Lives of Jesus

In the Holy Land, the monks of St. Catherine's keep a stark reminder of mortality on hand: the skulls of their predecessors are stored in the compound's charnel house. Credit the power of a single concept (resurrection) embodied in history's most famous individual (Jesus Christ) for the monks' easygoing equanimity in the face of death; they too will rise again. In The Hidden Jesus, one of three episodes in the BBC-produced Lives of Jesus (the others are Jesus the Jew and Jesus the Rebel--all of the titles more suggestive of wild revelations than is actually the case), scholars (including Elaine Pagels, uncredited), pilgrims and monks talk about Jesus's strong individualistic streak, a trait played down by organized Christianity throughout the ages. Drawing on quotes from scripture as well as from the library of Gnostic writings uncovered at Nag Hammadi, the program looks at the possible Greek influences (such as the "live for today" teachings of Diogenes) on Jesus's thought, his anti-orthodox views on a wide range of subjects, and his ascetic leanings as later adopted by the original desert father, St. Antony (whose monastery is the oldest Christian monastery in the world). Intriguing in bits, but not the most coherently arranged overview (some detours seem to be taken because the visuals are good, not because they shed any additional light on Christ's life), this is a strong optional purchase for larger religious collections. Aud: H, C, P. (R. Pitman)