The Passion Play and the Gospel
William Elliott Griffis, D.D., tells us in the S. S. Times that “it is a matter of commonplace knowledge that the modern theater grew out of the medieval church;” and he further says, what every true observing Christian knows, that, “say what we will about the playhouse, who can deny that its tendency is invariably downward?” And the Passion Play is only one of the steps on the way. And in closing his article on the Passion Play, he truly remarks: “Where in Holy Scripture (Revised Version) are angels, God’s ministers that excel in strength, set forth either with plumes or wings? Where are gentle women? Where is the record of any drops or gouts of blood following the crown of thorns? Better a thousand-fold the Gospel’s simplicity than the meretriciousness of drama or legends. Better the few precious words of witnesses than acres of canvas and color, of forests of wood carving, than a million collections of ecclesiastical furniture that distort or exaggerate the facts of the Gospel Record.”