I mentioned last week that I started reading Lamb, the Gospel according to Bif, Christ's Childhood Pal and how funny it was. Since then, the book has gotten funnier and caused me to really do a lot of thinking about Jesus's life between birth and age 30, which the Bible doesn't really cover. It kinda forced me out of the "Sunday School mentality" that many of us bring to envisioning the life of Christ - a sanitized, Ozzie and Harriet, Partridge Family view of life in First Century Galilee. This recasting and retelling of the story is having the effect of making me want to go back and re-read the Gospels in a new way. Anyways, I'm pretty sure that most of my theologically conservative friends would find this book offensive because of the language that Moore places in the mouths of his characters. The author often teeters on the edge of the precipice of blasphemy without ever plunging into that abyss. It's a tongue-in-cheek journey through the life of Jesus - as told through the eyes of his fictional best boyhood friend, Levi ("Call me Biff") is a study in contrasts. On the one hand, it is outrageous and occasionally sacrilegious. On the other hand, it is strangely respectful and awe-filled. The author really gets Jewish History, he gets the Torah and he gets the New Testament. Reading this, I've been trying to go figure out where the author Christopher Moore's take on Jesus as he wrote this book. Getting to the end of the book, I found the afterward interesting:
"Theologically, I made certain assumptions about who Jesus was, mainly that he was who the Gospels say he was." (Page 441)Anyways, if you're not easily offended, like to laugh while being stretched, this book is worth reading.
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2 comments:
Huh....
I read this about a year ago and found it as funny as you do...but, I only made it about 1/3 of the way thru. I didn't stop because I was offended (I don't think...), I stopped because I was bored.
I'm willing to believe maybe I was distracted by some other life event or a more intriguing book staring at me from the shelf....but you make me wanna give it another try....especially since it's now out in paperback!
Adding another one to the reading list.
It's amazing what we have done to the idea of Jesus. The biblical story of when Jesus stayed when his parents left the temple is mind boggling to many. I am sure Jesus was a bit rebellious as a child. He was as an adult. I am sure he enjoyed Gods creation. Why would he not enjoy the work of his hand?
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