I am an athiest. Or a strong agnostic. Either way, going into
The Passion of The Christ, it was predetermined that
I would have a different perspective on the movie - one that is more technical and tuned to the quality of the film, not just the story it is telling.
The Passion is made for Christians, but is it something others can appreciate?
Unless you''ve been in a coma for the last few months, it is doubtful that you haven''t heard of the controversy that is what appears to be Mel Gibson''s most personal film (is it ''The Passion of The Christ'' or ''The Passion of Mel''?). Aside from the fact that the movie depicts the last 12 hours of Jesus''s life in brutally violent realism, the movie has sparked a debate over anti-semitism, a subject that is touchy no matter how one looks at it. According to Gibson, his movie is historically accurate, including his depiction of the Jews (who, in this movie, are definitely given much of the responsibility of the crucifiction), but there are some that say he shows Jews in an overly negative light. Having not nearly as much religious knowledge as I would like, I cannot comment on the accuracy of the film - all I can remark on is Gibson''s intentions. It is fairly obvious that Gibson is not anti-semetic (his father may be another story altogether); he just wants to tell a story that is very important to him. The approach is not politically correct, but then again, the story isn''t politically correct. Does that mean it shouldn''t be made?
On the other hand, it is clear that those that are ignorant may react in anti-semetic fashion upon seeing this film. All religions have a percentage that are quite ignorant to the true purpose of the word of God and their religion as a whole, and usually reveal themselves as intolerant of other cultures and ideas. Christianity has these people, Islam has these people, and the basic truth is that some people will twist the point of this movie into anti-semetic views.