Sense and Sensuality: Jesus Talks to Oscar Wilde on the Pursuit of Pleasure

Great Conversations

by Ravi Zacharias

WHY versus WHY NOT?
 
Why did God place us in a world full of pleasures if we aren’t meant to pursue them all?
 
In an imaginative dialogue, Oscar Wilde asks Jesus Christ to respond to this question about critical lifestyle choices. Their talk vividly illustrates the arguments for both sensual pleasure-seeking and moral moderation.
 
Playwright, dramatist, poet, critic—Wilde openly defied the mores of Victorian society. His literary repartee fueled an “if it feels good, do it” humanistic philosophy that is still prevalent in the world today.
 
SO WHAT does JESUS SAY?

Genres: Christian, Religion, Christianity, Theology, Philosophy, Faith, Christian Living

96 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Frederick Antony Ravi Kumar Zacharias was an Indian-born Canadian-American Christian evangelical minister and Christian apologist who founded Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). He was involved in Christian apologetics for a period spanning more than forty years, authoring more than thirty books. He also hosted the radio programs Let My People Think and Just Thinking. Zacharias belonged to the Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA), the Keswickian Christian denomination in which he was ordained as a minister. After his death, allegations of sexual harassment against him emerged, were investigated, and found to be true.

Reviews

[Elf · Rating 2 out of 5]

A wonderful piece of crap. What does a man like Ravi Zacharias understand about sensuality or hedonism? Or being gay for that matter? Or being imprisoned? He sits on his high horse of doctrine and dogma and attempts to have a conversation with someone who learned the joys and sorrows of suffering by living it. Whatever Wilde's losses (and Ravi assumes that, as per his exclusive doctrine or his illusion, that he knows what God has decided - that Wilde has a place in hell!), sufferings or mistakes, someone who is a dilettante when it comes to literature and the arts and a master of mediocrity cannot sit in "spiritual" judgment over Wilde and try to "save" his soul. Any honest person (other than those who are honestly Christian fundamentalists like Ravi) with an artistic or aesthetic sensibility would chuck Ravi's book into the bogs and enter the worlds that Wilde creates through the 'Word'. This book is a typical example of American Evangelical insipidity and stupidity that tries to pass itself off as intellectual "truth" in the face of masterpieces like 'A Picture of Dorian Gray'. Read this book, then go back to Wilde, return to Ravi, and barf out what you read lest you are contaminated by its Philistinism.

[Nathan Boleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

In many ways, I find that when I read a book and give it a great review there are others who read the same book and give it a less than palatable review. I realize with this book, that there are simply certain books with certain elements that affect you in a profound way at the time you read them.

They are special to your development at that moment. Like they are issued and governed by an outside element who picks the book for you to read when you do.

I had read Oscar Wilde's, The Picture of Dorian Gray and enjoyed it immensely and therefore this book made sense to me from that angle.

I would like to outline three quotes which made this book resonate within me at this place and time in my life.

Jesus in talking about HIS prophet Isaiah says:

"He tells of a thirsty man who went to sleep one night and dreamed he was drinking from gushing springs of cool water, only to wake up and find he was still thirsty. Such is the illusion under which a generation flirts with beauty and art and thinks they take precedence over truth. They'll awaken one day and find that their dream has left them still empty. You see, this is the danger. First art, imitates life. Then life imitates art. Finally, art becomes they very reason for life, and that's when life breaks down because life is not fiction...it is plain, hard fact."

"It is vain that men [and women] seek within themselves the cure for all their miseries. All their insight leads us only to the knowledge that it is not in ourselves that we discover the true and the good...our principal maladies are pride, which cuts us off from God, and sensuality which binds us to earth."

In speaking of Solomon, Jesus says:

"But in the end he concluded that love for God is the paramount protection against the pollution of desire. And that love should start when one is young...Every power known to man comes with a double edge: the knowledge to use it properly, and the other, the great capacity to abuse it."

As I said in the beginning, there are simply some books which resonate within you at a given time. I regard no other, less than profound reviews, with being wrong, but simply read at a time when the lesson is less than extremely important for the place and time in life.

[Caleb · Rating 2 out of 5]

The philosophical/Theological arguments brought up in this book are no doubt very important but sadly I found that the 'book' did not bring a great amount of depth into the discussion and I felt that Zacharias was not very apt at creating a believable dialogue. As I was reading it, I felt as if there were only one voice (Ravi's) spoken through three different characters with one consistent message. The Jesus character came off like a western philosopher, Oscar Wilde briefly began argumentatively but came out to be a 'yes man' to everything Pascal and Jesus said. Don't misunderstand, I agree 100% with the message Zacharias was trying to get across, but I don't think it was written very well.

[anca dc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before reading this book I didn’t know much about Wilde’s (Is “trivial” too much? I don’t want to exaggerate) personal life. The truth about him struck me while discovering how sensitive Ravi Zacharias touched this subject through the characters he brought in dialogue with Oscar Wilde, Jesus Christ and Blaise Pascal, before his death. The wonderful serendipity in choosing Pascal was the fact that Zacharias didn’t know about Wilde’s interest in him, his reason being totally different. Going through the dialogue, touching Wilde’s life, concerns, heart, sins, one can see a loving gentle Jesus who is answering to Wilde’s questions about ‘pleasures and satisfaction’. The author’s compassion heart, who is not condemning writer’s ‘wild’ life, is seen also in the end when he is explaining the reason of writing this book reminding of one of the Lord’s parables that fits so much to Wild’s death! I would recommend this book to be read after Wilde’s “The Portrait of Dorian Grey” because, in a subtle way, there are references to it.

~~~

Asta-i o caracteristica ciudata a oamenilor...sunt preocupati de faima lor chiar si atunci cind nu vor mai fi de fata ca sa se bucure de ea.

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Taking his cue--I think--from Peter Kreeft, Zacharias here crafts a Socratic dialogue between Oscar Wilde, Jesus, and a religious writer who meant much to Wilde: Blaise Pascal. The dialogue takes place in a sort of dream shortly before Wilde's death, dramatizing the lifelong spiritual struggle that seems to have peaked in the last days of his life, as evidenced by Wilde's deathbed conversion to Catholicism.

Zacharias demonstrates a deep familiarity with the work and life of both Wilde and Pascal, and he uses actual quotes or paraphrases from all three figures to create the bulk of his dialogue. Because of this, the book comes off as a nice blend of scholarship and imagination.

[Kara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I confess this one wasn't anywhere on my radar until it popped up on a deal of the day email several months ago. As I have enjoyed Mr. Zacharias' writing before, I decided to try it. It is an intriguing little conversation! I didn't remember much about Oscar Wilde's life, but I went and researched what I could find, which helped me understand just what is going on in this "conversation". It provides great food for thought and response when faced with so much of the sensuality in culture around us...

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Almost more of an essay than a 'book', this writing was interesting. I'm more of a fan of Ravi's speaking than writing, but this had a nice period feel. It lacked any deep insights and actually made me just want to read more Wilde.

A decent and very quick read.

[Obed Huerta]

Este libro hace un buen análisis del vivir por satisfacer la carne, lo superficial y egoista, con una buena conclusión que nos lleva a reflexionar.

[Wendy Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Philosophy meets theology in this conversation between Christ and Oscar Wilde. All dialogue is borrowed directly from what each participant has either specifically said or clearly implied from their writings; prophets or scripture in the case of Messiah’s words. I don’t own a hard copy of this book, only the Audible version, so I spent almost a week copying and writing much of it down. Almost every topic feels like necessity for one to explore, especially in the day and time we find ourselves. I definitely plan to re-listen because it’s so dense with truth that it seems impossible to soak up in only a few go-throughs.

[B-right]

I personally do not like reading fictions but Ravi is almost on the verge of changing my mind.
The approach to the issues of morals and sensuality in this book are eye opening into the love, grace, and mercies of our Lord Jesus Christ.
It a short read and very captivating.
Good bless the RZI Ministries.

[Kyle]

Really annoying that editing an old review redates it so it looks like you just read it. No, I did not return to this POS. Also, while we're here, MAN this book did not age well.

[Christian Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first book of the year. I plan on reading a book a week so this seemed like a fairly good/easy place to start. It is a conversation between Jesus and Oscar Wilde (Blaise Pascal makes an appearance as well).

I did enjoy this book and the style is was written in: conversational and sans chapters.

They converse about the role of art is one's life; how it can become more "real" than Truth. He writes from Jesus' perspective saying, "They'll awaken one day to find that their dream has left them still empty. You see, this is the danger. First, art imitates life. Then life imitates art. Finally, art becomes the very reason for life, and that's when life breaks down, because life is not fiction...it is plan, hard fact."

As a photographer/designer, it is easy for me to get consumed in my own work. I place my value on what I accomplish. Wilde goes through some painful memories throughout his dialogue with Jesus (almost Ebenezer Scrooge-like), and, in the end, realizes "in seeking pleasure, you pursued the body and lost the person. You sought the sensation and sacrificed the individual. You see, in pursuing the sacred, you exalt the person and the sensation follows. Life then makes sense."

[Filip Sekkelsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very well-written book offering a deeper understanding of Oscar Wilde and his works through his conversation with Jesus and Blaise Pascal. Wilde pursued pleasure for its own sake, separating it from everything else. The problem with that and art as merely art is evinced in this quote: "First, art imitates life. Then life imitates art. Finally, art becomes the very reason for life, and that's when life breaks down, because life is not fiction…it is plain, hard fact." R. Zacharias presents good thoughts concerning pleasure and how to maintain a good balance with it in life. He uses king Solomon as an example (from Ecclesiastes) in the pursuit of pleasure for its own sake: "'I refused my heart no pleasure. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.' These are the words of Solomon the king. The world thought he had it all. But in the end he concluded that the love for God is the paramount protection against the pollution of desire. And that love should start when one is young."

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the third book in the series that I have read so far, and I must say that it is my least favorite. This is odd since it is probably one of the most useful in terms of engaging in an apologetic debate with the people I encounter most. We live in a culture of hedonists, and people who believe that there should be no bounds to what a person could do for sexual gratification...unless it "hurts another person." Zacharias addresses this issue along with the rest well. The content of the book is very helpful. My problems with it stem from the medium (a fictional dialogue that didn't work for me as well as the other books did--perhaps it was because it involved Wilde and the bar for language should be higher?), and the winding nature of the dialogue that made me wonder if this was the most logical outcome of this particular conversation.
Therefore:
Information--great
Story--mediocre
The apologist in me gives this three stars while the English major would give it two. I guess you can decide what you're going for.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I've gathered as the main point of this book is that our sensual desire are given to us by God, but perverted by sexual deviance and we can not be justified by arguing "but we are made in God's image".
With slightly ascetic undertones in the end, Zacharias concludes that we confuse pleasure with earthly things are are innately evil, until we accept God and a new purpose of our heart takes over. The true pleasure is that which pleases the soul, not the body. Pleasure will eventually come from pain.

It was a good book, and I really like the presentation of an imaginary dialogue between Wilde, Pascal, and Jesus. I just wish it played more off of reason than it did emotion and revelation.

A fantastic book for Christians/struggling Christians to read, but the bent is certainly not towards conversion.

[Jared Leonard · Rating 4 out of 5]

The next book in this "series" by Ravi, another gem; maybe better than the first. In this one, Zacharias presents us with a conversation between Jesus and Oscar Wilde. The scene is Wilde's deathbed and a reflection upon Wilde's wild life(style). At our core we humans have self-seeking desires but this is not inherently bad. After all, we are created in the image of God who is "self-seeking" as well. The problem comes when sin is brought into the picture and we discover that our self-seeking is not like God's. We can pay the price with our life or Christ's and this book is a great picture of those extremes.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

While on his deathbed, Oscar Wilde regrets that the wife he lost and the young boys he corrupted were hurt due to his selfish indulgence. This book details what a conversation between Jesus and Wilde might have contained. They are joined by Blaise Pascal who converted to Christianity while still in good health and went on to write about the experience.

"Eleventh hour conversions" are nothing new. A friend of Wilde said, "It was not a religion in which he could live, but one he clearly wanted to die in..." Zacharias goes on to say, "One can only weep for the loss of all the years that could have been spent in the investment of a brilliant mind for the cause of the Lord."

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first of Zacharias' books that I've read. He has a particularly clever way of developing this conversation between Wilde, Jesus and Pascal using ideas each had put forward in various other writings. The main purpose is to identify the materialistic outlook that pleasure is the chief end of man. Wilde may have taken this further than most, but it is a frightening commentary on our current culture. The conversation identifies where and why that goes wrong and then shows the logical outcome of living such a life. I think it is eye opening for those who live in such a way (and probably don't even know it) and those who would reject this worldview.

[Brett · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my first "Ravi" book and after having experienced his insight and profundity in the podcast venue, I had expectations for much more than I got out of this book.

I think it is a very approachable book, albeit the conversation sometimes gets in the way for me. I would really enjoy a more dedicated treatise on this topic by Ravi in a more traditional form.

That said, this could be a very easy entry for anyone into the balance of beauty and profanity, art and law, love and selfishness.

I'll be looking to read Ravi's "Lotus and the Cross" sometime soon.

[Bethany · Rating 3 out of 5]

I LOVED the perspective from which this book was written. It's very conversational. The style intrigued me due to its creativity.

At something like 99 pages, this book fools you into being a quick read. But it's deep and philosophical. I'll admit, when I read it, my mind wandered, and wasn't prepared to do the heavy lifting. This book is so meaty.

Kind of makes me want to write something from this perspective: Jesus having a conversation with someone (in this case Oscar Wilde), maybe with another person thrown into the mix (in this case Blaise Pascal).

[Mark Schlechty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting Approach

Or attempt to replace the sacred with personal pursuits of pleasure always leave us empty and wounded. It also drags others down along with us. Oscar Wilde's flamboyant life and early death are a testimony of one man's struggle and loss as he rejected the reveled words of God. Having Wilde and Jesus dialogue about a misspent life points out the folly of living for self.

[Chenvael · Rating 4 out of 5]

i love these statement:

- kekudusan dan keindahan tidak bisa dipisahkan satu sama lain.

- Michaelangelo lewat patungnya David ingin melihat manusia seperti cara Allah melihat. Tapi sejak manusia jatuh ke dalam dosa, manusia tidak akan bisa melihat ketelanjangan manusia lain dengan cara Allah melihat mereka. Hawa nafsu selalu mengintip. (ga tepat kaya gini si ngomongnya, tapi intinya gitu)

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sense and Sensuality: Jesus Talks to Oscar Wilde on the Pursuit of Pleasure
From the very first page to the last the desire for pleasure that God himself gave us, and the right (Godly) and wrong (immoral) means to pursue that end are discussed. The arguments against the pursuit of pleasure for pleasure's sake are compelling. Another great & thought provoking read.

[Les Wolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick read. This book is relevant and timely. A lot of big ideas packed into a small space. The modern views on pleasure and purpose are presented and discussed within the context of the Christian perspective. In addition, Zacharias has piqued my interest in both Blaise Pascal and Oscar Wilde. I'll probably end up reading several biographies.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome little book, taken from the perspective of a conversation between two incredibly brilliant people with two very different perspectives. Very relevant to our day and age. Ravi Zacharias has become a role model for me.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book in this series! An imaginary conversation between Oscar Wilde, Blaise Pascal, and Jesus Christ about some of life's most fascinating questions...especially those related to seeking joy and satisfaction. Very brief. Very insightful!!

[Reader2007 · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my friends recommended this book to me. I didn't really understand The Picture of Dorian Gray, and this book goes hand-in-hand with it. It's an imagined conversation between Jesus and Oscar Wilde. Very interesting. I love Ravi Zacharias' books!

[Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this book takes a great look at the relative humanism that seems to pervade and saturate our culture today; as to what end do actions have, and are there consequences to our actions , or is there such a thing as a moral vacuum?

[Marilyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is probably one of the best books I have ever read. In fact, I read it 3 times the weekend I got it. It's a very slim volume, but I love Oscar Wilde and I love Jesus. I think I'll go home tonight and read it again!

[Giju · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another interesting book by Ravi Zacharias. Here Jesus talks to Oscar Wilde on pleasure. Helped me realise a few truths about the futility of seeking pleasure in the world and to get my priorities right.