Editing The Last Temptation of Christ (novel)

{{short description|1955 historical novel by Nikos Kazantzakis}}
{{about|the 1955 novel|the 1988 film|The Last Temptation of Christ (film)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox book |<!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Novels or Wikipedia:WikiProject_Books --> 
 | name         = The Last Temptation of Christ
 | title_orig   = O Teleutaios Peirasmos
 | translator   = Peter A. Bien (US)
 | image        = The Last Temptation of Christ first Greek edition 1955.png
 | alt          = 
 | caption= First Greek edition (1955)
 | author       = [[Nikos Kazantzakis]] 
 | cover_artist = 
 | country      = Greece
 | language     = Greek
 | series       = 
 | genre        = [[Historical fiction]]
 | publisher    = [[Simon & Schuster]] (USA) & [[Bruno Cassirer]] (UK)
 | release_date = 1955
 | media_type   = Print ([[Hardcover|Hardback]] & [[paperback]])
 | pages        = 506 (first edition, hardback)
 | isbn =  0-684-85256-X
 | oclc= 38925790
 | preceded_by  = 
 | followed_by  = 
}}

'''''The Last Temptation of Christ''''' or '''''The Last Temptation''''' ([[Greek language|Greek]]: {{lang|el|Ο Τελευταίος Πειρασμός|italic=yes}}, ''O Teleftéos Pirasmós'') is a [[historical novel]] written by [[Nikos Kazantzakis]], first published in its original Greek in 1955 before being translated into English in 1960. The novel depicts the life of [[Jesus]] and his struggles with various forms of [[Temptation of Christ|temptation]], including fear, doubt, depression, reluctance, and lust.

Upon its publication, the book was condemned by the [[Catholic Church]] and the [[Greek Orthodox Church]]; it has since been [[Book censorship|challenged]] by numerous Christian groups and conservative organizations. The 1988 [[The Last Temptation of Christ (film)|film adaptation]] directed by [[Martin Scorsese]] was similarly controversial.

==Plot==
The novel opens with Jesus in the desert, wrestling with his divine calling and the knowledge of his imminent death. Throughout the book, Jesus grapples with his human desires and the temptation to lead a normal life, away from the suffering and sacrifice that he knows awaits him. Despite his reservations, Jesus decides to follow through with his mission, ultimately leading to his arrest, trial, and crucifixion.

However, the climax of the novel takes a different turn as Jesus is shown dying on the cross, only to awaken in a vision of a world where he did not die and instead lived a long, normal life with Mary Magdalene as his wife after choosing to abandon his calling. In this world, Jesus experiences love, pain, and suffering just as any other human being would.

As he lives out his life in this alternate world, Jesus begins to question whether or not his divine mission was worth all of the suffering that he went through. Eventually, he realizes that though he would have been content with living as a normal man, his death is rendered meaningless, and his teachings forgotten. Accepting that his destiny is to sacrifice himself for the sake of humanity, Jesus willingly returns to his fate as the son of God.

The novel concludes with Jesus ascending to heaven, leaving behind a legacy of love, sacrifice, and redemption.

==Themes==
Kazantzakis argues in the novel's preface that by facing and conquering all of man's weaknesses, Jesus struggled to do God's will without ever giving in to the temptations of the flesh. The novel advances the argument that, had Jesus succumbed to any such temptation, especially the opportunity to save himself from the cross, his life would have held no more significance than that of any other philosopher.

The critic [[I. A. Richards]] has stated that Kazantzakis' novel tries to reclaim the values of early Christianity, such as love, brotherhood, humility, and self-renunciation.<ref>Lewis A. Richards, "Christianity in the Novels of Kazantzakis," ''Western Humanities Review'' 21, p. 52</ref> According to the book's English translator, Peter A. Bien, the psychology in ''The Last Temptation'' is based on the idea that every person, Jesus included, is evil by nature as well as good, violent and hateful as well as loving. A psychologically sound individual does not ignore or bury the evil within him. Instead, he channels it into the service of good.<ref>Peter Bien, "Tempted by Happiness: Kazantzakis' Post-Christian Christ", Pendle Hill Publications, Wallingford, PA p. 12</ref>

[[Martin Scorsese]], director of the [[The Last Temptation of Christ (film)|1988 film adaptation]], formulated that Kazantzakis didn't doubt the divine nature of Jesus, noting, "The beauty of Kazantzakis' concept is that Jesus has to put up with everything we go through, all the doubts and fears and anger. He made me feel like he's sinning—but he's not sinning, he’s just human. As well as divine. And he has to deal with all this double, triple guilt on the cross."<ref>{{cite web |first=Harlan |last=Jacobson |date=September–October 1988 |title=Interview: Martin Scorsese |url=https://www.filmcomment.com/article/interview-martin-scorsese-the-last-temptation-of-christ/ |website=Filmcomment.com |access-date=23 August 2023}}</ref>

==Controversy==
In February 1955, the Holy Synod of the [[Greek Orthodox Church]] in [[Athens]] attempted to have all of Kazantzakis' books banned in Greece, arguing that ''The Last Temptation of Christ'' "contains evil slanders against the Godlike person of Jesus Christ. … derived from the inspiration of the theories of Freud and historical materialism, [this book] perverts and hurts the Gospel discernment and the God-man figure of our Lord Jesus Christ in a way coarse, vulgar, and blasphemous."<ref name="bien">Middleton, Darren J. N., and Peter Bien, eds. ''God's Struggler: Religion in the Writings of Nikos Kazantzakis''. Macon: Mercer University Press, 1996. 26-27.</ref> A campaign was also started in the Greek Orthodox Church to excommunicate Kazantzakis, which ultimately failed, but he was denied normal funeral rites upon his death.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Schwartz |first=Amy E. |date=July 30, 1988 |title=Taking Matters of Faith Seriously |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1988/07/31/taking-matters-of-faith-seriously/a941075a-fdb2-47d2-8488-56c7b825ebdf/ |work=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref>

In 1963, a Roman Catholic priest in [[Ashland, Wisconsin]], forbade one of his parishioners from returning a library copy of ''The Last Temptation of Christ'', arguing "that it would be a mortal sin to make it available to others."<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1963/04/13/archives/library-bars-novel-assailed-by-priest.html "Library Bars Novel Assailed By Priest,"] ''The New York Times'' 13 April 1963.</ref> In 1964, a conservative group called the Citizens Group for Clean Books demanded that the novel be removed from public libraries in [[Arcadia, California]], on the basis that it was "blasphemous, obscene and defamatory"; as a result, the book was made "available on a limited basis to persons over the age of 18."<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1964/11/22/archives/rightists-attack-coast-libraries-leftist-books-assailedfront-groups.html?searchResultPosition=4 "Rightists Attack Coast Libraries,"] ''The New York Times'' 22 November 1964.</ref>

The book was banned in [[Singapore]] in 1988.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19881127-1.2.7.8 | title=NewspaperSG – Terms and Conditions }}</ref>

==Adaptations==
===Film version===
{{Main|The Last Temptation of Christ (film)}}
The director [[Sidney Lumet]] acquired the film rights to Kazantzakis' novel, describing it as the story "of how a man pushes himself to extremes he never knew he was capable of," with Judas emerging "as a strong man, a sort of hero". Lumet commissioned a screenplay written by [[Lazarre Seymour Simckes]] and announced his plans to shoot the film in the fall of 1971, though the project did not come to fruition.<ref>Weiler, A. H. [https://www.nytimes.com/1971/02/21/archives/judas-as-hero-will-judas-be-the-hero.html?searchResultPosition=5 "Movies,"] ''The New York Times'' 21 February 1971.</ref> After many delays, [[The Last Temptation of Christ (film)|a film version]] directed by [[Martin Scorsese]] was released in 1988, starring [[Willem Dafoe]] as Jesus, [[Barbara Hershey]] as Mary Magdalene, and [[Harvey Keitel]] as [[Judas Iscariot]].

=== Play version ===
A drama based on ''The Last Temptation of Christ'', named ''Christuvinte Aaram Thirumurivu'' ('The Sixth Holy Wound of Christ'), written by P. M. Antony and depicting Jesus as a mere good-hearted man instead of the Son of God, was staged in India's state of Kerala.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Kumar|first=Girja|title=The Book on Trial: Fundamentalism and Censorship in India|publisher=Har-Anand Publications|year=1997|isbn=9788124105252|location=New Delhi, India|pages=31}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Jacob|first=Jeemon |date=16 August 2021|title=Why Kerala's Catholics are losing sleep over a Malayalam movie|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india-today-insight/story/why-kerala-s-catholics-are-losing-sleep-over-a-malayalam-movie-1841101-2021-08-15|access-date=2022-02-12|website=India Today}}</ref> On 10 August 1986, the play debuted in [[Alappuzha]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=23 December 2011|title=Playwright P M Antony passes away|url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/2011/dec/23/playwright-p-m-antony-passes-away-323141.html|access-date=2022-02-12|website=The New Indian Express}}</ref> It was performed about 42 times, but the Church had taken offence, and at every performance, demonstrations including premeditated violence against the play and the playwright were instigated.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web|date=28 March 2013|title=Left in a corner|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/economy/story/19870430-left-in-a-corner-769650-2013-03-28|access-date=2022-02-12|website=India Today}}</ref> The police even confiscated the script; the state went on to ban the play, and courts did not overturn the ban. Antony went on to publish the play in print in the Malayalam language; eventually he was arrested and punished on unrelated charges.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=Playwright of banned Biblical drama passes away|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/?from=mdr|access-date=2022-02-12|website=The Economic Times}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
The American singer-songwriter [[Judee Sill]] referred to Kazantzakis as her favorite writer; her 1971 song "[[Jesus Was a Cross Maker]]" was inspired by the depiction of Jesus in ''The Last Temptation of Christ''.<ref name="rolling">Lewis, Grover. [https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/judee-sill-soldier-of-the-heart-233809/ “Judee Sill: Soldier of the Heart,”] ''Rolling Stone'' 13 April 1972.</ref>

In a 1988 private concert filmed at a Holiday Inn in Houston, American country singer-songwriter [[Townes Van Zandt]] cited ''The Last Temptation of Christ'' as the inspiration behind his 1970 song "Nothin"; Van Zandt claimed to have written the lyrics the same night he finished reading the book, acknowledging "the big controversy goin' on" surrounding Kazantzakis' work at the time.<ref>{{Citation |title=Townes van Zandt – 08 Nothin' (Private Concert) | date=12 March 2009 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xXvZ3f7Z1A |access-date=2023-06-21}}</ref>

''[[The Simpsons]]'' titled a season 9 episode "[[The Last Temptation of Krust]]" as a play on the book title.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0701247/ | title="The Simpsons" the Last Temptation of Krusty (TV Episode 1998) | publisher=[[IMDb]] }}</ref>

''[[The Flash (2014 TV series)|The Flash]]'' Season 6 Episodes 7 and 8 find Barry Allen tempted to give in to the villain, Ramsey Rosso, with the promise that Barry won't die from the coming "Crisis" that would destroy Earth. Barry faces a series of temptations and scenarios similar to the book "The Last Temptation of Christ".{{Citation needed|date=March 2025}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Nikos Kazantzakis}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Last Temptation of Christ, The}}
[[Category:1960 novels]]
[[Category:Greek literature]]
[[Category:Greek novels]]
[[Category:Historical novels]]
[[Category:Modern Greek literature]]
[[Category:Novelistic portrayals of Jesus]]
[[Category:Greek novels adapted into films]]
[[Category:Novels by Nikos Kazantzakis]]
[[Category:Simon & Schuster books]]
[[Category:Christianity-related mass media and entertainment controversies]]
[[Category:Obscenity controversies in literature]]