Panel Q & A
Panel responses to specific questions about aspects of the film, "The Passion of the Christ". Panelists are identified by their first initials. All are students at Emory University, Candler School of Theology.
Panelist religious backgrounds and degree pursuits are as follows:
- B: Jew (Hebrew Studies)
- P: United Methodist (Hebrew Studies)
- T: Eastern Orthodox
- W: Roman Catholic (New Testament Studies)
Comments about violence in the film
P: Protestants downplay Christ's suffering. Our sanctuaries have little or no evidence of Christ's suffering.
T: Suffering is there in the Eastern Orthodox, but the overwhelming focus of the movie on suffering is a bit too extreme for Eastern Orthodox. Temple imagery evolved in the Eastern Orthodox Church. The sacred space contains some representations of sacrificial elements of the Old Testament. But a sacrifice is not gory, extreme violence, or a beating.
W: Jesus is a divine person with a human nature. Suffering and the cross wasn't part of God's plan. Christ's death restores order. Jesus' life comes to dwell in us -- a participation.
B: Judaism has a tradition of martyrdom -- being killed by the Romans. One had his flesh raked from his body, then he was burnt alive. The notion of suffering changed for Jews since the Holocaust -- attempted genocide. Survival takes on more significance.
Was the suffering of Christ unique?
B: The Suffering of Jesus was not unique.
P: The problem is that looking at Jesus' suffering as unique can blind us to suffering in our own world.
T: Jesus' suffering was unique because of non-physical aspects. The important thing to Eastern Orthodox is the cosmic reversal. Participation in suffering of Christ is important. It has a redemptive purpose, but remember that when we follow in Jesus' footsteps, we may be called on to suffer.
W: Catholic theology is that Christ's suffering was unique due to his divine nature coupled with human nature and that it offered the opportunity to put things right with God.
Anti-Semitism vs. Anti-Judaism
B: Anti-Semitism is racial. Anti-Judaism is evidenced in the New Testament. Early writers needed to differentiate Christians from Judaism. But hatred in the New Testament can find its way into the culture.
W: New Testament writings were a first century perspective. In this early period, there was not a sharp Christian-Jewish separation. There was some complexity in the distinction. Anti-Jewish comments in the New Testament have been misused. Ancient ways of speaking and writing had conventions. These conventions were later misread. Different groups used invective language, but that fact was not recognized in later interpretations of Scripture.
B: Anti-Judaic polemic implies that we should think about a historical document, not totally divinely inspired.
P: My education and personal background leads me to be sensitive to the Jewish community's concerns. The movie's scourging, where the satanic figure weaves within the crowd implied to me that Jews were equated with the Devil. I see this scene as Anti-Semitic. But most people I've talked with do not see that in the movie. That is a good thing.
T: There is a failure in Christian churches. You have a responsibility to study and think about your book ... to appreciate what the Bible is really saying ... to observe how Old Testament language is used and sometimes changed in the Gospels. Matthew's statement "His blood be upon us" is a recycling of an Old Testament passage. The Bible is divinely inspired, but humanly written. Human language is not God's "Angelic" language. Translations lead to discrepancies from what was originally written. Remember to keep a historical perspective.
TM (Tavye Morgan, Moderator): I have a Baptist background. I wanted to learn about the Bible. I was angry when at seminary I discovered that I was never taught what I then began to learn about the Bible. We need to study our Bible.
T: Anti-Semitism does run in parts of the Eastern Orthodox Church.
P: The Gospels are human products, divinely inspired.
T: Gospel ... Bible stories "tell you something larger." It's not just about the words. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, there is a feast not from scripture... the Presentation of Mary at the Temple. This comes from the Proto-gospel of James. This is a case of tradition vs. history.
W: Three groups were harassing Jesus at the cross -- passers by, priests, and others being crucified. Three implies fullness, here of torment.
P: Basically, you need to take other people's views as seriously as your own.