When I walk through the WGN-TV newsroom, I pass a pile of cleverly titled books we consider for author interviews, and one book recently caught my eye: “The Autobiography of Jesus Christ.”
Autobiography? Wouldn’t we have heard something about that? The book’s title includes the line “as told to Neil Elliott.” Turns out Elliot used to perform as Jesus in a one-man show in small Chicago-area theaters, so I e-mailed him.
When did you become interested in Jesus?
I took my first course in Jesus at North Park Seminary in 1960.
How has portraying Jesus affected your life?
Not at all. It feels perfectly natural to me and requires no strain whatever. I identify with Jesus. He fits like an old shoe.
What’s your religious affiliation?
Don’t have any.
If you have a compulsion for Jesus, why didn’t you convert to Christianity?
Christianity worships Jesus as the only son of the Lord God, the messiah and God incarnate. We are all sons and daughters of the Lord God.
So you’d say you’re Jewish, as part of your identity, but you’re fascinated with Jesus?
I pursue Jesus out of a compulsion that I have no explanation for. Some people have asked if I am “channeling” Jesus. Jesus’ message was a Jewish message. It was a message of compassion, hope, philanthropy. The four Gospels should be required reading in every yeshiva, and no rabbi should graduate without it. Jesus is history.
What are your thoughts about the controversy regarding “The Passion of the Christ”?
I think that the Jewish authorities have made too much of it, thus assuring it of a huge audience. I also think that Mel Gibson is a very nice, well-meaning man who has produced an excellent work of art that is quite inaccurate.
Example?
The Sanhedrin had been determinedly [much quieter] about the affair, [than portrayed in the movie.] They arrested Jesus late at night specifically to avoid the mob and then brought him to Pilate early in the morning to avoid the crowds, and because Pilate liked to do business in the morning and then siesta in the hot part of the day.
If God has a master plan, is our free will just an illusion?
In a large degree, that’s true. Remember what Isaac Bashevis Singer said when asked if he believed in free will? “Of course I believe in free will–I have no choice!”
