UPDATED MAR. 14, 2005
• Read "Rise of the machines: 'Robots' on top" by Brian Fuson/Hollywood Reporter (3/14/05): "The Mel Gibson-directed drama, which was originally released in February 2004 in 3,043 theaters and opened with a staggering $83.8 million, could muster only an estimated $239,850 this time out."

UPDATED MAR. 8, 2005
• Read "Less violent version of 'The Passion' is coming," by Angela Aleiss/Religion News Service (2/26/05: Fort Worth Star-Telegram), who writes: "The Passion Recut, a less violent version of The Passion of the Christ, will open on 500 to 750 screens beginning March 11. Director Mel Gibson has trimmed five to six minutes of violent scenes from his movie."

JAN. 20, 2004
UPDATED FEB. 17, 2004

FILM
'Passion' plays out locally

The premiere of Mel Gibson's controversial film, The Passion of the Christ, is set for Feb. 25, 2004 - Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent - when it is sure to reignite the long-running debate over its depiction of Jews and their role in the arrest, trial and death of Jesus.

The Roman Catholic Church and most Christian communities have renounced the teaching of Jewish guilt for the death of Jesus, and Christian leaders have spoken out forcefully in recent years against anti-Semitism. But memories of the Holocaust and the recent spike in anti-Semitism here and abroad have made the Jewish community sensitive to anything - such as Gibson's movie - that they fear could fuel anti-Jewish stereotypes and hatred. That's made representations of the Passion one of the most critical issues in interfaith relations today.

This Easter, the spotlight will be on Gibson's film - a depiction he says is historically accurate and does not malign Judaism - but at the same time, hundreds of thousands of people will flock to live stage versions of the suffering and death of Jesus in churches and theaters across the country. These Passion plays, or "Easter dramas," as many call them, have exploded in popularity in recent years. Once largely the province of immigrant Catholic communities, these productions are now elaborate, Broadway-style musicals and dramas put on by every denomination and faith tradition, including evangelicals, Baptists, Pentecostals and mainline Protestants.

Many congregations write their own versions of the Gospel story, while some get their scripts from the Christian publishing industry, which has responded to the demand by producing hundreds of versions with varying degrees of artistic difficulty. Some congregations consult with local Jewish leaders or organizations about their depiction of Jews in the Passion narrative, yet others believe that there is no reason to do so on a matter of such central importance to the Christian faith. They say that any editing of the Gospel narrative is tantamount to changing the sacred word of God. These opposing views have made Passion plays a source of conflict more often than of cooperation and a critical concern for both Jewish groups and Christian leaders.

The centuries-old view that Jews held a special responsibility for the death of Jesus contributed to a deep-seated Christian anti-Semitism and to brutal persecutions of Jews at the hands of Christians. Historically, one of the sparks for these pogroms was Easter-time Passion plays, which conveyed ugly stereotypes of Jews and labeled them "Christ-killers."

The re-enactment of the Passion on Good Friday was often the occasion for violence against Jews, who were depicted as calling for Jesus' death and mocking him. In their book Anti-Semitism: Myth and Hate from Antiquity to the Present (Palgrave Macmillan, 2002), authors Marvin Perry and Frederick Schweitzer write: "In the Middle Ages and early modern times, after the performance of a Passion play, which was staged in many towns and villages, spectators, inflamed by the depiction of a frenzied Jewish mob taunting Jesus, often poured into the Jewish ghetto to kill, maim, and vandalize." Adolf Hitler also famously endorsed the Oberammergau Passion play -- which has since been revised - because of its negative portrayal of Jews.

Today's Passion plays do not spark such reactions, but many Jewish and Christian leaders express concern that they also do not sufficiently convey modern teachings regarding the role and responsibility of Jews in the death of Jesus. They recall that in Easter 2001, three incidents made national headlines and renewed their fears. One was a column by Paul Weyrich, a conservative Christian leader and head of the Free Congress Foundation, who argued that "Christ was crucified by the Jews." Another was sparked by comments from the NBA point guard and born-again Christian Charlie Ward, who said in an interview that Jews were persecuting Christians and that Jews "had his [Jesus'] blood on their hands." Finally, the evangelical Christian comic strip artist Johnny Hart published a B.C. strip that showed a menorah disintegrating until it became a cross, with each panel featuring the last words of Jesus, including "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

Why it Matters
Religious leaders note that Easter draws so many more people to church than at any other time during the year that the representations of the Passion they see there will have a broader impact on society than an average Sunday sermon. In addition, churches are using staged dramas more than ever to attract people who are not regular churchgoers. Consequently, Passion plays and Easter spectaculars have ffect well beyond the walls of the church.

Questions for reporters
When writing about Passion plays, consider these questions: Who wrote the Easter drama used by Christian groups in your area? How were the scripts adapted from the Gospels? Was there any consultation with biblical experts or local or national Jewish groups? How do the actors view their roles, especially if they are playing characters calling for Jesus' death? Do the cast and director have theatrical training? How useful is the performance as a tool for evangelization? What do presenters and audiences say about the value of seeing the Passion represented live? What do Jewish or other non-Christian groups in the area say about the presentations?

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Background

• Mel Gibson removed a movie scene featuring the Jewish high priest Caiaphas calling down a kind of curse on the Jewish people. Read a Feb. 4, 2004, New York Times story.
• Read a Jan. 19, 2004 Catholic News Service story that says the Pope never offered any endorsement of the Mel Gibson film, as was widely reported.

HISTORY OF PASSION PLAYS
Today's Easter dramas are descended from the Passion plays that originated in the Middle Ages, around the 11th century, according to an article in the Catholic Encyclopedia. A Christian Passion play is a representation of the "passion" - from the Latin passio, which means "suffering" - of Jesus, that is the period covering his arrest, trial, scourging and crucifixion, ending with the resurrection. Some scholars see antecedents in dramas about the gods put on in ancient Egypt. In fact, in its early centuries the church forbade Christians from attending any dramas because they were associated with paganism. As pagan beliefs diminished, however, dramas using scriptural texts became a popular and effective means of communicating with a largely illiterate audience. Medieval "mystery" and "miracle" plays became enormous productions by the Renaissance era, using music and hundreds of actors and sometimes lasting for weeks. Passion plays focusing on the Easter story were essentially one of type of mystery or miracle play.

Although the Reformation signaled a decline in the widespread use of liturgical dramas, the Passion play endured and even flourished, especially in countries such as Germany, where the Oberammergau drama - which 17th century villagers vowed to present in perpetuity if God spared them from the plague - continues to be presented every 10 years. (The Oberammergau text has undergone significant revisions in recent years to address concerns of anti-Semitism.) Catholic immigrants brought the Passion play tradition with them to the United States in the 19th century, and in recent decades other Christians, especially evangelical Protestants, have melded the traditional Passion play with their own tent revival heritage and the modern penchant for Broadway-style productions to produce a grand new era in Gospel presentations.

CHRISTIAN PROJECTS LINKED TO THE GIBSON FILM
In a sign of how strongly Christian leaders, especially in the evangelical community, believe that the Passion story can be a tool for evangelization, some have already begun mobilizing to use the Mel Gibson film as an outreach tool:
• Campus Crusade for Christ has launched The Passion Toolbox.
• Outreach Inc. initiated The Passion Outreach Project.
• The Oncore Group, a Christian marketing firm, has a web site called Passion Materials to promote local church use of the film.
• The American Tract Society is producing Passion Tracts to encourage conversions.
• The Mission America Coalition has announced its intention to mobilize Christians "for prayer and invitational evangelism efforts" connected with the release of the film.

SURVEYS AND POLLS
Eight percent of Americans believe Jews are responsible for Jesus' death, according to a Feb. 16 ABC News/Primetime poll.

Some Christians, especially evangelicals and fundamentalists, that maintain that Jews do bear a special responsibility in the events surrounding the crucifixion - and at the same time they are more likely to view Jews as "God's chosen people" who must be converted. A 1996 survey by pollster George Gallup asked whether "Now, as in the past, Jews must answer for killing Christ." Eight percent of all Americans agreed with that statement, while 22 percent of those who identified with the "religious right" did.

The 2002 annual survey on anti-Semitism by the Anti-Defamation League found that similar views were especially high among foreign-born immigrants to the United States. For example, the survey claims that 44 percent of Hispanics born outside the United States agree with the assertion that "Jews were responsible for the death of Christ," compared with 26 percent of Hispanics born in the United States.

A San Francisco Chronicle article describes a January 2003 national survey, conducted by the Institute for Jewish and Community Research, which found that 37 percent of Americans believe that the Jews were responsible for killing Jesus. The survey, which had a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points, was analyzed by the San Francisco institute, which is headed by Gary Tobin, and administered by International Communications Research in Media, Pa.

CHRISTIAN RESOURCES
• UPDATE JAN 21, 2004: The Christian Scholars Group on Christian-Jewish Relations, 20 Christian specialists in the Jewish and Christian relationship whose collective work is supported by the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning at Boston College, has just released a four-page educational tool called Facts, Faith, and Film-making: Jesus's Passion and its Portrayal - A Study Guide for Viewers and Reviewers.

Currently, only the Roman Catholic Church provides specific guidelines for presenting Passion plays and Easter dramas. The guidelines help Catholic parishes conform to the latest church teachings. The "Criteria for the Evaluation of Dramatizations of the Passion" were produced by the U.S. Bishops' Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs in 1988. The Bishops' Committee is reissuing the criteria in Lent together with subsequent papal and church statements on relations with Jews in a booklet titled "The Bible, the Jews and the Death of Jesus." The head of the Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, Eugene Fisher, can be reached through the communications office for the bishops at 202-541-3200.

On Jan. 6, 2004, the interfaith committee of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America issued a statement voicing concerns about the forthcoming film and urging Lutheran churches that present Passion plays to heed the latest biblical research and church statements on Judaism in preparing their programs.

Also forthcoming is a book on Christian-Jewish relations, including issues related to Passion plays, from the Christian Scholars Group, which operates under the auspices of the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning at Jesuit-run Boston College. The center's site also hosts a link with extensive resources on Passion plays and problems with their representations.

JEWISH RESOURCES
Jewish advocacy groups have long been involved in efforts to challenge negative portrayals of Jews in Gospel dramas and, increasingly, in consulting with church groups to help develop their productions.

The Anti-Defamation League was formed in the early 20th century partly to confront negative views of Jews in the cinema. One of its earliest campaigns tried to influence Cecil B. DeMille's 1927 epic The King of Kings. The ADL has material related to the Gibson film but also information on the history and theology of Passion plays generally and on the Oberammergau play specifically. Reporters can contact their local and state ADL chapters for comment or the national office in New York. Myrna Shinbaum can locate an ADL expert on interfaith relations. Contact 212-885-7747, adlmedia@adl.org.

Read "A Jewish Response to Mel Gibson's 'The Passion of the Christ'" by Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, an Orthodox rabbi who founded and heads the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.

The American Jewish Congress and the American Jewish Committee can also provide contacts and resources.

The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, an association of 760 Conservative Jewish congregations in the United States, posts a statement and "talking points" about the film.

PASSION PLAY PUBLICATION AND SCRIPTS
Rather than just using the Gospels as a working draft, church groups and theater companies now have a cornucopia of scripts - both dramatic and musical - to use as a basis for their productions. These scripts vary widely in presentation. They are available from a variety of Christian publishing houses. Each house also takes a different approach to developing scripts and their various treatments of the Gospel stories. Some prominent publishers include:
• LifeWay Christian Resources is the publishing arm of the Southern Baptist Convention. LifeWay has a full-color catalog featuring dozens of Easter drama packages that vary in degree of difficulty. The packages often include promotional posters and other materials.
• Pentecostal Publishing produces a number of scripts and resources, including a book called The Drama of Easter, a collection of royalty-free Passion plays for sunrise services, children's programs and other dramas.
• Lillenas Publishing is a division of Nazarene Publishing House and produces scripts that are used by many churches. Contact Lillenas Drama Resources at 816-931-1900.

Click the map for interview sources in your state and region

National sources

• Philip A. Cunningham is a theology professor at Boston College and executive director of the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning. The center is "devoted to the multifaceted development and implementation of new relationships between Christians and Jews that are based not merely on toleration but on full respect and mutual enrichment." Contact 617-552-6027, Philip.Cunningham.1@bc.edu.
• Rabbi A. James Rudin is the senior interreligious adviser for the American Jewish Committee and a longtime veteran of Christian-Jewish dialogue. He has consulted frequently with Christian churches and groups seeking to present Passion plays and Easter dramas. Rudin is currently a Distinguished Visiting Professor at St. Leo University in Florida, where he works at the university's Center for Catholic-Jewish Studies. Contact 352-588-8597, james.rudin@saintleo.edu.
• On Jan. 29, 2004, a seminar called "Exploring Mel Gibson's The Passion of Christ" will take place on the campuses of the University of Nebraska at Omaha and Creighton University, also in Omaha. It will address modern and historical issues concerning Passion plays with a host of leading scholars. The seminar is co-sponsored by the University of Nebraska's Journal of Religion and Film and Creighton's Center for the Study of Religion and Society. Contact Ronald A. Simkins, director of the Center for the Study of Religion and Society, at 402-280-2504, rsmkns@creighton.edu; or Bill Blizek, editor of the Journal of Religion and Film, at 402-554-2628, wblizek@mail.unomaha.edu.
• Dr. Nelvin Vos is executive director of the Society for the Arts, Religion and Contemporary Culture in Maxatawny, Pa. He has commented widely on the use of dramatic arts in modern religion. Contact 610-683-7581, nlvos@enter.net.
• James Shapiro teaches English and comparative literature at Columbia University. He is the author of Oberammergau: The Troubling Story of the World's Most Famous Passion Play (Pantheon Books, 2000) and can talk about the history of Passion plays and how they can be modified for a modern context. Contact 212-854-6227, js73@columbia.edu.
• The Rev. Kevin Ashe is a priest of the Catholic Archdiocese of Newark, N.J., and executive director of the Park Performing Arts Center, which produces what is billed as "America's Oberammergau - the oldest Passion Play in America." The play has been produced every year since 1915, although it has undergone extensive transformations to reflect new sensibilities of the church and society. Although most of its changes were to modify the traditional depictions of Jews, in 1997 the play garnered national headlines - and controversy - for casting an African-American in the role of Jesus. The play's web site has a number of useful links regarding the history of Passion plays and the Catholic Church's policies regarding their presentation. Contact 201-865-6980 ext. 11, kashe@parkpac.org.
• James R. "Jim" Sibley is coordinator for Jewish ministries with the Southern Baptist North American Mission Board and the point man for the Southern Baptist Convention on issues involving the SBC's often contentious relationship with the Jewish community. Sibley can be reached at his Dallas office at 214-818-1309, jsibley@namb.net.
• Darrell Bock, who has seen the Gibson film, is a professor of New Testament at Dallas Theological Seminary who can comment on the issues it raises. Contact 214-841-3715, DBockDTS@aol.com.