My buddy Paul phoned me just after five o'clock this evening - did I want to go see The Passion, he asked? Though having been reluctant, staying home from the movie until invited, I did. And for a hesitant viewer, I'm astonished by my affirmation. I have two observations on Gibson's film, one which should be appreciated in later years as an intense, literal devotion to the Crucifixion. First, those who found the movie anti-Semitic or distasteful are likely just revolted by the New Testament itself, as Christ's persecution would have been the work of any people he'd been born into. Second, those who found the movie barbarously violent - specifically, the scourging scene indulgent - need to remind themselves of the realness of brutality as best any of us living in relative safety can. Either of these groups may end up confused in our times.