Every literate Christian has

read the sketches of Christ's crucifixion in the four New Testament

Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. They are obscene snapshots of

Roman Imperialism in the Middle East between 63 B.C. and A.D. 200. And

if the Jewish deity was culpable in these war crimes perpetrated by the

geopolitical superpower who literally sacrificed his only son, what does

that say about God?

Christian Jews, smarting under

Roman oppression, glorified their messianic martyr, Jesus of Nazareth.

The Romans (Governor Pontius Pilate) put the blame on the Jewish establishment

in Jerusalem (Caiaphas and company). The Jews, however, put the onus on

the Roman occupiers.

Modern Christians seem to hold

God responsible for Christ's death and sacrifice, if I understand

their queer theology. Is this what we mean by the "Death of God"?

This ancient death scene of

Christ is reenacted every year on Good Friday with passion plays. It stirs

up the primal instincts, passions, and impulses buried deeply in our human

psyche for violence, hatred, torture, and war.

Could this ancient religious

rite, annual catharsis of death and dying, be therapeutic, sane, and redemptive?

Is this how we inspire religion, new birth, and Christians via sadism

and masochism; i.e., religious guilt? Are our modern religious minds so

distorted and convoluted, and human souls so deprived, that we actually

gain some sexual pleasure by exposing ourselves to human pain, suffering,

torture, and guilt?

Actually, there is nothing

new about Mel Gibson's theater. I heard it and saw it all as an abused

boy growing up in the church. It is Bible Belt Religion, that "ol'

time religion" of mental and emotional torture, bloodshed, and backwoods

lynching. Grotesque barbarism!

A masochist will treat himself/herself

to this quasi-religious movie; and a sadist will seduce his best friend,

child, or mother-in-law to view this ancient atrocity and call it "religious

art," "historical truth," and "Christian Gospel."

Ed Nelson

Peachtree City, Ga.

[Nelson identifies himself

as a retired clergyman and a 41-year member of the North Georgia Conference

of the United Methodist Church.]