Article published January 22, 2004
Gibson says faith led to film of Christ’s last hours
Mel Gibson, director of The Passion of The Christ, is broadcast via satellite to CedarCreek Church in Perrysburg Township. The interview was recorded yesterday in Orlando, Fla.
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THE BLADE/JETTA FRASER
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By DAVID YONKE
BLADE RELIGION EDITOR
More than 1,500 people turned out at CedarCreek Church in Perrysburg Township last night to get a glimpse of Mel Gibson’s upcoming movie The Passion of The Christ and to watch a satellite interview with the Hollywood star about why he made the movie.
In the interview, recorded earlier in the day at a pastors’ convention in Orlando, Fla., Mr. Gibson said he believes that "art has an otherworldly power" to change lives "if it is done well."
The 48-year-old actor, a member of a schismatic branch of the Catholic Church, said he has been meditating on the suffering of Christ for 12 years and felt compelled to make a film about it, saying it was like "a splinter that had to come out."
A two-minute trailer of the movie, which is scheduled for release on Feb. 25, Ash Wednesday, broadcast last night showed Jesus being whipped by Roman soldiers, carrying his cross on a bloody path to Golgotha, and being nailed to the cross.
"I hid my eyes," said Diane Husar, 59, of Perrysburg. "I don’t think I could watch the movie. It’s too heartbreaking. I would probably sit there and cry the whole time, seeing what they did to Jesus."
But Ms. Husar said she believes the movie will "open people’s eyes" to the amount of physical suffering Christ endured.
The Rev. Lee Powell, pastor of CedarCreek, said some people are saying that Mr. Gibson’s movie "might be the greatest outreach in 2,000 years - since the Resurrection. I don’t know if that’s the case, but we want to be a part of it if it is."
He is planning a series of sermons that will tie in to the film because he expects many people to be so touched by the graphic depiction of Christ’s death that they will turn to churches for answers.
Katie Johnson, 17, of Toledo, said she thinks God is using Mr. Gibson to spread the gospel in a new way.
"I’m excited to see the movie. I hope other people, people who are not Christians, will go to find out more about Christ."
Ron Bishoff, 47, of Perrysburg, said the movie is controversial because "a lot of people out there don’t believe in God or Jesus. They refuse to see that. They just don’t see religion these days."
Harry Kuebler, 42, of Toledo, said the trailer looked "powerful."
"I think Mel Gibson is painting it as realistically as possible. That’s the whole idea." He said the graphic scenes are necessary because "without them, it just doesn’t register."
Mike Brubaker, 55, of Perrysburg, said "it’s great to see that a movie star like Mel Gibson is speaking his piece about Christ, and is not afraid to take the heat. I can’t wait to see the movie."
Mr. Gibson lately has been making the rounds, trying to drum up support for the movie among Christian leaders and organizations. Yesterday, he was in Orlando to address 5,500 ministers attending a three-day convention of the Global Pastors Network. On Tuesday, he showed the movie to 4,500 ministers in Chicago.
The Passion of The Christ, which Mr. Gibson co-wrote, directed, and bankrolled with $30 million of his own money, is scheduled for a public premiere on 2,000 screens on Feb. 25.
Several prominent Jewish leaders and organizations have said they fear that the movie, which closely follows biblical accounts of the last 12 hours of Jesus’ life, will foster anti-Semitism and potentially violence against Jews, blaming them for Christ’s crucifixion.
The Anti-Defamation League issued a statement last year saying the movie depicts Jews as "bloodthirsty, sadistic, and money-hungry enemies of God."
Mr. Gibson said he believes the blame for Christ’s death lies with everyone who has sinned - in other words, on all humanity.
"When you look at the reasons why Christ came, why he was crucified," Mr. Gibson told an interviewer, "He died and suffered for all mankind, so that, really, anybody who transgresses has to look at their own part in his death."
Mr. Gibson chose not to act in the film because he felt his fame would distract viewers from the story itself, but he did use his own hands to hammer the nails that held Christ on the cross, saying it represented Christ’s death for his own sins.
Mr. Gibson said he was brought up to believe in God, but "kind of drifted" in middle age. Christ’s death on the cross has been weighing heavily on his heart and mind for a dozen years, and the movie was "just something I had to do."
"I’m not a preacher, and I’m not a pastor," he told one interviewer, "but I really feel my career was leading me to make this. The Holy Ghost was working through me on this film, and I was just directing traffic. I hope the film has the power to evangelize."
Mr. Gibson made his film debut in 1979 in the low-budget apocalyptic film Mad Max and has become one of Hollywood’s leading actors, starring in such films as Braveheart, Maverick, What Women Want, and four Lethal Weapon movies. He earned a $25 million paycheck for each of three recent films - Signs, We Were Soldiers, and The Patriot.
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