John Henson (2)

I enjoyed this one! This is fiction, building upon the story of several notable but sketchy characters in the New Testament. Henson modernizes the names and nicknames of his characters (Jim for James, Rocky for Peter), which added to the enjoyment for me. I found myself embracing the puzzle of figuring out who the characters were in the Bible.

All characters tell their story in first person, beginning with Lazarus, the man whom Jesus raised from the tomb. Lazarus is presumed to be the “Beloved Disciple” of John’s Gospel, a conclusion Henson considers “undoubtedly” true, and that the Gospel writer “could hardly have made any more clear.” Henson shares this opinion with other recent scholars, including Ben Witherington (see Revelation, The New Cambridge Bible Commentary) and a fascinating book by James David Audlin that I’ll be reviewing soon. In my own book about John’s Gospel, I also tie Lazarus to the Beloved Disciple, so I am sympathetic to the arguments.

Henson goes a step further with Lazarus. Who is this grown man, greatly loved by Jesus, living with his two sisters on a large estate? Speculation helps fill any void, so Henson makes him gay, and Henson’s lessons through his semi-fictional characters are not exactly subtle. Jesus and Lazarus soon embrace, a bit more intimately than one might expect. But is this inappropriate topic matter, or uncomfortable for Christian readers? The Beloved Disciple, you recall, reclines on the breast of Jesus at the Last Supper. Says Lazarus, as he bemoans not being able to tell his story, “Maybe for my lifetime, maybe for many hundreds or even thousands of years, my story would be taboo, until that day came when Christians would no longer be afraid of love. I wanted to tug at John’s sleeve, ‘Tell them how beautiful [Jesus] looked! Tell them about his glistening hair, his twinkling eyes and his hairy chest!’”

As it turns out, nowhere in the book is Jesus portrayed as gay; only that Jesus feels no discomfort at sharing a physical closeness with Lazarus, the same as he does with any disciple, male or female. Jesus’ favoritism toward Lazarus exists (at least in Lazarus’s mind), but is actively tempered.

From Lazarus, we move on to several more characters, and I won’t spoil your enjoyment by listing them. I’ll just say the book got better and better for me as it went. If there is a common theme surrounding Henson’s choice of characters, it’s that each feels marginalized or unsettled before meeting Jesus. This is not an evangelical book, merely a book about the atmosphere Jesus brought to all he came in contact with. It certainly doesn’t solve life’s problems or explain all the mysteries of what happened in the first century. But at the same time, this book won’t be quickly forgotten.… (meer)

I loved this book!! It's original, fun to read, and thought-provoking. And that last one is, above all else, the primary determinant in how I rate a book ... how much it makes me think.

I do confess this: You need to know your Bible before reading this one. There's just too much cram-packed into these 200 pages for Henson to take time to describe the setting of every topic. He assumes you know the Bible stories, and he assumes you've had some exposure to Biblical criticism. The result is no wasted words, and I wound up savoring it very slowly.

Henson’s point seems to be that nobody, not even Jesus' closest followers, measure up to Christ. Given the opportunity to lead on their own, the apostles’ floundering attempts in the book of Acts sometimes seem to steer the boat off course, away from the compassionate message of their founder. Henson relays the stories in Acts with wry insight, and here I should confess something else: Once in a while, Henson's opinionated directness overshadows his humor. He comes down particularly hard on "Rocky" (Peter) and Paul (who "loved to give advice" even on non-theological matters, and wasn't above the occasional "I told you so" afterward.) Hey, turns out these guys were human after all! None of this is cause to despise these early Christians, we just love them all the more in their character flaws, marveling all the more at how Christianity survived its first bumbling attempts. In other words, Henson's direct approach works.

Definitely worth reading!… (meer)

A translation of the New Testament that strives to avoid everything that is elitist, academic or "churchy". Very refreshing and lively. Henson wants to make ordinary people feel at home with the Bible. For instance, he replaces strange-sounding names with more familiar ones - 'Maggie' for Mary Magdalene, "Bart" for Bartholomew - and translates the meaning of names that were originally meant at nicknames - "Rocky" for Peter, "Twin" for Thomas. He avoids language that is sexist or class disciminatory. Every reader is likely to be irritated by some parts of this translation, but many will be delighted and/or inspired by other parts. Try it!… (meer)