Rabbi speaks up for "Passion"

[ChasingBlueSky 0]

Since this will become a bigger story as we get closer to the movie coming out - I figured I would post this.
Yea, I know I am opening a can of worms here on the religious debates again....but this is a good article that most will miss.


http://www.towardtradition.org/article_Passion_Feb_2004.htm

Why Mel Owes One To The Jews
February 12, 2004

By Rabbi Daniel Lapin
President, Toward Tradition

Two weeks before Mel Gibson's Passion flashes onto two thousand screens, online ticket merchants are reporting that up to half their total sales are for advance purchases for Passion. One Dallas multiplex has reserved all twenty of its screens for The Passion. I am neither a prophet nor a movie critic. I am merely an Orthodox rabbi using ancient Jewish wisdom to make three predictions about The Passion.

One, Mel Gibson and Icon Productions will make a great deal of money. Those distributors who surrendered to pressure from Jewish organizations and passed on Passion will be kicking themselves, while Newmarket Films will laugh all the way to the bank. Theater owners are going to love this film.

Two, Passion will become famous as the most serious and substantive Biblical movie ever made. It will be one of the most talked-about entertainment events in history, it is currently on the cover of Newsweek and Vanity Fair.

My third prediction is that the faith of millions of Christians will become more fervent as Passion uplifts and inspires them. Passion will propel vast numbers of unreligious Americans to embrace Christianity. The movie will one day be seen as a harbinger of America's third great religious reawakening.

Those Jewish organizations that have squandered both time and money futilely protesting Passion, ostensibly in order to prevent pogroms in Pittsburgh, can hardly be proud of their performance. They failed at everything they attempted. They were hoping to ruin Gibson rather than enrich him. They were hoping to suppress Passion rather than promote it. Finally, they were hoping to help Jews rather than harm them.

Here I digress slightly to exercise the Jewish value of "giving the benefit of the doubt" by discounting cynical suggestions growing in popularity, that the very public nature of their attack on Gibson exposed their real purpose-fundraising. Apparently, frightening wealthy widows in Florida about anti-Semitic thugs prowling the streets of America causes them to open their pocketbooks and refill the coffers of groups with little other raison d'être. But let's assume they were hoping to help Jews.

However, instead of helping the Jewish community, they have inflicted lasting harm. By selectively unleashing their fury only on wholesome entertainment that depicts Christianity, in a positive light, they have triggered anger, hurt, and resentment. Hosting the Toward Tradition Radio Show and speaking before many audiences nationwide, I enjoy extensive communication with Christian America and what I hear is troubling. Fearful of attracting the ire of Jewish groups that are so quick to hurl the "anti-Semite" epithet, some Christians are reluctant to speak out. Although one can bludgeon resentful people into silence, behind closed doors emotions continue to simmer.

I consider it crucially important for Christians to know that not all Jews are in agreement with their self-appointed spokesmen. Most American Jews, experiencing warm and gracious interactions each day with their Christian fellow-citizens, would feel awkward trying to explain why so many Jewish organizations seem focused on an agenda hostile to Judeo-Christian values. Many individual Jews have shared with me their embarrassment that groups, ostensibly representing them, attack Passion but are silent about depraved entertainment that encourages killing cops and brutalizing women. Citing artistic freedom, Jewish groups helped protect sacrilegious exhibits such as the anti-Christian feces extravaganza presented by the Brooklyn Museum four years ago. One can hardly blame Christians for assuming that Jews feel artistic freedom is important only when exercised by those hostile toward Christianity. However, this is not how all Jews feel.

From audiences around America, I am encountering bitterness at Jewish organizations insisting that belief in the New Testament is de facto evidence of anti-Semitism. Christians heard Jewish leaders denouncing Gibson for making a movie that follows Gospel accounts of the Crucifixion long before any of them had even seen the movie. Furthermore, Christians are hurt that Jewish groups are presuming to teach them what Christian Scripture "really means." Listen to a rabbi whom I debated on the Fox television show hosted by Bill O'Reilly last September. This is what he said, "We have a responsibility as Jews, as thinking Jews, as people of theology, to respond to our Christian brothers and to engage them, be it Protestants, be it Catholics, and say, look, this is not your history, this is not your theology, this does not represent what you believe in."

He happens to be a respected rabbi and a good one, but he too has bought into the preposterous proposition that Jews will reeducate Christians about Christian theology and history. Is it any wonder that this breathtaking arrogance spurs bitterness?

Many Christians who, with good reason, have considered themselves to be Jews' best (and perhaps, only) friends also feel bitter at Jews believing that Passion is revealing startling new information about the Crucifixion. They are incredulous at Jews thinking that exposure to the Gospels in visual form will instantly transform the most philo-Semitic gentiles of history into snarling, Jew-hating predators.

Christians are baffled by Jews who don't understand that President George Washington, who knew and revered every word of the Gospels, was still able to write that oft-quoted beautiful letter to the Touro Synagogue in Newport, offering friendship and full participation in America to the Jewish community.

One of the directors of the AJC recently warned that Passion "could undermine the sense of community between Christians and Jews that's going on in this country. We're not allowing the film to do that." No sir, it isn't the film that threatens the sense of community; it is the arrogant and intemperate response of Jewish organizations that does so.

Jewish organizations, hoping to help but failing so spectacularly, refutes all myths of Jewish intelligence. How could their plans have been so misguided and the execution so inept?

Ancient Jewish wisdom teaches that nothing confuses one's thinking more than being in the grip of the two powerful emotions, love and hate. The actions of these Jewish organizations sadly suggest that they are in the grip of a hatred for Christianity that is only harming Jews.

Today, peril threatens all Americans, both Jews and Christians. Many of the men and women in the front lines find great support in their Christian faith. It is strange that Jewish organizations, purporting to protect Jews, think that insulting allies is the preferred way to carry out that mandate.

A ferocious Rottweiler dog in your suburban home will quickly estrange your family from the neighborhood. For those of us in the Jewish community who cherish friendship with our neighbors, some Jewish organizations have become our Rottweilers. God help us.

Radio talk show host, Rabbi Daniel Lapin,
is president of Toward Tradition,
a bridge-building organization
providing a voice for all Americans
who defend the Judeo-Christian values
vital for our nation’s survival.

For more information or to schedule an interview, please contact: Jennifer Brunson (206) 236-3046

_________________________________________
you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me....
I WILL fly again.....

[chuteless 1]

A very intelligent and wise perspective. I totally agree that there will be a horrific rise in anti-semitism in the not too distant future, worldwide.

The Muslims seem to be leading the charge, and as this Rabbi has pointed out, some Jewish organizations are playing right into their hands.

If the Islamic terrorists can do enough damage to America, the blame will be passed on to the relationship between America and Israel and blame
fosters anti-semitism. Hitler blamed the Jews for everything in the 1930s and the german populace turned their faces away from the perilous situation in which the Jews quickly found themselves


BILL COLE D-41

[jsaxton 0]

Hmmm, I thought that the Romans arranged the crucifixion.

[chuteless 1]

Yes they did. Pilate found NO fault in Jesus, and in order pacify the Jewish factions, they agreed to crucify Christ. The Romans even suggested they release Jesus and crucify Barrabus, but the Jews would have none of it.

When Christ was put in the sepulchre, a large very large stone was rolled to seal the grave as Pilate had commanded.

When the chief priests and the elders (JEWS) found the stone rolled away, they told the soldiers who had been guarding the grave to say "His disciples stole the body while the soldiers slept", and they gave them money to say so. (Matthew 28:12 to 15)

The question that raises is " If the soldiers were sleeping how do they know it was the disciples who took the body?

The crucifixion of Jesus was destined before the world began. Jesus knew why he was sent into the world. Regarding the end of His life, he said, "No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have the power to lay it down and I have the power to take it again.(John 10:18

[Muenkel 0]

Quote

Yes they did. Pilate found NO fault in Jesus, and in order pacify the Jewish factions, they agreed to crucify Christ. The Romans even suggested they release Jesus and crucify Barrabus, but the Jews would have none of it.

Very true statement. But let's remember that it was not the Jews of today who crucified Christ.

I was fortunate enough to grow up in a town that has a very large Jewish population. I am Catholic. I always enjoyed learning from my friends about the Jewish faith, as they enjoyed learning about my Catholic faith.

People of all faiths CAN live in peace.

Chris

_________________________________________
Chris

[chuteless 1]

Thats true...it was not the Jews ogf today who crucified Jesus...but He is the Messiah, and they still reject Him.

Also true, People CAN live in peace....if they want to, but in the Middle East....few want to. They all have their individual axes to grind, and the peace they seek will not come until Christ returns.

[Muenkel 0]

Sadly, what you say is very true.

Chris

_________________________________________
Chris

[tbrown 26]

I want to see the film, just like I wanted to see the "Last Passion" film with Willem Dafoe ten years ago. Why ? Because I want to make up my own mind about it, after hearing so much about it. I'm an ex-Catholic who firmly believes by now that Jesus really exited, but was only a man, and that the whole "God made man" and virgin birth thing were add-ons that pagan Greeks and Romans brought to the party. The original "Christians" were a Jewish sect, one of many. And they were all wiped out by the Romans in the AD 70 uprising, so Christianity was re-invented by its non-Jewish believers. The survivors get to write the history. Anyway, it sounds like it could be a good flick...

Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

[chuteless 1]

The city of Jerusalem was indeed destroyed in the year 70 A.D., , but as many of the scriptures were written within the previous ten years and survived that devastation, it would be because the writers were able to preserve them. St John who wrote the book of Revelation in the year 94 A.D. heard the voice of the risen Jesus, and the words of Jesus are recorded in many of the chapters of Revelation.

Jerusalem was obliterated in 135 AD, and no Jews were allowed to even approach it for 200 years.Even the name of the city was changed to AElia Capitolinus.





It is too bad your faith is so shallow, such as described in Matthew 13;4 to 7.

The followers of Christ survived the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, and were not "wiped out". The "history" was written by God, and that is precisely what it is "His Story".

Peter and others were with Jesus, and witnessed the crucifixion and saw the Risen Lord.

As Paul said, We preach Christ crucified; unto the Jews a stumblingblock and unto the Greeks,(non Jews) foolishness ( 1 Corinthians 1:23)

Bill Cole

[Raefordite 0]

Here is another article written by The Rev. Eric C. Shafer Director, Department for Communication
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America about The Passion of the Christ.

http://www.elca.org/co/passion-shafer.html

And here it is pasted for those that don't wish to link...

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 at www.elca.org/ea/Interfaith/gibson_statement.html) 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.

***

[falxori 0]

Quote

but He is the Messiah, and they still reject Him.

thats the main difference, christians believe he is the Messiah, jews believe he is yet to come.

the bible is a great spiritual source, but its hardly a history book, most of the stories are a one sided biased version.

millions of jews were killed over the years because of the belief that Jesus was crucified by jews and not by the Romans, and it doesnt matter how it really happened.

i'm hardly religious and as long as your moral standards are similar to mine i don't care what you believe in.
but if someone believes it and thinks me and my entire nation are guilty, all i have to do is hope they wont do stupid things because they think thats what god wants them to do...

O
i have no problem with this movie as long as it is taken as is, a movie. and not as a documentary.

"Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero."