The Passion of the Christ is a singular moment in the history of Jesus films. Since before its theatrical debut, it has incited heated criticism, lofty praise and long debates about issues ranging from racial bigotry to violence in film. In my latest column for New Identity Magazine, I offer some ideas on viewing this [...]

Top ten lists of Jesus films are a recurring theme and the usual suspects are pretty universal. So, when *catapult magazine was putting together its annual “Ten Things” list for 2012, I thought I might take the opportunity to offer a list of films in the genre that are a bit more under the radar.

For the past 20 years, cinematic representations of the life of Christ have been an ongoing fascination and area of study for me. Jesus Films 101 is my further exploration of these films.

The Bible has been a source for cinematic material since the earliest days of filmmaking. Mostly, it seems a rather quaint genre to many of us today. We tend to think of Bible films as placid Sunday School tales, slavishly reproduced for pious viewing. There is, however, much more to not only the genre of [...]

It’s always interesting to talk to people about why I study Jesus films. Beyond the pure cinematic interest, for me, there are two threads that run through the study of Jesus films: The historical and the liturgical. I started out with the historical. My goal in seeing and studying Jesus films was to view them [...]

It’s old news now, but I’m just finding out. A little over a month ago, Michel Been died.