Mel Gibson's Passion and Philosophy

February 1, 2005
In 20 essays by professors of philosophy from an impressive range of academic institutions, this anthology seeks to investigate several remarkable and thought-provoking questions concerning Mel Gibson's movie The Passion of the Christ. Edited by Garcia (The Classics of Western Philosophy: A Reader's Guide), this collection addresses such questions as "Did Christ have to suffer violently?" "Is the Passion anti-Semitic?" and "Why was Christ killed?" No reader will agree with every opinion expressed, but the opposing viewpoints add to the collection's stimulating nature. For example, Mark Wrathall (Brigham Young Univ.) says that for Christians to be moved by Christ's suffering, they "need to be confronted by the horror of that suffering." Conversely, Charles Taliaferro (St. Olaf Coll.) observes, "There is so much violent bloodshed that the movie becomes about violent bloodshed." All the essays are well reasoned and while philosophical in nature are not written exclusively for the student of philosophy; indeed, anyone could profit from the coherent and articulate debate presented here. Highly recommended.-Wesley A. Mills, Empire State Coll., SUNY at Rochester

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