Because Gibson attends -- indeed, finances -- a church that rejects such teachings, other questions arise: For instance, in an interview with commentator Peggy Noonan to be published in the forthcoming Reader's Digest, Gibson says, "My dad taught me my faith, and I believe what he taught me. The man never lied to me in his life."

Like [Abraham H. Foxman], Rabbi Marvin Hier, dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, found Gibson's sentiments disturbing and, Tuesday, sent the filmmaker a two-page letter. It reiterates Hier's belief that Gibson's "Passion" "portrays Jews in a very negative manner and can once again stereotype them as being collectively responsible for the death of Jesus." Hier, who saw the film recently, also endorses the ADL's request that Gibson attach a cinematic postscript to his film specifically rejecting any anti-Semitic interpretation.

At one recent screening of "The Passion of the Christ," Gibson was asked who the critics of his film are. According to David Elcott, U.S. director of Inter-Religious Affairs for the American Jewish Committee, who was a member of the audience, Gibson replied: "They are the forces of Satan or the dupes of Satan."