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 "The Scoundrel Christ". Many authors have made a living out of fictionalizing the dark side of Christianity but most have steered clear of taking any pot shots at the son of God. Philip Pullman is clearly not pulling any punches but as the back side states, "This is a Story" or more accurately his fictionalized version of the bible.

Undoubtedly, Jesus Christ is the most influential man ever. He is the central figure of Christianity, the most powerful religion in the world. Wars have been and are still being fought over his teachings. However, as the book states "There is time, and there is what is beyond time. History belongs to time, but truth belongs to what is beyond time". History is the chronicled text which survives the test of time but is history always the same as the truth? Bible is the chronicled story of Jesus Christ but is it the true story of Jesus Christ?

Christ is not a name but a title. Christ is Hebrew for Messiah believed to be the savior of humanity. Jesus of Nazareth was bestowed the title of Christ and over centuries became Jesus Christ. The book separates the man from the messiah by literally creating two different identities. It is an ingenious way to look at the son of God.

"The Good Man Jesus" is an influential, charismatic, extrovert preacher teaching men to take care of fellow men, to follow the commandments, to be good, to be modest, to practice abstinence etc. In the story, Jesus is not all white and his his human flaws. He gets angry with his followers, his family, priests and even with God. He has the power to perform miracles but is reluctant to use them all the time. Above all, he does not give a damn about creating and propogating a religion in the name of God and believes that Kingdom of God will come by itself.

"The Scoundrel Christ" is the shy, introspective side kick who thinks like a messiah while staying in shadow of Jesus. Christ has big ideas about creating a church of God, with majestic temples, huge palaces, a body of believers who act under the authority of one supreme director, a regent of God on earth. Christ fervently believes that this is the way to bring Kingdom of God to earth and tries to convince Jesus. This leads to tensions and issues between brothers with both doing things in their different ways.

The Good Man Jesus and The Scoundrel Christ is a short rewriting of the story of Jesus Christ and a contribution to Cannongate Myth Series. The author, Philip Pullman (Dark Trilogy), a staunch atheist, has dissected the myth of Jesus Christ and come up with a masterpiece. Thinly veiled insults at the Church like Jesus himself saying I can imagine some philosphical smartarse of a priest in years to come pulling the wool over his poor followers’ eyes: "God’s great absence is, of course, the very sign of his presence", Jesus having doubts over what God wants, the dilemma faced by Christ are the highlights of this thought provoking read.

The book is also a showcase for the power of story telling. History is chronicled text which gets embellished over time and gets further away from the truth without becoming a lie. Hence, Christ the chronicler defines Christianity and not Jesus the preacher. Time has merged the two into a single entity and Philip Pullman tries to separate the two. It is a tragic story of two brothers with one becoming a God even if he doesnt want to because his chronicler brother wanted him to be with a deeply disturbing, poignant end. A must read on religion, God and history.

Pages: 245

Price: Rs 499/- at Landmark

          Rs 389/- at Flipkart.com