4.8 Thompson (2004)
Thompson, Keith (2004) "Using Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ to Explore the Heart of Your Faith--A Discussion Starter"
Quick Look
Author The author of this website. For information about me, see Part I, Section 3 About the Author. Also on this site are my "Experiencing God in the Bible: Bible Basics for Progressive Christians, a 2015 Lenten Class at First United Methodist Church, Boulder, CO." (see 4.16) and (2017) "Stand Up For Truth and Reality: Helping Restore a Strong Truth/Reality-Based Majority in America" (see 6.10) (Click the link below the picture (right) to access the resource.) |
This Resource’s Key Interpretations and Insights Related to the Purposes of This Website
I used this controversial film as a way of helping various kinds of Christians better understand each other, and it provides a window into my own theological position.
When Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ film came out in 2004, the responses to it revealed to the nation-wide public a deep split among Christians--most either loved it or despised it, and they couldn't understand why the others didn't agree with them. I decided it had created a teaching moment when different kinds of Christians might be more open to hear one another and also the reactions of the Jewish community. So I created this discussion starter. I used it in a variety of contexts. One of the most interesting and intense was a panel presentation in front of about 1,000 people at the largest Reform Jewish community in the Western U.S. I was joined on the panel by a conservative evangelical pastor, a Roman Catholic nun and the senior rabbi. (Note: This resource has four pages, the middle two of which are meant to be best viewed side by side.) Here are some of the reasons I'm including it on the website:
I used this controversial film as a way of helping various kinds of Christians better understand each other, and it provides a window into my own theological position.
When Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ film came out in 2004, the responses to it revealed to the nation-wide public a deep split among Christians--most either loved it or despised it, and they couldn't understand why the others didn't agree with them. I decided it had created a teaching moment when different kinds of Christians might be more open to hear one another and also the reactions of the Jewish community. So I created this discussion starter. I used it in a variety of contexts. One of the most interesting and intense was a panel presentation in front of about 1,000 people at the largest Reform Jewish community in the Western U.S. I was joined on the panel by a conservative evangelical pastor, a Roman Catholic nun and the senior rabbi. (Note: This resource has four pages, the middle two of which are meant to be best viewed side by side.) Here are some of the reasons I'm including it on the website:
- it contains not only my specific take on the film and its director but also a brief view of my center-left theological position more generally
- by using a format of having the more conservative and the more liberal sides of the Christian theological spectrum (as best as I can state them) answer six identical questions about the film and its director, I hoped to create a window into some of the major divisions between different kinds of Christians--a window that could lead to healthier discussions
- it shows how Christian theology since the Holocaust has grown in its understanding of how its own history, and even its foundational documents in the Bible, have contributed to anti-Judaism and its terrible consequences
- it points to Christian resources that provide detailed guidelines for any Christian who is artistically portraying the crucifixion of Jesus (guidelines which Mel Gibson violated almost at every turn in his film)
(There are no plans at this time for either a Highlights or Detailed Review for this resource.)