|
LIQUIDTHINKING IS: Stephen Zedler Jimmy Doyle Andy Mullins Current Sountrack
OTHER BLOGS SYNDICATE 
OUR READING LIST Currently Reading Church and Theology Culture and Society Biblical Studies ARCHIVES 
|
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Thoughts on Mel 1) The incident and subsequent events surrounding Mel Gibson's arrest should certainly give pause to any Christian who would seek to put their hope in anything other than the living spirit of God for improving conditions in the world around us. It was and remains an absurd chasing of the wind for Christians to continue thinking that anything is going to get better because they somehow "force Hollywood to pay attention to them" or whatever other ridiculous notions they have of redeeming the culture through Christian-friendly media. 2) Both fans and critics of Mel Gibson should realize that he is a man. He's not a secondary savior, but he's not a devil, either. As it appears to me (and I'm no personal friend of his), the man is intelligent enough and familiar enough with Christian doctrine to realize that anti-semitism and racism is sin. He also was brought up by a man who, it appears, was a holocaust denier. You can rest assured that he probably has an emotional side that was taught to have negative feelings for Jews. This side is probably normally held in check by his rational side, but when one loses control to alcohol... well, this is the danger, isn't it? 3) This incident SHOULD be used as a lense through which to view his depiction of the death of Christ in his movie. I, for one, went into the movie skeptical about such negative portrayals of Jewish leaders, thinking that critics were probably being overly-sensitive. Since seeing it, I more understand their criticisms. There were points when it seemed that the Pharisees were portrayed in an almost ogre-like fashion, nearly drooling with hatred and evil. Like Mel, these were also people, rather than angels or devils. They were probably abundantly normal people. Some probably were corrupt, others were simply concerned about the spiritual well-being of the community around them. Attending one of their meetings probably looked no different than a gathering of any institutional religious leaders of today. Yet Gibson's portrayal of them was almost cartoonish at times, and, in my mind, was harkening less at realism and more at traditional church views of Jewish leaders, which isn't exactly flattering. 4) With all that said, it appears that Gibson is doing EXACTLY what he should do, as called for by propriety and his religious convictions. He is going straight to those who he offended and seeking to repair the breach. Certainly he could be accused of self-interested damage control, but those who would make such claims are seeking to divine issues of motive that cannot be known by anyone in the general public, and it doesn't take away from the fact that outwardly, it IS what he should do. 5) I find it interesting that Jewish leaders asks Gibson to perform "acts of goodwill," such as visiting Nazi death camps, before they will meet with him. This would be a good thing for Mel to do. Yet, it seems to me a highly symbolic gesture that doesn't strike at the heart of the issue, which is Gibson's apparent tendency to lapse into a dehumanizing attitudes toward Jewish people. It seems to me that the best way to remedy that would be not to give him a history and culture lesson, but to actually see him involved in the lives of Jewish people. 6) The Anti-Defamation League has been quick for an institutional entity to respond positively and helpfully, saying that they will be ready and willing to help him when he emerges from rehab. Such goodwill and readiness to forgive is often hard to find in individuals, much less collections of them.
Comments:
Post a Comment
HOME  
 |
||
Jimmy Doyle is a dad, husband,
teacher, friend, and other things. Currently he's just trying to figure out what it means to follow Christ and be in community with others. He enjoys having conversations with fellow pilgrims on the journey.
Stephen Zedler has a wife and three kids who he loves very much. He has been called by God to study and teach history, particularly U.S.
history. He also believes that God has called him to reform the way children are educated in America.