The Crucifixion In Mel Gibson's Film The Passion Of Christ

The issue between the Gospel of Matthew and Judaism is a convoluted one. The picture that emerges when talking about whether Jesus’s teaching is anti-Semitic or not becomes ambivalent and it is not easy to interpret, as Coogan has pointed out, “Matthew functions as a bridge between the two Testaments . . .”(Coogan, 1746). In the context of Jewish-Christian dialogue, the fundamental question is how much of Judaism’s principles and practices ascribed to Jesus are preserved from traditional Judaism? As much as Matthew’s Gospel has been considered to be an extremely anti-Semitic, especially in the Christian realm, there remains substantial evidence indicating how Jesus, as presented by Matthew, had preserved the quintessence of Judaism.

Throughout much of Modernism many artists were influenced and informed by the work of exotic regions throughout the world, more specifically Africa. African Art would influence much of the Modern Movements from the latter part of the Nineteenth and the beginning of the Twentieth Centuries. Much is said of the artists within the Harlem Renaissance, and how it directly reflects the influence of Africana upon their art. Often times, this work is neglected to be considered Modern if not in specialized selections of course throughout many of today's higher institutions of learning. However, thus being said, Aaron Douglas, often considered the pioneer of African American Modern Art, would bring this notion to the

The Jewish people have been hated since before the writing of the Bible. Their views differed than the popular views of Christians and only broke farther away at the coming of Jesus. The Jewish people saw the viewing of Christ as the actual son of God as disbanding from the belief in “One True God,” preferring to refer to Christians as polytheistic. This belief made it easier for the blaming of Jews for the death of Jesus, giving them the brand of deicide, or the killing of a god. Despite the Second Vatican Council officially exonerating the Jews as the killers of Jesus in 1963, in 2013 a surprisingly large number (26%) of Americans continue

According to the late Uruguayan journalist, Eduardo Galeano, “History never really says goodbye. History says, 'See you later.' This quote suggests that whatever happens in the past to people can come back to haunt them. In line with this quote, from Source E, “The Roots”, Barbara Rogasky explains, “...organized groups attacked defenseless Jewish communities, looted and destroyed them, and killed or maimed their inhabitants. Between 1900 and 1904, at least 50,000 Jewish lives were lost in such incidents” (Rogasky excerpt). Indeed, history repeated itself diabolically. The fatalities continued to extend all over Europe. The raiders were attempting to finish what they had started by killing 50,000 Jews. Earlier in the passage, “In the early years of Christianity, Jews were called Christ killers, murderers of [Jesus] … Jews were believed to murder Christians, especially innocent children … This was the infamous Blood Libel, which the Nazis made good use of again hundreds of years later” (Rogasky excerpt). Let's look and analyze further the quote that said Christians were believed to be murdered by Jews. The word “believed” raises the possibility that the ancestors of the Nazis could have themselves gone through racial discrimination by the Jews. As per Newton’s Law, “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” So, this hatred of the Nazi predecessors may have

* Most of Antioch’s discussion regarding Pontius Pilate revolved around him being a “ruthless prefect” in his treatment of the Jews. Even so, Antioch seemed somewhat upset with the way the people forced Pilate into sentencing Jesus to death for the sake of his on position and reputation.

In Jerusalem, Jesus was treated fairly by everyone, but Romans and Jews didn’t except him, so he had to be executed. This shows that Romans and Jews would kill anyone who was dangerous, or threatening. Till this day, Jesus is a major part of believe and religion.

According to the text of the Old Testament, Jewish authorities treated Jesus and his followers with hostility. Many Christians to this day, even though it has been proven not to be true, believe that Jesus’ crucifixion was a direct result of the Jewish people. Christian antisemitism was born from a misconception by Jesus’ followers that was then eternalized by being written in their bible. Christian antisemitism would continue onward through the Crusades in which the persecution of the Jewish people reached an all-time high in Europe, where communities were destroyed, Jewish people were killed, and others were expelled from their lands. Many stereotypes for Jewish people arose from this period because they were restricted to specific “inferior” occupations by the Christian authorities such as tax collectors and moneylenders. This early on compulsory requirement to wear a yellow star began in certain parts of Europe.

Anti-Semitism as a term to describe hatred of Jews was not used until the second half of the nineteenth century, but a bias against Jews had existed for thousands of years. This resentment of the Jews as a people can be traced back to theological roots as well as practical concerns in early Europe. The most significant and accepted origin of anti-Judaism is the death of Jesus. Jews were branded as the murderers of Christ and Jesus’ followers developed a deep hatred of them. This undertone to Christianity endured over time and became an inherent facet of the religion. Later, when Jews attempted to assimilate into European societies, they faced strong discrimination and resistance. Other citizens viewed them as economic competition. In addition, negative stereotypes evolved about the Jews in relation to their

Although the Holocaust is generally associated with its horrendous consequences and mounting death tolls, it actually “began with words and ideas: stereotypes, sinister cartoons, and the gradual spread of hate” ("Antisemitism in History"). These ideas existed long before the rise of Hitler, and throughout time and history, the Jewish people have served as a scapegoat for many of the world’s problems. Anti-semitic ideas can be traced all the way back to before the time of Christ, as Jews were reportedly persecuted in Egypt and other countries of the ancient world. Anti-semitic rhetoric was further circulated in the Classical Period during which Catholic leaders alleged that “Jews were responsible for the crucifixion of Christ” ("The Jews as Scapegoats"). Jews were thought to be satanic and followers of the Antichrist. This concept was continually developed throughout the centuries to follow, and “theological anti-semitism reached its height in the Middle Ages” ("Antisemitism in History"), when Jews were accused of various atrocities such as committing blood libel and causing the Black Plague.

In the book The Holocaust edited by Simone Gigliotti and Berel Lang the Jewish people were accused of having killed God. “Jews had rejected Christ. They had not only rejected him, but they had killed him, and since Christ was God, they had killed God” (Lewis, 33). Many people all over Europe had drawn passages from the Bible to support this theory. There exist passages in the Gospel according to Mathew that put the blame for killing God in the hands of the Jewish people. The Christian belief in Jewish Decide brought on negative feelings towards all Jewish

Dr. John J. Johnson specializes in theology and wrote an academic Journal named “The Koran's Denial of Christ's Crucifixion: A Critique” in which he discusses the difference between the portrayal, interpretation, and explanations of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ in the New Testament and in the Koran. In the text he gave an account of how the death of christ was real. The author stated, “ Tacitus (ca 56-117 A.D.), a Roman historian and senator, confirmed the historicity of Christ’s crucifixion: ‘Christus, from whom the name [Christians] had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hand of the procurator Pontius Pilate.’ The first-century Jewish historian Josephus, in his Antiquities of the Jews, also confirms that Christ was executed on the cross by Pilate”(Johnson ). This text confirms that not only does the crucifixion of Christ was a historical event, but it also has the senator saying that his punishment was the most extreme out of any possible punishment.

So it was thought there was nothing more to be written or said about Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ. Wrong. The controversial motion picture The Passion of the Christ has been at the height of discussion since first word of its inception. Throughout history both Christians and Jews have been at odds and many have taken their passions, perceptions, and perversions of the Cross of Christ to the extreme. The core issue is that the Jews have been blamed for the death of Jesus Christ. The movie Passion of the Christ portrayed the last twelve hours of Christ's life before and up to the crucifixion. Religious leaders around the world where petrified that this re-enactment on the big screen would fuel the fire of hatred towards

The Jewish people did not receive blame for the killing of Jesus until centuries later after Church fathers made the claim that the Jewish people are responsible for the death (Shore). The Jewish people received

The film also depicted that crucifixion was typically a form of death that was harsh, violent, and humiliating, which is accurate in comparison to crucifixions in history. In the film, Jesus was spit on, and the Romans mocked him, saying that if were really the king, that he would save himself. This picture of the Jesus’ crucifixion, and the violence that forced upon him, that was displayed in the film, The Passion of the Christ was an accurate description of what actually happened during crucifixions during the ancient times (Religions).

Many Americans flocked to see Mel Gibson’s movie, “The Passion of the Christ.” On over 2.000 screens across America the viewed the “harrowing depiction of Jesus' last 12 hours in wide-screen vivid color.” (Allen 2004) People viewed images of Jesus being flogged, crucified and left to die. This violence caused some Christians discomfort with theology, and some Jews’ fear that it will “incite violence against them because of its portrayal of Jews’ involvement in Jesus’ death.” (Allen 2004)