Phil Brennan, NewsMax.com
Monday, Feb. 16, 2004

In a revealing interview with ABC's Diane Sawyer due to be aired at 10:00 p.m. E.T. Monday, on "Primetime," Gibson explained that for him the making of the controversial film was cathartic, that he set out to make it over 10 years ago because he had reached "the height of spiritual bankruptcy."

The Hollywood star admits that things got so bad he once contemplated suicide by hurling himself out a window.

"I just didn't want to go on," he confided to Sawyer. "I was looking down thinking, 'Man, this is just easier this way. You have to be mad, you have to be insane, to despair in that way. But that is the height of spiritual bankruptcy. There's nothing left."

Instead, he said he turned back to the word of God. "I think I just hit my knees. "I just said, 'Help.' You know? And then, I began to meditate on it, and that's in the Gospel. I read all those again. I remember reading bits of them when I was younger."

"Pain is the precursor to change, which is great," Gibson said. "That's the good news."

He recalled that the "spiritual bankruptcy" led him to reexamine Christianity, and ultimately to create "The Passion of the Christ" - "my vision . with God's help" of the final hours in the life of Jesus.

Answering those who charge that the film is anti-Semitic he said he is not an anti-Semite, and that anti-Semitism is "un-Christian" and a sin that "goes against the tenets of my faith."

As to who did kill Jesus, Gibson said "The big answer is, we all did. I'll be the first in the culpability stakes here."

In answer to those who warn that the film's depiction of the Jewish role in the death of Jesus could encourage anti-Semitism Gibson told Sawyer that he simply tried his best to interpret the Gospels. "Critics who have a problem with me don't really have a problem with me in this film," Gibson added. "They have a problem with the four Gospels. That's where their problem is."

Asked whether he considers his film the definitive depiction of the passion, Gibson says: "This is my version of what happened, according to the Gospels and what I wanted to show - the aspects of it I wanted to show."

Jesus Christ "was beaten for our iniquities," Gibson says. "He was wounded for our transgressions and by his wounds we are healed. That's the point of the film. It's not about pointing the fingers. It's about faith, hope, love and forgiveness, It is reality for me. . I believe that. I have to . for my own sake . so I can hope, so I can live."

Speaking of those who say the film's violence is too shocking Gibson said he wanted it to be. But, he said "If you don't like it, don't go. . If you want to leave halfway through, go ahead. I wanted it to be shocking," Gibson explained, "And I also wanted it to be extreme. I wanted it to push the viewer over the edge . so that they see the enormity - the enormity of that sacrifice - to see that someone could endure that and still come back with love and forgiveness, even through extreme pain and suffering and ridicule."

In remarks to be broadcast along with Gibson's interview, Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, and a vehement critic of the film told Sawyer that he doesn't believe Gibson is anti-Semitic. But he said he still has concerns about the film.

"I do not believe it's an anti-Semitic movie," Foxman says. "I believe that this movie has the potential to fuel anti-Semitism, to reinforce it." But, he added "This is his vision, his faith; he's a true believer, and I respect that. But there are times that there are unintended consequences."

Commenting on Gibson's claim that he wanted it to push the viewer over the edge . so that they see the enormity - the enormity of that sacrifice - to see that someone could endure that and still come back with love and forgiveness, even through extreme pain and suffering and ridicule." Foxman expressed the hope that viewers come away with that sort of message, rather than anger or bias.

"I hope that most people see it, Diane, as a passion of love," Foxman says. "Maybe when it's all over, in a sobering manner, we'll be able to come back and look each other in the face and say, 'We have to deal with this hatred that's still out there.'"

Gibson said he, too, wants dialogue. "Let's get this out on the table and talk about it," he said. "This is what the Talmud says. This is what the Gospel says. Let's talk. Let's talk. People are asking questions about things that have been buried a long time."

"I hope it inspires introspection, and I think it does," Gibson says. "I want to inspire and make people feel."

Editor's note:
Mel Gibson fights back and talks with NewsMax Magazine – click here for new revelations