Why people are worked upSort of. The controversial content we've seen so far comes partly from the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, but it can't take all the blame. The creepy satanic temptress lady was added by the movie writers. I have a more detailed comparison of the gospel and the long trailer here.The film looks past the traditional Bible canon and mines the apocryphal Infancy Gospel of Thomas, a text a lot of Christians consider heretical. That text paints a complicated portrait of Jesus as a child — quick to anger, capable of things that do not line up neatly with divinity. Nathan is also drawing from his own Coptic Catholic upbringing, which gives the movie a very specific lens you do not usually see in mainstream Bible stories.
So no, it is not pretending to be a traditional Gospel adaptation. That is the point. Whether you find that bold or blasphemous probably depends on how you feel about apocrypha to begin with.
I don't have the impression that everyone discussing this film has actually read the Infancy Gospel of Thomas.
Background here and links.
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