Letters to the editor

Daring to insult Christianity

To the Editor:

This concerns Thursday's column by Eliot Sherman ("Disturbing controversy over 'Passion'," The Daily Pennsylvanian, 02/26/04). You should have watched the movie before you attempted to write a column about it. The fact that you haven't seen the movie makes your arguments and your points tenuous. Everything in your article was based on what others have said or written.

The violence, which is indicated through the movie's R rating, emphasizes the extent of Christ's agony. What more can be expected from a movie whose title means "suffering"? Had you done your research about Christianity before you dared to criticize its basic tenets, you would have learned that Jesus' suffering and death comprise the fundamental elements of Christianity. Gibson, like other Christians, believes that because of Jesus' death, salvation can be achieved. In other words, the Passion of the Christ is the rock on which the Christian Church has been built.

In addition, Mel Gibson does not necessarily harbor the beliefs of his father. In fact, in an in-depth interview with Diane Sawyer, he openly stated that he believes that the Holocaust was a tragic event and that many Jews were indeed killed.

As to your comment about the movie causing others to view Jewish people in an unfavorable light, using your rationale, movies putting any group in a bad light shouldn't be made. We all have to keep in mind that movies are the products of their director's interpretation. If you don't like it, make one of your own.

Stephanie Oduro

College '07

Jessica Simmons

College '07

Accepting, not approving

To the Editor:

After reading Daniel McQuade's column ("A biblical reason to accept gay marriage?," DP, 02/26/04), I am dismayed at the intimation that his Christianity leads him to his conclusion. The closing sentence is rhetoric which blurs the line between acceptance and approval, and skews the doctrine of Jesus Christ to seemingly approve of homosexual behavior.

While opponents of Christianity remain skeptical of the "love the sinner, hate the sin" idea, this is exactly the approach that Jesus took in his ministry. Jesus made it clear that the laws of Moses that were applicable to the Jewish faith were still very much laws of God (Matthew 5:17), and while he did show love, mercy and compassion to sinners (John 8), he still implored them to abandon their sin.

The Bible clearly says that homosexual behavior is a sin (Leviticus 18:22, Leviticus 20:13, 1 Corinthians 6:9) and that we should love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:39). This means that while we know that God does not approve of homosexual behavior (in the same way as He does not approve of lying, vanity, covetousness and theft), we also know that we have the obligation to love homosexuals, as we "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).

While the implications of this doctrine are open to interpretation based on your view of the role of government in the marriage amendment debate, I implore Mr. McQuade to get his doctrine correct in order to properly represent the group who visibly chose to wear the mark of Jesus' death on their forehead on Wednesday.

Phillip Gommels

College '06

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