Mel Gibson's Bible: Religion, Popular Culture, and the Passion of the Christ
The Passion of the Christ was an extraordinary media event. But the film has also, and more importantly, been a religious phenomenon. Mel Gibson's professed intent was to create not just a cinematic experience but a spiritual one. And he has succeeded for many moviegoers, most notably evangelical Christians, of whom millions have embraced the film as a presentation of Holy Scripture, a twenty-first century incarnation of the Word.\ In this volume, biblical scholars Timothy K. Beal and Tod...
Search in google:
The Passion of the Christ was an extraordinary media event. But the film has also, and more importantly, been a religious phenomenon. Mel Gibson's professed intent was to create not just a cinematic experience but a spiritual one. And he has succeeded for many moviegoers, most notably evangelical Christians, of whom millions have embraced the film as a presentation of Holy Scripture, a twenty-first century incarnation of the Word. In this volume, biblical scholars Timothy K. Beal and Tod Linafelt—along with an esteemed group of contributors—offer a provocative range of views on The Passion of the Christ. Their book is organized in three parts. The first analyzes the film in terms of its religious foundations, including the Gospels and nonbiblical religious texts: What are the film's literary sources and how does it use them? In what ways does the medium of film require a radically different way of representing gospel narrative? The second group of essays focuses on the ethical and theological implications of the film's presentation of the Christian gospel: What do we make of its representations of female sexuality? What are the implications of focusing on the Passion in terms of atonement rather than social justice? Finally, the third section explores the film as a pop cultural phenomenon: How has the film worked to create a sense of insider status for some and alienated so many others? What can we learn about the religious dimensions of contemporary mass culture from the film's reception? Whether one is inspired or appalled by The Passion of the Christ, there can be no question that it is a defining moment in the culturalafterlife of the Bible. This volume tries to make sense of that moment and will prove to be a touchstone for adherents and detractors of the film alike.
1The art of the passion112The good news of Mel Gibson's passion213Tragically heroic men and the women who love them294Contexts : theology, devotion, and culture395Mel Gibson's lethal passion516Jewish crowd and Roman governor597Gibson's Mary Magdalene698Mel Gibson, bride of Christ819No pain, no gain?9110Christ's passion : homoeroticism and the origins of Christianity9911Mel Gibson's passion10912The passion for social justice and the passion of the Christ12113The passions of the reviewers; or, why liberals are right for the wrong reasons and conservatives are wrong for the right ones12914The offense of flesh13915The passion and the death of God15516Kill Jesus15917Jesus's extreme makeover16918Lights! camera! action!17719Seeing is not believing18720The passion in black and white19521They know not what they watch199
