Great artistry, dangerous prejudice.

Last month, an anthology of still photographs taken on location during the filming of The Passion of the Christ debuted as the #2 bestselling book in America. Clearly, the Mel Gibson film and its subject continue to interest and fascinate many people. However, most American critics seriously underestimated the power of Gibson's film. It is a masterful work, both visually and religiously, which is why its potential to do harm--as well as good--is so great. Gibson's film is also emblematic of the new antisemitism that relies heavily on doctored "historical" footage, hypnotic musica