PhilosopherJay

Hi All,

I celebrated Elvis' 75th birthday this weekend. I watched his first movie, "Love me Tender" which was pretty good, and one of his worst movies "Harum Scarum", and I watched his first six national television performances on the Dorsey Brothers show called "Stage Show," which is on Youtube. It is amazing that on the first show, in January 1956, he gets only a moderately enthusiastic and polite response. By the fifth performance in March, 1956, the audience is screaming and roaring with every move. We can say that their conversion took place some time between January and March 1956.

I think his wife Priscilla added this weekend to his religious following by stating, that "if the late U.S. singer were still alive, she believes he would likely be a gospel singer."

Before noting how Elvis represents a real historical Jesus, let me make some points about the mythological Jesus:

1. The gospels originally ended with the death of Jesus. The point of the gospels is that the leaders of the Jews in Jerusalem betrayed their true prophet, magician, messiah, king. It is an attack on the Jews. The story is so little concerned about any real Jesus that it cannot decide if he is a prophet, magician, messiah, son of God (from a later tradition probably), rabbi-philosopher. It doesn't matter. The attack against the Jewish leadership is what counts.

2. Jesus is portrayed as coming from the rural backwaters of Galilee. He is unsophisticated and uneducated, but amazes the wise and sophisticated leadership of the Jews with his natural talents from God. The term "pagan" originally referred precisely to a ignorant, superstitious country bumpkin such as Jesus. One can see that as Christianity became an intellectual religion in the Third century, the attacks made on it were turned around. While Christians could be accused of paganism in the Second century, by the Third century Christians were adopting the term to refer to all non-Christians. We may see the accusation that Christians were pagans (uneducated, superstitious backwoods or rural folks) as being entirely accurate. The portrait of Jesus portrayed in the Gospels, accurately reflect Christianity in the mid-Second century, (which I believe is the time of their writing in the form we now have).

3. Their are two contradictory components in the pagan Christians of the Second century. First they are devoutly religious Jews, but they reject the sophisticated Judaism of the cities. Rather they are mystical Jews, believing 1) in a direct connection with God, 2) God can and does perform miracles if you only believe enough, 3) empirical or scientific evidence is mistaken.
The Gospel texts reflects this attitude.
It is basically a pagan mystery cult that grows among the poor rural Jewish Galileans. It is a pagan mystery cult that clothes itself in Hebrew texts. It is a dedicated Jews that sees the Jews of Jerusalem as traitors who have been peace with the Romans and diluted the pureness of Judaism, while at the same time it incorporates the most exciting and new cultural aspects of the mystery religions around them, including resurrection (from Greek Dionisus, Indo-Europian Mythra and Egyptian Isis) and sharp division between good and evil (Persian Zorasterianism). It is newer than new and older than old.

While Jesus is a composite character of dubious historical origin, Elvis is a real historical character. We may cite three parallels between him and the Jesus character:

1) The Risen James Dean
People started to hear of him about three months after James Dean died. The Movie "Rebel Without a Cause" opened a month after Dean died in late 1955, so Elvis Presley could be considered the living resurrection of James Dean, the rebellious youth who died sacrificed on that cross of modernity - the speeding car. Thus the resurrected rebel without a cause rose (Jesus also had no cause but his own, at least as portrayed in the gospels, just as the 2nd century pagan Christians had no cause but their own). Jesus was thought to be the risen John the Baptist, a rebel without a cause too).

2) The King of the Jews and the King of Rock and Roll
Like Jesus, he was recognized as the king almost immediately, but the king of youth (not the Jews).

3) Pagan Christian Jesus
Like Jesus he was uneducated and came from the rural backwoods (Tupelo, Mississippi, not Galilee, Palistine). The Jews could not understand why Judaism needed to be dirtied up with the ideas of the mystery religions that the Pagan Christians offered. The mothers and fathers of bourgeois America could not understand why their music had to be dirtied up with his swiveling hips. His music was a combination of the rocking beat of swing/booie-woogie/ jitterbug with the traditional soulful harmony of folk/blues. It was newer than new and older than old.

In mythology, Jesus died the rebel's death of crucifixion at an early age. In history, Elvis died the rock and roll rebel's death of drugs.

It seems correct to say that Elvis was the living modern incarnation of the Jesus legend, the real Jesus Christ.

Warmly,

Philosopher Jay

rhutchin

If Elvis were alive today, he would likely be doing the oldies tours just like all the other oldies groups. He might even condescend to appear on PBS. He would basically be nothing more at 75 than he was at 25 and a person who sang songs that excited young girls and those young girls, now in their sixties, would still be screaming and squealing at his performances.

Toto

Elvis didn't die that young, and his drugs were not the romantic drugs of youth but the unromantic prescription Demoral.

If Jesus had been acquitted by Pilate, would he have gotten fat and dopey - retired to an estate in Galilee, surrounded by his staff? Would he have tried for a comeback in the 40's or 50's, and stumbled?

PhilosopherJay

Hi Toto,

Actually, it appears that his father sealed the autopsy papers for 50 years, so we won't know the cause of death precisely till 2027. However, we have this, apparently from his good doctor:

Dr Nick: prescribed all of Elvis's regular tour drugs. Elvis had 14 different drugs in him when he died. The list of what they found at autopsy was: Codeine - Morphine - Quaaludes - Valium - Diazepam - Placidyl - Amytal - Nembutal - Carbrital - Demerol - Sinutab - Elavil - Avental - Valmid

I think we can say that visa-vie the population of his time, the Jesus character died relatively close to the life expectancy, however, the life expectancy in the United States when Elvis died was probably around 70 years or more, so Elvis did die quite young at age 42. So this was a real tragedy, a great man doomed by his own hubris and his blind shortcomings: his desire to please his audience. One might say, he truly died for our sins.

If Jesus and his followers ever existed, and if he was tried by Pilate I think it is quite probable that Pilate let him off with a stern warning about not being a public nuisance. He and his roadies probably did retire to Galilee where they fished, tended their oil groves, grew fat, and stayed drunk. I imagine they frequently spoke of the good old days in Jerusalem when they had beeen such a hit. Possibly, someone, usually Mary, would occasionally bring up the idea of making a comeback. Jesus would yawn, stretch out his arms and say, "

Actually this is from "A Little Less Conversation" which became Elvis' 18th and last #1 hit song in the United Kingdom when it was released 25 years after his death in 2002. So Elvis did return in a sense.

In another sense he has never gone away, according to a 2002 report on elvis impersonators quoted on wikipedia: "There are now at least 85,000 Elvii around the world, compared to only 170 in 1977.

Also according to wikipedia:
There have also been at least five movies about Elvis impersonators: "honeymoon in Vegas," "Elvis Has Left the Building," "Bubba Ho-Tep," "Finding Graceland," and "Three Thousand miles to Graceland."

I think Elvis knew this would happen, didn't he say something like "many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many."

Warmly,

Philosopher Jay

jgreen44

The ascendancy of Elvis resulted from a loss incurred by a generation of Americans. The ascendancy of (the historical) Jesus resulted from a great loss suffered by a generation of Jews.

It's as if the historic Jesus developed out of the rubble of post AD 70 Jerusalem. The Temple was gone. The city was gone. The nation was gone. But something had to be salvaged out of this disaster, some hope of a return to the former (and now hopelessly romanticized) greatness of a city and a nation whose recent history had so recently died in the flames and under the swords of the Roman legions. And there had to be some of hope of finally driving the Romans out of Jerusalem. And so, Jesus, the hopelessly romanticized Man-God who once walked the streets of the now hopelessly romanticized pre-AD 70 city of Jerusalem, became the feel-good hit of the summer of 71. OK. 171.

storytime

Rock-a-billy teenie-boppers who graduated into flipping hair-do's, big belly's & poleister pants, and who really believed that Elvis really loved them. These you'll see crying and praising Elvis in their pilgrimage to Graceland every year. Yes, Elvis, just like Jesus, lives in their hearts. Some say he's not dead at all and spotting Elvis is an ever vigilant undertaking.
Not to mention the impersonators of Elvis who somewhat like those of Jesus, gather each year for honor of the King.

I suppose the Temple of Elvis would be Vegas.

mountainman

Dont forget to include the regular Greek language classes. The publishing rights to the memoirs were expected even then to be big business. An entry to the academic Greek marketplace of Rock and Roll Religion, and particularly an angle on the Electrifying Greek Logos, was early perceived by the production manager as part of the band's international "Mission Statement". They were not content with just the local Hebrew gigs. They aimed for the Greek Top 40. Most curiously, some three centuries later they achieved this goal, with a little help from one particular free-lance publisher of Greek literature.

PhilosopherJay

I just found this. The official word is here

And low and behold

For those who need more proof.

Warmly,

Philosopher Jay

mountainman

Proof via Satire

Jesus' Father is everywhere.

Elvis' father was a drifter, and moved around quite a bit.

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Jesus said: "Man shall not live by bread alone."

Elvis liked his sandwiches with peanut butter and bananas.

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Jesus was contraversially opposed by the anti-Christ Arius.

Elvis the King remains unopposed by all and sundry.

Minimalist

Elvis Presley? A "Great Man?" Really?

An adequate singer and certainly a gifted performer but it seems to me that the requirements for "Greatness" must have dropped a long way.