When the time came to choose a thesis topic for my Master of Theology degree, I recalled the profound effect Martin Scorsese’s film The Last Temptation of Christ had on me. So I decided to research the novel behind the film. I spent the next six years writing a 140-page book entitled “The Almond Tree Blossomed: Nikos Kazantzakis, Christianity, and the Pursuit of God through Art.”
For a limited time, I’m offering a free electronic copy to subscribers who have registered a user name on my website. Email me your request and when I’ve confirmed your registration I’ll attach the book to my reply.
Here is an excerpt from the introduction:
The Last Temptation is not a straightforward retelling of the life of Christ. The prologue states very clearly, “This book is not a biography; it is the confession of every man who struggles.” Scorsese’s prologue, quoted above, concludes with a similar disclaimer: “This film is not based upon the Gospels but upon this fictional exploration of the eternal spiritual conflict.” Bien’s suggestion, then, is to concentrate on “the imaginative use made of Christian materials to convey Kazantzakis’s own philosophy.” We cannot study a novel like The Last Temptation in isolation, nor can we simply compare it with the account of Christ’s life as recorded in the Gospels; it must be interpreted in the context of Kazantzakis’s entire oeuvre.
This treatise is divided into three parts, each with three sections. In the first section of Part One, you have been introduced to your humble narrator and his motivations for undertaking this study. The second section will introduce you to our subject, Nikos Kazantzakis. The third section will introduce a Kazantzakian paradigm for Christianity and the arts.
Part Two will exemplify the Action phase of this paradigm beginning with an analysis of how Kazantzakis and orthodox Christianity are antithetical to one another, followed by a more favorable comparison between Kazantzakis and Orthodox tradition, and finishing with a cautious appreciation for fiction in general and Kazantzakis’s writings in particular.
Part Three will expand upon this last step with an in-depth demonstration of the philosophy of Crete’s favorite son as revealed by his three most representative writings: The Saviors of God: Spiritual Exercises, The Odyssey: A Modern Sequel, and Report to Greco.
