The Last Temptation of Christ

Did you ever grew up in a church environment in which Jesus was portrayed as a completely omnipotent, flawless, superhuman, the Savior of mankind but completely estranged and not relatable whatsoever to any thinking human being? I did. And did the clergy of your church present him to be so magnificent, righteous, and perfect that you as a parishioner were almost ashamed to want to actually reach out to this Man for guidance and forgiveness? Mine did. Did this ever nearly, if not completely, eventually disillusion you towards atheism? It did to me, nearly.I’m not an atheist anymore (if I ever was in the first place), I reaffirmed my belief in God and Christ again outside of my childhood church before reading Last Temptation, but having read this book, my faith will never be the same again, as it has changed for the better. Because of this book, I can more confidently say that I love Jesus Christ with all of my heart and soul, as He originally commanded us.Nikos Kazantzakis, God rest his soul, portrays a Christ that is anything BUT pretty much any Christian church portrays Him to be. Throughout the book, he is always engaged in constant battle, mostly against himself. Whether he was conflicting on preaching either submissive love or emblazoned spiritual warfare (“the ax”), whether or not to listen to the voice inside of his head that was God, or to give it all up and retire comfortably to the countryside and marry and father children rather than assuming his role of Son of God, Jesus is hardly ever certain in his ventures and preachings. He loves mankind dearly, and wants to know the right way to guide her (his messages often change on the dime, much to the chagrin of his disciples) but the battling, obstinacy of others refusing to listen, and the eventual prospect of crucifixion all seems too much for one man to bear, even if God is leading him to do so. Will he accept or reject these very real, very human temptations to live for himself and find safety and simplicity rather than arduous salvation?When the answer to that became yes, and he bravely chose to breathe his dying breath on the cross in spite of it all, I nearly cried aloud.Despite all of those temptations, despite all of those conflicting messages, despite experiencing the ABSOLUTE WORST of humanity in the Passion sequence, He still chose US! He thought that something was redeeming enough inside of humanity that He still endured that horrific pain and suffering of His own will so that we might have a second chance. A man of flesh and blood, just like mine, overcame the incredibly powerful desires of that flesh and blood (desires I know far too well), and decided that all of us, wearing the same flesh and blood, were worthy of the eternal spirit of God and Paradise. Praise be to Christ!This book is not the Gospels, but it may as well be an extended version. Kazantzakis adds so much more depth, meaning, and context to those timeless accounts that make Jesus to be the finally relatable, praiseworthy SON OF GOD!

This moving book renders Christ in vivid, unforgettable colors; such colors as have never been seen before and probably never will be again. In the process, it tells us something about our humanity, and about our indomitable spiritual longings.Christ is important to us in part because he was human. His humanity is what moves us, and we take comfort in his image because we find his humanity comprehensible.His humanity, however, is disturbing to some people. Perhaps this is why the Christian church has worked so hard to promote the idea of the Trinity. Christ is not just a man, we are told, he is simultaneously man, God and the Holy Spirit.Those who see Christ as infallible, as essentially God-like, will no doubt find this book disturbing. Kazantzakis's Christ is very human. He is full of distinctly human frailties.The book's depiction of a flawed human in the midst of a titanic spiritual struggle is moving, profound, and revelatory. It tells us much about the human spirit, about our longings for spiritual liberation, and the frustrations that many encounter when they walk a spiritual path.This book is a testament to the greatness of the human spirit. Yet at times, I find a touch of life-denial in it. Christ turns away from friends, family, and even his own best and kindest instincts as he reaches toward his goal. That part of this great book did not always sit well with me, yet I cannot deny that in this one area, at least, Kazantzakis has ample Biblical sources to back up his interpretation.For all its greatness, this is, however, a peculiar book. I call it peculiar in part because it vividly depicts the life of Christ in a manner that is neither historically accurate nor always true to our Biblical sources. It takes place not in Biblical times, but in a dream-like landscape that is vaguely reminiscent of rural Greece in the 19th century. Some of the opening scenes, for instance, take place in something that seems very much like an Eastern Orthodox Christian monastery, only there could not have been a Christian monastery before Christ's crucifixion, and certainly there is no mention of one in the Gospels. My point is not that something like a monastery could not have existed in Biblical times, but that the monastery in this book is distinctly Christian in flavor, which makes it, at best, an anachronism.It sounds as though I am criticizing Kazantzakis's book, but I am not. His instincts as a novelist never fail him. He makes all the right decisions, and the landscape and the characters he creates come vividly alive. Never before has Christ been as real, or his struggles so clear, as when I read this book.I believe that all Christians, and many who are interested in the Christ story, will find this an essential book. One needs, however, to approach it in the right spirit. To say that is unorthodox is a gross understatement. It is a radically experimental book, both from an artistic and a theological perspective. Nevertheless, it not only succeeds, but ends up telling us something rare and precious about both our own humanity, and our religion.

The reason I gave it four instead of five is that it is misogynistic in it's treatment of women's role in world history - as really nothing but tempters, although in the movie, I think Martin Scorsese tempers that verdict by showing that Mary Magdalene supports Jesus' and God's plan to show humans what they are really worth - she is shown as his Soul Mate (not so in the book). I saw the movie when it first came out and recently watched it again and decided I had to read the book. I usually don't go backwards like that, but I'm glad I did. The writing is superb, but I've heard Greece is a very paternalistic society that puts women second, so that slant doesn't surprise me. If that wasn't the case, I'd give the book five stars. I definitely give the movie a thumbs up. They're food for thought, anyway.The iconoclastic part of this book (that I love) is that it gives Jesus free will - and why shouldn't Jesus have something we all have, and why shouldn't we all have what Jesus had: a direct connection to God ("are ye not gods," Jesus asked IN THE BIBLE of the infant creators who were trying to crucify him).

My grandson loves books and he loves to read many different types. Every Christmas he always has a list of books.

I love this book front to back. It takes you on a journey and I enjoyed the ride. A long read, but worth it.

Hello! Today I received the book. Was after I heard Jordan Peterson in one of his interview when he recommended some of his literature. I immediately ordered. It arrived quite fast enough as the delivery. Never, ever have read anything about the author Nikos. I’m not gonna comment about the package which was … never mind. Fast forward, the lesson inside is just beautiful, but the small writing ✍️ is too bad. Which I’m not recommending. I think that’s another reason why great authors never made it. Thank you 🙏

The Last Temptation of Christ is a bold, highly original and very powerfully written novel.It is emotionally intense and tightly written and not for the faint hearted.It presents a challenging view of the life of Christ, but while it is obviously unorthodox, it is in no way heretical.The book can be read as a highly personal telling of the passion of Christ, or it can be read as a highly original and powerful piece of modern literature.The idea behind that final temptation is convincing and movingly portrayed.

Great book.

This is the book to read if you want to really understand the Passion. By challenging traditional thinking, it leads to a deeper understanding of the meaning of the Passion.