Christianity is under attack yet again, this time with the publication of a new book depicting Jesus Christ as a homosexual drug addict. Entitled The Final Testament of the Holy Bible and scheduled for publication on Good Friday, the book is written by James Frey, the notorious author of the controversial “non-fiction” book A Million Little Pieces, which was later exposed as a fictional tale.
The Final Testament focuses on Christ’s return to earth to fulfill the prophecy of the Second Coming. Renamed Ben Zion, Christ befriends a group of people who fearfully build a shelter in the subway tunnels beneath Manhattan.
Among a number of issues, the book mocks the relationship between Jesus and God the Father, with whom Christ is able to communicate only during epileptic seizures. Christ is depicted as a former alcoholic who — in between His hyperbolic sermons about peace — smokes dope and engages in sexual relationships with males and females. The novel features detailed descriptions of “tantric sex scenes and vegetarian love-ins.”
In describing the motivation of his novel, Frey observed, “When I was writing the book, I thought to myself, ‘If Messiah was here, what would that person be like? How would they live?'”
England’s The Guardian published a scathing review of both the author and his newest book, in which it labeled Frey a fraud: “Frey happens to be a shameless faker, who manufactures mishaps to embellish his personal mystique.” Having reviewed the controversy surrounding A Million Little Pieces, the article describes the repercussions of Frey’s deceit: “His agent sacked him, and his publisher shrewdly reneged on a seven-figure advance for two more books. Customers who felt defrauded sued, and were sent refunds.”
Appalled by Frey’s depiction of Christ, the reviewer continued:
Frey is back, unredeemed, assuming the persona of a divine con artist who is his fancied alter ego. “He’s been called a saviour, a revolutionary, a genius,” the publicists declare. Of course, they admit, he has also been fingered as a mythomaniac trickster. But couldn’t the same be said of Christ, who in the new novel is, like Frey, martyred by the media? It’s a feat of stupefying impudence: if only there were a God able to strike the imposter down during his tour of the talk shows! But Frey is the product of a culture with a short memory and a skewed moral sense. He’s also less a writer than a professional celebrity, which means that he can count on being rewarded for behaving badly.
Besides the blatantly sacrilegious nature of the book, The Guardian notes of the writing that it is “blandly unmoving.”
It is expected that, like The Guardian, Christians will be outraged over the blasphemous content of the novel. Strangely, however, much of the books’ criticism has come from the literary community, angered by Frey’s attempts to reinject himself into literary headlines.
The American Spectator’s Sean Macomber contends, “Frey should just go ahead and admit he’s trying to revive his career by egging on the followers of a religion who as a rule don’t … run around lopping the heads off those who draw pictures or string together words they don’t like. Some rebel.”
Salon critic Sarah Miller believes Frey’s motives in publishing his newest book is to transform himself from “villain” to “victim.” She explains, “You can become a minor hero to the liberal intelligentsia if your work gets you persecuted by bullies like Bill O’Reilly.”
Aware that his novel would face powerful criticism, Frey opted to have it brought out by an art gallery instead of a publishing company. The Gagosian Art Gallery will publish the original manuscript on a limited 10,000-copy run, which will include cover art and an exhibit in response to the book. Frey will also self-publish The Final Testament online. He commented,
This way I can take full control of what I do, both artistically and commercial [sic]. I’ve written controversial books in the past and publishers have given me no protection at all — they just threw me under the bus. If controversy does arise, it’ll be much easier for me to deal with as a self-publisher because I haven’t got any shareholders to be beholden to. I’ll just ignore it.
Frey seems to relish the idea of controversy, telling the New York Post during an interview about his new book, “I’m sure the religious right will go crazy.”
Maybe not crazy, but definitely righteously indignant.
