Source: Religion News Service

http://www.beliefnet.com/story/140/story_14052_1.html

On February 19, 2004 Religion News Service published an article on the unorthodox alliance of supporters Mel Gibson has acquired for his upcoming film, "The Passion." "Gibson has virtually ignored the Catholic hierarchy and instead marketed his film almost exclusively to evangelicals, a well-organized audience of true believers that promises to turn the film into box office gold when it opens Feb. 25.

In the process, he has forged an unorthodox alliance that delicately sidesteps decades of divisions on issues that reach to the very heart of evangelical theology -- how a person attains salvation...

The differences on salvation are subtle, yet substantial. Evangelicals generally believe salvation begins with a decision to accept Jesus as savior based on faith alone, while Catholics lean more to a lifelong conversion that is evidenced by good works.

Mark Silk, director of the Center for the Study of Religion in Public Life at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., said the two sides share more than a 'marriage of convenience' on Gibson's film.

'Traditional Catholic spirituality sort of bathes in the blood and involves an intense identification with Jesus and his suffering,' Silk said. 'This intense, over-the-top emphasis on the suffering Jesus is something that also works quite well for evangelicals.'"