To re-cap … I thought Mel Gibson’s The Passion is one of the best made films of all-time. I acknowledge that Mel made decisions regarding historical details and theological emphases that reveal a lot about Mel’s personal faith. No one should take this movie as an inspired revelation from God.

I also don’t think you can look at this film in black and white. Like most pieces of art, people have had a wide variety of reactions. Some people have had profound faith-building experiences. Others have been sickened by the violence. That’s art. I think evangelicals were naive to expect that this movie would be an evangelistic walk in the park. Brian McLaren agrees:

In one world, modern American Christians can be trusted to bounce and bound like golden retrievers from one silver-bullet “outreach opportunity” to the next—seeking single source shortcuts to complete our mission, which we hope to finish as soon as possible, I guess so we can all get to heaven so the world and its troubles are left behind™. Maybe it’s a boxed set of books and videos, mass rallies, radio/TV/satellites, the Internet, PowerPoint, or seeker services. Or else it’s adult contemporary praise music, electing Republicans, or a new booklet or tract. Maybe it’s candles! Or a new model (take your pick from traditional-modern, contemporary-modern, or postmodern-modern) for “doing church.” Or a new film.