Also sprach Zorba

“The Saviors of God” is a short but fascinating book by Greek author Nikos Kazantzakis (d. 1957), most known today for his novels “Zorba the Greek” and “The Last Temptation of Christ”. In “The Saviors of God”, Kazantzakis attempts to explain his private philosophy. It turns out to be a combination of Friedrich Nietzsche's quest for the Overman and Henri Bergson's “creative evolution”. Comparisons could be made to Aurobindo, Teilhard, Sorel, Left Hand Tantra and the Russian Cosmists.

To Kazantzakis, God isn't a personal being. Indeed, it's not clear whether God exists at all in any meaningful sense. The term “God” seems to be a metaphor for the élan vital, the creative force which propels the universe onward and upward. At the moment, humans are the highest manifestation of this evolutionary force. However, there is no real “teleology” in evolution. Rather, the cosmos is characterized by two opposing forces, representing ascent into spirit and descent into matter. Kazantzakis believes that humans should choose the path of ascent, spiritualize matter and give birth to higher beings. This is “the salvation of God” alluded to in the book's title. However, Kazantzakis cannot really justify this particular purpose. Humans (or the cosmos at large) might very well embark upon the path of descent instead, leading to the eventual destruction of “God” and the cosmos (which is constantly suspended just above the Void).

Kazantzakis explicitly says that God is impersonal, amoral and might fail. God is not all-good, all-knowing or all-powerful. The élan vital evolves new forms by constantly breaking old ones, and the entire cosmos is therefore a dance of destruction even when it ascends. Kazantzakis welcomes war, revolution and suffering. The first draft of “The Saviors of God” was written during the revolutionary upheaval in Germany after World War I, where the Greek author was living at the time. Apparently, it expressed (at least in part) the convictions of a peculiar group of Communists which had gathered around Kazantzakis. The original purpose of the little book was to transform materialistic Communism into something more “spiritual”. A less sympathetic reader might just as well denounce the text as fascist!

There is a mystical streak in “The Saviors of God”, making me wonder whether the author had some kind of mystical experiences. If so, they must have been disturbing. “God” cries out to Man, wanting to be saved. Didn't fellow evolutionary mystic Teilhard also encounter a powerful spirit who needed to be redeemed? What kind of “God” or angel needs to be saved? A fallen angel, perhaps…? Kazantzakis' philosophical musings became so controversial, that the Catholic Church placed “The Saviors of God” on the Index, while the Greek Orthodox Church attempted to excommunicate him!

But perhaps it's too far-fetched to accuse Kazantzakis of meeting the Devil himself. Perhaps he encountered the heart of a heartless world, the essence of the fallen world, the World-Spirit which really does cry out for redemption…

If Nikos Kazantzakis (or Zorba) could save It, is another matter entirely.