So why not use your position to TEACH instead of CONDEMN

[acroyear]

In David Limbaugh's review of the Gibson film: Boston Globe columnist James Carroll denounced Gibson's literal reading of the biblical accounts. "Even a faithful repetition of the Gospel stories of the death of Jesus can do damage exactly because those sacred texts themselves carry the virus of Jew hatred," wrote Carroll.

The line they fear specifically is from Matthew 27:24-25: When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. "I am innocent of this man's blood," he said. "It is your responsibility!" All the people answered, "Let his blood be on us and on our children!"

So, Mr. Carroll and all others who effectively condemn the bible itself for having this "virus of Jew hatred" (an interpretation that came about primarily from a small set of German assholes in the early stages of the First Crusade), rather than condemn a line of the bible that was written over 800 years before it was misused by those of ill intent, how about you instead use your pulpits to tell people that its not what the passage really means and help a new generation get over it, instead of fearing it as something that will set us back-wards.

Its like watching films with black-face (including early Mickey Mouse cartoons, or one of my fav holiday movies, Holiday Inn), or 60s & 70s black comedians who used the N-word as a word of pride (until Richard Pryor re-educated himself and his community). As a society we've grown past that. Watching a film like that, and showing films like that to children, won't lead to racist kids, provided the parents set the example and teach the children to watch with respect and don't imitate what you see here, because people don't act like that anymore.

As it was with those films, so it is with this passage. Face it, teach what it meant at the time, teach what those who were wrong used it for, and reinforce that it was wrong to do what they did, and you'll end the stigma and let us reach the point where the passage becomes a non-issue.
I WANT that line in the film. I WANT us as a society and a collection of diverse faiths to get over it and accept that part of our past as being something we can close the book on, just as we did with black-face in film.

or, at least that's my hopeful idea of what to do about it...

...but then again, I never had a problem with the passage in the first place.