The Last Temptation of Christ
Nikos Kazantzakis
This life of Christ is unlike anything you've ever come across before, which
explains why there was so much turmoil and Christian backlash over the
release of the movie adaptation in 1988. They still haven't learned that a
closed mind can never be a truly spiritual mind. Don't pass on reading the
book because you saw the film. The difference between the two is the
difference between night and day.
So Jesus finally reads what Matthew has been writing about him for the last
several months and is flabbergasted. "This isn't the truth," he says. "These
are lies! I was not born in Bethlehem. I've never set foot in Egypt in my life.
I don't remember any magi! And the dove did not say, 'This is my son,'
while I was being baptized!" Matthew tells him he knows this, but
nevertheless he has been writing what he has been told to write by an
angel, who visits him in the evening. Matthew himself questioned this truth,
but the angel told him that he knew nothing of the truth. The angel told him
there were many truths, the truths of men, which are many, and the truth of
God, which is one. Matthew was to record the truth of God. And he did.
The truth. Yes, indeed, the truth. It can make one uncomfortable on
occasion, and Kazantzakis' version of the truth can certainly be said to do
that. His Jesus is quite a bit different than the one we've come to know
from the Bible. His Jesus only performs a few of the miracles recounted in
the Bible. He agonizes over his fate and is often unsure of his divinity. He
preaches the doctrine of love, but is somewhat vague as to how to put it
into practice. His disciples are weak and vacillating. Magdalene becomes
a prostitute after her love for him is spurned. Joseph is stricken and
paralyzed the day Jesus is born, and remains that way for the rest of his life.
His mother Mary is a miserable wretch as Jesus fails to do any of the
normal things that a mother wishes her son to do.
Not your typical Bible story. Nor should it be. The question is: does it
work? To a large degree it does. Kazantzakis gives us a view of what the
mortal side of Jesus might have looked like. Worth considering about no
matter what your religious perspective.
/tdw/
Nikos Kazantzakis
This life of Christ is unlike anything you've ever come across before, which
explains why there was so much turmoil and Christian backlash over the
release of the movie adaptation in 1988. They still haven't learned that a
closed mind can never be a truly spiritual mind. Don't pass on reading the
book because you saw the film. The difference between the two is the
difference between night and day.
So Jesus finally reads what Matthew has been writing about him for the last
several months and is flabbergasted. "This isn't the truth," he says. "These
are lies! I was not born in Bethlehem. I've never set foot in Egypt in my life.
I don't remember any magi! And the dove did not say, 'This is my son,'
while I was being baptized!" Matthew tells him he knows this, but
nevertheless he has been writing what he has been told to write by an
angel, who visits him in the evening. Matthew himself questioned this truth,
but the angel told him that he knew nothing of the truth. The angel told him
there were many truths, the truths of men, which are many, and the truth of
God, which is one. Matthew was to record the truth of God. And he did.
The truth. Yes, indeed, the truth. It can make one uncomfortable on
occasion, and Kazantzakis' version of the truth can certainly be said to do
that. His Jesus is quite a bit different than the one we've come to know
from the Bible. His Jesus only performs a few of the miracles recounted in
the Bible. He agonizes over his fate and is often unsure of his divinity. He
preaches the doctrine of love, but is somewhat vague as to how to put it
into practice. His disciples are weak and vacillating. Magdalene becomes
a prostitute after her love for him is spurned. Joseph is stricken and
paralyzed the day Jesus is born, and remains that way for the rest of his life.
His mother Mary is a miserable wretch as Jesus fails to do any of the
normal things that a mother wishes her son to do.
Not your typical Bible story. Nor should it be. The question is: does it
work? To a large degree it does. Kazantzakis gives us a view of what the
mortal side of Jesus might have looked like. Worth considering about no
matter what your religious perspective.
/tdw/
| Thom's Review The Last Temptation of Christ |
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