BBC's The Passion, Hinduism and Senseless Sacrifice

By Roshan Doug on Mar 17, 08 09:48 PM in

Am I the only one who thinks The Passion, currently showing on BBC 1, is a pretty good stuff - on par with Franco Zeffirelli's Jesus of Nazareth (1977) - that starred Robert Powell? Do you remember it?

Yes, I admit the latest offering from the BBC doesn't contain much in the way of artistic licence - but then, neither did Zeffirelli's relatively innocuous depiction of the Messiah. And that did incredibly well, didn't it? Honestly, even today, part of me almost believes that Powell is the ultimate image of Jesus!

But The Passion certainly isn't as raw and (I hasten to add) horrific as Mel Gibson's The Passion of Christ - which I hated because of its gruesome display of gratuitous violence without any real form or context.

This BBC adaptation of the Gospel, however, sticks closely to the biblical text, but, contains enough to keep my interest especially its sepia-tint and its middle eastern ambiance. The youthful John Mawle is not a bad Jesus considering Christ was only 32 when he died. But James Nesbitt as Pilate and Ben Daniels as Caiaphas are just brilliant - they're very enjoyable to watch. This has excellent casting that really enhancing the quality of the production.

But then - and I hope this doesn't upset anyone - I just love this story of, what is essentially nothing more than, a trial of senseless sacrifice. If Jesus is God then why does he need to die to pay for our sins. And to whom is he paying - himself? Bizzare.

Like Mohammed, I see Jesus as an excellent politician, a natural born leader. He's the radical visionary, a man with a real conviction and a sense of purpose. But whether anyone can be a way to God (or a god), I don't know.

But as a Hindu, I think I know more about this Son of God than I know about any of the Hindu gods. I certainly don't know much about Krishna or Rama. What is that, an absurd irony - cultural displacement perhaps?

Anyway, I'm sure The Passion is going to be one of the highlights in my household this Easter.

Now how sad am I, to seek satisfaction in a story about a man who may or may not have been as many of us - particularly in the West - might want to believe?

Comments (2)

Older/Newer

« A lot of hot air in Moseley, not for the first time | Mirza's bad day »

0 TrackBacks

Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: BBC's The Passion, Hinduism and Senseless Sacrifice. TrackBack URL for this entry: http://blogs.birminghampost.net/cgi-bin/mt421/mt-tb.cgi/639

2 Comments

rover said:

Dear Roshan, You write “If Jesus is God then why does he need to die to pay for our sins. And to whom is he paying - himself? Bizzare.�? Are we so conditioned by commercialisation that we can only conceive of the concept of payment in respect of money? I am not a parent but I imagine a good and responsible parent will from time to time have to punish a child for wrong-doing. No good parent derives any pleasure from punishing their child, indeed if, let’s say it involves grounding the child it may even mean the parent denying themselves the joy of shared leisure with the child. Certainly no parent derives pleasure from a child smarting under the pain of discipline. But it is a price a good parent is prepared to pay. And note, no one else is involved, it is a price they do not pay anyone else, but for the sake of the child’s moral development they accept it as a price worth paying. This is the kind of price Jesus paid for our sins when He died in our place and bore the wrath of God on our behalf. He had no sin Himself but “bore our sins in his own body on the tree�?. He derived no pleasure from paying this price but it was a price He was willing to pay out of love for us. Full knowing the punishment for sin is death He was willing to be our substitute in the sight of a righteous God and die in our place so we might be forgiven and accepted. This is what makes Good Friday so wonderfully good. And it is also what makes Easter Sunday so wonderfully special as we see God's response to Jesus' selfless sacrifice in raising him from the dead. What Jesus did at such cost to Himself is seen to be thoroughly acceptable to God. It cannot be bettered. A price has been paid which meets with God's approval and satisfaction. Now Jesus has died and risen we can really live, free from the penalty and power of sin. Truly it is my experience, and the experience of millions, that this is not bizarre but gloriously fulfilling and satisfying. Regards.

March 25, 2008 1:33 PM

Roshan Doug said:

Thanks, for that. Sorry to sound so obtuse but it is quite a reasonable line of enquiry. I agree that God needs to punish us for our sins. But why He should come down to earth and pay it Himself to Himself is, as I pointed out, almost a trial of senseless suffering. It doesn't quite add up in my books but that's probably just me... Any thoughts on why we acknowledge Friday as the day of His death and yet He rises on Sunday - two days later and, not three? Have I missed something?

March 25, 2008 7:48 PM