There are hilarious takes on obvious targets – The Sermon on the Mount, the various miracles, the impenetrable nature of parables, Christ’s celibacy (which is more than compensated for by Biff’s promiscuity), and the fact that bacon is delicious – but it’s humour that derives from the characters themselves, not from some clever 21st century pastiche of familiar anecdotes. The main narrative is the gospel itself as Biff recalls his travels and experiences with the young Joshua, but it’s counterpointed with the story of the tensions between Biff and the angel Raziel, whose passion for TV soaps and wrestling colours his perceptions of modern life. They both have the gift of tongues so the narratives and their dialogue are in colloquial modern American English. He spends his time in a hotel room with Raziel, the angel charged with resurrecting and looking after him. Christ stood for.’ (Although even that secret is eventually revealed.)Īs the sub-title tells us, Biff is Christ’s childhood pal and, with the 2000th anniversary of His birth coming up, it’s decided that the four gospels don’t tell the full story so Biff is resurrected to fill in the gaps, especially the first thirty years Matthew and the others seem to have left out. It’s the Greek for messiah, a Hebrew word meaning anointed. Jesus is the Greek translation of the Hebrew Yeshua, which is Joshua. Why? Well, Moore tells us at the start: ‘By the way, his name was Joshua. I do, though, need to tell you that, throughout the book, Christ is called Joshua. ![]() But taking the many one-liners out of context, while it wouldn’t diminish their impact, would do Moore a disservice, because they’re integral to the narrative and funnier in situ. The easiest way for me to get some laughs here would be to quote examples from the text it’s consistently entertaining and laugh-out-loud funny. Well, it did – except that there wasn’t just one central gag, but many, and beyond that, it opened some gentle but telling insights into spiritual searches, faith and the relationships between gods, organised religions and – the most important element of all – people. But I did wonder whether it would turn out to be a book which churned out variations of a single central gag for 500+ pages. ![]() When I started reading it, I was immediately grabbed by the ease of the narrative and its relaxed, inviting tone. I can now see why but the comparison is flattering. ![]() After reading a skit I’d written, a friend recommended this book.
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