More on the Top 10 List
While passing by a book stand, I saw the official Passion picture book, showing stills of the movie. A quick flick through the book confirmed a few things - nail placement completely wrong - and showed a few more: Caiaphas and the priests are evidently present at the scourging! There are some incredibly sick pictures of Christ right after the scourging too - I can't imagine that people will be subjecting their children to this film.
Another completely unhistorical portion of the film: Veronica will be wiping the face of Christ on the Via Dolorosa. If you're a Protestant, you may not know who Veronica is. Part of the Stations of the Cross is a mediation on a woman in the crowd who wipes Jesus' face after he collapses under the weight of the cross. She is rewarded with a veil that bears the imprint of Christ's face. Some people believe that this artifact was actually displayed for a while - that it was the Shroud of Turin folded to reveal only the face. More unhistorical nonsense, in other words.
But here's the kicker: the written proclamation above Christ's head. The Christian scriptures are quite clear about the contents of this sign:
Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews." Many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek.Hebrew, Latin, and Greek.
John 19:19-20, NRSV
The inscription in Mr. Gibson's movie bears only two languages - Hebrew and Latin.
Final item on the countdown tomorrow.
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