"The Passion of the Christ" by Mel Gibson, recounts the last twelve hours of the life of Jesus of Nazareth, portraying his arrest, trial, crucifixion and death. One of the most anticipated and popular religious movies in modern society, it therefore becomes susceptible to criticism. Although the film is based upon the stories within the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, there are many exaggerations and non-biblical elements present in the movie. This is not unexpected, since it is a movie, but the vivid detail of the brutality in the movie as well as the Anti-Semitic theme are the most publicly criticized themes and concepts present in the movie. The Passion emphasizes the brutality Jesus endured to give himself for his people, but at the same time in the movie the Jews are the ones that cry for his death. During several scenes of The Passion of the Christ, there are elements such as characters, themes, and motifs that are not found within the gospels, but are in the movie to add more emotion and drama.
Stained glass at St John the Baptist's Anglican Ch...
Bible
Christ before Pontius Pilate, Mihály Munkácsy, 1...One of the most common arguments about The Passion is that it is focused on the intentional blaming of the Jews for the death of Jesus Christ. Throughout the movie, and in particular the scenes where he is held before Pontius Pilate and Caiaphus, Jesus is berated and blamed for blasphemy by his own people, a notion that is not explicitly talked about within the Bible. It is obvious in the movie and the Bible though, that Jesus has no bad intentions or threats to anybody, yet he becomes the enemy. The implied reason for this is that the Jews rejected Jesus and God. But why are the ideas of love and freedom that Jesus is promoting, in the movie and...