The Passion Of Christ
Some Reflections on Mel Gibson's MOVIE
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
INTRODUCTION
Mel Gibson’s movie The Passion of the Christ has become more than a movie in the sense that it has started a controversy not seen about any other movie of our time. The controversy has to do with any number of topics, each one more interesting than the other:
• the brutality of the film itself
• the nature of the sufferings of Christ
• who really put Christ to death
• what was the reality of a crucifixion
• how do we understand such cruelty as the response of love
• was the movie or even Christianity anti-Semitic
These and many other questions surround the movie even as the number of viewers increase to the millions.
All this, it seems to me, is to the good. The movie rids us forever of the pasty, blue eyed, Gentile Jesus who makes no demands on us but a sentimental attraction. The real crucified Lord is just that: one who suffered in agony just as each of us must and he was similar to us in all things except sin. The brutality of his death delivers us once and for all from the sentimental Jesus but shows a man with whom we can identify because he experienced precisely what we have and will all experience.
I have written a series of small chapters to try and respond to the issues raised in controversy in the movie itself and which should be subjects for discussion groups throughout the country. In discussing these questions, I believe that Christian people will become deeper in their faith in a most meaningful way. It will help them understand the real Christ whom they claim to follow and worship in pain and suffering. Christianity is the theology of the cross. If the movie does nothing more than that, it shall have been a great success for believers around the world.
Chapter 1 deals with a general view of the film itself, its setting and its realities. Why the movie was made in the first place.
Chapter 2 delves into the nature of the sufferings of Christ. Why did Christ have to suffer as he did? Why did he choose suffering in the first place? Why the brutality of that suffering?
Chapter 3 What value was the death of Christ? Why did Christ have to die just like the rest of us? How can we say that Christ’s death was redemptive?
Chapter 4 Gibson’s movie portrayed Pilate, the Roman Governor as a sympathetic figure who was clearly responsible for the death of Christ. What do we really know of him, if anything? Theologically, how shall we understand him?
Chapter 5 Gibson seems to think that the woman is one of the central characters in The Passion and one of the companions of Jesus. What does the gospel tell us about this, if anything?
Chapter 6 It is important to understand the nature of Christ’s Father and why he sent his Son to earth to suffer and die out of love. Luke’s parable about the prodigal son (more approximately the prodigal father) tries to deal with their relationship for us.
Chapter 7 Judas has been portrayed as a tragic figure as the one who started the whole chain reaction that would lead to the suffering and death of Christ. What do we really know of this man and what are the possible motives he might have had for betraying Christ? Was it purely for lucre or were there other motives for his betrayal?
Chapter 8 One of the most controversial dimension surrounding this film is whether it is anti-Semitic. Was the early church itself anti-Semitic and is it in the nature of Christianity itself to be anti-Semitic?
Chapters 9-12 are some theological and scriptural elaboration about the death of Christ and its redemptive value. I end the book with Chapter 13, a small chapter on the pascal mystery of the resurrection without which all that goes before it is meaningless. Indeed, maybe an exercise is sado-masochism. These cahpters are a development on the theological views about Satan, Judas, the scandal of a suffering God, the weakness of God manifested on the cross and Christ’s solidarity with us in all that we are and all that affects us in life.
These are a few of the more important questions raised by Gibson’s film The Passion of the Christ. They are questions of great interest for believers and should be discussed long after they have seen the movie because it will help their spiritual life and what it means to be a Christian.
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
This book consists of some fourteen small chapters, each dealing with some aspect brought up in Mel Gibson’s film The Passion of the Christ. The chapters are meant as subjects for in depth discussion about the implications of this movie which has caused much discussion around the world. The chapters deal with the suffering and death of Christ, Pontius Pilate, the woman caught in adultery, Judas, Satan, Jews and anti-Semitism, charity and forgiveness and a note on the resurrection along with other more minor subjects. Insights into these various areas will help the reader as well as the one who has seen the movie to understand the implications of the movie.
It should be noted that this book can be read in its entirety without having seen the movie. It is a self contained book whose basic theme is the meaning of the suffering and death of Christ. In short, this book is a treatise on the pascal mystery of Jesus Christ.
About the Author
Mr. Riga is an author, novelist, theologian and lawyer. He has written thousands of articles and over 30 books on all subjects. He has written on theological subjects for years, particularly on Scripture. He is well versed in the subject and has a Ph. D in religion. His background is varied from Chaplain in