Back when many of us were discussing Mel Gibson and the issue of portrayals of Jesus I had asked a few times how people interpreted Galatians 3:1

You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified

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The last time I wrote to Stan Hauerwas, I asked him, among other things, for his thoughts on TPOTC. I like his response:

I didn't think Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" was as bad as most people thought it was. My deepest problems concerning the movie are about whether film is a medium that appropriately embodies the Gospel. We become spectators to violence, and I don't think that's what the gospel wants us to be. I thought also the separation of the Passion from the life is always a problem. I made the point [not sure where] that the medium is not appropriate to the Gospel, and was asked what the appropriate medium is? Of course I said the liturgy. That just seems so obvious but people seem to miss it.