[american colleen]

I suggest that Jews stay home and not see the movie. Period. This is a Christian movie by a man of faith designed to be understood by Christians. I suggest that Jews take the advice given to Christians when an anti-Christian movie is made--don't buy a ticket.

Whoa, ultima. Are you in effect saying that "The Passion of Christ" is anti-semitic? Mr. Gibson has gone to great lengths to say that he hopes everyone sees it and is changed by it. He has also said that Jesus Christ died for ALL of us - regardless of our creed.

[ultima ratio]

Of course I'm not saying this. But anti-Semitism is a vague charge that can mean almost anything somebody wants it to mean. Is it anti-Semitic to depict Jewish leadership as rejecting Christ in 33 A.D.? His rejection, after all, didn't take place in Norway. So what was Gibson supposed to do to depict the Passion? Jewish critics have said they want him to blame the Romans exclusively. But that is not in the historical texts, nor in traditional teachings, whatever a minority of historical-critics say.

It is true the Church has always denounced blaming the Jews collectively for Jesus' death. Even before Vatican II it had done so--though journalists gloss over this fact and pretend Vatican II alone declared this (thus tying Gibson's principled opposition to Vatican II to his supposed opposition to all Jews). Trent, for instance, was explicit about not assigning collective guilt to the Jewish people. However Jewish critics read these decrees as absolving the Jewish leadership of two thousand years ago as well from any historical participation. They do not do this. History, after all, is history.