More From the Religion Department

Amy-Jill Levine, E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Professor of New Testament Studies and Director of the Carpenter Program in Religion, Gender, and Sexuality at Vanderbilt University Divinity School, wrote an interesting article on Mel Gibson's film "The Passion" on beliefnet. Although the story is not dated, it alludes to the fact that he as so far refused to show the film to scholars (which he has now), so I have to assume that it's older. It mentions numerous times that it's not only Jewish scholars who have raised questions about the possibilities of anti-Semitism in the film, but Catholic scholars as well.

Miss Levine notes that "I don't know if the movie is anti-Semitic--I have only seen a version of the script--but the reaction to the scholars' objections could be interpreted as anti-Semitic. " She then says, "alas, fidelity, accuracy, and sensitivity were all lacking in the script I saw for Mr. Gibson's production. What I notice from the media coverage of this controversy is that once again "the Jews" are being blamed--only this time "the Jews" are a scholarly panel and "the truth" is a Hollywood script."

Then, she switches gears and proceeds to compare the film with the great big Evil, Nazi Germany. Although Miss Levine raises some very good concerns, her article takes on the tone of an Internet message-forum post alleging Nazi-like violations of free speech when she notes about the film she has only read an early script of: "Jesus' cross is manufactured in the Temple. this unbiblical and a-historical scene is analogous to asserting that the ovens of Auschwitz were constructed in the Vatican itself under the watchful eyes of Pius XII. "

Miss Levine's good points are somewhat sullied by what is essentially an appeal to extreme emotion. There are churches in Europe where saints are still celebrated every year - saints made so because they were supposedly killed so that their blood could be used to make unleavened bread - but she would rather focus her ire on a Hollywood production, and compare it to Nazi Germany.

What would change the fundamental, underlying anti-Semitism in a culture: working with churches to remove ceremonies that celebrate children supposedly killed by Jews, or attacking Mel Gibson's Hollywood movie, that the average American wouldn't dream of sitting through?

According to the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Professor of New Testament Studies and Director of the Carpenter Program in Religion, Gender, and Sexuality at Vanderbilt University Divinity School, the later.