I just finished watching Mel Gibson's interview by Diane Sawyer. ABC posted more about the interview on their web site. I've read about Mel Gibson's convictions in making this movie. In tonight's interview I finally saw that conviction for myself.
Throughout the interview he stood his ground. He claimed that "we all" are responsible for Jesus death. When asked about Jews involvement in the cruxifiction he said: Jesus "was a child of Israel, among other children of Israel. There were Jews and Romans in Israel. There were no Norwegians there." He said Jews and Romans "were the material agents of His demise."
On the other hand, Diane Sawyer seemed to display an astounding ingnorance of Christianity. Her commentary had the tone that Christianity needed to be explained to Americans (presumably because the majority of viewers would not understand its tenets) even while she is showing statistics that say 82% of Americans claim to be Christians. She also came across as incredulous that Mel Gibson actually believed that the Bible was literally true. His answer was exactly what I believe: if part of it is not true, then none of it is true.
Near the end, he showed complete inner resolve and integrity by refusing to allow comments made by his father to be used against him. His response to Diane Sawyer was, "He is my father and I love him...Leave it alone Diane."
I will be seeing this movie.
And yes, I believe the story is true.
