A well-respected, influential figure presents radical ideas to the masses in a turbulent era. His revolutionary views rapidly spread, throwing parts of the Jewish community into uproar, its political and intellectual leaders preparing to crucify him. Many scholars in Boston and at Harvard suggest the lines are quickly blurring between the controversial acts of Jesus Christ and Mel Gibson—and that the analogy has been fashioned by none other than Gibson himself.

The controversy arises from Gibson’s latest directorial effort, The Passion, a supposedly historically accurate version of the events leading to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Gibson, who co-wrote the script, utilized various sources to compile the series of events, ranging from the four Gospels themselves to the diary of a vehemently anti-Semitic 19th century nun. He had the script translated into Aramaic, Latin and Hebrew and then assembled a cast whose only recognizable names were Jim Caviezel (Frequency) and Monica Bellucci (The Matrix Reloaded).

Yet despite Gibson’s assertions of the film’s adherence to both historical fact and the New Testament, academics have challenged everything from its severe portrayal of Jews to his subversive self-association with Christ.

“You have Mel Gibson [who’s] channeling the Holy Spirit, who’s had conversions and miracles occur on the movie set, and who’s persecuted by the Jews,” says Paula Fredriksen, Aurelio Professor of the Appreciation of Scripture at Boston University. “The whole thing wraps up nicely together.”

Fredriksen has been a central figure in the controversy over the film, as one of a handful of scholars accused of illegally obtaining an early version of the script and conspiratorially branding it anti-Semitic. She explains what she says is the legitimate manner through which she obtained the script in her New Republic article, “Mad Mel,” which then systematically details the numerous historical inaccuracies she says pervade the screenplay.

Among them, she says, is the claim that Greek would have been the proper language of communication between the Romans and Jews, not Latin. Fredriksen further maintains that any last-minute changes Gibson might make to the script won’t be sufficient in cleansing it of inconsistencies.

“The anachronisms are part of the...weave of the story,” she says. “He has the high priest [Caiaphas] pushing around the Roman prefect; that’s impossible. He has a lot of frantic activity at night in the temple courtyard; impossible. Forget about the language stuff. The ancient languages are window dressing for historical accuracy. But the whole thing is a fantasy.”

A number of individuals who have seen rough cuts of the film have offered similar critiques, stirring up a frenzy of name-calling and finger-pointing from theological scholars and religious extremists alike.

The Anti-Defamation League’s Rabbi Eugene Korn said in a statement that the film “relies on sinister mediaeval stereotypes, portraying Jews as bloodthirsty, sadistic and money-hungry enemies of God.” Gibson responded with charges of a “vehement anti-Christian sentiment out there.”

In a New York Times column, Frank Rich ’71 said the actor’s “pre-emptive strategy is to portray contemporary Jews as crucifying Mel Gibson.” Gibson, in a now infamous New Yorker piece, said of Rich, “I want to kill him. I want his intestines on a stick…I want to kill his dog.”

Making light of the death threats, Fredriksen says, “I felt nervous because I was on Peter Jennings and they had a shot of me walking my golden retriever. I don’t think Mel would kill a golden retriever but I had that thought that I might be endangering his life.”

Though there has been a media frenzy surrounding the film, discussion is also occurring among Biblical scholars, including those at Harvard Divinity School and the College. A number of professors declined interviews for this story, not wishing to comment on a film that they had not yet seen. However, several offered their thoughts on the more heated aspects of the controversy.

Thomas Professor of Germanic Languages and Literature Eckehard Simon, whose class Literature and Arts C-25, “The Medieval Stage,” discusses the historic role of theatre as a widespread informer of religion, says that passion plays have traditionally had the unsettling effect of justifying anti-Semitism in their audiences. Though they were widespread throughout Europe until the 19th century, often provoking Christian violence towards Jews during Holy Week, he says, only one internationally recognized passion play is performed today, in the Bavarian village of Oberammergau.

Simon says the disappearance of the passion play is partially explained by the hostility that often went hand in hand with the performances. “There’s no question that if you look at the medieval passion plays, they’re very hard to take. The passion plays which were performed in towns like Frankfurt reflect the anti-Judaism attitude of the townspeople,” he says. “You can’t justify it; it just happened.”

Equally wary of the bloody history of the passion play is Plummer Professor of Christian Morals Peter J. Gomes, who teaches Religion 42, “The Christian Bible and Its Interpretations,” and ministers at Memorial Church.