Scorsese s god
resembles director
Gary Longsine’s editorial column
(Daily Nebraskan, Nov. 11) main
tains that “‘The Last Temptation of
Christ' is the most sympathetic treat
ment of Jesus of Nazareth ever
r Imed.” I agree.
Webster’s Dictionary defines
sympathy as “having common feel
ings.’Herein lies the problem. Direc
tor Martin Scorsese has made a film
which shows Christ with the feelings
Scorsese would expect him to have,
and in effect remakes God into
Scorsese’s image.
The original author of the book the
movie is based on was a Greek, and
was excommunicated from the Greek
Orthodox Church for his efforts. For
that author, the book was a very cul
tural Greek interpretation of Christ.
Classical Greek culture was filled
with the ancient gods of mythology.
The problem with the Greek gods is
that they were loo human. They were
merely glorified humans with all the
human infallibilities And as a result,
they were impotent to save humanity
from the frailties with which die gods
themselves were beset. “The Last
Temptation of Christ" is merely an
other attempt to define Christ in clas
sical terms. In this sense the movie is
a “sympathetic” treatment of Jesus,
because he is given all of our feelings,
feelings without basis in either the
gospels or cxtra-Biblica! documents.
Thus, modern man has no problem
with a mixed-up martyr, as long as he
dies on the cross w ith the victory of
resurrection only a dim, unrealized
future hope. This same theme can be
seen in contemporary cinema. “Out
of Africa” is an example. When I left
the theater several years ago after
watching that movie, I wondered how
Meryl Streep’s pity parly would merit
rave reviews. Then I realized that the
I
reviews revealed the classical bias of
the reviewers, who were enamored of
the “tragic hero” in the ancient Greek
tradition..
The tragic hero of Greek thought
was interwoven with a philosophical/
religious system. The Greeks be
lieved that fate controlled their lives,
and that there was no hope for salva
tion. All dial was left for the tragic
hero was to stand firm against fate,
which would ultimately batter and
overcome the hero. Scorsese has fash
ioned Christ in a tragic hero mold
without historical basis.
There is a potential danger for all
ol us to make a God who is just like us.
But that is the essence of idolatry. In
Alaska they make totem poles with
the images of animals. These animals
symbolize the character trails the
people themselves value. So ulti
mately, the people are merely using
the animals as a means of worship
ping themselves and their values.
Scorsese has done the same thing. He
has made a god who would act just
like him. This god admits the devil
lives inside him, admits he has a
confused self-image, and plays the
tragic hero w hile being able U> enjoy
his sin through fantasy. Such a god is
loo human to help with the human
condition. Only the Chri.Ni of the Vir
gin birth, the sinless life, the empty
tomb, and now “ascended into heaven
and seated at the right hand of the
Father” is able to offer salvation both
in this life and in the next.
Dave Forman
third-year law student
B.A. in Theology
Hoch’s remarks
upset DN reader
I am writing in response to Nancy
Hoch’s remarks in the Daily Nebras
kan (Nov. 14). Believe me, my fealh
--
ers were more than a little ruffled.
Thank you, Nancy. I’m so relieved
to hear that “our football program has
earned this kind of wonderful facil
ity.” No w, don’t get me wrong—I am
fully in favor of the West Stadium
Completion Project, but I do have to
say I’m a little sick and tired of hear
ing how deserving the football pro
gram is. And if that wasn’t enough,
Hoch went on to say that “We should
mirror that for our honors students.”
Well excuse me for being down
right mad. We non-honors students
work damn hard at and for this univer
sity, too, and its about time we get a
little credit. I am tired of working hard
to gel good grades, only to see some
thing like this.
I would appreciate it if Hoch
would acknowledge the fact that there
arc others of us at this university who
work hard and spend a lot of money to
make it what it is.
Milissa D. Johnson
sophomore
English
A complete i
set of
instructions
for the
firsttime
smoker.
I Don’t. I
-
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