"The conjunction of the Jesus novels by Rice and Wangerin isn’t surprising — writers have continually produced fiction about Jesus. Among them: Sholem Asch, Anthony Burgess, Robert Graves, Nikos Kazantzakis, D. H. Lawrence, Norman Mailer, Jose Saramago and Gore Vidal. It’s a difficult challenge. None of these novels are masterpieces, and often they just seem absurd... You don’t know whether to laugh or to cry, both with the pious variety and the debunkers.” John Wilson, editor of the evangelical journal Books & Culture
Author: The difficulty is producing with the full art and skills of a great writer, psychologist and spiritual mystic, a portrait of Jesus that comes anywhere close to the image of Jesus, the Christ, in the gospels. How can you produce a more magical and alive picture of the figure of the man than the one already created by the gospels, and reinforced by millions of people's belief systems? You probably cannot.
Wangerin is mentioned above as just having put out a book called, Jesus, The Novel. Having read his Paul, I pronounce it an utter failure as literary fiction, and as portraying the character of what Paul must have been like, and the complexities of his mind. Wangerin does not have half the mind to try and equal the mind of either Paul or Jesus. What we realize again is how good Paul was at adding religious thought and fervor to the Christian message which is in some ways different from but equal to the message and teachings of Jesus. In fact, what a number of scholars realize is that Paul is more the founder of Christianity than Peter or Jesus.
John Wilson, quoted above, is right. None of the writers mentioned has come up with either a really good read, or an image of Jesus written about in such a powerful way as the four, or five, gospels write about Jesus together. What I know of Wangerin is that he is trained as a Lutheran pastor and teaches at a university, hardly a qualification to write a great novel, or understand the psychological complexities of one of the greatest historical figures ever born on earth. His novel, Paul, is simply of poor literary quality. He must win awards because of religion and not because of his skill at writing which has shown more problems in the children's story area.
The issue still is, how can a modern writer hope to present a fully dynamic new picture of the historical Jesus? You better be at least as good as Jesus, all the gospel writers, and the Church to come up with a significant novel on Jesus. Such a statement virtually defeats Wangerin, Anne Rice and myself as the author of The Jesus Novel, as it certainly defeated the other writers mentioned above.
I have the backing of hundreds of historical Jesus scholars who sometimes differ among themselves but have contributed terrific new ideas on the real Jesus which I have read and am taking advantage of.
I have no need and no desire to stay within the parameters of the gospel outlines because this is Christian gospel and dogma. I do not try to preserve the Christian archetype. The Jesus I portray is not the Jesus Christ of the Christian Church but Jesus of Galilee, a great religious, wisdom teacher.
I have standing and development in my own right as a mystic and spiritual thinker, having taught the texts to students and having practiced from them myself.
I am committed to inspiration that comes from a source other than my personal ego in this project. Most of what comes is occurring because of a flow of insights, values and ideas not created by my personal ego. If through me some other "presence" is speaking, who am I to deny it? My job is to write it out and refine it. I ultimately must not lay the dominant claim to writing the Jesus novel. I write as if I am there living in direct experience happening now.
"Regarding Anne Rice and her upcoming book Christ the Lord, I was amazed that so many who had read so little of my work cared so much to say so much about it. For what it's worth, I appreciate your taking the time to focus on it, and be assured that the book is a deeply considered and deeply committed attempt to bring to life the Christ of the gospels for my regular readers and perhaps for many who've never thought about Christ before in any significant way. I'll do just about anything to get the word out. For me Christ is the ultimate supernatural hero, and the ultimate outsider, and the single most influential figure in western history. I could say more about that but since the book concerns one year in his life as a child, it's enough to finish here with the hope that some of you do give the work a chance. Obviously this book isn't up against indifference. It's up against cynicism and misinformation. And it's up against a certain hostility that surfaces in people of late when anyone takes on the subject of Christ for any reason. I guess I'm ready for all that. Thanks again for your time.You have my love,Anne Rice."
Author: The above quote from Anne Rice was written to a public web forum hosted by Chuck Palahniuk. The book, titled Christ the Lord has to be about the archetype of Jesus Christ, which C.G. Jung termed the Christ archetype, that of God, the core Self, within the human psyche.
Christ the Lord cannot be about Jesus as a real man. That is for sure, because Anne Rice has not separated out the archetype from the human. Norman Mailer was unable to separate out the difference between person and archetype in his The Gospel According To The Son, where Mailer speaks in first person as Jesus commenting on his life and the gospels written about him after his resurrection. Mailer's Jesus is able to rise from the dead and be so human that he can read the gospels written about him and then go on to write his own gospel through Mailer's word processor.
An amazing feat, if you ask me. How far do we have to go to find Jesus fully human?
Anne Rice states she wants to "bring to life the Christ of the gospels."
Some respond, Is not the Christ already alive in the gospels?
How can Rice think she can do any better than the original five gospels, including now the gospel of Thomas, recognized by scholars as an original and authentic gospel at least as early as the synoptic gospels, and certainly earlier than the gospel of John? What could Anne Rice possibly add? What could any of us add? What will the author of THE JESUS NOVEL possibly add? THE JESUS NOVEL will not add to the gospels or to the traditional view of Jesus as the archetype, Jesus Christ.
It is good that Anne Rice, Norman Mailer, Robert Graves and other proven fiction writers show a strong interest in the subject of Jesus and try their hand at it. I have written Anne Rice that my view is that she can write a good novel in itself that will create a world of the imagination where readers can enter and experience the presence of Jesus for themselves in some form. I think she has an excellent chance of doing better than Mailer, and certainly far better than Wangerin, who needs to go to both psychology and writing school somewhere.
This author emphasizes that, no matter how good a writer with a following you are, you cannot get to the authentic Jesus without yourself practicing and living the teachings of the historical Jesus.
And to do so, you must separate out in your own heart and mind the Mystical Jesus of Jesus Christ, the archetype, from the historical Jesus as religious genius and wisdom teacher. The historical Jesus teaches that our life purpose should be to manifest in our lives that of God and divinity that resides from within, thus changing our lives for the better. Hopefully readers will experience how this is done in The Jesus Novel as is now coming through me.
An ultimately, it is only my version of a fictional world created out of me. I don't speak for any sect or religion of Christianity. Nor do I speak against Christianity and its varied views of the image and teachings of Jesus. I write only for readers who want something more and different to read and experience of the historical Jesus. I am much more in the scholars' tradition outside the Church. You will find me there if you look and do not try and place me within the Christian tradition.
