‘Jesus And Mel Gibson’s the Passion of the Christ’ Presents All the Facts
Every time a “Jesus film” has been made, from the silent films which deliberately omitted the trial of Jesus before the Sanhedrin, to the more recent films that have not, it has always produced controversy and concern. The Passion of the Christ, produced by Mel Gibson, was no exception. Fortunately, makers of this film genre don’t have to defend themselves before an Inquisition as they would have had to do in the past, or worry about a Fatwah now – all they have to fear are boycotts from offended organizations.
Gibson’s film dramatizes the last days of the life of Jesus. He uses as his sources the books of the four apostles, and draws many scenes -which do not appear in the Gospels – from The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ by the Catholic mystic Anne Catherine Emmerich. The film’s main theme is to dramatize the non-stop violence and cruelty that is inflicted upon Jesus during the days leading up to his crucifixion. Jewish leaders have protested that many of the scenes that take place are inaccurate and promote anti-Semitism (these scenes were taken from The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ ).
The editors have something interesting to say about that: “Contrary to the New Testament’s emphasis upon Jesus’ death and resurrection (along with his life and teaching), Gibson has chosen, rather, to highlight Jesus’ suffering and the violence inflicted upon him. In a world where violence is seen as the answer to social and political problems, and where violence is glorified in various media…to suggest that God requires equally extreme violence for the salvation of humankind is, to say the least, problematic.”
Defenders of the film say, among other things, that it is only a movie. As editors Robert L. Webb and Kathleen E. Corley write in their introduction: “There is no need for this movie -or any other, for that matter – to be historically accurate. By definition, a movie is an interpretation of a story from one perspective, and movie directors have the right to interpret from whatever perspective they choose and portray as they see fit.”
Movie producers and scriptwriters have always seemed to think so, but in truth while they’ve gotten away with such things since the beginning of celluloid, it is really unforgivable, even for the sake of dramatic license. For movies dramatizing religious figures, accuracy becomes even more important.
Like most controversial movies, The Passion was a success. This book presents thirteen essays on the movie, discussing its value as an entertainment to its value – or lack of it – as a religious statement. It serves its function well, which is to point out, and provide proofs, that “while The Passion of the Christ does tell the story of Jesus’ suffering and death, and does represent some of the same events as are also portrayed in the Gospels, the film is not accurate to either the Gospels or to history….For good or ill, most movie-goers do not naturally make distinctions between reality and fantasy – between history and fiction – when they see a film…”
Whenever anyone reads a book of historical fiction, or sees a movie based on history, it behooves them to do research into the subject, to learn what was “real” and what was “made up.” This book will help the reader discern this for The Passion of the Christ. It is a must read for anyone who liked the movie, didn’t like the movie, or is simply interested in Biblical history. It does what all good books should do – present all the facts, and let the readers make an informed decision for themselves.
1. Introduction: The Passion, the Gospels and Claims of History
Part 1: The Passion as a Film-viewing Experience: Responding to the Film as a Whole
2. Hymn to a Savage God, John Dominic Crossan
3. The Power of *The Passion*: Reacting and Over-reacting to Gibson’s Artistic Vision
Part 2: The Passion as Story: Evaluating the film’s characterization and plot
4. The Flashback in The Passion: Story and Discourse as a Means of Explanation. Robert L. Webb
5. The Betrayal of Jesus and the Death of Judas. Scot McKnight
6. Satan and the Demons. Mark Allan Powell
7. Mary and the Other Women Characters. Kathleen L. Corley
8. The Jewish Leaders. Alan F. Seagal
9. Pilate and the Romans. Helen K. Bond
10. The Trials of Jesus. Glenna S. Jackson
11. The Procession and the Crucifixion. Craig A. Evans
Part 3. The Passion as Art: Considering the film’s artistic influences
12. The Passion in the History of Jesus Films. W. Barnes Tatum
13. The Passion, Classical Art and Re-presentation
14. The Passion and the Influence of Emmerich’s The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ
15. Conclusion: The Passion, the Gospels and the Claims of History. Kathleen E. Corley and Robert L. Webb
Glossary
Notes
Bibliography
