Lamb : The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal Book

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Christopher Moore's story claims to be a new Gospel written by one Levi, known as "Biff," who was Jesus' best friend from childhood. A blond, air-headed angel (somehow I see Owen Wilson in the movie) has resurrected him and ensconced him in the Hyatt-Regency Saint Louis to write a new Gospel (while the Angel becomes addicted to soap operas). Biff writes a wacky, profane story about how Jesus, accompanied by Biff, grew from a kind of pipsqueak six-year-old to become truly the Messiah-with special emphasis on the years between childhood and the beginning of his ministry, during which Moore asserts that Jesus and Biff sought out the three Magi. On the road (like a Biblical Bob Hope and Bing Crosby), they spend years in a magical Confucian stronghold carved into a mountain (populated by lusty whipsmart concubines with martial arts skills straight out of a Tarentino movie), as well as in a Tibet-like Buddhist monastery (where Biff learns to move like lightning and Jesus becomes a bodhisattva), and finally visiting India. In the process Jesus becomes the Messiah and Biff....well, Biff becomes the inventor of sarcasm.

Now, as to the butter-vs-frogs analogy: I'm a religious liberal, and to me Moore's book is real farce. It's the funniest book I've ever read, and parts of it are so funny they will have many people actually gasping for air from laughter (and Jesus' attempt to dictate the Beatitudes to Biff is the single funniest passage of the funniest book). So for me this book is real butter on my popcorn.

Moreover, because Moore is grappling with a genuine theological puzzle - how Jesus could be fully man and fully god at the same time - even believing Christians who can read the book at armslength will find something interesting. Theologically, the "fully man" part has always been hard to appreciate, since part of what makes us human (lust, say, or incomprehension, or even, I'm amazed to say, flatulence) seems to be entirely outside Jesus' historical existence. Moore's take on Jesus was that he had to learn (as all true humans must do) how to grow into his calling, yet the premise of the book is, indisputably, that Jesus WAS the Messiah. So behind the laughter Moore is, in his way, trying to suggest one possible solution to this very old theological problem.

But to a final group - those who are offended by a humorous approach to their faith - you folks will just hate this. Honest, you'll be deeply offended. If you see someone reading "Lamb," and rolling on the floor, just stay clear. For you this is popcorn with a dead frog in it.

Everybody else, please read this!

Moore has a well-earned reputation as a silly writer, but with "Lamb" he manages to apply his bizarre sense of humor to some more serious subject matter. "Lamb" is a sort of strange combination of adventure, religious satire, screwball comedy, and heavy philosophy. At turns it's funny, at other turns it's plaintive, and sometimes it's just odd, but it's always a fun read. After meeting as kids in Galilee, Biff and Jesus (or Joshua, as he's known in this narrative) embark on an epic journey that takes them all over Asia and back again. Joshua struggles to figure out how to fill his role as the Messiah, learning along the way from wise men and Buddhist monks.
Moore, as one could imagine from a writer with his imagination, has a lot of fun constructing his own version of Jesus's world as it existed two thousand years ago. He fills his narrative with innumerable humorous details of everyday life (the kids playing a game of "stone the adulteress" is one especially hilarious moment), and it's amusing to hear Biff tell how he and Joshua brought the world such inventions as sarcasm, cafe latte, and Judo.

Silly as it can be, "Lamb" is surprisingly thoughtful, even touching, at some moments. Even though he's the son of God, it's still easy to symphathize with Joshua's struggle to find his way in life. Moore also makes "Lamb" a tale of friendship, capturing the complexities of the relationship between Joshua, Biff, and Mary Magdalene (Biff loves Mary, Mary loves Joshua, Joshua can't know woman, so you get the idea). Really, though, it's the philosophy and theology that make this book. As presented by Moore, Joshua has a completely inclusive view of religion, heavily indebted to Eastern thought (especially Buddhism). Against the skepticism of those who know him, even the Apostles, Joshua sets out to save the souls of all people, not just the Jews who have been "chosen" by God. I was a history major in college, and I can say with reasonable certainty that the world would've been a better place if more people subscribed to the tolerant view of religion set forth in "Lamb." It's too bad that many of those who call themselves religious don't know or care enough about the teachings of Jesus, but "Lamb" is a good reminder of what he stood for, especially if you want a laugh.

Not only did I literally laugh out loud during certain parts, I got choked up with a lump in my throat during others. I think Moore did an excellent job at bringing out the human side of Joshua as well as the Divine. And then there's Biff... What a great friend he is and what halarious & wonderful adventures the two of them have together while Joshua is on his quest for knowledge.

I highly recommend this book and will deffinately be reading this one again.