The Man from Earth Page #8

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A brave attempt to teach

buddhism in the west.

It's no wonder he failed.

We're not ready for it.

You're talking

as if you believed him.

Well, it is possible, isn't it?

I mean, anything is possible.

Look, we have two simple choices.

We can get all bent out of shape

Intellectualizing or

bench-pressing logic,

Or we can simply relax and enjoy it.

I can listen critically,

But I don't have to make

up my mind about anything.

But you think you do?

Well, unfortunately, there's

no authorities on prehistory,

So we couldn't stop him there.

There are experts on the bible.

Dream on.

Yeah, thus the lost years of Jesus.

He didn't exist until John put on a hat.

I don't believe in angels and the

nativity and the star in the east,

But there are stories about

the childhood of Jesus.

History hates a vacuum.

Improvisation, some of it very sincere,

Fills the gaps.

It would have been easy

To falsify a

past back then--

A few words, credulity--

Time would do the rest.

Now you're talking as

if you believed him.

Well, look at the

popular myths surrounding

The Kennedy assassination

in a few short years--

You had, uh,

conspiracy, Mafia, CIA--

That's a mystique that'll never go away.

It's always been a small step

from a fallen leader to a god.

I don't think anybody

will deify kennedy.

We're more sophisticated than that.

We are?

We are.

Well, you're finally fulfilling

One prophecy about the millennium, John.

What's that?

Here you are again.

You like the fire, John.

Everywhere I've lived,

I've had a fireplace.

Childhood fixation, I guess.

Helps me to feel secure.

There are predators out there.

One thing I didn't pack...

I thought I might need it.

( Plays beethoven's 7th symphony )

Wouldn't sacre du printemps

be more appropriate?

What?

You've got...

four men of science

completely baffled, my friend.

We--We don't know

what to make of you.

Did you know voltaire

was the first to suggest

That the universe was created

by a gigantic explosion?

I think paul would agree.

And then goethe was the first to suggest

That spiral nebulae were

swirling masses of stars.

We now call them galaxies.

It's kind of funny how

often new concepts of science

Find their first tentative

forms of expression in the arts.

So did beethoven do physics on the side?

He spent most of his

time lying on the floor

In front of his legless piano

Surrounded by orange

peels and apple cores.

Now we're on the floor

listening to beethoven.

Full circle.

Did you have, um...

any religious beliefs,

Or did you give it much thought?

You can't get there with thought.

You have faith?

In a lot of things.

Do you have faith in

the future of the race?

I've seen species come and go.

Depends on their balance

with the environment.

We've made a mess of it.

There's still time,

If we use it well.

Christianity has been a worldwide belief

For 2,000 years.

How long did the egyptians worship isis

Or the sumerians ishtar?

In india, sacred cows wandered freely

As reincarnated souls.

In a thousand years,

they'll be barbecued

And their souls will be in squirrels.

You weren't Jesus!

Oh, Edith.

( Clears throat ) if

it rains... it won't.

How do you know that?

I don't smell it.

Were you...

I guess... a medicine man?

I was a shaman a few times.

I revealed some truths

to eat a little better.

You think that's all

religion is about...

selling hope and survival?

The old testament sells fear and guilt.

The new testament is

a good code of ethics,

Put into my mouth by

poets and philosophers

That are much smarter than I am.

The message is never practiced.

Fairy tales build churches.

What about the name "Jesus"?

Did you pull that out of a hat?

I called myself John.

I almost always do.

As tales of the resurrection spread,

The name was confused

with the hebrew "yochanan,"

Meaning "god is gracious."

My stay on earth was seen

As divine proof of immortality.

That led to "god is salvation"

Or hebrew "yahshua,"

Which in translation

became my proper name,

Changing to late greek, "iesous,"

Then to late latin, "iesus,"

And finally medieval latin, "Jesus,"

And it was a wonder

to watch it all happen.

Then you didn't claim

to be the son of god?

Began as a schoolhouse

and ended as a temple.

I said I had a master that

was greater than myself.

I never said he was my father.

I wanted to teach what I learned.

I never claimed to be king of the jews,

I never walked on water,

I never raised the dead.

I never spoke of divine

except in the sense

Of human goodness on earth.

No wise men came from the

east to worship at a manger.

I did do a little healing

With some eastern medicine I'd learned.

That's it.

The three wise men began as a myth

About the birth of the Buddha.

John, I should be home,

uh, kissing my wife.

We're all here, trapped by your story...

hoping for a...revolution? I don't know.

Are there any, uh...

more revelations for us?

It's just like old times.

You weren't Jesus.

Quote the sermon on the mount.

Which one?

Darby, King James,

New American Standard?

Do you know them all?

No one knows the one, not even me.

I...

I did some teaching on a hill one day.

Not that many people stayed.

But you...

biblical Jesus said,

"Who do you think I am?"

He gave them a choice.

I'm giving you one.

Were you?

If I said no, could you ever be sure?

( Sobs )

Turn that off.

Please.

This has gone far enough.

It's gone much too far.

These people are very upset.

I don't believe you're mad,

But what you're saying is not true.

That leaves only one explanation.

The time has come when you must admit

This is a hoax...

a lie.

Isn't that true, John?

If you don't drop

this now-- If you can--

I'll be convinced

That you need a great deal of attention.

I can have you committed

for observation.

You know that.

I ask

you now--

I demand

it--

That you tell these people the truth.

Give them closure.

It's time, John.

Please.

End of the line. Everybody off.

What?!

It was a story.

It was all a story.

( Sobs )

Good god!

Another fairy tale?

All of it?

But what--

What in the name of heaven...

John, you had us wondering

whether you were sane or not,

And it's just a story!

Where'd you come off with such

a half-baked, asinine idea?

At least you're relieved I'm not a nut.

I'd prefer you were!

You gave me the idea.

All of you.

Come again?

Edith saw my fake Van Gogh.

You could have just told me.

You commented that I never age.

You gave me the book on early man.

Dan, you spotted the burin

And you said, "if stones could speak."

I knew it.

I got the notion, I ran it past you

To check your reactions,

and I took it too far.

Too far?

Check my reaction.

You asked if I was a figure

from religious history,

If there were others like me,

If I'd created future identities.

We were chasing our

tails around the maypole,

Enjoying the mystery,

the analytical stretch.

You were playing my game!

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