(LifeSiteNews) — Catholic actor and director Mel Gibson told podcast star Joe Rogan last week that his ability to quit alcohol after appealing to God is one reason he believes in Him.
While discussing the Shroud of Turin, the burial cloth of Jesus Christ imprinted with what is believed to be a light-induced negative image of his body, Gibson told Rogan he believes the shroud is authentic, adding, “There’s other logical reasons why I believe.”
Asked to elaborate, Gibson said, “Stuff that happens in your own life. The results you get from actually appealing to a power greater than yourself.”
“I don’t think it’s any secret I am flawed, in the fact that I am by nature born an alcoholic,” Gibson continued. “I did drugs, I did alcohol. And there was nothing that could stop me from doing that. Nothing. So I was really on a kind of downhill run.”
Gibson believes the fact that he was able to stop drinking after appealing to the “greater” power of God is a “miracle.” In late 2020, he told the media he had been sober for 10 years.
Rogan noted that “appealing to a higher power” is a part of the Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) program.
“Sure. It’s a spiritual program. Because you’re suffering a spiritual malady. So it’s a spiritual cure,” Gibson replied.
He stressed that appealing to a power “bigger and better than yourself” helps cultivate humility, and the key realization that one is “powerless” when dealing with addiction — the first and “most powerful step” one can take in overcoming it, according to Gibson.
Rogan questioned the “purpose of this dark, destructive behavior we are all susceptible to,” to which Gibson posed bigger questions.
“What is the purpose of everything? I mean, ‘Why am I here?” said the actor, suggesting that we have to leave a positive impact on the world.
“I often think about (t)he human race as a whole … you think about guys like, you know, Stalin or Hitler or Chairman Mao. And I’m pretty sure I’m not going to be sharing a cell in the afterlife with those guys. I don’t know where I’ll be on the ladder but … ”
“It depends on how you end up,” Rogan chimed in.
“Well, that’s it. It really is,” Gibson said. “And we’re allowed to make mistakes, and we do. We are so flawed, and I am more flawed than anyone.”
“So you have to think about the other side … about what comes next. Is there a next? Yes, there is. I believe there is, and I think it depends on how you live now,” Gibson continued.
He stressed that God offers mercy and forgiveness for our “transgressions,” and that we “can be redeemed” — but we have to first acknowledge our sins, and “accuse” ourselves.
Earlier in their conversation, Gibson defended the historical reality of the resurrection of Christ, a topic Rogan has seemingly taken a heightened interest in recently given that he discussed the matter in depth on his show with a Protestant guest about two weeks ago.
Gibson also revealed to Rogan that Jim Caviezel will again be starring as Jesus Christ in his forthcoming film “The Resurrection of the Christ” that will begin filming in 2026. In remarks about “The Passion of The Christ,” the two took time to admire Caviezel’s portrayal of Our Lord while mentioning that in both of their estimations the actor played Christ better than any other actor has before or since then.