[Alouette]

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[A. Pole]

Religion is drained of all its power and majesty when its adherents witness its sacred texts and thousands of years of exegesis adjusted in accord with the demands of the local thought police. Recently, I was asked by a BBC moderator of a discussion of the Women of the Wall: "But don't you think that a religion must update in accord with the times?"

"Not unless it wishes to be as irrelevant to the lives of believers as the modern Church of England," I replied.

Thank you for the post!

[Jeff Chandler]

Didn't Mel Gibson's decpiction of Herod's court bear an uncanny resemblance to the Clinton Whitehouse?

[Torie]

The charge against the film, is that the Roman Pontius Pilate (sp) was depicted as a restraining influence on the blood lust Jewish mob (albeit an ineffectual one). Who knows if that is an accurate depiction of history, although I heard that Pilate was removed from his a few years later for excessive cruelty. Of course, anyone who views Jews of today through such a lense, just has another agenda.

But, without seeing the film, it seems to me, the biggest flaw is that it fails to give enough focus on the lyricism of Jesus's message of trying to transcend hatred, and live a good life, respectful of others, in hopes of an eternal reward (in other words, a just pluralistic process on this mortal coil). That message was revolutionary. Rather the emphasis was on blood and guts, and suffering, and almost a celebration of the blood letting as a cleansing event.

But I have not seen the film. But I will. Maybe I will change my mind.

[Qwinn]

"Passion plays, even without the mesmerizing effect of the big screen and Technicolor special effects available to Gibson, have a long and ignominious history of inciting pogroms."

Erm, it seems to me that this statement is quite misleading. I believe the facts show that there has -never- been a murder of a Jew following a Passion play in the United States, and with a single exception in Germany in the 19th century, there hasn't been one in Europe since the Middle Ages either.

I certainly don't dispute that there were pogroms in the past, but this article attempts to draw a direct historical link between pogroms and passion plays that simply isn't backed up historically.

Qwinn

[South40]

[Maynerd]

This is so Sept. 10th.

When will the ADL crowd wake up from their liberal fundie loathing stupor? Devout Christians are Israel's greatest spiritual and political friend and ally.

The world is full of antisemites. 99% are Muslims and secular Europeans.

[Snuffington]

Whew! A lot of blather which comes down to a basic worry that traditional Catholicism is something Jews should fear. (Look out Jewish children or Hutton Gibson will get you!!!)

Incidentally, what the heck is that ridiculously obvious attempt to slander Mel with his father's silly statements coming from? It's starting to get to the point where anyone who mentions Hutton Gibson stands primae facie condemned of demogoguery. This article is no exception. It contends that unless Mel rejects his father, he's evil. Let's go the other way. Anyone expecting Mel to reject his father is advocating evil. Nyah. Nyah.

[ahadams2]

worth reading for the very last line Ping.

[HiTech RedNeck]

The Catholic Church cannot be terribly enthusiastic about a cinematic presentation of a theology that rejects current papal teaching on the Jews. Can any Catholics help clear up exactly what the film shows that contradicts the pope? I would've thought Rome would be up in arms about it, if it did. Even the pope himself reportedly paid it a compliment.

[HiTech RedNeck]

The Catholic Church cannot be terribly enthusiastic about a cinematic presentation of a theology that rejects current papal teaching on the Jews.

Can any Catholics help clear up exactly what the film shows that contradicts the pope? I would've thought Rome would be up in arms about it, if it did. Even the pope himself reportedly paid it a compliment.

[ahadams2]

as the resident Anglican Ping list holder here on Free Republic I've gotta say that the last line if this article is the best testimony yet as to how the fruits, nuts, and flakes we have in some leadership positions are perceived by non-Christians.

[Salem]

'Ping'!




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[Bobby777]

With them, the proper approach is that adopted by the Simon Wiesenthal Center: an open appeal to Christians of goodwill to do for Jews what we cannot do for ourselves - i.e., work to ensure that The Passion does not become a vehicle for arousing anti-Semitic furies.

agreed ... Abe Foxman of the ADL should be more worried about these passages from the koran ...

The Hadith Volume 4, Book 52, Number 176:
Narrated 'Abdullah bin 'Umar:

Allah's Apostle said, "You (i.e. Muslims) will fight with the Jews till some of them will hide behind stones. The stones will (betray them) saying, 'O 'Abdullah (i.e. slave of Allah)! There is a Jew hiding behind me; so kill him.' "

The Hadith Volume 4, Book 52, Number 177:
Narrated Abu Huraira:

Allah's Apostle said, "The (Final) Hour will not be established until you fight with the Jews, and the stone behind which a Jew will be hiding will say. "O Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, so kill him."

The Hadith Volume 2, Book 26, Number 595:
Narrated 'Aisha:

(the mother of the faithful believers) I said, "O Allah's Apostle! We consider Jihad as the best deed." The Prophet said, "The best Jihad (for women) is Hajj Mabrur. "

The Hadith Volume 2, Book 26, Number 594:
Narrated Abu Huraira:

The Prophet was asked, "Which is the best deed?" He said, "To believe in Allah and His Apostle." He was then asked, "Which is the next (in goodness)?" He said, "To participate in Jihad in Allah's Cause." He was then asked, "Which is the next?" He said, "To perform Hajj-Mabrur. "

[Burkeman1]

Having viewed the film I find nothing anti semetic in it. However- I wish Gibson had not included the non Gospels character of Claudia, Pilate's wife, as a sympathaizer of Christ. Pilate is presented as being far more culpalble in tradiotinal Catholic recitations of The Passion. The character of Claudia is a later Catholic story coming from popular middle age mystics. So is the scene in which Christ is shown punched off the bridge by temple guards and then hauled back up. Not trying to offend believers in these Catholic mystics but I think He should have kept the film totally within the Gospels themselves. Other than those two deviations the film is a masterpiece.

The only other slight criticism I have is that the scourging of Christ scene goes on a bit longer than necessary. The actual crucifixction in the film looks merciful in comparison.

[Libertina]

Christian allies could have been found to help blunt the impact of The Passion
Why would we want to "blunt" impact of the passion?

[dinok]

I have seen the film twice and I am now convinced that those who say it is antisemitic have either not seen it or are using it for their own political agendas.

First of all, with the exception of the Romans in the film all the other characters are Jews. Yes...Jews. There were no Christians then. Jesus was a Jew, betrayed by Jews that collaborated with the Romans. Why would any self respecting Jew identify with the human garbage who where asking for a fellow Jew's death at the hands of their Roman enslavers is beyond me.

Look, I know Europeans have and still do harbor antisemitic feelings, but those days if they ever existed in the US are hardly existent now in the Christian community. American Conservative Christians are the biggest supporters of Israel. The people who hate Jews in the US are Black Muslims who side with the Arabs and the left wing press. The same people in the press who are worried about violence against Jews because of this film ignore the murders of Jews by Arabs and become catatonic if a Palestinian brakes a nail.

I'll prove it to you. The last attack by the Israeli Airforce in Gaza has been reported over and over. But the murder by Palestinian terrorists of a young Israeli couple never made it in the news. (I only know of it because I surf Israeli web sites.)

You'll be surprised that the majority of American audiences of the Passion are also supporters of Israel.

[mass55th]

The other morning on Fox News, they had a Priest and a Rabbi talking about the movie. The Rabbi brought up the hooked noses on all the Jews in the film. That complaint must have been on the talking points memo for those who are anti-Mel's film because I've heard it repeated several times. I haven't seen the film yet, but correct me if I'm wrong...weren't most of the extras in the movie Italian?

Similarly, the Rabbi complained that the Jews in the film were dressed in dark clothing, which added to the negativity of the Jews portrayed in the film. He couldn't understand why they (the Jews) couldn't have been dressed in brighter clothing like the Romans. This totally blew my mind. Anyone with a sense of history knows that colored fabric back in those days was limited to those that could afford it. Most people wore clothing spun from the wool of the sheep, which meant that the colors were drab and sometimes dark (from black sheep). I couldn't understand how a Rabbi, who was supposed to be educated, didn't take any of this into consideration prior to making his comments.

[TheDon]

"As Melanie Phillips astutely observes, the more Jews complain about anti-Semitism, the greater the anti-Semitism."

Great line.

[teresat]

It all gets back to what Jesus said "What is the truth?". The truth to one group of people might be different to another...I watched "Schindlers List" and was moved I watched this movie now twice and was moved...what's the truth?