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Thu, 04 Mar 2004 13:37:46 "GMT"

Spirituality - The Passion: The Movie and the Aftermath

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by Rabbi Benjamin Blech

Perhaps our best response to this Hollywood missionary effort is to

look inward and take pride in the beauty of our own faith.

"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."

For further reading, see "Mel Gibson and the Jews" and "The Passion: A Historical Perspective".

Published: Monday, March 01, 2004

See more articles by Rabbi Benjamin Blech

Rabbi Benjamin Blech is the author of seven highly acclaimed books,

including Understanding Judaism: The basics of Deed and Creed. He is

a professor of Talmud at Yeshiva University and the Rabbi Emeritus of

Young Israel of Oceanside which he served for 37 years and from which

he retired to pursue his interests in writing and lecturing around

the globe. He is also the author of "If God is Good, Why is the World

So Bad?" To buy The Complete Idiot's; Guide to Jewish History and

Culture, go to amazon.com

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Name required Display my name?Yes NoEMAIL required - not displayed

Your email address is kept private. Our editor needs it in case we

have a question about your comment.One Line Summary:Comments

requiredVisitor Comments: 78Amanda , 3/4/2004Second thoughtsI

stumbled upon this article through a link of a religion class. Until

now I was really wanting to see the movie. After reading this article

I really have second thoughts about seeing it, as I am wondering if it

will change everything that I thought I had learned and believed in

from reading the Bible.Michael , 3/4/2004At the end of the day.At the

end of the day Gibson's "Passion" plays out, with few exceptions,

exactly as the Gospels in the New Testament were written. I don't

know what the sceptics that say it is not Christian Gospels the

"Passion" is based on, are reading. There were Romans and Jews

portrayed in the movie. Good Jews and bad, good Romans and bad. I

think the growing uneasiness of most Christian believers at this time

is the constant and continual slamming at our beliefs, traditions and

values. Ever since I first became a Christian I have supported Israel

and Judaism as the very foundation of my beliefs. Christianity had

it's history of ugliness and hatred hundreds of years ago. There

have been those antisemites that have used false Christian doctoran

to validate their hatred. For this past and sometimes present I can

understand the Jewish fear, to a degree, about any exaltation of the

story of Jesus fueling antisemitism amonst those who were antisemetic

before the film. But they were antisemitic before the film. In as much

as I and those around me, not to mention millions of Christians that

love and support Israel and Judaism, sense that many in the Jewish

world will never get over the idea that there are more Christians by

far that support you than hate you in the United States, believe that

the Gospels do not blame Jews for the death of Jesus. Does all this

sound personal? Well, at the end of the day you have relentlessly

ridiculed a movie that accurateley tells the story of my Messiah. I

am sad, not angry, about that. By the way, I have seen no incidents

or problems against the Jewish community or even heard Christian

viewers Of "The Passion", withwhom I socialize, even suggest the Jews

were to blame. This relentless hatred and attack on Mel Gibson you

keep displaying in your articles cause me to begin to fear you. Do

you hate Christianity that much Rabbi? How do you think the Jewish

community would have been looked upon if, collectvely you would have

prayed and hoped the Christian community would find deep

understanding, love and renewed faith as a result of this movie? Yes,

there will be Christians trying to "convert" people along the way,

including those in the Jewish community. I know telling an evangelist

"no thankyou" to Christianity is real difficult. I wonder what your

"outcry" would have been if the film was about Muhammed or Allah. al

puglisi , 3/3/2004what to do??All the comments on this board are

spoken from the heart, both pro and con this movie. I am glad to see

that most are con, and that a good number the cons are from

Christians or ex Christians. A couple of things to reply to.Kol Tov

wrote that it is OK for "educated Christians in America" to view this

film as opposed to the "unwashed masses", I assume he means in the

rest of the world. Well Kol, as someone who spent all of his adult

life in Evangelical churches, don't be rushing to give too many

"educated Christians in America" too much credit.Their brains turn

off at the church door and they operate on blind faith, believing

usually what the pastor tells them and not taking the time to

research it on their own, and if they do, they research it in books

suggested by their church, which already agree with their point of

view anyway.These "educated Christians" may bombard you with their

love babble, but as far as they are concerned, Jews, along with

everyone else who is not them, is going to burn in hell forever. Much

has been said about Mel Gibson being a Catholic. Mel Gibson is not a

Catholic OK. The Catholic church has grown and learned, the sect that

Mel Gibson belongs to remains in the dark ages, and is not accepted as

part of the Roman Catholic community, so please do not smear Roman

Catholicism with the Mel Gibson brush. Do not do Catholics the same

disservice Mel does to Jews. Finally, many of the Jews who commented

on this site are saying what I have said and have been praying and

hoping for for a long time. Briefly, a brief encounter with two

Lubavitchers outside a subway station sent me on a spiritual journey

that rocked my world. No, I am not a Lubavitcher now, nor am I even a

Jew, but I have walked away from trinitarian, Pauline, atonement

Christianity as a result and have adopted a more Jewish like

monotheistic viewpoint. I find myself battling it out constantly with

my fundamentalist compadres and ex compadres, trying to explain to

them the error of their beliefs as it relates to the Bible. My thesis

being, Jewish Jesus, Jewish Messiah, Jewish rules, thereofe, the by

Jewish rules, Jesus is not the Jewish messiah. But the point I am

making here is this, there are many walk aways out there waiting for

the Jewish community to begin to stand up for its religion, to stand

up for truth, to stand up, YES, for the truth that Jesus believed,

that God is one.Many Jews on this site have said it is time that Jews

do this. Please do. Please, please do. Forums like this are wonderful.

The problem is that you are not reaching the people who need to be

reached out there.People who are looking for a relationship with God

but cannot accept the untruths that Christianity teaches, nor

Christianity's derivative mysticisms.There are Christians out

there who are confused and know that what they believe is not right,

but do not know where else to turn.I say to the Jews, many, many are

the people who are looking for what you have.Share. Be a light to the

gentiles.This movie has struck an amazing blow for fundamentalist,

trintarian, Christianity. I have no doubt that many confused souls

out there will convert because of it. Islam is out there scooping up

converts. I beg you Jews, I beg you, enter the fray.Thank youSee More

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