I saw the PAssion... last night

[mdmc]

I thought that it was pretty good.

[reprehensor]

1. I have not seen it.

Did you feel that the portrayal of Jews in the film was slanted to foster hatred against Jews? I'm not baiting you, I'm actually curious if you got that perception.

Howard Stern has been saying daily that Gibson's movie is not far removed from turn of the century Passion plays which were designed in part to do exactly that.

[ArkDem]

2. Howard Stern?

..

[mdmc]

3. Yes

They were the villains in the story. But the story is love thy neighbor.
I felt angry towards the Jews, but the movie teaches about Christ and his teachings. Jesus teaches us to love all.

[Cassandra]

4. Where in the movie...

does it teach or even mention Jesus's teachings? And why did you feel angry towards the Jews?

[mdmc]

8. The last supper and the sermon on the mount

The Jews were mean in the movie.

[molly]

5. Love thy neighbor as thyself is a Jewish teaching

[ArkDem]

7. Wasn't Jesus Jewish?

.

[He loved Big Brother]

9. Love thy neighbor as thyself

Is actualy a Buddhist teaching, which is older than Judaism.

[forgethell]

6. I saw it last week.

there was no anti-Semitism, no Jew-baiting. there were some bad Jews, yes. There were some good ones, too. Possibly the character that came off the worst was Pilate. At least the Sanhedrin believed they were doing the right thing. Pilate knew he was doing the wrong thing, and did it anyway becaue he was a coward.

.

[Sandpiper]

11. Really?

I thought having the little Jewish children morph into demons was extremely anti semitic.

[scottcsmith]

12. Pilate came off the worst?

How? He and Herod were Christ's only defenders in the film. The Pilate of history would not have spared Jesus' life nor would he have been swayed by the crowd. The Pilate of history would have sent troops out to bust Jewish heads, as he did in the Samaritan uprising of 37 CE. Pilate was so brutal in stopping the Samaritan uprising that he was recalled to Rome for his actions.

The Jews of the film, on the other hand, are so driven by their irrational hatred of Jesus that they actually lie to the high priests in order to have Christ taken before Pilate, and their hatred of Christ is so strong that the crowd chooses to have the insane murderer Barabbas released into their midst, rather than Jesus.

How come Christians cannot see the film for what it is? Don't you think it means something for Gibson to portray Jewish children as demons, as he does with the Jewish children that are terrorizing Judas? From the start of the movie until the end, it is the Jews that Gibson portrays as wanting Christ dead. And they want him dead for absolutely no legitimate reason. It's completely irrational.

[Krakowiak]

10. I found it boring

Question to those others that have seen it:

Is it just me, or did those that played the Jewish priests have thick, stereotypical "Jewish" accents, whereas Jesus and his followers sounded rather Anglo? Maybe that was just my mind playing tricks on me. I saw the film as blatantly anti-semitic, but that's only one man's opinion.

Any non-christians out there impressed with this movie?