter Rainer put it so well, "The real damage will not, I think, be in the realm of Jewish-Christian relations, at least not in this country. Anti-Semites don't need an excuse to be anti-Semites. The damage will be to those who come to believe that Gibson's crimson tide, with its jacked-up excruciations, is synonymous with true religious feeling."

For us that carries an important message as well. Jews who are upset with the movie have concentrated their outcry almost totally on its implicit anti-Semitism. But this New Testament a là Gibson has another agenda. The production company considers it "perhaps the best outreach opportunity in 2,000 years", and plans to market it worldwide to "the faithless." Soon we will be bombarded by "the good news" of salvation "through the blood of Jesus" for all mankind. "The Passion" is passionately interested in converting those who still don't believe that the crucifixion is our only hope for forgiveness.

"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.

Perhaps our best response to this Hollywood missionary effort is to look inward and take pride in the beauty of our own faith. We need to use this as an opportunity to explain that for Jews personal accountability is the real path to heaven; that we do not believe someone can die for our sins, nor that God requires the death of His son to appease Him. At the end of the day, "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. Not only Christians, but all too many secular Jews still don't get the great theological issues we have with a movie that from a Jewish perspective distorts the definition of God and the relationship we have with Him.

Many years ago I met with Ernest Hemingway. In a remarkably frank conversation, the Pulitzer Prize winner confessed to me that there was something about Judaism that he admired more than any other religion. "From my understanding," he told me, "Judaism, unlike the Christianity in which I was raised, is a religion of life, not a religion of death."

That brilliant insight is what I wish Jews would stress as the ultimate reason why we can't relate to a film that is preoccupied with nine hours of dying. "Choose life" is the cardinal message of our religion. A movie that celebrates death, produced under the Icon Films label, can only make me regret as a Jew that Gibson didn't take to heart the Biblical prohibition of the Second Commandment: "Thou shalt not make for yourself any icons."


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: catholiclist; christianity; hollywood; judiasm; thepassion
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To: NYC GOP Chick
Ping
21 posted on 03/04/2004 7:35:55 PM PST by Pylon
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To: jwalburg
And the sorting has begun.?
22 posted on 03/04/2004 7:38:10 PM PST by CathyRyan
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To: jwalburg
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.

23 posted on 03/04/2004 7:43:29 PM PST by Snuffington
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To: gobucks
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....

24 posted on 03/04/2004 7:43:51 PM PST by HiTech RedNeck
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To: gusopol3
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.
25 posted on 03/04/2004 7:45:22 PM PST by BobS
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To: freebilly

I had no idea that Jews were so pro-life. I always thought they were abortion-loving Democrats.
26 posted on 03/04/2004 7:47:13 PM PST by kittymyrib
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To: Sabertooth; jwalburg
The Rabbi made no effort to wear my shoes, walburg did. And for that I commend him.
27 posted on 03/04/2004 7:47:52 PM PST by jwalsh07
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To: gobucks
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.
28 posted on 03/04/2004 7:49:50 PM PST by Cicero (Marcus Tullius)
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To: jwalsh07
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!
29 posted on 03/04/2004 7:56:06 PM PST by HiTech RedNeck
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To: gobucks
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.
30 posted on 03/04/2004 7:56:22 PM PST by ultima ratio
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bump to read later
31 posted on 03/04/2004 7:59:24 PM PST by meema
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To: jwalburg
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.

32 posted on 03/04/2004 7:59:34 PM PST by liberallarry
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To: gobucks
"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.

33 posted on 03/04/2004 8:01:17 PM PST by Outraged
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To: gobucks
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.





34 posted on 03/04/2004 8:02:09 PM PST by sarasmom (Vote no on all judicial retentions. Dont vote for any new judges. Impeach the rest.)
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To: HiTech RedNeck
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

35 posted on 03/04/2004 8:05:21 PM PST by jwalsh07
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To: gobucks
"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.
36 posted on 03/04/2004 8:10:53 PM PST by Fenris6
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To: gobucks
Here's what I say to his ramblings.....BLECH
37 posted on 03/04/2004 8:12:27 PM PST by goodnesswins (The Democrat "Funeral" is on.....)
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To: gobucks
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.
38 posted on 03/04/2004 8:16:15 PM PST by thoughtomator (Political Correctness is fascism)
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To: Outraged
Just FYI in Judaism the Messiah is human, not divine (other than in the sense that all humans are the result of divine will).
39 posted on 03/04/2004 8:18:07 PM PST by thoughtomator (Political Correctness is fascism)
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To: Outraged
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".
40 posted on 03/04/2004 8:18:29 PM PST by Mogollon
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