ABC trashed Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ in 2004, but with an odd bit of historical amnesia, the journalists at Good Morning America on Tuesday knocked Bill O'Reilly's book and upcoming movie Killing Jesus as not religious enough. Co-host Robin Roberts warned that "not everyone is happy with his version of history." Reporter Tom Llamas intoned, "It's Bill O'Reilly's latest book, turned TV movie, that's getting some riled up."
Llamas offered this comparison of the author and TV personality's take on the death of Jesus: "The Russell Crowe blockbuster Noah, which some Christians said veered too far from the Bible, made about $100 million domestically. Compare that to Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ, a movie that followed the Bible closely. It grossed more than $300 million just in the U.S." [MP3 audio here.]
Llamas declared, "More religion means more eyeballs." A discussion of whether O'Reilly focus, which does not include the resurrection, is a fair one. However, it's odd for ABC to unfavorably compare his work to The Passion. A 2006 report by the Media Research Center found that ABC aggressively attacked the Gibson film:
On February 16, 2004, Diane Sawyer began by welcoming viewers to ABC’s one-hour special on The Passion, "the film that set off an explosion of debate, controversy, and feeling in America....And not only between Christians and Jews, but Christians and Christians, historians and scholars, true believers and secularists, and everyone who falls somewhere in between."
Sawyer reported Gibson’s film suggests "echoes, the critics say, of what were called ‘Passion plays,’ which through the ages, were used to inflame Christians against their Jewish neighbors. Ghettos were sacked, the Jewish populations terrorized." (Sawyer didn’t relate that Passion plays are read or performed annually around the world in millions of Christian churches without outbursts of anti-Semitic violence.) Sawyer asked Gibson, point blank: "Are you anti-Semitic?" She brought in the Nazi angle: "Hitler went to a passion play and came away saying that, you know, this is a precious tool in the fight against Judaism."
The film adaption of Killing Jesus will air on the National Geographic channel. In 2012, Nat Geo network aired an Osama bin Laden movie, just prior to the presidential election, that was highly favorable to Barack Obama. ABC didn't seem as shocked over that movie.
Finally, while discussing the book and history, Llamas included a clip of O'Reilly stating, "I don't claim him [Jesus] to be the messiah."
To be clear, in the Washington Post, O'Reilly openly discussed his faith:
And what about Jesus? Did you believe Jesus was the Son of God?
Oh, yes. Sure. Yes, back then in the late ’50s, early ’60s when I was in Catholic school, everybody believed it.
What do you believe now?
Pretty much the same. I’m much more sophisticated in my analysis of Roman Catholicism, but the theology I have no problem believing.
A transcript of the October 7 segment is below:
7:42
ABC GRAPHIC: "Killing Jesus" Controvesy: Backlash Over Bill O'Reilly's MovieROBIN ROBERTS: We're coming up on 7:42 with Bill O'Reilly's big best-seller, Killing Jesus coming to TV screens. The cast was just announced, and O'Reilly is promising the film adaption will break new ground. But not everyone is happy with his version of history. ABC's Tom Llamas has that story.
BILL O'REILLY: Already, I'm getting mail telling me I'm going to hell.
LLAMAS: He's the tough-talking ratings king of Fox News. But this morning, it's Bill O'Reilly's latest book, turned TV movie, that's getting some riled up.
BILL O'REILLY: Killing Jesus is now the biggest book in the world.
LLAMAS: The film version of his controversial bestseller Killing Jesus set to start filming for Nat Geo this fall. Kelsey Grammer cast as King Herod. Stephen Moyer from True Blood as Pontius Pilate. And as Jesus, Lebanese American actor Haaz Sleiman.MATTHEW BELLONI (Executive editor, Hollywood Reporter): Traditionally, Jesus has been played by a white man. And I think the fact this is a Middle Eastern actor is significant.
LLAMAS: And while Nat Geo turned O'Reilly previous page turners, Killing Kennedy and Killing Lincoln to TV ratings gold, some say Killing Jesus may be a different story, due in part to the criticism surrounding the book.
O'REILLY: I don't proclaim him to be the messiah.
LLAMAS: O'Reilly says Killing Jesus is a history book about Jesus the man, not the messiah. Some evangelicals are upset with that.
DAN DELZELL (Pastor/Columnist Christian Post): It would be impossible to accurately discuss Jesus Christ without bringing faith into the picture.
LLAMAS: Some say the historical spin on Killing Jesus could kill ratings too. Just look at recent biblical movies and TV shows, and it seems clear: more religion means more eyeballs. The Russell Crowe blockbuster Noah, which some Christians said veered too far from the Bible, made about $100 million domestically. Compare that to Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ, a movie that followed the Bible closely. It grossed more than $300 million just in the U.S. But there is still a lot of buzz for the movie Killing Jesus. Just to give you an idea of how much they're banking on this, it will be shown in 171 countries and 45 languages. It premieres 2015. But, guys, just to be very clear, this is not the gospel according to Bill. All right?
