A BLOG Book Study

Chapter One

You think you know how this story is going to end, but you don't. Trust me, I was there. I know.

The first time I saw the man who would save the world he was sitting near the central well in Nazareth with a lizard hanging out of his mouth. Just the tail end and the hind legs were visible on the outside; the head and forelegs were halfway down the hatch. He was six, like me, and his beard had not come in fully, so he didn't look much like the pictures you've seen of him. His eyes were like dark honey, and they smiled at me out of a mop of blue-black curls that framed his face. There was a light older than Moses in those eyes.

"Unclean! Unclean!" I screamed, pointing at the boy, so my mother would see that I knew the law, but she ignored me, as did all the other mothers who were filling their jars at the well.

The boy took the lizard from his mouth and handed it to his younger brother, who sat beside him in the sand. The younger boy played with the lizard for a while, teasing it until it reared its little head as if to bite, then he picked up a rock and mashed the creature's head. Bewildered, he pushed the dead lizard around in the sand, and once assured that it wasn't going anywhere on its own, he picked it up and handed it back to his older brother.

Into his mouth went the lizard, and before I could accuse, out it came again, squirming and alive and ready to bite once again. He handed it back to his younger brother, who smote it mightily with the rock, starting or ending the whole process again.

That is how the story begins.  It is Christopher Moore’s novel "Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal".

Let’s be clear right up front.  Lamb is not serious history or biblical literature.  Moore is not making fun of Christianity either.  Later we will talk more about his motives for writing.  For now let’s just say Moore believes that Jesus (or Joshua in Hebrew) had to have a sense of humor and that he would have appreciated a good laugh now and then.  The book is irreverent but I did not find it offensive.  It is clearly fiction but much of it could have happened.

This is the story of a young boy trying to come to terms with his unique calling as Messiah.  Joshua is kind, earnest, good-hearted and sincere.  He could have been one of those holier than thou types had it not been for his best friend Biff.  Together they act like two ordinary boys growing up, fighting, dreaming, wondering and experimenting with life.

When Biff and Joshua get older they decide to go looking for the three wise men who appeared at Joshua’s birth to see what they can learn.  Along the journey they learn about Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism, and Hinduism, as well as learning about girls, sex, obedience, trust and more.

Eventually, Biff and Joshua return home and the story follows fairly closely to the Gospel accounts and ends pretty much as expected.

The book leaves me understanding that Jesus had followers and he had friends as well.  I laughed out loud at many sections and I could not wait to read the next chapter.  Of course I have always believed that faith should be fun and that God has a sense of humor.

So what do you think of the book?  What questions did it raise for you?  What new ideas did it spark?  Let’s talk…