Passions Stirred Against Bias

The leader of the nation’s largest evangelical Christian organization on Tuesday visited the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles and vowed to stand by the Jewish community if any anti-Semitism is triggered by Mel Gibson’s film “The Passion of the Christ,” which opens nationwide today.

Pastor Ted Haggard, president of the 47-million member National Assn. of Evangelicals, denounced as “un-Christian” any assertion that Jews bore sole and collective responsibility for Christ’s death. Some Jews fear the film will reignite those ancient charges, even if Gibson did not have anti-Semitic intentions and removed an explicit reference to that responsibility from the movie. Haggard said he thought the film was not anti-Semitic but sympathized with Jews’ concerns.

“Wherever people listen to our voices, we will resolutely articulate the Passion’s true lesson of God’s love; we will speak out against hatred of Jews ... and we will declare loud and clear that we will not allow bigotry to drive a wedge between us,” Haggard said at a news conference. He reiterated mainstream Christian teachings that all humankind is responsible for Christ’s death.

The evangelical Christian leader appeared with Rabbi Marvin Hier, dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, which runs the museum, and John Fischel, president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles. Although Haggard and Hier affirmed the mutual bonds and deep ties between their respective religious communities, they disagreed on the merits of the film.

Hier, one of Gibson’s early critics, reiterated his belief that the film denigrated Jews and could spark anti-Semitism abroad, if not in the United States.

Haggard said: “I see it, through Christian eyes, as a love story,” referring to the Christian belief that Christ’s suffering redeemed the world.

The joint appearance reinforced the deepening ties between Jews and evangelical Christians, who have emerged in recent years as staunch supporters of Israel and the Jewish community.

Historically, the two groups have not always been such close allies. One Anti-Defamation League survey of anti-Semitic attitudes in America in the mid-1960s found that Southern Baptists, who are evangelical Christians, were more likely than other Christians to believe that Jewish tribulations had been the result of divine wrath for Jews’ rejection of Jesus: 35% did so, compared with 15% of Roman Catholics. Even today, evangelical Christians are twice as likely as Catholics to believe the Jews of today are responsible for Christ’s death -- 12% compared with 6%, according to a recent ABC News poll.

Haggard said that interpretation had faded as more Christians had studied the Bible and come to understand its messages more deeply.

In addition, tensions between the two groups have surfaced over evangelical Christian attempts to proselytize Jews. On Tuesday, Haggard affirmed that evangelical Christians planned to use the film to proselytize all non-Christians -- including Jews.

“Christians try to proselytize everyone,” he said. “We’ve encouraged all churches to purchase material, buy tickets and take people” because conversion “is a guaranteed way to get to heaven.”

Hier, however, said he was not concerned about proselytizing efforts. The Wiesenthal Center has issued an appeal to people of faith that reiterates the Jewish community’s gratitude for decades of work by Christians to reject anti-Semitism and encourages Christians to proclaim that the Passion’s message is not violence or blame for Jews.

“The film is just a passing thing,” Hier said. “The relationship Jews have with Christians is much more important.”