THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume VI, Issue # 46, March 4, 2004
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
LEFTWING LIBERAL POLITICS & "THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST"
By Christopher G. Adamo
It may seem almost “crass,” especially among sincere individuals who have
seen and been profoundly affected by Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the
Christ,” to even discuss it in terms of modern political discourse. Yet, as
it has been so thoroughly politicized by its opponents from the very moment
of its inception, the real basis of their outrage needs to be understood.
At this late date, it is hardly necessary to offer yet another review of the
movie. Suffice to say that, among those who know and understand the events
surrounding the crucifixion of the Savior, responses have been
overwhelmingly positive and supportive. However, within the ranks of
countercultural Liberals, for whom the words “God” and “Jesus” are rarely
used as anything but profanity, and never offered reverentially, the
reaction has, of course, been quite the opposite.
This is not to say that Liberals have always held universal animosity
towards their own reinvented versions of “Jesus.” Campus radicals and other
leaders of the “hippie” movement were quick to assert their own presumed
reflection of the Christ during the 1970’s, based mainly on the outward
similarities between their shaggy-hair and sandaled attire and dress styles
of the first century A.D. Of course any Biblical mention of “love beads,”
“peace symbols,” or LSD has yet to be discovered.
Since that time, social activists have regularly invoked “Jesus” as a reason
to advocate such things as government entitlement programs, as if the real
Jesus fulfilled no other purpose on earth than to stand on Mt. Carmel and
hand out food stamps.
Hollywood has on many occasions produced movies claiming to depict the life
of Christ, with no comparable public clamor. In 1988, “The Last Temptation
of Christ,” an abominable piece in which producer Martin Scorsese purposely
distorted historical and Biblical accounts to the point of blasphemy, was
released in American theaters. Yet among those now excoriating Mel Gibson,
few ever offered even the slightest criticism of Scorsese or his
deliberately perverse work.
On the contrary, many of the same individuals who now seek to destroy Gibson’s
career were then lauding Scorsese, proclaiming his inarguable genius and
artistry, and vehemently asserting his unalienable “right” to express them.
So why should Mel Gibson’s production (and indeed, Gibson himself) be the
focus of such an intense firestorm of contention and venomous attack,
starting months before his film was released?
The answer can be found in the differing manner with which the two producers
approached the events of Jesus’ life, and ultimately, their goals in dealing
with this subject in the first place. Clearly, Scorsese intended to
undermine and distort the Scriptural portrayal of Jesus. Relying instead on
the fictional work of Nikos Kazantzakis, Scorsese mischaracterized the
Christ by incorporating Hollywood’s all-too-typical elements of smut, while
further demeaning Him by infusing in him the same spineless brand of
“masculinity” considered fashionable in the post-feminist era of recent
decades.
When on the cross, Scorsese’s character, rather than focusing on his
appointed task of saving the world, was ostensibly contemplating a fling
with one of his interns. Though typical of recent secular “messiahs,” such
behavior is hardly indicative of the purity recognized by the followers of
the true Jesus as inherent in Him.
In contrast, Gibson stated from the beginning that his goal was to chronicle
the last hours of Jesus’ earthly ministry as accurately as possible. By all
objective accounts, he achieved that goal. And it is this very element of
truth, in an age when truth is increasingly reviled, that has resulted in
astonishing levels of resentment against Gibson.
Some claim that Gibson’s rendering of angry mobs shouting, “Crucify him!”
somehow constitutes anti-Semitism, as if such accounts of the event
originated with Gibson (Perhaps Scorsese and Kazantzakis had a better
approach?). Other broadsides against Gibson include accusations that he
“only did it for the money” and threats that he is ruining his career --
completely contradictory statements, whose only thread of commonality is the
notion that what Gibson did was utterly and inarguably wrong.
In the end, it was Gibson’s success at portraying the universally dark side
of humanity, in stark contrast to the absolute virtue of the Christ, that
forces honest viewers to face their own failings, and thus their own role in
Jesus’ suffering. A society, whose members come to terms with the
responsibility they should bear for their own condition, is one that doesn’t
need government benefactors and moral relativists to make excuses on their
behalf. Like the Christ of the Bible, this poses an enormous threat to the
modern Pharisees who seek to accrue absolute power unto themselves.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
Liberals, Statists, Socialists, & Other Leftists
Religion, Secularism, & America
Morality, Decency, & Traditional American Family Values
Christopher G. Adamo is a freelance writer who lives in southeastern Wyoming and works in the field of industrial instrumentation.
He is actively involved in Wyoming's political process, serving as a delegate to successive Wyoming State Republican Conventions
and as a member of the Wyoming State Republican Central Committee. He has assisted Republican candidates for local and state
legislatures and for the United States Congress. His articles, which appear regularly in The Progressive Conservative, U.S.A.,
and on a number of other websites, reflect a major concern with the damage being done to Conservatism and Conservative causes by
the Liberal Leftist faction in the Republican Party as well as by the much larger and more powerful Liberal Leftist faction in the
Democratic Party. During the early and middle 1990s, Adamo was Editor of the Wyoming Christian Coalition's official news organ,
The Wyoming Christian.
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Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
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