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NEXT STORY

Belief is stronger than knowledge

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My approach to Christianity
Jean-Claude Carrière Film-maker
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Therefore Christianity without religion, for now, does not exist. A lot of people have tried to get rid of that theological clutter, because the idea that God had one Son, born of a virgin and so on, that is difficult to accept for someone reasonable, I don't even say for someone rational, but reasonable as in possessing common sense. The only possible way for Christianity to rid itself of the theology would be getting rid of the Pope, the cardinals, all that ecclesiastical hierarchy that clutters everything up. When you see today the current Pope, trying to canonise Pius XII, the Pope who stayed silent about the Shoah, it is somewhat surprising that there is still something such as the Sacred College, which is still lagging behind in history. So there is some tidying to be done, as we don't see how Christ's words, which are quite acceptable by you, me and everyone, and who never said he was God. If you believe every word in the Gospel, you know it is not Christ who wrote them, not even the Evangelists, as we know they are written according to St Matthew, St Mark, but even if you take the words, there are many things there that ought to be acceptable and which constitute very valuable rules for living for everyone. But how can you get rid of redemption, original sin, Christ the Saviour and so on, of a Christ-God, dying on a cross... That seems to me to be very difficult. But then, maybe one day... many heretics have tried, but have all failed as they were each sent to the stake.

Alors le christianisme sans religion, pour l’instant n’existe pas. Un certain nombre ont essayé de le débarrasser de cette très encombrante théologie parce que l’idée que Dieu a eu un fils unique qui est né d’une vierge, etc tout cela c’est quand même très difficile à avaler pour un esprit raisonnable, je ne dis même pas rationnel, raisonnable, un esprit de bon sens d’aujourd’hui. La seule possibilité pour le christianisme de se débarrasser de la théologie serait d’abord: se débarrasser du pape, des cardinaux, de toute une hiérarchie ecclésiastique qui est très, très encombrante. Quand on voit que aujourd’hui encore le pape actuel songe à canoniser  Pie XII, ce pape qui a gardé le silence sur la Shoah c’est quand même… quand même  très étonnant qu’il y ait encore de corps institué comme le Sacré Collège,  qui soit encore à ce point en retard dans l’histoire. Donc il y aurait un tel ménage à faire qu’on ne voit pas comment la parole du Christ, qui est tout à fait acceptable par vous, par moi, et par d’autres, qui n’a jamais dit qu’il était dieu, même… Si on se prend à la lettre des évangiles dont on sait très bien que ce n’est pas le Christ qui les a écrits, pas même les évangélistes puisque c’est d’après St Mathieu et St Marc mais même si on prend cette parole il y a beaucoup choses dedans qui pourraient être acceptées telles quelles et qui constitueraient des règles de vie très valables pour les uns et pour les autres. Mais comment se débarrasser de la rédemption, du pécher originel, du Christ sauveur, etc… du Christ Dieu, un Dieu mourant sur la croix etc. Cela me paraît très, très  difficile. Mais bon, peut-être qu’un jour… Beaucoup d’hérétiques ont essayé mais aucun n’y est parvenu car ils se sont tous fait jeter dans les bûchers.

French screenwriter Jean-Claude Carrière (1931-2021) began his association with films aged 24 when he was selected by Jacques Tati to write for him. This early experience led to further contact with other film-makers, including Luis Buñuel with whom Carrière collaborated for many years. He wrote screenplays for films including Belle de Jour, The Discreet Charms of the Bourgeoisie, Tin Drum and Danton.

Listeners: Andrzej Wolski

Film director and documentary maker, Andrzej Wolski has made around 40 films since 1982 for French television, the BBC, TVP and other TV networks. He specializes in portraits and in historical films. Films that he has directed or written the screenplay for include Kultura, which he co-directed with Agnieszka Holland, and KOR which presents the history of the Worker’s Defence Committee as told by its members. Andrzej Wolski has received many awards for his work, including the UNESCO Grand Prix at the Festival du Film d’Art.

Tags: Christianity, Jesus Christ, God, Pius XII

Duration: 1 minute, 57 seconds

Date story recorded: January 2010

Date story went live: 27 July 2010