Jesus and Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ

Book excerpt: An exciting and engaging book that will appeal not only to academics but to the film-viewing public, educated lay-persons and students. Not only will the book aid this audience in a greater appreciation of the film 'The Passion of the Christ' but perhaps more importantly it will enable the reader to distinguish between both the contents of the film and the contents of the Gospels and between the contents of the film and what may be historically reconstructed about Jesus. Furthermore the book will aid the reader to appreciate the contributions that the study of the Gospels and the historical study of Jesus can make to the discussion of the film 'The Passion of the Christ'. Jesus and Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ is edited by Kathleen E. Corley, Oshkosh Northwestern Distinguished Professor and Professor of New Testament at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and Robert L. Webb, an independent scholar living near Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The other contributors are: Dr. John Dominic Crossan, Professor Emeritus of religious Studies at DePaul University, Illinois. Dr. Helen K. Bond, Lecturer in New Testament Language, Literature and Theology at New College, University of Edinburgh, UK; Dr. Craig A. Evans, Payzant Distinguished Professor of New Testament at Acadia Divinity College, Nova Scotia, Canada; Dr Mark Goodacre, Senior Lecturer in New Testament at the Department of Theology, University of Birmingham, UK; Dr. Glenna S. Jackson, Associate Professor in the Department of Religion and Philosophy at Otterbein College, Westerville, Ohio; Dr. Scot McKnight, Karl A. Olsson Professor in Religious Studies at North Park University, Chicago, Illinois; Dr. Mark Allan Powell, Professor of New Testament at Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, Ohio; Alan F. Segal, Professor of Religion and Ingeborg Rennert Professor of Jewish Studies at Barnard College, Columbia University, New York; Dr. W. Barnes Tatum, Professor of Religion and Philosophy at Greensboro College, North Carolina; David J. Goa, Curator Emeritus at the Provincial Museum of Alberta and a Fellow of the M.V. Dimic Institute for the Study of Culture at the University of Alberta.