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Article: Passion, Judas present contrast in Jesus films.(News)
- Article from:
- The Christian Century
- Article date:
- February 24, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 The Christian Century Foundation. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Churchgoers pondering whether to see Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ during Lent know from news stories that they will have to steel themselves for graphically violent scenes and potential anti-Semitic overtones.
The controversial R-rated movie has been scheduled to open in about 2,000 theaters February 25, Ash Wednesday on Protestant and Catholic calendars.
Gibson, who directed the self-financed, $25 million film covering the last hours of Jesus' life, reportedly said that he would remove a Gospel passage used for centuries to justify anti-Jewish persecution. A Jewish mob calling for the crucifixion says in Matthew 27:25 (but not in other ...