William Loader on The Passion of the Christ

William Loader, Professor of New Testament at Murdoch University, Australia, has published his thoughts on The Passion of the Christ



“The Passion of the Christ” and the Passion of Jesus

A Reflection on Mel Gibson’s Film

William Loader



Like many other critics, Loader speaks of the film's "gratuitous violence" and of "R rated violence designed to give a buzz". I remain puzzled by this kind of reaction to the film and am currently writing a short article explaining why I think the film's violence is not gratuitous and certainly not pornographic.