Mel Gibson's Bible: Religion, Popular Culture, and "The Passion of the Christ"

by Timothy Beal (Editor), Tod Linafelt (Editor)

The Passion of the Christ was an extraordinary media event. But the film has also, and more importantly, been a religious phenomenon. Mel Gibson's professed intent was to create not just a cinematic experience but a spiritual one. And he has succeeded for many moviegoers, most notably evangelical Christians, of whom millions have embraced the film as a presentation of Holy Scripture, a twenty-first century incarnation of the Word.

In this volume, biblical scholars Timothy K. Beal and Tod Linafelt—along with an esteemed group of contributors—offer a provocative range of views on The Passion of the Christ . Their book is organized in three parts. The first analyzes the film in terms of its religious foundations, including the Gospels and nonbiblical religious What are the film's literary sources and how does it use them? In what ways does the medium of film require a radically different way of representing gospel narrative? The second group of essays focuses on the ethical and theological implications of the film's presentation of the Christian What do we make of its representations of female sexuality? What are the implications of focusing on the Passion in terms of atonement rather than social justice? Finally, the third section explores the film as a pop cultural How has the film worked to create a sense of insider status for some and alienated so many others? What can we learn about the religious dimensions of contemporary mass culture from the film's reception?

Whether one is inspired or appalled by The Passion of the Christ , there can be no question that it is a defining moment in the cultural afterlife of the Bible. This volume tries to make sense of that moment and will prove to be a touchstone for adherents and detractors of the film alike.

Genres: Religion

208 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2005

About the author

Timothy Beal is Distinguished University Professor, Florence Harkness Professor of Religion, and Director of h.lab at Case Western Reserve University. He has published sixteen books, including When Time Is Short: Finding Our Way in the Anthropocene (Beacon Press, 2022) and The Book of Revelation: A Biography (Princeton University Press, 2018), for which he won a Public Scholar Award from the National Endowment for the Humanities. He has also written popular essays on religion and culture for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and The Christian Century, among others.

Tim was born in Hood River, Oregon and grew up near Anchorage, Alaska. He now commutes between Cleveland, Ohio, where he works, and Denver, Colorado, where he lives with his wife, Clover Reuter Beal, a Presbyterian minister. They have two grown kids, Sophie and Seth.

Reviews

[Zachary · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's no denying that Mel Gibson's "Passion of the Christ" was a massive success and an even bigger influence, and scholars have been writing about its antecedents and consequences ever since. This book was published not long after the film came out, and draws together a range of insights from media scholars, artists, theologians, and more. Some love the film, most dislike it, but all have their reasons and unique perspectives that combine in this surprisingly slim and easy-to-read book, and make it an immensely enjoyable and interesting read. I particularly liked that the book's editors don't step in and make the whole project of analyzing Gibson's work in the contemporary religious culture more cohesive. Authors disagree with each other, contradict each other, and seem to care about wildly varied aspects of the film and its problems. But instead of making for a confusing or even frustrating read, this really helps bring the book to life in a unique way, asking you to make judgments and find common views or common ground with specific writers and thinkers here. I don't love Gibson's movie, but the discussions it has spurred in a variety of spaces are interesting and worthwhile, and this book is a great entry point into that area even today.