The Passion of Mel

When the movie, The Passion of Christ, was released, I recall many of the gut reactions from those who saw the movie. Many of the people who watched it said they were shocked by how the Jews were portrayed in the movie. As a Christian who was affect by the movie but had several misgivings about it, I found myself torn by the critique because I agreed with it. And, when one reads the New Testament, it can be easy to understand why Mel Gibson, who helped co-write the screen play as well as directing it, portrayed the Jewish leaders in such a bad light.

Living in New York City, most folks are surrounded by countless Jewish men and women. So it is with great care when a movie with apparent anti-semitic themes is hailed as one of the best Christian movies of all time.

And then something like this happens. Mel Gibson is arrested for drunk driving and according to the arrest report leaked to the press, says this to his arresting officers, "The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world." Turning to the officer, Gibson asks, "Are you a Jew?"

Sure, he was drunk. But being drunk, one doesn't necessarily say things that are totally imaginative, rather, one's inhibitions are lowered to such a degree, that a person will say just about anything without fear of appraisal. Is Gibson anti-semitic? It sure looks that way and it sure justifies what his critics regard as his very apparent anti-Jewish slant in the movie.