A Symposium on Mel Gibson's
“The Passion of the Christ”

The Journal of Religion & Society — January 29, 2004

hen Mel Gibson's “The Passion of the Christ” opened in movie theaters, I, like many Jews, was concerned about Gibson's underlying motives when he produced the film, the accuracy of his interpretation of the Gospel accounts of Christ's death, and the frightening specter of possible increased global Anti-Semitism.

I have not seen, and will never go to see Gibson's film — and yet I know that eventually, as a Jew, I might very well be put in the position of having to respond to his negative portrayal of Jews and their involvement in Christ's death.

Any response should be based on some understanding of life in Palestine under Roman rule; the accuracy of the Gospel accounts; the nature of historical “Passion Plays;” and the history of Christian Anti-Semitism. I found, not all, but some answers from a surprising source — the Journal of Religion & Society (JRS) on the website of Creighton University, a Jesuit college in Omaha, Nebraska.

Suzi Schwam

“On January 29, 2004, the Center for the Study of Religion and Society at Creighton University, along with its Journal of Religion & Society, joined with the University of Nebraska at Omaha's Journal of Religion and Film to sponsor a symposium that would explore some of the issues surrounding Mel Gibson's soon to be released movie dramatizing the passion of Christ.

Published here in the journal, and also in the Journal of Religion and Film, are the papers that were presented at the symposium. In addition, a Viewer's Guide to the movie is also published to aid in the viewing of the movie. The symposium was co-sponsored by the Anti-Defamation League (Plains States Office), Klutznick Chair in Jewish Civilization (Creighton University), Jewish Educational & Library Services (JELS), the Jesuit Community of Creighton University, and the Creighton Committee on Concerts, Lectures, and Films.

This Special Edition on Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ is published in addition to the journal's usual collection of articles, essays and opinions, and book reviews.” — JRS

The views expressed at this symposium are those of respected educators, but they are not (forgive the play on words) “Gospel.” If you disagree with what has been expressed, or have additional information, please email your thoughts and material to me, suzis@i-2000.com and I will be glad to post them.

Readers note: The index of articles is a MJC website page that generates links to the Journal of Religion & Society articles on the Creighton University website. To return to the index of articles just click the back button until you reach that page.

On each article page there is a PRINT VERSION button that will initiate a .pdf file in Acrobat that you can download or print.

Download the Viewer's Guide for the film.

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A Symposium on Mel Gibson's
“The Passion of the Christ”