Mel Gibson's "The Passion"
This is Danusha Goska.
Before Mel Gibson's "The Passion" opened, important journalists and scholars predicted
that it would cause violence. By now thirty million people have seen it, and no violence has broken
out. The movie's critics often mentioned a curse from Matthew's gospel, "Let his blood be
on us and our children." This is an ugly verse. Since we can't expunge it, it may be helpful
to put it into perspective.
Some understand Genesis to contain a curse, also. Genesis' curse, they say, is on all women, the
so-called "sin of Eve." Hundreds of years ago, during a period of hysteria, many women
were burned at the stake as witches by Christians who believed in the essentially sinful nature
of women.
Also in Genesis, Noah cursed his son Ham. Christians and Jews interpreted this tale to justify
slavery. My ancestors in Poland, for example, were serfs, comparable to slaves. The very word
for them in Polish – cham – was taken from use of the Noah story to justify the terrible
treatment serfs endured.
Today, though, women need not fear being burned at the stake, and I don't fear being enserfed.
This is because Bible verses alone may be used to justify hate and violence, but Bible verses
alone do not cause hate or violence. Rather, as scholars have shown again and again, socio-economic
factors are key in understanding any human behavior, including anti-Semitism. This is helpful
to remember when considering the impact that Gibson's film, or any retelling of the Passion narrative,
may or may not have.
For Speak Your Mind, this has been Danusha Goska.
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© Danusha V. Goska
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