The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.
The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ
Written by: Philip Pullman
Central Theme:
Synopsis:
First published: April 2010
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The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ is a 2010 novel by Philip Pullman. It tells the story of Jesus as if he were two people, "Jesus" and "Christ", with contrasting personalities; Jesus being a moral and godly man, and his brother Christ a calculating figure who wishes to use Jesus' legacy to found a powerful Church.


Tropes used in The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ include:
  • Alternative Character Interpretation - Of both Jesus and Christ.
  • The Bible - A retelling of part of it.
  • Downer Ending - Christ got his powerful church - but the things he had to do to create it and the manner in which he sugar-coated Jesus' life in his texts and all that entails for everything leave him a bitter man
  • Fan Fiction - Sort of.
  • The Man Behind the Man - The Stranger/Angel to Christ.
  • Reality Subtext - Obviously, the beginning of Christianity, but there is particularly poignant and topical prediction by Jesus of child abuse being covered up when done by priests.