A discussion last night about Mel Gibson's controversial movie The Passion of the Christ quickly turned into a heated debate between Rabbi Tuvia Abramson, director of Penn State's Hillel, and Willard Preacher Gary Cattell.

The event, attended by about 25 people, was hosted by two resident assistants, Jason Becker and Michael Kokolis. It was the second event put on by the two following last semester's "Religious Rumble," which was a discussion led by eight religious leaders.

Last night's debate centered on the conflicting interpretations of The Passion and its intentions.

Abramson wondered about the purpose of a movie he said is "full of violence."

"Why is there a need to show a movie that shows so much destruction?" he said.

He added that the movie portrays Jews in a negative way and fuels the argument of those who blame Jews for Jesus' death.

In one of his many rebuttals, Cattell explained the movie from the Christian perspective. "As a Christian, we see this as God's method of salvation ... an act of love from God to man," he said.

The speakers argued the legitimacy of Gibson's version of the story of Christ.

According to Cattell, the movie is 90 to 95 percent in accordance with the Bible's New Testament. Abramson said the movie is not based on fact.

"It is all based on story ... we don't know the truth," he said.

Abramson attempted to discredit Gibson's portrayal of events throughout the movie. "History doesn't support the facts [shown] by Mel Gibson," he said.

Cattell said the movie displayed many similarities to the New Testament. He added that most Christians believe the beating of Christ was even more brutal than depicted in the movie.

Cattell praised the movie and its portrayal of Jesus.

"Most movies about Jesus today are silly ... he is portrayed like Kurt Cobain," he said, adding that The Passion is historically accurate.

At one of the more heated points of the debate, the two argued not about the movie but about the fundamental differences between the two religions.

While Abramson said Christianity historically has promoted violence against Jews, Cattell said the people who do so are not really Christians.

"Judaism is a culture; Christianity is a faith," Cattell added.

Abramson also read from several "hateful" letters he had received recently. "Those people ... are not really Christian; they only claim to be," Cattell said.

After more than 30 minutes of debating, Becker opened the forum for questions.

One audience member refuted Abramson's claim that no one knows what really happened to Jesus or what he looked like.

One member of Hillel, a campus Jewish organization, also questioned the legitimacy of Cattell's opinion on the movie's accuracy.

The debate's hosts said they were pleased with the turnout and the respect of the speakers.