Mel Gibson, Clint Eastwood, and Christian Anthropology

One of my favorite magazines (The New Republic) features an article about the visions of death and religion offered by two of my favorite entertainers (Mel Gibson and Clint Eastwood).  After discussing films like "The Passion," "Braveheart," "Mystic River," "The Unforgiven," and "Million Dollar Baby" (which I have not seen, and will not see), the author concludes:

While Eastwood's films have increasingly focused on the process of dying and its physical and psychological ramifications, Gibson's concern is the intensely solitary moment of death and its potential for spiritual rebirth. Unlike Dirty Harry and Martin Riggs, who saw the same evil killers through the viewfinders of their guns, Eastwood and Gibson see irreconcilable opposites through their movie cameras, one finding life's essence where the other sees only death.

Amy Welborn has an interesting discussion of the essay, and comments, "the [author] doesn't get Christian soteriology or anthropology, that's for darn sure."  Given our persistent interest in questions of moral anthropology, I thought the essay would be of interest.

Rick