OK, I hesitate to touch this one, but as Finch points out, this is about the most level-headed, good-hearted group of people on the internet. I read a critique of the movie that pointed out several discrepencies with Scripture. They are as follows, and I invite any of my more well-versed (so to speak) forum friends to comment. Keep in mind the critic in this case found the movie to be overyly violent:
-- Satan in the Garden of Gethsemane? Where does that come from? It's not in any of the Gospels. Anne Emmerich, perhaps?
-- Jewish soldiers? As far as I know, the Romans permitted no such thing. The Gospels, notably Matthew, Mark and Luke, largely describe a gang of men, some of them from the high priest's office, who arrest Jesus. John's account mentions soldiers, but the clear implication was that these were Roman soldiers supporting the arrest.
-- The excessive brutality begins a mere 15 minutes into the film, when the Jewish soldiers who arrest Jesus wrap him in chains and throw him over the side of a bridge. Again, this appears nowhere in the Gospels.
-- It continues throughout. Violence is committed upon Jesus in nearly every scene, with any number of beatings for which there is no scriptural account. The Gospels, for instance, only mention that Jesus is beaten at the end of his ordeal before the high priests; but Gibson has him beaten throughout.
-- At every possible point, Gibson ratchets up the level of violence to nearly pornographic levels. When Jesus is flogged by the Romans, they don't merely whip him with the traditional lash. They get out torture instruments that are designed to dig in and gouge out chunks of flesh, which they proceed to do. One particularly memorable shot shows the meat flying out of his ribs. Later we are treated to a view of the exposed rib bones and surrounding meat. Again, there is simply no Scriptural basis for any of this, nor really any sound historical basis for it either.
-- He depicts Pontius Pilate as vaguely sympathetic, a waffler who is ultimately mere putty in the hands of the Jewish priests. In reality, Pilate was ruthless, a notorious suppressor of uprisings who never flinched at inflicting "Roman mercy." In a more common reading of the Gospels, though, it is likely that his motives all along were cynical manipulation.
-- Satan appears -- conspicuously associated with the Jewish priests -- throughout the film, lurking in the background.
-- The film places the scourging of Jesus (to which we are given the full 20-minute treatment, a la Braveheart,) after his first appearance before Pilate, but before he has been condemned to be crucified. This is not the sequence given in any of the four Gospels.
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Now, as a maker of computer games that include violence, I cannot pass judgement on the film based on this. I don't share the sensitivity to graphic scenes that many do. However, I'm concerned that the deviation from scripture is such that there is just a hint of anti-semitism.
People should know where that is coming from, too. Mel Gibson's father, who Mel credits with teaching about religion, is a lunatic. He's a vicious anti-semite who is also a holocaust denier. I don't think Mel Gibson thinks these things, and has never uttered the sorts of words his father has, but that's why people are nervous about it. Mel has never criticized his father for these things either.
All in all, it's a fascinating subject, and I applaud Mel Gibson for making a personal statement wth the film, and for not caving in to critics, even though I'm at the opposite end of the political and religious spectrum from him. I'm all for honest unfiltered personal expression, and also recognize that his film-making and production values are top notch. I will go see the movie, but not until the hype (and crowds) diminish a bit.
Capslock