The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ (Myths)
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Product Description
Product Description
This is a story. In this ingenious and spell-binding retelling of the life of Jesus, Philip Pullman revisits the most influential story ever told. Charged with mystery, compassion and enormous power, The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ throws fresh light on who Jesus was and asks the reader questions that will continue to resonate long after the final page is turned. For, above all, this book is about how stories become stories.
About the Author
Philip Pullman was born in Norwich, England in 1946 and grew up in Zimbabwe and Wales. He worked as a teacher for many years and his first children's novel, COUNT KARLSTEIN, came out in 1982. THE RUBY IN THE SMOKE, the first of the Sally Lockhart quartet of Victorian thrillers, was published in 1985. He has won many awards, including the Carnegie Medal, the Guardian Children's Book Award, the Smarties Prize, the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, the Whitbread Book of the Year Award and a CBE. His acclaimed trilogy, HIS DARK MATERIALS, has been published in 39 languages, and was the subject of a hugely successful adaptation at the National Theatre in 2003-4 and 2004-5. ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE NORTH was published in April 2008.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
542 of 572 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I'm disappointed that so many people here have got stuck arguing about whether this is `blasphemous' or not. I'm a Christian and I think this is one of the best books I've read in a very long time. Pullman, whatever his own beliefs, knows his bible (Including the apocrypha) extremely well and has written what I think is an extremely clever story. Many people know how the story ultimately ends; with the death of Jesus on the cross and claims of his resurrection, but along the way Pullman retells some of the most profound stories of our Christian life in an enlightening, and I would even say, a revelatory, way.
The book is a quick read, with short chapters detailing particular bible events. But readers should not think that a quick read makes it a "light" read. There is much to ponder in the writing. The book invokes questions about how history and story are interlinked as well as considering the difficulty of discerning truth from history. That truth can be discovered in story is self evident in the reading of this story.
I don't think this is an anti-Christian book; although it is, very definitely, an anti-church book; but Christianity and the church are two different things. Pullman's description, spoken through the mouth of Jesus in this book, of what the church is and what the church should be, is one of the most finely tuned expose of where we (Christians) have gone wrong.
The book is a quick read, with short chapters detailing particular bible events. But readers should not think that a quick read makes it a "light" read. There is much to ponder in the writing. The book invokes questions about how history and story are interlinked as well as considering the difficulty of discerning truth from history. That truth can be discovered in story is self evident in the reading of this story.
I don't think this is an anti-Christian book; although it is, very definitely, an anti-church book; but Christianity and the church are two different things. Pullman's description, spoken through the mouth of Jesus in this book, of what the church is and what the church should be, is one of the most finely tuned expose of where we (Christians) have gone wrong.
52 of 56 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I feel a bit of a fraud writing a review on a book that re-tells stories (albeit different versions) from the Bible. Most of the reviews I have read were written by people who know (or claim to) their Bible. I do not.
Having said this, you do not need to be a biblical student to recognise the salient points Mr Pullman has picked out - the Sermon on the Mount, for example. A lot of reviews detailed Mr Pullmans story - some almost re-wrote it. I don't feel thats what a review should be about and I won't do it here. What I will say is it is simply written and is thought provoking. It asks questions about how we treat others, who really has the right to judge others, and.....dare I say?......questions the church and its motivations.
It was inevitable a section of the community was going to crawl out of the woodwork screaming blasphemy. Perhaps these people don't like some of the questions Mr Pullman subtley poses. In the words of the author, it is a story. Which makes it no different from the Bible then.
Any book that gets such a varied response, people thinking and discussing ideas surely has to have a thumbs up.
Having said this, you do not need to be a biblical student to recognise the salient points Mr Pullman has picked out - the Sermon on the Mount, for example. A lot of reviews detailed Mr Pullmans story - some almost re-wrote it. I don't feel thats what a review should be about and I won't do it here. What I will say is it is simply written and is thought provoking. It asks questions about how we treat others, who really has the right to judge others, and.....dare I say?......questions the church and its motivations.
It was inevitable a section of the community was going to crawl out of the woodwork screaming blasphemy. Perhaps these people don't like some of the questions Mr Pullman subtley poses. In the words of the author, it is a story. Which makes it no different from the Bible then.
Any book that gets such a varied response, people thinking and discussing ideas surely has to have a thumbs up.
159 of 175 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
A beautifully written retelling of the story of Jesus Christ. This is an easily read book where the words flow to cover the pages and keep you engrossed. I found the passages on the sermon on the mount and the agonising in the garden of Gethsemane strangely moving. There is no doubt that this book will cause great offense to some people and others will regard it as irrelevant but I think we need authors like Mr Pullman who make you think. Maybe we need to step out of our comfort zone and take a long hard look at the story of Jesus and the subsequent history of the organised church.
As far as I know there are no contemporary accounts of the life of Christ existing in their original form and this book points out the problems with recording accurately events and words spoken. The recorder will be seriously tempted to insert words, invent words and tell of events in such a way as to enhance the beliefs and opinions of the recorder! From then on it is a vast game of Chinese whispers!
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who is willing to keep an open mind and be provoked to think!
As far as I know there are no contemporary accounts of the life of Christ existing in their original form and this book points out the problems with recording accurately events and words spoken. The recorder will be seriously tempted to insert words, invent words and tell of events in such a way as to enhance the beliefs and opinions of the recorder! From then on it is a vast game of Chinese whispers!
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who is willing to keep an open mind and be provoked to think!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A wonderful look at the potential start of Christianity
I'm going to start off by saying that I'm not particularly religious and don't feel especially connected to the Bible. Read more
Published 2 months ago by H. Whitehead
Thoughtful, challenging. Curious.
I felt the book to be a little brief - it could be that I enjoyed it and read it quickly or that I just wanted more. Read more
Published 2 months ago by F. Ward
A read to the confused?
Another excellent piece of writing by Pullman. Written in biblical language, but with the tongue in the cheek all the way through, it seems a must to any questionning mind.
Published 2 months ago by Daniele E. Gould
slightly pointless
I absolutely love his dark materials. Probably my favourite books ever. I'm an atheist and knowing Pullman's stance on such a subject i was excited to read this 're-telling' of... Read more
Published 3 months ago by sean rafferty
Not angry, just very disappointed...
A nice idea, but the execution is disappointing.
One of the (many, many) things that was so brilliant about His Dark Materials was that it wore its theology lightly. Read more
One of the (many, many) things that was so brilliant about His Dark Materials was that it wore its theology lightly. Read more
Published 3 months ago by johnpcarr
If I had wanted to read a Child's Bible I could have bought one
After I'd completed this novel I read that it belonged to The Canongate Myths Series, a range of books by prominent authors retelling popular myths. Read more
Published 3 months ago by R. A. Davison
The good man Jesus
A well-written and respectful version of the Christian bible. This is a wonderful read for anyone with an interest in an alternative, some might say realistic, story of Jesus. Read more
Published 4 months ago by S. Paez
What a disappointment!
When I saw this book I was quite excited - I am an ex-evangelical christian, now an agnostic, and anticipated something more thought-provoking than a new slant on a well-known... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Socrates
A stinker of the first order
I love Philip Pullman for his wise interventions in the field of education, his wonderful quartet of Sally Lockhart books (still the best thing he's ever written) and the wild... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Librarian from the Black Lagoon
Thought provoking
I ordered this having read critical comments of it in the Times. As a practising Christian I found the comments intriguing. Read more
Published 5 months ago by KT
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