The Good Man Jesus And The Scoundrel Christ By Philip Pullman
It would have been surprising if the plot of the narrative chosen by Philip Pullman had not stirred a hornets nest
. Expectedly, it has done so though Philip Pullman is well renowned all over the world for his dislike of organized religion as well as for portraying God unflatteringly. The gospel stories as written by Philip Pullman are, obviously, unchristian. The book The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ was written by Philip Pullman when he was asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams to tackle Jesus after he had already written about God.The Book Is Not Anti Christ
Contrary to what you already believe by the name of the book, The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ is not anti Christ. The character of Jesus is split into two by describing them as twin brothers, one is named Jesus who is at ease with his personality whereas Christ is sickly and is favored by the mother. It is Christ who is found by the astrologers and is called the Messiah. This is the only twist in the otherwise similar narrative which flows like Gospels. The different parts of the life of Jesus are played by the twin brothers. Christ goes on to become the goody goody boy who tries to impress the elders and studies the holy texts. He stays partial to metaphysics, fanciful and cautious whereas Jesus learns carpentry and is a passionate and antinomian who loves the realities of the world.
The Brother Of Jesus Is Resurrected
In the book The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ, Philip Pullman says Jesus does die and that the resurrection is his brother coming back to hog the limelight. The story teller is in sparkling form and he, just like other artists, has also been deeply affected by the story of Jesus. He really explains the disparity between what has been taught by Jesus and how his followers have been behaving.
Is Organized Religion Good For Us?
The holy wars, executions and torture and all all these aberrations have been explained really well. Despite all that might have been different about the book, the author Philip Pullman himself falls into the ideological traps at times. The main idea behind Philip Pullmans efforts is to explain the evolution of Christian instruments of oppression, using facts, wishful thinking and justification. One point that is beyond any doubt is that Philip Pullman is great as a storyteller though he also needs to realize people dont need justification for the myths.
by: Prasoon Kumar