More on Mel's Opus

I heard from a relative last night who viewed the film. She said that it was accurate to the scriptures, except for the part where Jesus carried the entire cross, instead of the cross beam. I realize that for many of my acquaintances, historical accuracy speaks only to details--the cross beam, or even if they spoke latin or greek--but not to the broader implications.

I think there are reasonable debates about the accuracy of this film--even if we are assuming it is based on the Bible. It isn't unreasonable to wonder about contradictions between the gospels, the addition of the 19th century mystic, and the extensive focus on the beatings. Raising those questions does not make one anti-Christian.

I have been thinking a lot about this film. I can certainly concede that people can see this film and experience it positively. I hope they can. I hope that people can see this amount of pain and suffering and connect it to broader human suffering. I hope they can live their lives with a better sense of compassion.

One of my fears is that Christians do not have much compassion for people unlike themselves and this film will not help that. If they can't find compassion for Jews concerned about anti-semitism, or for non-believers who find the Christian message confusing and arrogant, then what good is their faith? So, if this film helps people be more compassionate, then by all means, go see it. If not, then what good is it?

One of the more frustrating parts of this film has been Mel's sentiment (as well as many of his defenders) that people who have a problem with his film don't really have a problem with Mel, but with God and the Gospels. I have run into this my entire adult life. Disagreement with someone's faith being equated with me disagreeing with God. Pretty arrogant when you think about it--thinking that your interpretation is the same as God's.

It is this smugness that really bothers me. The smugness of Christians who dismiss any concerns about the film, and find the film simply a reinforcement of their own rightness. The smugness of people who see only their own experience and dismiss that of others.

And while I am thinking about it, (and this might be repetitious) I find the way Mel has pushed this offensive. Not only has he done the false "why is everyone angry with this film even though I only showed it to conservatives," but he has, in order to push this film, furthered the us v. them of American Christianity. I hear it at every family gathering--that Hollywood and the media hates Christianity. I am tired of it. It does nothing but encourage a divisive America. And, I must say, it also undermines any sense of compassion that Christians are supposed to have.