COVE

Published in 2010, The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ by Philip Pullman has received critical acclaim and scrutiny for its themes of anti-organized religion. Pullman recites the life of Jesus as it presents in the Gospels, but with a twist: Mary has given birth to twins. Jesus and his brother Christ present the reader with two distinct characters -- the morally righteous Jesus and the scheming Christ. Christ contrives a narrative of his twin, ultimately leading to his death and the establishment of weaponized religion -- the Church. 

Phillip Pullman, born 19 October 1946, lived in North Wales for most of his youth. Being raised in a Christian church and educated in the Church of England Schools, he read and studied the Bible from an early age. He later went on to study English at Exeter College, Oxford, and overtime became critical of religious doctrine. Now identifying as an atheist/agnostic, much of his literary work tackles anti-religious authoritarianism, for which he has received much criticism. In response to this feedback, he has asserted that he is not opposed to spirituality, just the abuse of religious power, an idea that spearheaded the creation of The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ. 

Among over a dozen awards, Pullman's vast authorship (in genres such as fantasy, playwriting, short stories, historical, religious/philosophical, science, children’s and y/a fiction) landed him square in Buckingham Palace, being knighted in 2019 for services to literature. (As seen above). 

As previously mentioned, Mary gives birth to twins (Jesus, and separately, Christ) in this novel, and is told by a mysterious angel to only talk about one of her sons (early myth building). The novel follows the boys’ childhoods – wherein Jesus, continually finding himself in some sort of trouble, is always saved by his scripture-memorized brother, Christ. 

In their very distinct adulthoods, Jesus begins to take shape as a compassionate, idealistic, and passionate preacher who is unafraid to voice his objections to religious institutions. Much of the story here pulls directly from Jesus’ teachings in the Gospels, preaching radical empathy, honesty, and faith in God and humanity. Pullman pulls almost directly from most of the biblical material, for example, Jesus’s teachings on nonviolence. In Matthew 5:39, he says, “If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other also,” and in The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ, Jesus says, “If someone strikes you, offer him the other cheek. If someone steals your cloak, give him your coat as well.” Pullman maintains the radical ethics of the biblical text, working to depict Jesus very closely to his representation in the Bible. Pullman stays true to not just the content of Jesus’s teachings, but their form in parables, noting that, “…he told them stories: about seeds, about lamps, about vineyards”.  He picks some friends along the way - familiar names like Peter, James and John. Pullman includes familiar stories, like Jesus's time in the wilderness and repeating the Lord’s Prayer nearly word-for-word, saying, “Our father in heaven, may your name be held holy,” clearly establishing a firm connection to the Biblical text and the characteristics of Jesus. 

His brother, however,  is quite different from Jesus – he begins to be influenced by another mysterious angel figure. Known as “the stranger” this figure believes that the world is in need of a strong institution, the Church, and claims that it calls for deception and editing of his brother’s life and prophet-hood. Through this relationship, Christ begins to reveal himself as quite the calculated young man, dedicated to preserving his brother’s legacy. He functions as a sort of secretarial spy, disguised in his brother's crowds, notating (and distorting) his brother’s words and actions. A prime example of this is the multiplication of the loaves of bread in John 6;11, “Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them,” where Pullman notes that, “There was no miracle. Only the will of the people, strengthened by hope, and by hunger”. In the world of this novel, the miracles are reinterpreted as such in the Bible, and were simply human cooperation at its finest in reality. 

Christ, pre-established as believing that his brother is too idealistic and that his message will go to waste if not controlled by an institution, is eventually convinced by “the stranger” to become the Judas figure.  In Matthew 26:48-49, Judas says, “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him,” in comparison to Pullman's heartbreaking storyline, writing, “It was necessary. He would not listen. His death was the only way his words would live.” After having his the last supper, Pullman replaces Judas with the brother of Jesus and uses the Christ character to represent the violence as a means of preservation of the message. After aiding the authorities arrest, Jesus is then crucified, depicted similarly to the original accounts in the Gospel. At the cross in Luke 23:34, Jesus says “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do,” and in the novel, Pullman writes, “Even now, he prayed for them. Even now, he loved them.” Although the two sentiments aren’t word-for-word, they carry through the forgiving spirit of Jesus. 

But Pullman deviated from the scripture here: Jesus is not resurrected. In Luke 24:6 it notes that, “He is not here, but has risen”, but Pullman writes, “He did not rise. But the story will say he did. It must.” Here, the resurrection is a piece of theatre, carefully performed by Christ — he manufactures a magnificent resurrection story and takes the place of his brother. He then works with “the stranger” to complete the Bible and establish Christianity as we know it to be: authoritarian and as a means of control, not nearly how Jesus himself intended it.

This novel is a powerful piece of biblical fiction and a masterful reimagining of the Gospels. Pullman calls readers and critics alike to reflect on the liminal area between history and myth, and power and passion. Both pulling directly from much of the original accounts of Jesus’s life and poignantly deterring from the storyline in the Bible , effectively challenges the reader to question the power of narrative, rhetoric, and influence. The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ proves to be a tragic, deeply philosophical, and heartbreaking ode to the fragility of truth. 

P.S.: If you, like me, had a Christian upbringing and have grown, like Pullman, to be disillusioned by the “capital C” Church but enjoy much of Jesus’ teachings, you should read this book. It brought me to tears. Great read.