Is it just me, or is the "Da Vinci Code" Jesus cooler than Catholic Jesus?

[KyuzoGator]

I mean, the guy preaches peace, honors women's place in society, loves his wife...seems like a much cooler savior than the guy who wants to remind you constantly of how much flesh was ripped off his ribs for YOUR SINS, you ungrateful wretch.

But I'm one of those people who thought that The Last Temptation of Christ was the best cinematic depiction of Jesus...so maybe it's me.

[eleny]

1. Way

[Roland99]

2. Plus he was married and had kids

[walldude]

3. Makes you wonder why the church is so pissed....

I agree with your Last Temptation assessment. I couldn't believe I had to go through a picket line to see it. It portrayed Jesus as a real fallible human being, a child of god.

[Vidar]

7. I'll join in on both counts.

[saltpoint]

4. The Jesus of THE DA VINCI CODE is a likeable chap and more familiar

to progressives on the issues. You half expect him and Mary to load the younguns in the SUV and head off to soccer practice. There's a polished, established sense of him as good husband material, since one of the claims of the novel is his marriage to Mary Magdalen.

But the Jesus of various Catholic traditions holds greater power as a figure, and especially as a literary figure. He is tormented by what is right and true and realizes that the odds of it triumphing in the Roman Empire aren't all that good. There is a tragic aspect to his ministry that's lacking in Dan Brown's book. This Jesus still holds complex secrets and mysteries.

Totally agree with you -- the film depiction of Jesus in LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST was terrific.

I'll go see the film but I like the tragic figure of the Catholic mystic traditions better than the Soccer Dad Jesus of Brown's book.

[Goblinmonger]

19. Da Vinci Jesus would NOT drive an SUV

That being said, I like the LTOC the best. Have you read the book? Better than the movie.

[saltpoint]

22. Yep. I did read it. I thought it was ok, but not better than that.

For that topic I like the nonfiction writers on Jesus better. A.N. Wilson's JESUS: A LIFE is pretty fine stuff.

I'm not suggested a literal SUV, only making a distinction between the temperament of Brown's more polished, "modern" Jesus and the suffering Christ archetype of Catholic tradition.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

5. Me too. I think I'm going to worship this new Jesus.

Where do I start sending my donations?

[pretzel4gore]

6. Jesus was nothing like that...

he would have hated being wounded. he disliked starving and being thirsty, cold or so on....it's too bad that such a wonderful person as Jesus can be so identified with the jackbooted thuggees from hell such as falwell or foxnewscnn etc that people turn away from knowledge that, despite everything, is really the only thing between humanity and death. What is so wrong with Jesus's basic message, that "love' is the essense of being? why does anyone allow the vile old selfish bullyboys who USED christ's name, to dictate your eyes NOT seeing or ears NOT hearing? If Gandhi and Blais Pascal and Tolstoy or William Blake and even George Orwell/Karl Marx /Martin Luther King and too many others at least considered Jesus not as a political force but as simple idea that, no matter how much goes on, good will win out over the evil, is that a bad thing?
to be honest, i seems that evil wins against good.....imo

[KyuzoGator]

8. kick nt

[TallahasseeGrannie]

9. I'm okay with his being married and all

but I personally like the rising from the dead concept. But that's just me.

[Inland]

10. You mean, like "Buddy Christ"?

I put the thing down after three pages, so, who knows.

[Zebedeo]

11. It's you n/t

*

[godhatesrepublicans]

12. No, that's closer to what I preach myself than the Catholic Jesus.

Sam Kinison was one of my two role models as a preacher, and he said it better than anyone. Sam once did a bit where Jesus was on the Cross and there were a bunch of Christians standing around wondering what to do. "It's a shame that he has to die," they would say, with Jesus replying, "Well, maybe I wouldn't have to, if somebody would get a ladder and a pair of pliers!"

He also cited the Resurrection as evidence that Jesus was never married, because no wife would ever believe that her husband was gone for three days because he was dead, and then magically came back to life.


(My other influence is Bill Hicks, and his best Jesus joke was this IMHO. "A lot of Christians wear crosses around their necks. Do you think when Jesus comes back, he's really going to want to see a fucking cross? Ow! Maybe that's why he hasn't shown up yet...it's like going up to Jackie Onassis wearing a sniper rifle pendant... Just thinking of John, Jackie. We love him. Trying to keep that memory alive, baby. I did that routine in Fyffe, Alabama, and after the show these three rednecks came up to me. 'Hey, buddy! C'mere! Hey Mr. Comedian! C'mere! Hey buddy, we're Christians and we don't like what you said!' I said 'Well, then forgive me.' Later, as I was hanging from the tree..." (Relentless)

[Goblinmonger]

20. Which comedian was it

that did the bit about the sign of the cross and if Jesus had died after slipping in the bathtub, would all Catholics be doing this *waving arms as if he is falling backwards*?

[Proud_Democratt]

13. Paul was the one to twist Jesus' teachings into "Dark Age"

paranoia. The book of Titus talks of wife submissiveness, slavery, and dismissing Jewish traditions as "myths".
Paul, Peter(the 1st Pope), Timothy, Mark and Luke(the copycat Gospel writers) were the ones that twisted the whole outlook of Jesus' teachings into tyrant trash.

[godhatesrepublicans]

14. An excellent point!

There's a web site I found that has a lot of info on that very thesis, for any who are interested. I've thought of writing on the topic myself, but I'm too busy to duplicate work others have done. (Ever forward, never look back! :-) )

http://www.comparative-religion.com/articles/pauline_conspiracy/

[ozone_man]

15. It's the way Christianity should have been.

A tolerant religion with a mortal Jesus and a benevolent god. Instead we are left with a wrathful god, the ridiculous concept of the Trinity, and the idiotic morality of the misogynist Paul.

[Minnesota Libra]

16. I personally hate the neocon version of Jesus, I mean what "Savior".....

....would create male and female and then turn around and continuously demean one gender for centuries?? That's just plain stupid.

[SPKrazy]

18. I'm Pretty Sure That The Original Neocons

who were followers of Leo Strauss

were mostly Jewish

they have been joined by Christian fundamentalists in their loyalty to Israel for different reasons.

(Please don't delete this, I'm not being anti-semitic, this is something I remember reading in Newsweek several years ago, the strange marriage between Jewish conservatives and Christian conservatives, being the protection of the state of Israel)

I think that the Right Wing Jesus would be more appropriate than the Neocon version, since neocons are a diverse group (includes atheists as well)whereas the RW Christians are pretty much in lockstep about a lot of things (except whether you speak in tongues, are Baptized with dunking vs. sprinkling, etc)

[Goblinmonger]

21. Not if you're a guy.

I mean, clearly, my penis makes me superior. God created Adam in his image so clearly god has a penis. Women don't have a penis so they are inferior. Come on, get with the picture.

[SPKrazy]

17. I Don't Think Jesus Wants to Remind You How Much Flesh Was Ripped Off

his ribs

I think that some Christian theologians along the way have picked that up as a way to guilt people


to me it is a story of love, that God was tortured and abused by man, and yet instead of wiping out mankind, he let the sacrifice be absolution for sins.

It's about how much God loves humankind.

Not about his flesh and ribs except in that context.

But Jesus didn't preach about that.

I think the DeVinci Code's Jesus is not far fetched.

It would be highly unusual for a man to not have been married and have kids in that society.

If he didn't then he was truly unusual, for someone who was trying to live the human experience.

[gorbal]

23. That book made me a little more interested in Christianity

Oh to be sure, it was just a REAL fun read. But it inspired me to do some research into gnostic text and ancient christianity and THAT really renewed my interest. I might even go to church one of these days...when I can get the weekend off:(

[muriel_volestrangler]

24. From this week's Private Eye in the UK

Sign at a farm opposite Rosslyn Chapel:



http://www.private-eye.co.uk/

[slide to the left]

25. I must just be strange

BC I kinda always believed that he could have been married.