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Commission
On Interreligious Affairs
of Reform Judaism
Ten
Steps You Can Take in Advance of the Release of
Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ"
Prepared
by: The Commission on Interreligous Affairs of Reform
Judaism
Many
of you have been thinking about how to react to Mel
Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ." As we hope you
know, we have scheduled a conference call for the day
after the movie comes out to talk about recommended
congregational and communal reactions. In
advance of that call, and of the movie's release, there
are a number of pro-active steps you can be taking to
help shape reaction to the movie in your community.
- First
and perhaps most constructively, you might use the
increased attention on the need for Jewish/Christian
dialogue to implement Rabbi Eric Yoffie's 2003 Biennial
Initative on Interreligious relationships, "Open
Doors, Open Minds: Synagogues and Churches Studying
Together." More information on the series of
"trigger films" which are used in "Open Doors" is
available from the Boston
College Center for Jewish Christian Leaning.
In addition, you may want to consider taking the
following steps:
- Send
a message to your congregation in advance of the
movie's opening. Help create the filter through
which they will view the movie, and the controversy.
For a model, see
Rabbi Larry Bach's letter, Rabbi
Jonathan Taub's and Rabbi
Don Weber offers a very different approach.
- Reach
out -- now -- to Christian clergy with whom you
are friendly. Meet with them or speak by phone with
them and ask their assistance in avoiding this becoming
a Jewish-Christian controversy by speaking out about
the array of problematic issues. Are they willing
to preach on these issues? To write and op-ed alone
or with you or with other Christian clergy? An example,
which Rabbi
Richard Block helped organize in Cleveland,
is available.
The most important message to deliver remains
that the Jews and non-Jews alike support portrayals
of the Passion that are sensitive to historical
realities and understandings.
- Contact
the manager of the theater that will be showing
the Passion, and suggest that they host one or more
discussions at the theater about the issues surrounding
both the movie and the passion story. Offer to be
one of the panelists. Offer to help select/find/invite
other panelists, perhaps including scholars from
the area as well as local clergy.
- Prepare
for seeing the movie by reviewing Michael
Cook's "viewing checklists". You may also want
to review some of the controversy surrounding the
movie; Professor Amy-Jill Levine, one of the Jewish
members of the "scholar's group" convened by the
U.S. Catholic Conference, has an excellent
article on that process.
- Meet
with the religion editor/wrier of your local papers
- and perhaps the movie critic as well! --to discuss
these issues in advance of the movie opening. Share
with them some of the background material cited
in this memorandum. Invite sympathetic Christian
clergy to join with you.
- Direct
congregants and others who express an interest to
the collection
of resources on "The Passion" collected by the
Commission on Interreligious Affairs of Reform Judaism.
The site is being updated almost daily. The Anti-Defamation
League and the American
Jewish Committee both have extensive information
on their websites as well.
- Recommend
appropriate background materials for different constituencies
in your community:
- For
general audiences, the cover
story of the February 16th edition of Newsweek,
presents an outstanding, and well-balanced,
overview of both the passion story and the controversy
around the movie.
- For
parents, looking for advice on how to talk to
their children about the film, and about Jewish
views of the life and death of Jesus more broadly,
Rabbi Richard Block has an excellent guide.
For
interested Christians (esp. clergy), recommend
the outstanding brief overview Dramatizing
the Death of Jesus: Issues that Have Surfaced
in Media Reports about the Upcoming Film,
The Passion by Mary C. Boys (Union Theological
Seminary), Phillip Cunningham (Center for
Christian-Jewish Learning, Boston College),
Lawrence Frizzell (Institute of Judeo-Christian
Studies, Seaton Hall University), and John
Pawlikowski (Catholic Theological Union).
For those looking for more detailed information,
especially on the history of Passion Plays,
recommend the new publication from the United
States Catholic Conference, The Bible, The
Jews, and The Death of Jesus, which can be
ordered from the Conference’s Publication
Office by calling them directly at 800-235-8722.
. (The Conference also released a very helpful
statement
about the publication.) Finally, the Consultative
Panel on Lutheran-Jewish Relations of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s Department
of Ecumenical Affairs has produced a very
good paper -- "The
Passion of the Christ": Concerns and Recommendations
in Anticipation of the Forthcoming Film.
- Plan
to preach about the movie. Your congregants will
be eager to hear your thoughts. (Some of those who
have seen the movie suggest that you do not plan
to speak about the movie the first week after it
opens, arguing that it will take a few days to internally
process what you will have seen. The movie extremely
violent, bloody, and unrelentingly brutal. Give
yourselves time to think, and time to think through
the historical issues raised in film as well.)
- Consider
a special adult education evening (or series), together
with local clergy, focusing on the historical issues
surrounding the Passion story and Passion Plays.
These classes could be held at the synagogue, or,
even better, at a local church.
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