Skip to content ↓

The Passion of the Christ Article

Articles Collection cover image

The New Yorker ran a fascinating article on The Passion of the Christ in their September 15 issue. It gives a lot of the background to the movie, focusing on Mel Gibson’s background and beliefs as well as the controversy the movement generated based on its perceived racism. The full text of the article can be read here. Here are some interesting snippets:

I told Gibson that I am a Protestant, and asked whether his pre-Vatican II world view disqualified me from eternal salvation. He paused. “There is no salvation for those outside the Church,” he said. “I believe it.”

Gibson talked to him for a while, and convinced him of the purity of his intent. They did business, and just before Gibson left the man pulled something out, and offered it to Gibson as a gift. It was a small, faded piece of cloth. “What is it?” he asked. The man told him that he had a special devotion to a nineteenth-century Augustinian nun, Anne Catherine Emmerich, and that the cloth was a piece of her habit … He says that when he was researching “The Passion” one evening he reached up for a book, and Brentano’s volume tumbled out of the shelf into his hands. He sat down to read it, and was flabbergasted by the vivid imagery of Emmerich’s visions. “Amazing images,” he said. “She supplied me with stuff I never would have thought of.” The one image that is most noticeable in “The Passion” is a scene after Jesus’ scourging, when a grief-stricken Mary gets down on her knees to mop up his blood.

one of the most dismaying elements of Gibson’s undertaking was his insistence that his film would be accurate. She [Paula Fredriksen, a Catholic Jesus scholar] notes that Gibson relied on an uninformed reading of the Gospels, as well as upon extra-scriptural Catholic literature, such as the writings of two stigmatic nuns.


  • Intact

    Intact and Unmoved

    Corrie ten Boom knew what it was to suffer deprivation, to have to do without so many of life’s luxuries and even its necessities. Arrested and sent to a concentration camp for her role in sheltering Jews from the Nazis, she spent almost a year in confinement and suffered the loss of her father and…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    Weekend A La Carte (November 9)

    A La Carte: Waiting on God / Approach, My Soul / Chronic illness / A comforting verse for not so great preachers / Love the church like Jesus / and more.

  • Free Stuff Fridays (P&R Publishing)

    This week the blog and giveaway have been sponsored by P&R Publishing. Calvin, Spurgeon, and Luther appear alongside Wordsworth, Twain, and Emerson in a vibrant celebration of God’s creation. Ryken joins great works of poetry, hymnody, prose, and art with accessible literary analysis. “John Calvin referred to nature as the theater of God’s glory. Dr.…

  • Prepare for Christmas

    Now’s the Time to Prepare to Prepare for Christmas

    It’s probably a bit too early to begin preparing for Christmas. But it’s not too early to begin preparing to prepare for Christmas. For example, if you want to use a guide or devotional in the lead-up to December 25, this is the time to start looking into your options and buying the one you…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (November 8)

    A La Carte: Guard kids’ eyes and hearts online / The game is up for the mainstream media / The church’s unsung hero / Dear New York Times / Bear one another’s burdens / Kindle deals / and more.

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (November 7)

    A La Carte: Where abortion policies stand now / Misconceptions about sports betting / You shall surely die / Does evolution care about you? / Ministering to orphans in Africa / Book and Kindle deals / and more.