The media is crucifying the director of The Passion of the Christ for his drunk-driving arrest and alleged obscene and “anti-Semitic” tirade. This is a very different image of Mel Gibson who, during interviews concerning the film, testified to his new found faith in Christ. “I realized I needed something more if I was going to survive. A closer investigation of the Gospels, of the story, of the whole piece, was demanded of me. I got on my knees. I realized that His wounds could heal my wounds.”
So, some thoughts: 1) Gibson is innocent until proven guilty in the court of law, not the press’ court, 2) rather than Christians questioning Gibson’s faith, they ought to pray for a wounded soul who, at this point, needs compassion rather than condemnation (correction can come later), and 3) our passion should always be for Christ rather than those in the spotlight who claim his name.
Mel Gibson is in my prayers. I hope he is in yours.
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July 29, 2006 at 13:17
Sometimes I feel like drinking too. I don’t like alcohol. I love God. If we were perfect we wouldn’t need a savior. The Spirit is willing but the flesh is week. I don’t fully understand that, do you? How do we bring all things under submission?
July 29, 2006 at 16:16
Mel Gibson is an entertainer, no matter what his convictions of faith are. He makes movies to entertain a public for lots and lots of money. The media circus that hawks the entertainment industry is particularly necessary to maintaining that attractive influx of money, the root of all evil in this life. So, guilty or innocent, Mel Gibson knows the rules and intricacies of the games played between his industry and the media.
I don’t doubt that he, as much as any believer, needs our prayers. However, he drove while under the influence of an intoxicant, endangering himself and others. So, the judgement of his folly has become the consequences of his unwise, illegal actions. This renders his claim to Jesus to be no different than that of any other substance abuser, looking for absolution and exxoneration to escape justice for the wrong he has done.
The first thing Mel Gibson needs to realize is that The Lord is not a cloak to sheild a man from justice in the height of disobedience to civil authority. If he really believes Jesus, he will confess and seek pardon for his sins and offenses from God and the body of fellow believers. We don’t need to coddle and cajole him as one would a spoiled child who isn’t having his way. We must be quick to forgive and restore him, but not sweep his crime under the rug so the unbelivers can’t derride him. No true christian should ever expect any less than scorn and rebuke from the world who hated Jesus and now hates us for following him.
If Mel Gibson failed the sobriety test given by civil authorities and was arrested while operating a motor vehicle, he clearly broke the law. If Mel Gibson has publicly made derrogatoty antisemitic comments that have been witnessed by humanity, he has offended people. It is as simple as that. It’s one thing to suffer media injustice for merely being a believer in Christ. It’s another for the media to make sport of us when a pretentious claimant to rights of Divine adoption is found cloaking himself in the mantle of the Lord just to get out of jail free. I’ll be praying for Mel Gibson, but I think he has earned the scorn of the media to which he has routinely pandered to achieve his own goals too often in the past.
July 29, 2006 at 20:45
Mel Gibson needs help, not rejection. As a fairly new believer, he’s being expected to act like a mature Christian instead of the tender new babe in Christ that he is. It’s too bad he has to grow up in the public eye. We’ve all struggled with one thing or another. Thankfully, we don’t have the press breathing down our necks.
My husband and I have worked with both alcoholics and drug addicts. Freedom is not always instantaneous as much as we would like that to happen. Instead of giving up on these folks and condemning them, we come alongside, discipling them in the Word of God, praying for them and giving appropriate counsel.
This is not to say Mel Gibson should not face the consequences of his actions if he is indeed guilty. However, he has apologized (whether that translates into repentance only time will tell). If he is seeking help, it should come from fellow believers. He might want to find a Celebrate Recovery group.
By the way, money is NOT the root of all evil. The Scripture says that the LOVE of money is the root of all evil.
July 30, 2006 at 12:21
Penny,
While what you write is true, unfortunately, it is neither loving or gracious. Jesus is described in the gospels as being “full of grace and trace.” Paul writes about “speaking the truth in love.”
So-called “conservative Christians” do very well at telling the truth, but often lack grace. So-called “liberal Christinas” are good at extending grace, but often not good at telling the hard truth.
We must strive for Christ’s balance of love and grace, justice and mercy in his interaction with the woman caught in adultery. He extended grace and mercy but also said, “Go and since no more.”
Otherwise, we are simply—as Paul warns in 1 Corinthians 13—a “resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.”
July 31, 2006 at 09:26
While I know that Mel Gibson needs to be responsible for what he did, I feel as fellow believers, we need to pray for his deliverance from his addictions. As a new believer, we all need to grow and learn how to seek our Freedom in Christ.
We need to remember that the enemy “roams the earth seeking those whom he may devour”. What better way for Satan to try to discredit the truth of “The Passion” than to discredit the one who had the passion to bring the truth to light. He knows where we have come from and our weaknesses. His temptations taunt us regularly in hopes of us failing, but praise God we are redeemed by the Precious Blood of Jesus.
Let us pray that our Brother In Christ will be restored. We all fail at one time or another- we just aren’t in the public eye. Before we can remove the speck in someone else’s eye, we need to remove the log from our own.
Have a blessed day.
July 31, 2006 at 10:11
I too felt Penny’s comments, while certainly making some good points, were rather harsh and unforgiving. Alcohol has never been my stumbling block, but other things have been. In every instance when i have fallen down in the dirt, tripping over my own sins, I have been grateful for the compassion of Christian friends who have held out a hand and said “here, let me help you up.”
None of them coddled me. None of them tried to pretend that I had not sinned. But all acknowldged that at one time or another, they too had falled down in the dirt, and offered their help to prevent me from falling again.
Mel Gibson is an public figure, which makes his sin and falling more prominent than ours. If he did things that were wrong, then he will face the consequences, whether those are man’s consequences or God’s. But let’s not forget that he is still just a man, like any other man. And stil subject to the failings and temptations of life in a fallen world, just like any other man. His sin is no greater than mine or yours. Self-righteousness and condemnation help no one, least of all him.
July 31, 2006 at 13:15
I think the crux of the story is not that Mel Gibson lapsed in his behavior or betrayed his faith, rather it is the uncovering of deep-seated anti-Semitism. The consequences of this failure(and we all fail) are bigger than the drunken blunder itself. The Christian world fervently defended that Mel’s Passion of the Christ was not anti-Semitic. Now, as a result of this lapse, we are forced to admit that the director of the movie is, in fact, antagonistic towards Jews. Perhaps Mel Gibson can once again stimulate Christians to action – this time we ought to take a deep look at our hearts and pray that we are purged of any seeds of anti-Semitism or Jewish antagonism.
July 31, 2006 at 14:43
Any professing Christian in the media spotlight is a prime target for the enemy. They make for juicy gossip and negative pointing of fingers at the Christian faith. I am reminded of two scriptures in particular..
1) Romans 3:23- For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. and
2) Galatians 6:1- Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.
It is easy to judge..but the Word tells us to “judge not, lest ye be judged”. Gibson, like so many of us had a “bad moment”. The Holy Spirit will convict him, correct him, and restore him. We Christians, We who are spiritual, We that walk in Love, We are to lift him up!
July 31, 2006 at 15:23
I appreciate your commentary. Our walk with Christ is a dialy walk, as we walk the world around us does it’s best to lead us astray. We are christian, not perfect, but forgive. Thank God that the blood of his son flows through us to cleanse us daily. None of us are blameless, none of us are free from satan’s schemes. When we fall, Christ is there to pick us up…it’s all part of the walk. How many have stumbled before? I am a sinner. That is why I need God. You are so right in saying that prayers need to be said for Gibson. The movie was awesome! That was od working through Gibson perhaps now, God is working with Gibson to refine him. The bible says we are refined by our struggles…
July 31, 2006 at 16:06
Gibson not only got pulled over for DUI at 2:30 a.m. on Friday after driving more than 80 mph, he became belligerent with the arresting officers, tried to flee to his car and had to be handcuffed, then yelled, “I own Malibu!” and “You’re going to regret you ever did this to me!”
But his anti-Semitic remarks really set this apart from the usual formulaic Hollywood busts. He allegedly said, “The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world” and then asked a deputy, “Are you a Jew?”
If this is true, then the bias that was shouted down during the press rush of PASSION was indeed true. And for that, the Christian establishment in the US should feel some shame.
July 31, 2006 at 16:24
For those who might not remember, Gibson’s father is a Holocaust denier, and Gibson, pressed on the subject before the opening of The Passion of the Christ, said Dad had never lied to him in his life.
He also offered some choice Holocaust-denier code talk: Many people died in World War II and some of them were Jews.
July 31, 2006 at 18:50
James – couldn’t agree more with what you said here on all levels.
bob carlton – We are each held responsible for ourselves. “Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor children put to death for their fathers; each is to die for his own sin.” (Deut 24:16) If Mel is anti-Semitic does that make him a non-Christian? I don’t have that answer, though similar remarks now take on new meaning after being echoed by the fanatical President of Iran.
The ungodly love to point fingers at Christians as a group because of the fall of a few (Like the Bakkers). Mel’s actions were of poor nature, and some of his remarks certainly sound hateful. I think Mel needs the healing offered by Christ on more than one level, and he certainly needs the help of other Christians to get there.
August 1, 2006 at 06:45
Since only God can see into Mel Gibson’s heart, we can’t know if he truly is a believer or if he was just playing to the press in 2004. But I also can’t know that about the person sitting beside me at church on Sunday morning, can I? It’s not my job to know.
However, “out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks;” and “the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man ‘unclean.’” Therefore, I can draw some conclusions about his heart based on his anti-semitic statements. He definitely has some filth in his heart if he really said those things.
I’m sad that we aren’t all perfect examples of Christ. I’m sad that sometimes I open my mouth and stupid, thoughtless things come out. I am thankful that when I do those things the press isn’t following me around to report it, but that is no excuse for the condition of my heart that allows those words to escape in the first place.
I will pray for Mel Gibson’s heart, and for his faith, but I will also pray that the Christian community will find the balance between justice and mercy that James wrote so well about. The world is watching and waiting for us to mess up as badly as Gibson did.
August 1, 2006 at 07:48
If one looks at the media nowadays, I don’t think it is surprising to find them hammering away at the mistakes of a professed man of God. Christianity is under attack regardless if Mel Gibson is the target or the idea of creation. Look at the Discovery Channel and all that it offers to enlighten the world on who Jesus “really” was—not to mention Judas and Mary Madeline. Being a believer in this age is dangerous. Yet, all of us fail and fall short of the glory of God. It doesn’t matter how well known publicly we are. Even Peter, given the keys to heaven, failed the Lord. Paul was a Christian killer before the Lord spoke into Him and called him to His service.
As a Christian, we’re supposed to forgive, support and encourage each other when we fail knowing God has already forgiven the sinner because he is covered by the blood of Jesus as long as he believes. We’re not supposed to join in with others to scoff at them. Someone forgave each and every reader of the Mel Gibson news articles of something he/she has done in there lives. As an African American woman, I have had to forgive many white people including Jews for blatant racism, hostility and hateful/unnecessary treatment and mischaracterization.
Let the media be the media, but I suggest Christians remember the teachings of Christ and what He said about how we should treat one another. If we’re to treat the unsaved with kindness and forgiveness, shouldn’t we have all the much more to give to someone who told this world (a world that rejects the Lord) that he loves God even enough to use his own money to make a movie about His experience. When one of us falls, we should all be there to pick the person up and pray for God to give him/her the strength not to fall again. Only God can change people and free them from sins they can’t seem to overcome on their own. We should not ever give the devil a holiday by helping non-believers to hang the person.
August 1, 2006 at 13:16
Please take the quotation marks off “anti-Semitic” – Mr. Gibson has admitted to this.
My frustration here is not actually with Mr. Gibson – he is clearly seeking help. The “media” – sure, that is the reason Mr. Gibson again used his words to demean an entire class of people.
My sadness is at the Christinist bubble in the U.S. that embraced a man whose bigotry was apparent, who turned a blind eye in the pursuit of “the most powerful evangelism moment of our time”. It is like in high school, when he cool kids invite you to sit at their table – and you go fawning away.
August 2, 2006 at 00:01
All very interesting comments,and all these ideas and comments need to be considered. I just have a few personal paralells. I consider myself to be a true christian,striveing to be more christlike every day,but Lord knows I fall far from this goal. I need Christs forgiveness every day. I too struggle with alcolhol addiction,and thank God I am recovering. But not with out slips. When drinking I have said and done some terrible things I really didnt mean. Why,I dont know other than I was drunk and should not have been.It is sometimes very sad for me to realize that it is easier to be forgiven by our wonderful Lord Jesus,than it is to be forgiven by a fellow christian.I hope every time I have sinned,my faith was not also in question. I do not believe as human beings we are supposed to,or are capable of judging someone elses faith.I believe we are supposed to be supportive and hopeful for their repentance.
August 2, 2006 at 07:37
One more comment: I am not trying to defend Mr. Gibson’s actions (DUI) or his racism. I believe he was wrong to say the things he did, and that he is wrong to believe the things he said. However, the most terrible thing about racism is the difficulty of overcoming it. There is little doubt in my mind that Mr. Gibson’s father is/was an anti-Semite. I have known many people who have fought their entire lives to overcome a racism instilled in them by their parents who have still struggled many years later. That doesn’t make it okay for them to spout off, but THAT is the terrible thing about alcohol: it can cause you to revert to horrible patterns you have spent years trying to overcome. I don’t know if Mel Gibson has spent years trying to overcome his father’s anti-Semitic teachings or if it is all for show. I don’t know if alcohol causes him to do stupid things that he regrets later (as it does many) or if his drunkenness caused him to lose his ability to hide his true self. I just know that racism is one of the most evil tools used by Satan because it is passed on from parent to child as gospel and is so ingrained in people that it can rear its ugly head years after you think it is long gone. Even incredibly intelligent and compassionate people can struggle with this illogical and hateful force.
August 4, 2006 at 08:42
I do not spend enough time praying as it is. I am sorry for Mr. Gibson’s predicament, but am equally bothered that, as I search the pages of Gospel.com for relevant “meat” to fill me spiritually, I am inundated by articles commenting on his situation.
The Bible tells me that we will ALL fall short today – Mr. Gibson’s plight, while more high-profile than others, is no different, and, like all of us, he can count on the Lord’s saving grace. In the meantime, my limited prayers are devoted to the areas where I am called to pray: a divided government & nation, a President who is losing the confidence of his people, a skeptical media, “Christian” leaders who draw people’s attention away from His grace and mercy instead of to Him, the poor & sick, stem cell research… the list goes on.
Does Mel Gibson truly need the prayers of a nation? The answer is of course he does, as do we all. But let’s not forget to pray for the other things we are called to cover as well. So long as we pray.