Order Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ, The

From the back cover:
In this ingenious and spellbinding retelling of the life of Jesus, Philip Pullman revisits the most influential story ever told. Charged with mystery, compassion and enormous power, The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ throws fresh light on who Jesus was and asks the reader questions that will continue to reverberate long after the final page is turned. For above all, this book is about how stories become stories.

Review:
I'm going to start this review with a statement about my own faith so I might best explain how I feel about this book. The reason why I really loved this story is so intertwined within my own journey through a religious upbringing that I can't think of any way to review it and offer my opinion without including it. I was raised as a church attending Roman Catholic so I know the story of Jesus pretty much back to front. These days I'm definitely what you would call a non-practicing Catholic. I still have belief in a higher power (though not a 'personal' God), and my views are definitely heretical. I also very strongly believe that everyone has the right to believe or not believe anything and everything and that everyone should leave everyone else to their own devices on their spiritual quest (or non-quest or non-spiritual quest as the case may be).

As a general rule I try to avoid both Christian literature and books written by atheists. As far as Christian literature goes it's just not my thing, and as far as the atheist stuff goes I tend to get a bit irate at the authors - for God's sake (sorry, couldn't help myself), let them believe what they want, what does it really matter? (And here's where the atheists get antsy about religion interfering with politics etc etc - and quite rightly so I have to say). I'm really not interested in having either God-bothering rhetoric shoved down my ears, or listening to a rant by a person enamoured with the cleverness of their own logic-fanaticism (looking at you Richard Dawkins).

So it would seem that this book is the kind of thing I would try to avoid. But there was just something about it that peaked my interest and I had to give it a try. Most likely I was intrigued with the reference to it being a book about how stories become stories - a personal interest of mine. I'm so glad I decided to read it, this is the best book I have read this year. I know it's only May and early days yet, but this is a likely contender for the best book for 2010 for me. It is a short novel, and written in a manner very close to the Gospel format and is easy to read. I finished it in a few hours.

I suppose that most Christian readers will consider this book both blasphemy and heresy, but there is something different about this than most atheist writing. There is something respectful and honouring of the traditional myths of Jesus, Pullman's Jesus is a good man, better than any other in some ways, and like in the bible versions, he is often troubled and difficult to understand, but always preaching his message of compassion, forgiveness, understanding and love. His twin brother, Christ, records his actions and words and has his own part to play in the unfolding of the story of Jesus that we know today.

The crux of the story comes from the scene of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, which is powerful and moving and is a heartrending confession from a man who is unsure if God really exists. The heresy is most potent and of course most poignant here, with Jesus lamenting what would come to be in the future if a Church was to be founded on his words. I think this is where the book has struck a chord with me, as it reflects my own journey through faith with the church. My experience and personal opinion is that if I want to follow the teachings of Jesus I can not follow the teachings of the church as they are at odds. It seems to me that the very church who claims ownership over the teachings of Jesus has missed the point of them and has come to enact the very opposite of them. It is in this section of the novel that the meaning of the title (and its cleverness) becomes clear - The Good Man Jesus refers to the man and his message, The Scoundrel Christ is the 'Jesus' the modern world has become familiar with, the original story changed over time to suit the purposes of an organisation intent on manipulating and controlling a people. So it is not the words and message of Jesus that Pullman is drawing out for examination but instead the misrepresentation and use of them by organised Christian religion - the real Scoundrel, always pulling people away from the true message Jesus was trying to spread. What is so great about this book is the way in which this idea is examined. It isn't given a scathing, logic-oriented, proof seeking examination, instead it is a passioned lament on the tragedy of one good man's intent to bring compassion and love to human kind become hijacked by an organisation which uses all his words but misses the intent of those words entirely.

The title of this story is so clever and I think it would be a shame if people would choose not to read the book due to taking offence at it. I would highly recommend this book to anyone with an open heart and mind (religious or not) who would like some food for thought about one of the most influential figures in history.Get more detail about Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ, The.