When I bought the DVD, I presumed that I had seen the movie as a kid. The reason I hadn’t is that it came out in 1953, the year I had gone into the Franciscan Novitiate. I saw it today, 63 years later, for the first time. Not knowing that it had won three Oscars, I was not expecting anything but another peplum with syrupy scenes like Peter’s sermon in “Quo Vadis ?”, accompanied by tear-jerking piety pressed down and flowing over. I should have known that with a line-up of stars like Richard Burton, Jean Simmons, Victor Mature (who had played Samson, “The Hairy Hero” of an earlier post, January 2, 2015) and Michael Rennie, it could not be all that bad. To my surprise it turned out to be one of the best religious movies I have ever seen. It not only deserved its Oscars for Best Costumes, Best Artistic Direction and Best Decor, but its scenario avoided the excesses too common in the genre. There were just two scenes spoiled by Angels vocalizing at the moment of conversion of the central character, Roman Tribune Marcellus, who had crucified Jesus, and the same Angels breaking into an anachronistic “Alleluia” chorus when he and his lady love were led off to their martyrdom in the final scene of the movie.
The robe of the title provided the pretext for what turned out to be a gripping, credible yarn about the birth of Christianity. The fictional garment which Jesus is supposed to have worn as He trudged up the Via Dolorosa to Calvary, unlike “real” relics such as splinters of the “True” Cross, the Shroud of Turin and the Crown of Thorns, had no supposed miraculous powers, but provides, if one may be allowed such a play on words, a red thread for the drama. Miracles are mentioned in the movie, but are in fact downplayed. The faith of Jesus’ disciples is based rather on His person, the message He preached and the vision He gave them of a world, a kingdom, of love and justice. The movie no doubt reinforces that faith and could perhaps even inspire it. The trouble, if not the pity, is that it’s just a story, like the Gospels themselves – minus their contradictions and the dark side of the just and gentle Jesus, as detailed in the previous post, “Jesus Imposed Instant Death On Dissenters” (P.S. The post referred to has since been deleted, because based on a totally mistaken reading of Luke 19:27. I have posted a formal apology for my stupid, inexcusable mistake.)
The film will not disturb the atheism of those who have already rejected their religious upbringing. But it is a salutary reminder to us of the reasons Christianity has managed to survive for so long. Don’t tell anyone, but it should be part of the arsenal of the Christian catechist. However it won’t convince the Believer on the Brink, who has begun to discover serious obstacles to swallowing the myths on which Christianity is based. It would take more than even a powerful peplum to bring him or her back to full-blown traditional belief.
D E L E N D A R E L I G I O
Blind Faith: Blind Folly 
I probably saw the film in my late childhood or early adolescence – but now have no recollection of any lasting impressions.
Frank’s reference to the myths on which Christianity is based brought to mind another matter which might interest some readers.
The New Testament accounts contain many fantastic stories which are the myths to which Frank refers. Many would be surprised to learn that many of these fantastic stories are not unique to Christianity. Pre-Christian pagan religions which pervaded the Egyptian and Graeco-Roman world had some or many of the elements of these fantastic Christian stories. These pre-Christian “mystery” religions are referred to by some as the Osiris-Dionysus mysteries and included elements such as a god-man born of a virgin, a dying and resurrecting god, a god which is eaten and a god which descends into hell before ascending into heaven.
To some scholars Christianity appears to be a synthesis of some or many of these pre-Christian myths. Some early Christian Church Fathers including Justin Martyr and Tertullian were so concerned by the similarities that they resorted to the delightfully absurd proposition that the devil had engaged in diabolical mimicry by anticipating the Christian story, plagiarism by anticipation.
It is unsurprising that the early Christian Church set about destroying these pagan cults including their places of worship and their sacred texts.
We now know that the very early Christian movement had significant gnostic elements whose texts were excluded from the Canon of Christian documents.
We have no hesitation in dismissing the pre-Christian pagan beliefs as mere myths.
There is no good reason why we should not deal with the myths of Christianity in the same way.
It might indeed make a film as impressive as “The Robe”.
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There are of course “Conspiracy Theories” and then there are conspiracy theories. The existence of pre-Christian (pagan) “mystery”cults or religions owes nothing to conspiracy theory. Their existence and beliefs (myths) are well documented as are the similarities between many of their myths and those of Christianity. These cults were endemic in the ancient world with various names differentiating local deities in different locations. Isis, Osiris, Dionysus, Bacchus, Mithras were but some of the variations. Sir James Frazer in his celebrated tome “The Golden Bough” deals in part with some of the history and beliefs of various cults. One does not need to resort to any diabolical plot to understand Christianity as merely another manifestation originating in reform Judaism in Roman occupied Palestine.
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There is, in fact, a film which compares pagan myths with fundamental elements of the Christian faith. It is called “Zeitgeist”, a 2007 American production dedicated to the proposition that “we have been lied to”. If that makes you suspect that it is about conspiracy theories, you would not be mistaken. Part 2, in fact, is about “The 9/11 Myth” and Part 3 “reveals” that bankers like the Rockefellers and Rothschilds control a cartel which provoked both World Wars for their own profit. Part 1, “The Greatest Story Ever Told” (…ever SOLD” ?), provides what looks like an academic analysis of Egyptian and Greek mystery religions to “prove” that Christianity is nothing more than a carbon copy of the myths behind those religions. The film is long – two hours ! – but a slick, professional job that makes its propositions seem credible. This Blog’s efforts to ridicule and discredit religion are not helped by dishonest historical “research”, often equivalent to the wild accusations of popular conspiracy theories. However, while much of the “evidence” is clearly fabricated and without textual or historical foundations, there are … troubling similarities, rejected or accepted wholesale by some, and studied seriously by scholars.
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I’ve always liked this movie. the idea that a Roman legionary suffered from a bad conscience because he’s killed an innocent man and also perhaps a son of god. Burton played the role with real feeling. This is one of those religious films where you don’t have to be a believer to like the movie.
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