Mel Gibson, Old School Sinner

The next thing I am going to tackle is going to take more out of me. I even have to change my entire life to do it. You can’t go into a project as profound in nature as [The Resurrection of Jesus Christ] without somehow preparing yourself for it. It’s like preparing for a fight. You have to spiritually prepare yourself for that, and that’s going to take some sacrifice. I have to try and be better somehow in order to go in and make that film. So, what does that mean? I think I know what it means. (Mel Gibson, Joe Rogan Experience podcast)

Last Sunday, all of the usual suspects gathered after Mass in the courtyard adjacent to our church. Beneath the warm glow of an outdoor heater, I stumbled into a conversation about the recent Joe Rogan podcast featuring Mel Gibson.

The two-and-a-half-hour interview is a wild ride filled with discussions about dinosaurs, stem cells, the collapse of civilization, and inside baseball Catholicism. While many Catholics are unhappy about the fact that Mel used Rogan’s huge platform to air grievances about the corruption in the Church, I want to highlight something positive I see in Mel Gibson; a trait he possesses that seems to be lost on the majority of humanity: fear of the Lord.

Throughout the podcast, I could not help but reflect on the man himself. There is something about Mel Gibson that is universally appealing—his obvious gift for storytelling, his slightly unhinged energy, and a raw authenticity when he speaks all converge to create an incredibly dynamic and compelling profile. It wasn’t just his magnetic personality that gripped me, however. Throughout the interview, Mel subtly wove comments into the conversation that revealed something beautiful and complex in his character. It was a fear of the Lord combined with a reverence and long-held respect for the old and authentic traditions of the Catholic Church.

In Christianity, fear of the Lord is a type of awe and reverence toward God and a healthy respect for holy things. What fascinates me about Mel—and others like him—is that while he clearly possesses this gift, in this podcast he owns the fact that it doesn’t necessarily reflect in his behavior and daily living.

Even though Mel knows he has things in his personal life that need correcting—the most glaring example being that he was previously married and is now in an illicit relationship—he has the honesty to acknowledge this contradiction. It takes humility to admit: “I profess this and I profess that…I am not a great example of Christianity.” Even though Mel [Gibson] knows he has things in his personal life that need correcting—the most glaring example being that he was previously married and is now in an illicit relationship—he has the honesty to acknowledge this contradiction.Tweet This

This article isn’t meant to be one big slam or judgment against Mel. Quite the contrary. I call him an old-school sinner as a compliment, actually. Mel, and people like him, are exemplars of an age gone by; they embody a mindset from a past era that is today nearly extinct.

Despite the fact that these old-school sinners are living immoral lifestyles in a seemingly unrepentant way, they don’t pretend to deny the truth about objective morality. In a time when many can’t even distinguish between the most fundamental notions of right and wrong, it is refreshing to see such awareness.

I have noticed this quality in certain historical figures. Think of Augustine of Hippo, saying the following prayer: “O Lord, give me chastity and continence, but not yet.” Consider Oscar Wilde, known for his personal luxury and decadence, candidly admitting that “Catholicism is the only religion to die in.” Or Milo Yiannopoulos who, while embracing a lifestyle far from the Church’s moral standards, delivers presentations such as one titled “Catholic Are Right About Everything.”

Finally, take Luigi Rossi, a New York gangster from the 1949 film Come to the Stable (a household favorite). When two religious sisters naively arrive at his mob hangout unannounced, he is polite and restrained. Anyone else attempting such a move might have found themselves on the receiving end of a pair of brass knuckles, or at the bottom of a river…

The point is, Luigi Rossi and all old-school sinners understand that you don’t mess with holy things—and in this case, holy messengers.

When Joe Rogan tried to call the Catholic Church a dark institution, Mel rebutted him by saying, “Well, you know, the Catholic Church, it was instituted by Christ.”

When Joe tried to proselytize Mel and convince him about the infallible “dogma” of evolution, Mel states quite simply that, “I believe I was created.”

When Mel gets asked about Christianity, he doesn’t leave any room for doubt: “I was born into a Catholic family, I am very Christian in my beliefs…so I do actually believe this stuff to the full.”

Mel is clearly a very complex man—but then again, history is full of such men. In fact, the best literature throughout the ages explores this very complexity found in human nature.

The line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either—but right through every human heart—and through all human hearts. (Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago)

Our Lord said that if you love Him, you will keep His commandments: si diligitis me, mandata mea servate (John 14:15).

Mel knows this, and he is clearly someone who is on a journey. Neither is he a stranger to Our Lord—someone must have an intimate familiarity with Him to create a film like The Passion of the Christ. As with men like Augustine of Hippo, Mel seems to be in the middle of that same tension—wrestling, but certainly not out of the fight.

It is worth noting that Mel took immense spiritual attack for creating The Passion of the Christ. No other film in cinematic history has had a larger spiritual effect on millions of souls around the world than this film. This, a movie that initially was told it would not be allowed to be shown in any theatre. This, a movie that was maligned by the liberal media worldwide.

It is said that if you step into the arena with Satan, be prepared to receive a beating. To this day, it seems as though the spiritual battle continues for Mel. Knowing the cost, he is still moving forward with the production of The Passion’s sequel, and he knows that this project is going to demand something of him. That takes guts.

I am rooting for you, Mel. We all are. I pray you are given the grace to do what you know to be necessary in your personal life. And I pray that Heaven clears the way for you to make a sequel film on the Resurrection that is as powerful as its precursor.