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"The Passion of the Christ" Dr. Randy Lee, Director of the ELCA Department for Ecumenical Affairs, and I were pleased to represent ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson at a recent private screening of Mel Gibson’s new film, "The Passion of the Christ." The screening was held at Willow Creek Community Church in Barrington, Illinois, with more than 5,000 people, mostly clergy, from all 50 US states in attendance. We arrived more than an hour before the 1:00 p.m. screening only to find that the 4,500 seat Willow Creek sanctuary was already nearly full. 600 more people ended up sitting in an overflow area. On the many video screens throughout the auditorium were endorsement statements from church leaders. There were endorsements from evangelical Christian leaders such as Billy Graham, James Dobson, Robert Schuller and the late Bill Bright as well as Roman Catholic leaders such as Chicago's Francis Cardinal George, Denver's Archbishop Charles Chaput and the Vatican's Cardinal Castrillion Hoyos. Two other familiar names were Jack Valenti of the Motion Picture Association and film critic Michael Medved. Several folks read my review and thought I was saying that Valenti and Medved were Roman Catholic (Medved is Jewish). We were told that what we were seeing was still a rough cut and was the same version that those whose comments were up on the screen had viewed. What we viewed was the film without the credits and some of the music and special effects. It is presented in several biblical languages, all with English subtitles. My subtitle above is my one line review - the film is part Gospel story and part myth with a generous amount of Hollywood and violence thrown in. It follows the Gospel stories of the last hours of Jesus’ life from Gethsemane to the crucifixion with a brief resurrection scene at the end. The film is dark, violent ("R" rated - under 17 not admitted without parent) and well told. Much has been added to the Gospel story to fill in the gaps. In an interview after the film, Gibson stated that it was "the Gospels plus my imagination" and that he brought the story from the Gospels and added information from "history, visions, and medicine." Neither Randy Lee nor I found this film to be anti-Jewish. It clearly makes the point that everyone is responsible for Jesus’ suffering and death - Romans, some Jewish leaders, the rabble, ourselves. Jesus’ is beaten from Gethsemane to his crucifixion. The violence towards him is unrelenting. Jesus is bleeding and battered during most of this film. Thus, this is not a film for children or anyone who cannot handle the depiction of graphic violence. Perhaps because of Gibson’s Roman Catholic background, Mary, Jesus’ mother, has a major role in the film. Gibson puts Mary at nearly all of the events of his trial, torture and crucifixion, and even has Mary kissing Jesus’ feet when he is on the cross. There are many scenes like that one - not Biblical, but probable, many based in mystic and apocryphal writings as well as Roman Catholic tradition. I took notes of the non-Biblical scenes, events and characters and had a full page of them. There is a Satan character in a number of scenes, a character which is the personification of evil, appearing as a man, an aged baby and a snake. That character is very useful to show the responsibility that all of humanity has in the death of Jesus. Mary Magdalene, pictured in many of the film previews I have seen, is a minor figure in this film. Should you see this film? Should you recommend it to others? Because of the level of violence, that is a hard question to answer. Willow Creek Church plans to take advantage of the film by having a five week Sunday series on Jesus’ Passion during the Lenten season. (The film opens on February 25, western Christian Ash Wednesday). That’s a very creative idea, I believe, to take advantage of the secular culture’s interest in "our" story. There are many resources available for those who wish to use the film for evangelism or education efforts. The film’s Web site (www.thepassionofchrist.com) is one resource. There is even an online film ticket Web site at www.thepassiontickets.com. More useful, perhaps, are the many resources prepared by an evangelical Christian group called "Outreach" (www.outreach.com). After viewing the film, I agree with the Consultative Panel on Lutheran/Jewish Relations (see their statement) that it is important for Christians (and others) who view this film to read the Gospel accounts before and/or after their viewing. The danger is that this film will become the Oliver Stone’s "JFK" of Christ’s Passion story, that is, that the public will only know the Passion story as it is depicted here with all of the non-Biblical material assumed to be Biblical or historic, a way I’m told many now only know the details of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy through Oliver Stone’s fictional film. These are my comments and are not the "official" statement of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) which does not endorse or condemn any film. I add this because there has already been at least one news report that, based on the ELCA news story on the Consultative Panel’s statement (www.elca.org/Scriptlib/CO/ELCA_News/encArticleList.asp?a=2733&p=6), that has stated "Lutherans Weigh in on Mel Gibson’s ‘The Passion’" (www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2004/1/7/180336.shtml) with a link to "Mel Gibson fights back" after their article. Neither the Lutheran/Jewish relations panel nor I have endorsed or condemned this film. Whenever Hollywood tells "our" story, we Christians have an opportunity for outreach, education and dialogue. "The Passion of the Christ" is such an opportunity. The Rev. Eric C. Shafer |
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