as always....very well said!!! nt

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: : : : "Mel has said he's sticking close to the Bible to make an accurate depiction of Christ's : : crucifixion, so perhaps the problem is not Mel. : : : Oh, Mel SAYS, okay then. I have only one problem with this comment, and that is -- who's : : to say the Bible describes an accurate depiction of Christ's crucifixion? : : *sigh* : : Since the Gospels are the most popular and oft-recognized accounts of the life of Christ, : : Mr. Gibson maintaining he's trying to make the most accurate depiction of Christ's : : crucifixion by adhering as close as possible to Biblical text is a valid statement. If you doubt : : the Bible holds water as said accurate description, that's a you against the world, "Dogma"- : : type argument (trust me, I know); because most of the world - religious and secular - : : acknowledges the four Gospels as the historical record of Jesus' life and death. : : My statement, Isis, was not made to wave a flag for Mel; I'd read his comments that he : : wanted to make as accurate a film as possible about the death of Christ, and was doing so : : by adhering as closely to the Bible as possible. : : : After all, even if we take really early texts of the various gospels, those only appeared : : hundreds of years after Christ's death, and were transmitted orally (no STD jokes please) : : prior to that. No direct written evidence by anyone who witnessed the event exists. : : That's the kinda grade school theological argument that "Dogma" is made up of, so I : : appreciate it. However, until alternative texts show up, all we know about Jesus we know : : because of the four Gospels of the New Testament. I'm not saying they're iron-clad, 100% : : accurate (if you'll recall, I made a movie that maintained they weren't); I'm just : : acknowledging that those books are the recognized source of any Christ data we have. : : : Therefore Mel's attempt at "accuracy" is, at best, a personal interpretation of a translation : : of a legend. : : But this is, in fact, the only way anyone could make a film that's recognized by scholars and : : the spiritual alike as historically accurate - as the Gospels are recognized (and have been for : : nearly a couple thousand years now) as the true record of Christ's life and death. Whether : : you think they're accurate or not (like Rufus) is another matter altogether. But being that : : there are no other records of Christ's life that don't at least use the Gospels as their jumping : : off point (and then go on to speculate even more distantly from the accepted text than even : : the accepted text probably does from whatever the actual story may be, in your opinion, a'la : : Kazantzakis' book "The Last Temptation of Christ") the guy saying "I'm making a movie that : : as historically accurate as possible, and as faithful to the original text," is not crazy. : : : To believe that the King James Bible is historical fact is, to put it kindly, an act of faith and : : not reason. : : That's not true at all. Historians the world over, religious or not, recognize the Bible as an : : historical document. Go ask one. Not saying they believe in the hocus-pocus of it all, but : : they definitely recognize it as an historical record. : : : That's no insult to Bible-readers, or the wisdom contained therein -- but : : "accuracy" is a term that doesn't really apply. The movie can be consistent with Mel's vision : : of the Biblical story, but that doesn't make it "accurate". : : This is probably semantics, but I'm gonna push on anyway: a movie that's consistent with : : the Biblical story is DEFINITELY defined as "accurate" - as all it needs to do to qualify as such : : is follow the Bible text as closely as possible. Now, whether or not you feel the BIBLE is : : accurate is a whole different argument. : : : : : The funny thing about all the controversy over this flick is that it's taken what would have : : likely been a minor release with a very limited audience and turned it into the must-see : : movie of the year. So, never knock a boycott. : : : : Take if from a guy who's been there: that's not true at all. That's the statement of someone : : who doesn't know what the fuck they're talking about. Any boycott hurts the box office. : : Ask Scorcese. Ask me. Whatever limited audience that flick had to begin with, it's gotten : : even more limited with all this brouhaha - not to mention some embarrassing private stuff : : about Mel Gibson and his father has surfaced because of it. : : Controversy may get you a bunch of (unwanted) free press, but it doesn't bring in ticket- : : buyers; it keeps them away.

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