The Passion Of The Christ

I'm becoming cautiously excited about the release of Mel Gibson's The Passion Of The Christ on Ash Wednesday. Although it's been accused of anti-Semitism, I'm willing to give it the benefit of the doubt. Historically speaking, Jesus was crucified at the hands of Romans and Jews, and the movie can't escape that. Theologically speaking, it's not enough to say "they did it!" but films speak the language of visuals and images more than that of theology. We'll see.

As I said, I'm cautiously excited. The short "teaser" trailer from the site is beautiful, suggesting that, if nothing else, this will be the best looking film ever made on the life of Jesus. I'm intrigued by Gibson's use of the original languages (Aramaic and Latin) with subtitles in a mainstream release. And many of the reviews I've read (including a handful from prominent Jewish figures who have seen the film) say it's profoundly moving and that the fears of anti-Semitism are overplayed.

I'll probably wait until I've seen it myself before promoting it at church. The long, long list of conservative, religious-right figures in the reviews section of the site troubles me a little bit... at least until some commentators that I trust and respect more lend their voices. No matter how beautiful the film is, if its theological content is in the same ballpark with "Left Behind," I'm not interested.

Anyhow, check out the site, view the trailer, and come to your own conclusion. If only more pastors trusted their parishioners to do that, instead of telling them not even to watch or read or listen to some controversial thing.