Religion: history, impact, and contemporary significance

Mel Gibson's film, "The Passion of the Christ," has evoked a number of different responses from viewers and critics. It appears that, like the topic of religion itself, the one certain thing is that it is impossible to remain untouched after seeing the film. Perhaps then a study of the scholarly and cultural ramifications of Gibson's work would be profitable. First then, the impact of the film on New Testament studies will be considered, after which the general cultural ramifications of the film will be considered.

Impact on New Testament Studies

Any film concerning Christ's passion is a combination of the four Gospels according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Gibson's film is no exception, yet there are some points of emphasis in this particular work that may impact New Testament studies significantly. The first of these is the emphasis on the Jewish nation as sinners, rejecters of Christ and directly guilty for the crucifixion. The second is the emphasis on the brutality of Christ's death in preference to the other elements of the salvation message, such as God's love and Christ's resurrection.

The crucifixion is of course the key to the Christian doctrine of salvation. However, as it is portrayed in the film as compared to the biblical New Testament, it receives far greater significance than the other crucial elements of this doctrine. The resurrection for example is the final and emphatic proof of redemption. It is true that the biblical version of Christ's story needs added elements of setting and special effects in order to provide a realistic portrayal of the event. However, the brutality of the crucifixion in the film has been emphasized far beyond what was necessary to relay the message of salvation.

Furthermore too little is emphasized regarding God's love for all people, including the Jews, as well as the wonder of the risen Christ, when these are compared to the portrayal of the crucifixion. Indeed, what does seem emphasized, is the evil inherent in the Jewish nature, which turned an entire nation against their messiah.

The New Testament in the Bible in fact emphasizes God's love throughout Christ's life on earth. In the film this love takes second position to hatred within the Jewish heart, whereas those Jews who did love Jesus are also portrayed in a less prominent light than those who scream for his death. The discrepancy is not that Jesus was betrayed by his own people; he was that. Yet the way it is portrayed in the New Testament shows ignorance rather than evil at the heart of this betrayal, while the Jews in the film are portrayed as almost overwhelmingly evil and enemies of Christ.

A single film may not as such impact the way in which the New Testament is studied in scholarly institutions. The emotional impact of Gibson's work may however significantly impact the way in which Christians study their Bibles privately. Thus while the portrayal of Christ's suffering may inspire deeper devotion, the emphasis on Jews as evil does not fit in with the doctrine of God's unconditional love and forgiveness.

Impact on Culture

Culturally the film has a significant impact because of its highly emotional and shocking nature. The issue of faith is furthermore portrayed in a very dualistic manner. A cosmic war between good and evil results in the death of Christ. The pawns of evil in the film are mostly Jewish, and any others influencing the decision to crucify Jesus. This encourages a dualistic view of the events in the film, and indeed in terms of culture.

The film for example does not encourage the all-encompassing love and forgiveness that are the foundations of Christianity today. Instead it dictates intolerance, hatred and brutality.

These paradigms are not only unacceptable to Christianity as a religion, but also in most western cultures today. In the film those who are not in favor of Christ are for example portrayed as spawns of Satan, rather than merely people who are considering all their options without following blindly where everyone else is going. Thus both tolerance and independent thought are discouraged by the way in which these are portrayed as tools of the devil in the film.

Although it may seem absurd, these dualistic views have indeed found their way into otherwise rationally thinking minds. The variety of reactions to the film may be used as evidence of this. Those praising the film view critics as irreligious enemies of the New Testament. As in the film, many viewers thus accept blindly the story presented by the film without thinking independently.