I wrote this in early August of 2006, in the immediate aftermath of his anti-Jew DUI. Since I have blogged recently about Jews and William Wallace, I figured that I should re-affirm how I feel about that loon Mel Gibson.
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Well, I went out and rented The Passion of the Christ, and it literally nearly made me puke. The question is not is the movie a little anti-Semitic, it is radically anti-Semitic! Rome controlled the area with overwhelming military force, but could do precious little to stop the Jews from killing a Jewish Messiah? So a Jew who was a political threat to Romans, was an individual the Romans wanted to save? I am not buying it...Jesus was a Jew, he threatened Roman power, Rome wanted him dead, had him killed, then wrote history to blame the death on the very people that Jesus championed. And Herod, who was king of Judea at the time was an Arab in bed with the Romans.
I had no interest in watching the movie until Mel Gibson's true colours were exposed. All I know is that if Adolf Hitler was alive today, he would love Mel's movie. Mel helped write the screenplay, he bankrolled the movie, then produced and directed it. He portrayed the Jews as demons and blood thirsty animals. The sad thing is how many people watched this movie, and accepted it as historical fact, almost like a documentary.
I am the kind of person who strikes conversations with strangers about politics, history, philosophy, and religion. I have met a number of devoted Catholics who pretty much quote the Passion of the Christ to justify the Holocaust. As one Eastern European Catholic on my job site said to me, "There is always some truth to everything. Maybe Hitler had the right idea..."
I stopped him mid-sentence to tell him, "you'd be smart never to say that again."
Maybe Mel Gibson does not agree with his father that the Holocaust never happened, but he has written, produced, and directed a blockbuster movie that attempted to justify it...This film does shine a light on the source of Western anti-Semitism.
if it was pre-ordained then none of the characters in the play had any choice.
ReplyDeleteIf everything is pre-ordained, then freedom of choice would not exist. Why would a diety create this elaborate movie if he already knew the ending? If such a diety existed, I would assume that he would not want to know what happens next. Free will, it is a bitch!
ReplyDeleteAlso, history is not an exact science. It is subject to interpretation and you must properly vet your sources. The majority of historical accounts of the time of Jesus come from the Roman Catholic Church. The Romans committed the crime, and then wrote history to free themselves from blame amidst the crumbling of their empire. So to trust the Roman account of the Roman crime is foolhardy at best, dangerous at worst. And yes, I am a Protestant thank you very much.
ReplyDeleteI minored in history at the University of Guelph, and my father has a history degree from Yale.
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