Krauthammer: "Gibson's Blood Libel"

Washington Post ^ | Mar. 5, 04 | Charles Krauthammer

[churchillbuff]

Gibson's Blood Libel

By Charles Krauthammer Friday, March 5, 2004; Page A23

Every people has its story. Every people has the right to its story. And every people has a responsibility for its story. ...[snip]

Christians have their story too: the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. Why is this story different from other stories? Because it is not a family affair of coreligionists. If it were, few people outside the circle of believers would be concerned about it. This particular story involves other people. With the notable exception of a few Romans, these people are Jews. And in the story, they come off rather badly.

Because of that peculiarity, the crucifixion is not just a story; it is a story with its own story -- a history of centuries of relentless, and at times savage, persecution of Jews in Christian lands. This history is what moved Vatican II, in a noble act of theological reflection, to decree in 1965 that the Passion of Christ should henceforth be understood with great care so as to unteach the lesson that had been taught for almost two millennia: that the Jews were Christ killers.

[ambrose]

and the number of 6,000,000 is questionable at best.

What would be your number? 4 million? Does that then mean the Holocaust wasn't any big deal?

[LibertarianInExile]

D'oh! Answering that's gotta hurt!

[Seeing More Clearly Now]

Christian Europe did not allow Jews to own land and did not allow them to enter professions - this for more all the way through to the 20th century. Christians blamed the Jews for the bubonic plague and for any and all negative events which befell a community. Was the community got riled up, a Jewish community was no longer safe, and Christian pogroms ensued in which whole communities were wiped out after being incited against Jews for being "Christ killers." I was five years old when I was first told, "You killed my God." This by a hatefilled five year old, who was just repeating what he had heard at home and had just learned in Catholic school kindergarten. The Vatican recognizing the evil it had wrought over so many centuries, tried in its statement Nostra Aetate to reverse its millenia of incitement to hate and murder. Gibson has ignored his own church and set back Christian-Jewish relations big time. Gibson has taken much of his account of Christ's death from an 19th century nun who claimed to have seen visions of events 1900 years before her time. The devil character is Gibson's personal editorial of who hangs out with the Jews.

[Jape]

hey, what's the "freeper" user name and password. The Compost wants me to register.

[mercy]

Yeah, I'm thinking too. Though I abhor the sensless level of violence that Gibson has used as his main cenimatic tool in this movie I have defended him to my Jewish friends as NOT anti-semitic. My jewish wife and I have had a few heated discussions about it.

Now I don't know.

If a genius like Krauthammer is offended by this film I have to really pay attention to that.

We are not supposed to offend our brothers. Surely the Jews ARE our brothers.

There have been other very good movies made about Christ ... including well done scenes of the crucifiction. The Jews were not outraged. Why are they so hurt now? I think good christians need to ask themselves this question.

[wardaddy]

Medved is not a "hebrew".

He is an American and a fairly devout Jew and pretty good pal to Conservatism, Culture War and Christianity and should be respected.

[Sabertooth]

Gibson has ignored his own church and set back Christian-Jewish relations big time. Gibson has taken much of his account of Christ's death from an 19th century nun who claimed to have seen visions of events 1900 years before her time.

Seen the movie?

The devil character is Gibson's personal editorial of who hangs out with the Jews.

Sheer nonsense. Satan was defeated by a Jew.

[drlevy88]

The cross is foolishness to Gentiles, and a stumbling block for the Jews.

[Texasforever]

Why are they so hurt now?

Who is hurt? Who has been hurt? Who will be hurt? Should Christians be "hurt" that Judaism does not recognize Jesus as the Messiah?

[Lancey Howard]

Thanks for your comment.

Dennis Prager, who says he was the first Jew to see the movie (in a prescreening some time ago), says that he believes Jews and Christians are seeing two totally different movies when they see 'Passion'. Christians focus on Jesus and his suffering while Jews tend to "see if the movie really IS anti-semitic".

As a Christian, I certainly didn't look to see if there was any "anti-semitism" in the film - - why would I? But I do know that Jesus himself was a Jew, as were Mary, Simon, Peter, May Magdelen, and a whole lot of other people central to Jesus' life and times.

I can say that I sure didn't come away from the movie feeling any animosity toward Jews. I mean, this stuff happened 2,000 friggin' years ago! If I am going to sneer at today's "reparations" crowd for trying to instill guilt in whites for what (some of) their ancestors did to slaves 150 years ago, then I am certainly not going to look at Jews and connect them in any way to what (some of) their ancestors may have done - - 2,000 years ago. How stupid and hypocritical would that be?

Regards,
LH

PS. This Krauthammer is an idiot.

[Al Simmons]

"But to call someone like Krauthammer a lowlife creep merely tells me you've never read him before this article."

May I interrupt? I have read him plenty of times before, and always agreed with him - until now.

I do not know about him being a "lowlife creep" (whatever TF that means - I HATE adjectives that have no definition).

I DO KNOW, after reading this piece, that he is an anti-Christian bigot.

[wardaddy]

[hellinahandcart]

Anyone who says otherwise is, in my opinion, fabricating it.I don't think they're all fabricating I think it's possible that some were "primed" to see anti-semitism in it, by all the negative pre-release controversy. Which wasn't coming strictly from Jewish groups either, there were plenty of apostate Christians in clerical garb, or heading Religion departments at universities, who cheerfully added fuel to the fire in order to advance their revisionist agenda. I've reserved a lot of blame for them, those commie atheists. They have deceived Jews by pretending to be on their side, so that Jews who are upset about this movie will point to them as experts in Christian matters, who AGREE with them that the movie is unbiblical and antisemitic!

They think they have friends now in Christians who don't really believe in God, and that saddens me.

Scares me too.

[wardaddy]

Don't break weak now...geez....Krauthammer is damned flawed.

[Seeing More Clearly Now]

Boy are you ever wrong about Krauthammer! He's as far from an "ACLU jerk" as one can get. If you read his column regularly, you would know this. Krauthammer does not hate anyone, but he does know what it is to be hated and to have his entire people hated going back generations. He knows history. He knows that every Jewish family has lost thousands of people over the generations because of inciting portrayals such as Gibson's. The Jewish community has been decimated again and again throughout history at the hand of those who are whipped into a violent, sadistic rage by the local representatives of the Holy See. You might not like to hear that, but it is the case. If the shoe were on the other foot, you would understand. Jews hate violence and the sight of it; From what I have read, some Christians find the violence of the movie uplifting are dragging their kids to see this violence. Most Christian academics, who have actually studied what is really known about the first century, are as upset about the fictionalization of the facts, as is Krauthammer.

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

Sheer nonsense. Satan was defeated by a Jew.

I was just about to make this point.

Also, it was Mel Gibson's own hand that drove the spike. It was a symbolic but very significant gesture. Maybe some of our Jewish friends aren't aware that he did that, or don't understand why.

[wardaddy]

good post

[Mr. Mojo]

I DO KNOW, after reading this piece, that he is an anti-Christian bigot.

I suspect Kraut is merely unnecessarily fearful (about a backlash against Jews as a result of people viewing this film) rather than a bigot. .....And his fear is clouding his capacity to reason.

[claudiustg]

---More anti-christian garbage from somebody who's revealing his true colors. ---

Many Jews are not just anti-Christian they're anti-religious, as are many non-Jews. As far as true colors go, I never heard Krauthammer express any special affection for the Cross or much of anything else of a religious nature.

I believe, as it is written, that The Holy Spirit goes out through the preaching of the Gospel. I have to acknowledge, however, that many people react very negatively to preaching. This movie may be a similar case. You can't force people to receive the Word after all.

[Sabertooth]

Though I abhor the sensless level of violence that Gibson has used as his main cenimatic tool in this movie

It isn't senseless, it is accurate. Furthermore, the Blood Atonement of Christ has theological underpinnings. This is the Blood that washes away sins. It was innocent, and spilt for our sakes.

Christ's Blood is not gratuitous, it's essential to Salvation.

If a genius like Krauthammer is offended by this film I have to really pay attention to that.

It means Krauthammer has flaws.

We are not supposed to offend our brothers. Surely the Jews ARE our brothers.

And we are theirs. There is no offense intended in this film.

There have been other very good movies made about Christ ... including well done scenes of the crucifiction. The Jews were not outraged. Why are they so hurt now? I think good christians need to ask themselves this question.

No, good Jews need to ask themselves this question:

Why are they insisting on taking offense where there is none?

Before seeing the film, I heard Professor David Allen White of the Naval Academy offer his opinion. He said that "The Passion of the Christ" isn't a great movie, "it's a turning point in human History."

The controversey surrounding this film is not because of anything wrong with the movie.