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Christopher Moore is the author of six novels, the latest of which is Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal. This interview was conducted via email in order to accommodate Moore's book tour.
In the afterword to Lamb and in an email leading up to this interview, you stressed that you don't want this book to be perceived as an attack on anybody's faith. Why the concern?
Because I think faith is an important and sacred thing, and although I have no problem with the idea that the book may make people think, it was important that I not make judgments about people's faith.
What is your religious background?
I was baptized Methodist, but I was mainly raised First Church of nfl, which is to say that my family, especially my father, was much more concerned with watching football on Sundays than attending services.
What was it that made you want to do a novel about the life of Christ?
For years I've been fascinated with the role of a messiah in relation to those who believe in him, and I've explored that theme in some of my other books. With this book, I was focusing on the difficulty for the human part of Joshua (Jesus)—that's what intrigued me. Also, I saw this as a great opportunity to tell a story about friendship and loyalty.
You often live for at least a short time in the places you're writing about. Was there any traveling involved in the writing of Lamb?
I did go to Israel for a couple of weeks on a guided tour of historically significant places. At first I was doubtful that it would help, but in the end, I think it helped to inform the life of the characters. If I hadn't gone to Israel, I don't think I would have gotten the harshness of life in the Holy Land in the first century. It's very rugged country—much more so than I had imagined.
In comparison to the Jesus Seminar, you hew pretty close to the four gospels, with smatterings of the Gospel of Thomas thrown in.
What I wanted to do was show the "behind the scenes" aspect of the gospels, without boring people with a lengthy retelling of a story they already knew. So, where in the gospels there's one line about how Jesus cast seven demons out of Mary Magdalene, in Lamb you see that happen. I wanted the effect to be additive, hopefully enriching the experience of the story with humor, while giving those familiar with the gospels a sense of discovery: "Oh, that's the way it might have happened."
Have you run into any protest – organized or otherwise?
Nope. None at all. I'm not sure anyone has even heard of the book.
What kind of reading did you do for the research?
I read perhaps a dozen books on the historical Jesus, a couple of books on the practice of Judaism in the first century, the Gnostic gospels, the Apocrypha, a number of books on society in the Holy Land, Roman history of the time, a whole series of books that I bought in Israel, written by a Franciscan monk and archaeologist who has lived and worked there for 30 years (I'm sorry I don't remember the specific titles and authors, and I'm answering these questions on the road, away from my library). Many books on religious practice in Asia—Taoism, Confucianism, Hinduism, Buddhism—as well as the "major" Hindu holy books. Finally, I must have read the gospels 50 times, in part to put together a credible chronology that included events from all of the books. I also read the King James Bible cover to cover, as well as a couple of books that explained the Bible. I didn't put much focus, however, on the New Testament after the Gospels.
Is Biff a proxy for you?
No, not at all. Biff is the quintessential smartass, and he's much simpler than I am. He's also braver, stronger, more dedicated, and more depraved. Biff is an extraordinary character (and wouldn't you have to be, to be the best friend of the Son of God?). I, on the other hand, am just an American guy who writes funny books.
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