can children watch passion of the christ

Taussig: This, of course, is an extremely difficult and important question. Do you think that children as young as 10 should be allowed to view this movie accompanied by their parents or could the violence be harmful to the psyche at such a tender age?

I am wondering if a child's mind can differentiate at that young age that the violence in the film was created by Mel Gibson to create the impact of his sacrifice for us as Christians. Member question: Our church is thinking of taking children age 10 and above with their parents to see The Passion of the Christ. However, if your child has had a long history of religious education and can answer modestly complex religious questions to your satisfaction and understanding, that might be a way to judge their religious maturity. Taussig: I am not a theologian, nor am I a professional church person. Member question: How can a parent best determine his child's ability to understand complex theological problems? I think a child can see this film when the parent thinks the child can understand complex theological problems. However, let me add my personal opinion on this. So with this film, it is the parent who has to decide whether it will be a valid learning experience. For instance, if a film is rated PG-13, is that in terms of sex or violence or language? Every parent knows that at one point his or her child can stand the violence, perhaps, but not the sex, or the other way around. Taussig: I have always believed that the rating system is of little use to parents, because my bottom line is only parents can know their children.

How do you define the line between a legitimate learning experience and over-the-top violence? The interesting twist in the debate over this film is that some are saying kids should see it because they need to learn how Jesus suffered and died to understand the basis of their faith. Is there such a thing as 'good violence?' We talked about it with an internationally recognized authority on the psychology and sociology of film, H. The movie The Passion of the Christ ignited passionate debate about its graphic violence and the appropriateness of such disturbing images for children.

Can children watch passion of the christ