Jesus and Paul in Kazantzakis' The Last Temptation of Christ

[sealchan]

Here is Scorsese's take on a scene from Nikos Kazantzakis' story of the life of Jesus of Nazareth The Last Temptation of Christ. It is a scene where Paul is preaching the gospel and Jesus, who has come down off the cross through a vision inspired by Satan in the form of a young girl, comes to protest what Paul is preaching.

For me this scene is profound and it helped shaped my understanding of the power and limitations of faith. Any and all sincere comments and discussions welcome

 

[sealchan]

This scene, for me, shows the precise boundary line between literal truth and spiritual truth. The two are not the same and the two play by different rules.

Certainly this will seem like rank cognitive dissonance to some, but set against the choice of no faith or a literalistic faith that logically has to deny the faith of others, I think that this is really the only reasonable option.

Consider that such stories as the resurrection of Christ have been so deeply influential and motivational for so many years yet the story was made up by sincere believers in God.

I also think that it, implicitly, has a lot to say about how the human brain processes truth and requires more than one way of knowing truth to get a satisfactory perspective. This fact may even be compelled by the logic of the evolution of the human mind as a complex, adaptive system capable of maintaining homeostasis amidst an ever changing reality in which it is dynamically entwined.

 

[leov]

This scene, for me, shows the precise boundary line between literal truth and spiritual truth. The two are not the same and the two play by different rules.

Certainly this will seem like rank cognitive dissonance to some, but set against the choice of no faith or a literalistic faith that logically has to deny the faith of others, I think that this is really the only reasonable option.

Consider that such stories as the resurrection of Christ have been so deeply influential and motivational for so many years yet the story was made up by sincere believers in God.

I also think that it, implicitly, has a lot to say about how the human brain processes truth and requires more than one way of knowing truth to get a satisfactory perspective. This fact may even be compelled by the logic of the evolution of the human mind as a complex, adaptive system capable of maintaining homeostasis amidst an ever changing reality in which it is dynamically entwined.

Paul's message: "to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you..."Cal.1:27.

 

[Terry Sampson]

All Cretans are liars.

 

[leov]

All Cretans are liars.

"One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”

 

[Terry Sampson]

One of the Cretans

Yep. You quote Paul who was probably quoting Epimenides (or the Libyan Callimachus who was probably quoting Epimenides). Kazantkakis was a Cretan.

 

[sealchan]

Yep. You quote Paul who was probably quoting Epimenides (or the Libyan Callimachus who was probably quoting Epimenides). Kazantkakis was a Cretan.

Do you mean this literally, figuratively or both?

Calling someone a liar is not an argument. It is Bulverism.

Bulverism - Wikipedia

Besides Kazantzakis is writing literature...in what sense is he lying?

 

[sealchan]

Paul's message: "to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you..."Cal.1:27.

I'm not sure I understand the relevance of this quote to this thread.

 

[Terry Sampson]

Do you mean this literally, figuratively or both?

Literally:

You [leov] quote Paul who was probably quoting Epimenides (or the Libyan Callimachus who was probably quoting Epimenides).

Literally:

Kazantkakis was a Cretan.

 

[sealchan]

Literally:

Literally:


View attachment 34863

So are you saying that literally all people from Crete are liars? That seems naively prejudiced and to have mistaken an old syllogism and logical loop example for a serious literal fact. Or are you just jesting.