04-17-2004, 09:27 AM
John 18:37-38<br>
<em>...Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.<br>
Pilate saith unto him, What is truth?</em><br>
<br>
Sneering at those who claim religious faith did not begin at the dinner parties of 21st century Knightsbridge - it was alive and well in 1st century Rome (and long before that). Religious debate, disagreement and doubt have a long pedigree - Cicero's 'Nature of the Gods' is an epic dispute between an Epicurean, a Stoic and an Academic, and the respective views of each are thoroughly and often rudely rubbished by the others. Of course, prior to Christianity this was essentially a philosophical matter, and Pilate's rhetorical question to Jesus has a note of the philosophical Skeptic (or perhaps Sophist) about it.<br>
<br>
To be fair, though, I don't think Titus and Antonius were 'sneering' at faith in general or Christianity in particular. Ridicule has always been a first line of defence against pomposity and vanity (see Catullus' verse attacks on Caesar!), and I think in this case the 'glee' derives from finding a chink in Mel Gibson's armour of pious authority. He did claim, after all, that in making his film he was 'directed by the Holy Spirit' - was this the sincere faith of a true Christian, or the egotism of a fantastically rich meglomaniac?<br>
<br>
Christianity thrives on adversity anyway, and 'The Passion' was intended to be provocative. Perhaps Gibson's problem (and he does seem to have a chip on his shoulder) is that Christianity has so little to fight for any more. Faith needs the faithless, and a religion of true believers needs unbelievers to give it legitimacy - without Pontius Pilate, after all, who would have heard of Jesus today? <p></p><i></i>
<em>...Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.<br>
Pilate saith unto him, What is truth?</em><br>
<br>
Sneering at those who claim religious faith did not begin at the dinner parties of 21st century Knightsbridge - it was alive and well in 1st century Rome (and long before that). Religious debate, disagreement and doubt have a long pedigree - Cicero's 'Nature of the Gods' is an epic dispute between an Epicurean, a Stoic and an Academic, and the respective views of each are thoroughly and often rudely rubbished by the others. Of course, prior to Christianity this was essentially a philosophical matter, and Pilate's rhetorical question to Jesus has a note of the philosophical Skeptic (or perhaps Sophist) about it.<br>
<br>
To be fair, though, I don't think Titus and Antonius were 'sneering' at faith in general or Christianity in particular. Ridicule has always been a first line of defence against pomposity and vanity (see Catullus' verse attacks on Caesar!), and I think in this case the 'glee' derives from finding a chink in Mel Gibson's armour of pious authority. He did claim, after all, that in making his film he was 'directed by the Holy Spirit' - was this the sincere faith of a true Christian, or the egotism of a fantastically rich meglomaniac?<br>
<br>
Christianity thrives on adversity anyway, and 'The Passion' was intended to be provocative. Perhaps Gibson's problem (and he does seem to have a chip on his shoulder) is that Christianity has so little to fight for any more. Faith needs the faithless, and a religion of true believers needs unbelievers to give it legitimacy - without Pontius Pilate, after all, who would have heard of Jesus today? <p></p><i></i>
Nathan Ross