The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ

The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel ChristI am really excited to read Philip Pullman's, "The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ" in which the author continues to criticize Christianity in the form of a novel. The book depicts Jesus Christ as twins- Jesus and Christ. Jesus is the good twin who is described by Christ, who tries to increase the number of Jesus' miracles in order to promote both Jesus and Christianity.

I've read a couple of different reviews on the book, both with entirely different takes: one review was written by a Slate writer eager to compare "The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ" as a less humorous version of "The Life of Brian", and the other was written by an Archbishop scholar.

While neither review is entirely negative, the perspectives are very different. The Archbishop's review contrasts some specific scenes Philip Pullman's novel to the actual bible. You might expect his review to be highly critical of the novel, but he actually recommends the book as a way for Christians to re-think some of the uglier truths of the history of the Catholic Church. That said, the Archbishop also claims that Mark's Gospel gives testament to the fact that Jesus resisted temptations to "prove his own status" through the use of his miracles.

I was impressed with the Archbishop's willingness to encourage Christians to look back to the historical atrocities of Catholic Church, but wasn't surprised that he found the original a more compelling version than Phillip Pullman's fable.

As you might expect, the Slate columnist remains critical to the Catholic Church throughout his article, but feels that the book is "a bit of a drag". Given the premise of the novel, Phillip Pullman's creativity and some of the quotes I've read from the book, I find that hard to believe. Aside from the fact that the book is a creative critique of Christianity, the modern-day re-telling complete with modern-day slang makes me think that it will be a book I won't be able to put down.

Also, due to Philip Pullman's huge success with "His Dark Materials", I am not expecting the book to pull any punches when it comes to the criticism of the Catholic Church and, as the Slate columnist points out, the current scandals haunting the Church will probably not hurt his sales, either.