Blogcritics: Comments on The Crucifixion of Truth, an article at Haaretz

Comment by Corinna Hasofferett

Sat, 20 Mar 2004 05:33:59 EST

Also, let's make it clear - the crucification was one of the tools by which the Roman Empire ruled. Cruelty always comes hand in hand with Power. The subordinates will always react in a myriad of ways, from total opposition to abuse. Yet no one will say, for instance, that it was not Stalin who murdered the Russian Jewish writers one by one - but the anonymous or not that anonymous devout citizens who sent letters of slander against them, out of envy or plain anti-semitism, in full knowledge of the consequences. In my understanding, only when, if ever, Christianity will acknowledge with due respect the right of each human being to be different, not one of the herd alone, only then anti-semitism will be erased from our world. Better still if all sects - secular or of religions - will reach such an elevated state. Almost all it takes is for each of us to remember that one is meant to be the Messiah of one's unique life and existence and undertake this sweet responsibility. It's heartbreaking how far we are from this, how far from it religions and empires had brough us to.

Comment by Corinna Hasofferett

Sat, 20 Mar 2004 05:06:50 EST

As for the Span of Attention, dear Shark, you're talking about aware attention. The unaware one, hidden in the depth of our psyche, this one has a long memory, and therefore is to be feared (and be aware of...) much more as this is where manipulations are addressed at. I like the Cruci-fiction pun. But, you know, the article was written by a historian - a much respected one - not by a fiction writer. Yet it might be a good title for a parody on the Gibsonian Male.

Comment by Shark

Sat, 20 Mar 2004 00:32:55 EST

PS: The editors at Haaretz should have used the title: "The Cruci-fiction" Much better!

Comment by Shark

Sat, 20 Mar 2004 00:30:48 EST

Corrina, you'll be glad to know that for most Americans, 15 minutes after they left the theater, they were back to their mindless, somnambulent consumerist ways. Thanks to our national affliction with Attention Deficit Disorder, no 'message' from Gibson's bloodfest sunk in for long. Not a lot of loving one's neighbor, and not a lot of anti-Semitism... no more than already existed. Now, the Arab world, well, that might be different. In general, they don't appear to be afflicted with ADD, and are apparently able to carry a grudge for hundreds of years. BTW: Easter is coming soon! We celebrate the resurrection by eating lots of chocolate eggs and pastel M&Ms, hanging bunny flags on our front porches, and watching the annual showing of The Wizard of Oz. -- ie. No religion can survive unaffected in the Mall of America.

Comment by Corinna Hasofferett

Fri, 19 Mar 2004 17:39:35 EST

The major issues, as I see them, are: 1. The Herd Instinct which divides people into Us and Them. While in theory we are all for the glorification of the individum, in practice the Western Contemporary Culture still labels people in context of groups, mostly the Bad (Them) and the Good (Us). 2. Stigmatic Memory. or, as I have been asked not long ago in Portugal, out of the blue: "Is it true you've killed Jesus?" 3. The Use and Abuse of those manipulations, or, as I'm still finding in the Right's Romanian media (and expressed also in more than one of the comments in previous, related, posts here: "The Jews were punished by God to wander homeless and suffer forever because they've killed Jesus." Is there any comfort in the knowledge that no person on earth I know of, in person or from hearsay, is free of those?

Comment by sheri

Fri, 19 Mar 2004 16:24:24 EST

David, ok, no prob. Guess I'm a little trigger happy LOL. Sorry. I thought you may have thought I was implying that the movie could be anti-semitic, since I was referring to the quote from Haaretz.

Comment by bhw

Fri, 19 Mar 2004 16:23:50 EST

The new covenant of grace which frees us from the penalty of the law, not from adherence to the law, does not invalidate any of the promises that God made. So you're saying that Christianity doesn't assert that a belief in Jesus as the messiah is required? Jews will be accepted into heaven, even though they reject Jesus as the messiah?

Comment by David Flanagan

Fri, 19 Mar 2004 16:20:02 EST

i prefer to be moved by the fibers pressed into the page of a really good book, the crack of a baseball coming off a bat on a blue-skyed summer's day, or the taste of a fine & peaty single malt. Sounds great to me too. :-) Though, replace the "single malty peaty thing" with a full-flavored microbrew, like Magic Hat #9 or a Lighthouse Amber. David David

Comment by David Flanagan

Fri, 19 Mar 2004 16:15:08 EST

David, I was critiquing the movie itself. Sheri, My comments weren't directed towards you in any way, though, I do very much appreciate your perspecive. Thanks. :-) David

Comment by Mark Saleski

Fri, 19 Mar 2004 16:14:32 EST

i prefer to be moved by the fibers pressed into the page of a really good book, the crack of a baseball coming off a bat on a blue-skyed summer's day, or the taste of a fine & peaty single malt.

Comment by David Flanagan

Fri, 19 Mar 2004 16:12:45 EST

I was raised Catholic as well and later became part of a conservative Christian denomination called The Presbyterian Church in America. Growing up Catholic, I was taught to trust the forms, rituals, and traditions of Catholicism, but later I learned that those are all works and cannot real faith and repentence.

Ephesians 2:8-9 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast.

Now, all that to make the point that many Christians believe that God never forgets any of his promises, nor does he ever fail to deliver on them. The new covenant of grace which frees us from the penalty of the law, not from adherence to the law, does not invalidate any of the promises that God made. Thanks. David

Comment by sheri

Fri, 19 Mar 2004 16:11:44 EST

David, I was critiquing the movie itself. I chose to see this movie on the basis that Mel is a human being, and not the representation of God on earth. I prefer to be moved to higher spiritual levels based on a real, inner conviction, preferably in quite solitude, instead of being moved by a movie, subject to human error. Once the spotlight has faded, and the hype has quited down,will I still feel the power of my convictions, and have a desire to not just talk it, but walk it. That is the way I approached it and still do. :0)

Comment by David Flanagan

Fri, 19 Mar 2004 16:04:02 EST

You also believe that when the Rapture comes, all of us will either have to convert to Chistianity or die. So pardon if we don't exactly bend over backward to thank the evangelicals. Except that "the Rapture" is a little understood but much imagined event in our future. How the rapture will occur, when, and in what way is a mystery. What we as Christians believe in is Messiah. As for "converting" to Christianity, that is a religious term. Ultimately, I believe just as Abraham believed, that God would use Israel to bless the whole world. I believe Jesus is the fulfillment of that promise. Thanks. David

Comment by bhw

Fri, 19 Mar 2004 16:02:29 EST

I was raised Catholic, and although I was taught, of course, that Jesus was a Jew, I don't recall a focus on Jesus' Jewishness [for lack of a better word]. I definitely know there was no focus on or feeling of "God will bless those who bless Israel and curse those who curse Israel." What I do remember is that the new covenant changed everything and anyone who didn't believe that Jesus was the messiah couldn't be "saved," even Jews, who were apparently once, but no longer, the chosen ones.

Comment by Scott Pepper

Fri, 19 Mar 2004 15:49:20 EST

We still believe that God will bless those who bless Israel and curse those who curse Israel, and we can't imagine turning our backs on a nation with which we have shared so much. You also believe that when the Rapture comes, all of us will either have to convert to Chistianity or die. So pardon if we don't exactly bend over backward to thank the evangelicals.

Comment by David Flanagan

Fri, 19 Mar 2004 15:37:03 EST

What I think is fascinating with much of the critiques I've seen from the Jewish community is so much of what is written seems to treat Jesus as a non-Jew. But Christians see Jesus as THE Jew, the one promised to Abraham and talked about in the Law and the Prophets. As a matter of fact, the movie opens with a quote from Isaiah, who prophesied on the coming of Messiah:

Isaiah 53:4-6 Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

God raised up the Jews to become a great nation, he set them apart, and promised that the world would be blessed through his people, Israel:

Genesis 12:2-3 "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."

Why do you think Christians, at least here in the US, have been such staunch supporters of Israel? We still believe that God will bless those who bless Israel and curse those who curse Israel, and we can't imagine turning our backs on a nation with which we have shared so much. For Gibson, this movie was very personal. I don't think he understood the ramifications of this movie in light of the passion plays that were held in Europe before WWII, which helped generate intense hatred of the Jews. I know that many are never going to accept that Gibson's motives in making the movie had nothing to do with anti-semitism, but, truly, they did not. With that said, it does not mean that people who already hate the Jews cannot use this movie to their advantage, but I just don't think that we'll see this happen. We'll have to wait and see. Thanks David

Comment by Corinna Hasofferett

Fri, 19 Mar 2004 15:01:59 EST

thanks, Sheri. I have not seen the movie, of course, as it has not reached Israel, I doubt anyone will be interested but you never know. Yesterday Haaretz translated from NYTimes the article about sex slavery of women and even toddlers. This is modern crucification, close to home and now, daily. It saddens me enormously.

Comment by sheri

Fri, 19 Mar 2004 14:35:19 EST

"The Jews' desire to crucify Jesus is not entirely understood, because the film does not provide viewers with historical and theological background, not even in a few sentences, that might have made it clear who Jesus was, what his message was, what danger the Jewish leadership saw in his messianic declarations and what was happening in the province of Judea under Rome." I agree, totally, 100%. That is more or less the sentiments I finally expressed as we were coming home from the theater..after that silent contemplation that sometimes follows an intense movie.