timeimmortal

You know what that means, right, O Reader? Yup…it’s time for another movie about how the Gospels don’t tell us the truth about the life of Jesus and/or his disciples!

The BBC is to screen a new drama about the final week in the life of Jesus Christ which appears to exonerate [Judas Iscariot] and Pontius Pilate.

Producers of The Passion have portrayed the men in a sympathetic light because they believe they have been”very harshly judged” by history.

Judas is portrayed as torn between his loyalties to Jesus and Caiaphas, who organised the plot to kill Jesus.

Pilate, played by James Nesbitt, is shown struggling to manage his wife’s social aspirations and his career as he tried to”keep a lid” on tensions in Jerusalem.

Traditional Christian groups accused the BBC of rewriting the Gospel, but the makers of the series, which will be broadcast over Easter week, said they were simply trying to understand the motivations of the characters.

If the producers want to understand Judas’ motivations, and Pilate’s also, perhaps they should try the more traditional route for gaining such insight — reading the Bible, consulting reliable exegetical commentaries, and attending Mass on a consistent basis (especially during the season of Lent, which began last month and continues for another week and change). Producing glib historical fiction that seeks to portray Judas — the archetypical greedy betrayer — in a positive light is not a path that leads to understanding, but to greater confusion.

It’s so drearily predictable. Oh, one likes to pretend that all these entertainment and media organizations are just driven by profit and care only about the bottom line. And yet, almost like clockwork, something challenging Christian orthodoxy can be counted upon to emerge, from a major media organization, almost every time Easter rolls around. That’s not profit driving…that’s agenda and bias.

Don’t believe me? Let’s wait and see if some “alternative historical fiction” challenging the traditional interpretation of a Koranic story gets released during Ramadan. Then tell me there’s no bias.

So today I attended the first lecture of my elective this term, CHRTC 350 as my University calls it (that stands for CHRistian Theology: Catholic, by the way). The lecturer and professor put it to the class from the beginning that he was both a man of science and, devoutly, a man of God. He even went so far as to, on the overhead, put up a copy of the and declare that he would "fall on a sword for this". And then, he signed and dated it.

Just like that. His signature, and the date: 11 Jan. 05.

If in some dark future the persecution of Christians reasserts itself and reaches the murderous tempo that it did at the outset of the Church, that would be his death warrant. And that is what had my mind racing for several hours after the class. Oh, the course material was astounding, and I’m still pondering on several issues he raised throughout the 80-odd minute lecture. But what has resonated with me more than that is his line in the sand. which he has drawn, signed, and bound himself to.

Now this has got me thinking.

So amazingly profound was this experience that, at the risk of seeming contrived, I would seek now to emulate it. I can think of nothing greater than to publically declare that for God, for Jesus, I would face a thousand swords, or bullets, or stones. And so, on the above copy of the Nicene Creed, I would like to pledge just that:

For the above, for the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I would readily perish. For the above and all it means, I would lay aside my life if my God asked it of me. I can think of no greater service I could give the One who created me.

Sadly, I can’t affix my proper signature to a website, at least not at the moment. But I deem myself bound to this pledge all the same, and my name and the date are below to declare it. So there it is folks. I’ll lay it out right on the line for everyone.

Kenneth Paul Kully
January 11, 2005