[Abraham] Foxman [of the ADL] wrote last week to three nationally influential Evangelical Christian leaders asking that they encourage their followers "to view this film with faith that all were responsible, and that anyone who uses this film to fuel the passion of hatred towards Jews and Judaism has turned from the true teachings of your faith."

He wrote to Rev. Franklin Graham, Gary Bauer of the conservative American Values Coalition, and Rev. Jerry Falwell. Only Rev. Graham has thus far responded. He wrote, "I agree with you 100 percent that our sins put Jesus Christ on the cross. Each and everyone in the human race bear (sic) responsibility. . . . In no way do I hold the Jewish people responsible [for the death of Jesus]. Be assured that I will do everything I can to remind people of this fact."

A group of prominent evangelicals expressed reservations after seeing a screening of the film.

"I believe there is a serious crisis building here," said Mike Evans, a Dallas-based evangelical minister and writer active in promoting good relations between Jews and conservative Christians. "Without an addition of the kind we're urging, this film will be used to fuel anti-Semitism around the world. . . . I told Mr. Gibson that I'm not concerned about reaction here in the United States, since Protestant evangelicals here are not anti-Semitic and are among the world's strongest supporters of the Jewish people and the state of Israel." What worried Evans was what might occur if the film were used as a tool to proselytize abroad, particularly in Europe, the former Soviet Union and the Middle East. "That's exactly what's about to happen," he said in the interview. "I told Mr. Gibson that night that 'I don't want my savior to be used as a sword to injure Jewish people.'"

Gibson asked for suggestions.

[Evans] then suggested that "following the last scene, these words roll across the screen: During the Roman occupation, 250,000 Jews were crucified by the Romans, but only one rose from the dead." Simply acknowledging the historical reality of Jewish suffering, Evans argued, would deflate any anti-Semitism.

"The truth does not threaten my faith," Gibson replied, according Evans. "This is it. I've been looking for something like this and I'm going to do it."

But none of the movie reviews mention this, so apparently he didn't do it.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has prepared a booklet of official Catholic teachings on "The Bible, The Jews and The Death of Jesus" which will be distributed to all American Catholic dioceses. It includes a guide for evaluating dramatizations of the Passion. Catholic theologian Sister Mary Boys has been rather tart about Gibson's vision:

. . . "the evangelical theology overlaid on the film" is not the normative Catholic approach to The Passion. Gibson has been presenting himself as "the normative biblical interpreter - as the new Rashi," she said. "He's going around saying the Gospels are eyewitness accounts, though there are all kinds of Catholic teachings about how the Gospels developed first orally and only toward the end of 1st century were put in written form. He doesn't want to pay attention to any of that. He portrays himself as presenting the most authentic rendition of the Gospels ever produced. And apparently it's not permissible to question his interpretation."

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has also issued a strong statement calling for Lutherans to educate themselves on the various interpretations of the Gospels and their uses throughout history, and

to teach boldly in their congregations and to make public witness to this church's commitment to confess its faith and preach its gospel in ways that will not demean, malign, or harm the Jewish people. . . to consider the many levels at which messages about the characters in the Passion are conveyed in such a production, such as the sound track, staging, costuming, and lighting, and to become better-informed viewers.

Meanwhile:

An interfaith panel of eight Christian and Jewish clergy members and laypeople who gathered to watch "The Passion of the Christ" on Monday night admitted they had very different expectations for it. The Greek Orthodox clergyman said he was predisposed to like it; the Methodist minister and the Roman Catholic priest were curious, but wary of its claims of Gospel authenticity; and the Jews were afraid that it would inflame anti-Semitism. But after the showing, in a late-night discussion around a table at the First United Methodist Church at the Chicago Temple, the panel members were in full agreement: they were disturbed by what they had seen. They said the movie - which was produced, directed and largely financed by the actor Mel Gibson - deviated in bizarre ways from the Gospel accounts, fell flat emotionally and was numbingly violent.

You may have read about the church in Denver with the billboard reading ""Jews Killed the Lord Jesus." Well, a group of local Jews and Christians got together today and did something about it.

And then there are Mel's Jewish friends for whom common socially conservative values trump everything else.

At least Gibson can try to claim his hands were tied by Scripture. Medved, Lapin and Klinghoffer, however, cannot hide behind the New Testament when casting Foxman as a modern-day Judas. . . . The vehement attacks against Foxman suggest that it is Gibson�s Jewish backers � not his critics � who are blinded by ideology and guided by preexisting agendas, most notably a firm belief that America suffers from a plague of secular liberalism which can only be treated with a heavy injection of religion into all corners of the public square.

. . . In his rush to defend the honor of his conservative allies in America, [Rabbi Daniel] Lapin ignores legitimate worries about how the film will be received by audiences in Europe, where some countries are experiencing revivals of right-wing nationalism, or in Muslim nations already rife with antisemitism. But, even if one focuses strictly on the domestic scene, Lapin's unbridled optimism is naive at best. His rosy version of history ignores a difficult, decades-long road to acceptance that was often obstructed by Christian antisemitism. It also fails to acknowledge that the stage for Jewish success in America following World War II was set by the rise of secularism and an increasing societal rejection of sectarianism, as well as the increasing recognition of Jewish suffering during the Holocaust. Throw in the Second Vatican Council declaration that the Jewish people did not bear collective guilt for the crucifixion, and you have the formula for creating a society of unparalleled acceptance of Jews.

But Gibson�s allies are asking American Jews to cheer, or at least remain silent, as religious conservatives push to dismantle the various pillars upon which Jewish success was built.

More on political jockeying in the months leading up to the film's release.

More on official Christian responses.