Ben Meyer comments that
most Jesus scholars of the day couple the liberal emphasis on the ethics with an equally liberal «hermeneutic of empathy» In turn, a host of
imaginative these were put forward in an
effort to understand more fully Jesus religious experience by tracing out the psychological development of Jesus's messianic awareness.
Granted, some of this has been generated by Malick, and the promotional
efforts for the film, but, frankly, many big name, and lesser name critics, have simply imbued and misconstrued their own critical lack and
imaginative dead rot into their reviews, and missed the boat on this film, from some of its
most basic elements through its more nuanced themes and evocations.