Although I’m a committed Christian and view what Jesus did as my sole hope for heaven, I was on the sidelines with the Jews when Mel Gibson’s new movie The Passion of the Christ came to theaters across America on Ash Wednesday—and not just because the movie might incite anti-Semitism, though I acknowledge the legitimacy of such concern.

(Every Christian should have as assigned reading The Fixer, by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Bernard Malamud. The book might open a few Christians’ eyes as to why Jews often react as they do.)

Nor is my primary concern the sustained violence that former Catholic priest John Dominic Crossan decried in an article I read recently in my local newspaper—though I shared Crossan’s deep concerns about ensuring that we portray the character of God correctly.

(Of the many salvation metaphors employed in Scripture, I question that the penal-substitution analogy is the most effective depiction—for our postmodern world—of the phenomenal love of God that led to Christ’s earthly sojourn and sacrifice.)

No, my big concern about Gibson’s movie has to do with a prohibition that the Bible claims was given by God himself.

In the list of rules we call the Ten Commandments—that code of conduct some Christians have fought to have posted prominently in public places—we’re warned against seeking to portray God in objective forms. No images. No likenesses of any kind. Why?

The commandment leaves that for us to figure out. But it does go on to warn that our actions today concerning this matter are going to have impact on our children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren. That’s sobering.

It seems that God wants us to retain an elastic picture of what he’s like. Wood and stone images, artwork and movies give us a concrete rendering. And concrete pictures, once embedded in the mind, are difficult to purge. So we might be led to reject the real God because we were given the wrong picture.

How many paintings of Jesus portray him as a "man’s man"? Or does he always come over a little too insipid to be taken seriously by men—or women—who admire strength and fearlessness. On the other hand, what would be the impact of a macho portrayal of Jesus for someone who desperately needed to see the meek and mild side of God?

Christians believe that Jesus was God in human form. A few had the privilege of seeing him. The rest have only heard about him. And the accounts are sketchy. We all must use our imagination to fill in the gaps. So, to a great degree, we can make Christ what we want (or need) him to be. Equally, we can remake him as our needs and understandings change.

What did Jesus look like? Was he handsome or plain? Tall or short? Stocky or slight? Macho or gentle?

The Bible doesn’t attempt to give a total picture. We know of certain actions. We know of certain words. But we know nothing of the nuances of eye movement, body posture, shoulder shrugs, hand gestures, and tone of voice that are so critical in interpreting what’s really being said and done. The beauty is that God has left it with each individual to supply these interpretative details.

With all due respect to Mel Gibson’s research and educated guesses, I don’t want his interpretations as deeply embedded in my mind as will inevitably happen if I view his movie—especially if I watch it on the big screen.

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