At the January pastors' screening of The Passion of the Christ at Willow Creek Church in Illinois, Gibson explained why he used a veiled female figure to portray evil.

Evil "takes on the form of beauty," Gibson said. "It is almost beautiful. It is the great aper of God. But the mask is askew; there is always something wrong. Evil masquerades, but if your antennae are up, you'll detect it."

After the screening, I asked Gibson about his belief in spiritual warfare. "That's the big picture, isn't it?" Gibson replied. "The big realms are slugging it out. We're just the meat in the sandwich. And for some reason, we're worth it. I don't know why, but we are."