Modern parable of Mel Gibson
Modern parable of Mel Gibson
By James Martin
Copyright © 2006, Chicago Tribune
Published August 3, 2006
So Mel Gibson is an anti-Semite. Or at least he says anti-Semitic things. Or at least he says anti-Semitic things when he's drunk. But, according to Gibson, he didn't mean the horrible things he said during his drunken bender in Malibu, Calif. He didn't even believe those things.
That makes him the only person in history whose true feelings don't come pouring out after having too much alcohol. Besides, someone who loves Latin so much should know that wine makes people speak the truth. In vino veritas, right?
As a Christian, I should be forgiving of Gibson. Give him the benefit of the doubt. But I'm finding that a little tough, and anyway, I'm not the one sinned against. It's bad enough he made those disgusting remarks, but it's doubly hard to stomach on top of doubts about "The Passion of the Christ." Frankly, I had wondered about his claims that his portrayal of the Jews wasn't tinged with contempt. I won't rehearse all the arguments about the movie but, to paraphrase former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, I guess I know anti-Semitism when I see it.
The weirdest part of Gibson's drunken rant was his statement that the Jews are responsible for all the wars. So, did he mean throughout history or just the recent ones, like World War II? And I wonder if that includes Jesus of Nazareth, who, as Gibson may have discovered during his extensive research for his movie, was Jewish. Maybe the fact that Jesus' mother had a nice Catholic name was confusing.
The biggest irony is that the guy who acted the most Christian in this whole affair is Jewish: the Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy who arrested Gibson. After the arrest, James Mee said that he held no grudge against Gibson and didn't want to see Gibson's career suffer, even though he's the guy in whose face Gibson spewed his invective. Despite that, this Jewish fellow gave Gibson a little lesson--a parable you might say--about Christian forgiveness.
Come to think of it, wasn't there another Jewish guy who talked about the virtues of compassion and love and, especially, tolerance? I'm pretty sure there was. He lived in Palestine in the 1st Century, I think. Maybe someday Gibson could make a movie about him.
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Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit priest who resides in New York, is the author of "My Life with the Saints" and the associate editor of America magazine.
By James Martin
Copyright © 2006, Chicago Tribune
Published August 3, 2006
So Mel Gibson is an anti-Semite. Or at least he says anti-Semitic things. Or at least he says anti-Semitic things when he's drunk. But, according to Gibson, he didn't mean the horrible things he said during his drunken bender in Malibu, Calif. He didn't even believe those things.
That makes him the only person in history whose true feelings don't come pouring out after having too much alcohol. Besides, someone who loves Latin so much should know that wine makes people speak the truth. In vino veritas, right?
As a Christian, I should be forgiving of Gibson. Give him the benefit of the doubt. But I'm finding that a little tough, and anyway, I'm not the one sinned against. It's bad enough he made those disgusting remarks, but it's doubly hard to stomach on top of doubts about "The Passion of the Christ." Frankly, I had wondered about his claims that his portrayal of the Jews wasn't tinged with contempt. I won't rehearse all the arguments about the movie but, to paraphrase former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, I guess I know anti-Semitism when I see it.
The weirdest part of Gibson's drunken rant was his statement that the Jews are responsible for all the wars. So, did he mean throughout history or just the recent ones, like World War II? And I wonder if that includes Jesus of Nazareth, who, as Gibson may have discovered during his extensive research for his movie, was Jewish. Maybe the fact that Jesus' mother had a nice Catholic name was confusing.
The biggest irony is that the guy who acted the most Christian in this whole affair is Jewish: the Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy who arrested Gibson. After the arrest, James Mee said that he held no grudge against Gibson and didn't want to see Gibson's career suffer, even though he's the guy in whose face Gibson spewed his invective. Despite that, this Jewish fellow gave Gibson a little lesson--a parable you might say--about Christian forgiveness.
Come to think of it, wasn't there another Jewish guy who talked about the virtues of compassion and love and, especially, tolerance? I'm pretty sure there was. He lived in Palestine in the 1st Century, I think. Maybe someday Gibson could make a movie about him.
----------
Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit priest who resides in New York, is the author of "My Life with the Saints" and the associate editor of America magazine.
posted by Carlos T Mock at 6:16 PM
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