No one will be sure what The Passion contains until Gibson releases the film; movies are readily edited, with content sometimes in flux until opening night. But initial reports aren't reassuring. Gibson is asserting his work is "the truth," historically accurate in the factual sense. Jesus lived, preached, suffered, died, and rose again to redeem the sins of the world; that, I feel sure, is truth. Everything else is speculation.

The four Gospels that recount Jesus' ministry differ on many specifics of the period Gibson is filming. They present mutually contradictory accounts of Jesus' last days in Jerusalem, his trial, his final statements. Most important to me as a Christian, the Gospels differ on Jesus' words at the Apostles' Charge--the moment when, basking in the bright glory of the resurrection itself, Christ told his disciples God's plan for the human future. Man, would I like to know exactly what Jesus said at the Apostles' Charge! I don't, and neither does anyone else. Nor does any Christian, nor any critic of Christianity, know for sure what happened in the hours of Christ's passion. When Gibson says he is only presenting facts, what he means is he presenting his opinion.

The New Republic is also guilty of Gibson-bashing, in the form of this article by Paula Fredriksen, an eminent professor of scripture at Boston University.... Fredriksen goes on to deliver herself of the same dubious claim at the heart of The Passion, namely, that she knows what really happened. The "historical fact" of Jesus' death, Fredriksen asserts in Gibson-like phrasing, is that Romans, not Jews, bore most of the blame. That may be, but it's an opinion, not a fact. Jesus was executed under Roman legal procedure; whether Romans or Jews or both pushed the execution forward we'll never be sure. Fredriksen says her committee found many "errors" in The Passion but can't prove the film "errors" any more than Gibson can prove it "truth."