Lamb by Christopher Moore

This was the third Moore book that our group has read: 

1) Any book by Moore - I personally, enjoyed his book, Fluke.

2) Sacre Bleu - one of the best books we've read in many months and we keep recommending it to others 

3) Lamb.  

Four Sentence Summary

This is a comedy, bromance, and quest.  It is the story of a friendship between a boy named Joshua, who has been told he has a destiny as the son of God, Jesus, and Levi, his best friend known as Biff.  They are coming of age 2000 years ago in the desert of Jerusalem and embark on an adventure to find the wise men (Balthazar, Gaspar, Melchior) of Joshua’s birth and learn what they have to teach. Oh, and the story of the birth and death of Jesus is there in the background, but this covers the 33 years in between those events.

 •  Balthazar – The home in the cliff walls will concubines and an “off limits” room.  Here, he learns about eternal life with smoke and mirrors

 •  Gaspar – The Himalaya temple where Joshua learns meditation, transcendence, and living in the moment.

 •  Melchior – In India where the festival of Kali happens and where Joshua learns the Divine Spark of God in all of us.

Questions from the Publisher (and our thoughts)  Discussion guide from HarperPaperbacks
1.  Did you find Lamb to be fairly true to the Bible as you know it? Did you learn anything from Lamb?
 •  Yes, as I remember from the Lutheran experiences I've had with it.  

 •  Yes, again, to think more deeply & differently about those "wise" men! 

 •  And about other spiritual viewpoints.

 •  Reminded me that Jesus was a Jew and was teaching from his own spiritual practices

 •  Knew that Mary Magdalene (Maggie / p. 442) was not a prostitute and am glad Moore portrayed her as a typical young woman (forced) who married at a young age and was a target (whore) when divorced.

 •  Grew up knowing that it was “wise men” not “3 wise men,” that Jesus traveled and learned from other religious teachings, and that there were more gospels than just the ones put into the Bible.  The First Council of Nicaea chose the written text that showed Jesus to be a God (not a man) to form the gospels.  There were more writings. (p. 443)

2.  Early in the book, Biff writes about "little-boy love," describing it as " ... the cleanest pain I've ever known. Love without desire, or conditions, or limits -- a pure and radiant glow in the heart that could make me giddy and sad and glorious all at once." Do you understand what he's saying? Have you ever experienced that kind of love?

 •  Accepting love?  Like that of best friends forever when you're a kid?

 •  Also love/romance – we’re really into the same things and love our friends for that

3.  Would Joshua have made it to maturity without Biff? Do you think Jesus had any human -- not divine help in becoming who he was? Is Moore making a statement about historical facts in the Bible, or about the value of friendship in general?
 •  If one believes Joshua's belief in his destiny, the answer is yes, against all odds because at times he seems totally in the clouds and clueless. 

 •  Unless one considers that what ordinary mortals did to help him was divine intervention!

 •  By making some of his "facts" so seemingly farfetched, its only a tiny step from questioning others.  

 •  Value of friendship – just as Joshua needed his friends, we need ours, a lesson to learn.

 •  Moore says in the epilogue that he’s not trying to make any statement about religion at all.

4.  Were you offended by this book in any way? There's so much here that Moore could almost be called an "equal opportunity offender." Did you find that some parts bothered you, while others didn't? Did he go too far, in any way? Not far enough?
 •  Not at all, found it amusing.

 •  The visit with the first wise man dragged on a bit long, I thought, but in retrospect, all they learned there was needed later on.

 •  I liked that he mentioned the some thought John the Baptist was the messiah (p. 309).  I’ve heard that point of view before. 

  •  Even though he said he didn’t do a lot of research, and we know he did tons of research for Sacre Bleu, it certainly seemed well researched.

5.  At one point, Biff asks, "Are all women stronger and better than me?" and Josh answers, "Yes." Do you think Moore believes this? Do you think Christianity teaches this? From what you know about other world religions, how does the role of women differ in each?
 •  The Judas story surprised me, I thought he was heading toward a "Passover Plot" ending. Was a different take on it though, having Judas hanged by one of his group rather than by his own hand.

6.  Did you recognize any moments in your own development as you heard the story of Jesus? Do you relate to the character of Josh? Does this story of "Josh" make you feel any differently about Jesus as a human being?
 •  Maybe he read Ashley Montague's book on the natural superiority of women.  

 •  Do you think Christianity teaches this? From what you know about other world religions, how does the role of women differ in each?
 •  Don't know, even within the different branches of Christianity women are regarded differently.

Particularly Funny Parts

Page 122 – Captain Titus, “I’ve been meaning to speak to her about that” (in response to being told, “Your mother eats the fungus from the feet of lepers” by Biff.

Page 124 – “He had f-ck-d them in a box, with a fox, in a house, with a mouse…”

Page 168 – we were celebrating the passage of Joshua’s seventeenth birthday in the fortress.  Balthasar had the girls prepare a feast of Chinese delicacies and we drank wine late into the night.  (And long after that, and even when we had returned to Israel, we always ate Chinese food on Joshua’s birthday.  I’m told it became tradition not only with those of us who knew Joshua, but with Jews Everywhere.)

P. 308 – holding up the piece of linen Joshua had used to wipe his face.  The dust and blood from Josh’s face had left a perfect likeness on the linen, even handprints where he’d gotten blood from his head wound.  “Can I keep this?”

P. 440 – so I traded out the story of the abominable snowman for Biff’s theory of natural selection. Seemed fair.  Bodhiharma is also said to have invented and taught Kung Fu to the famous Shao Lin monks.

Quotes / Religion / Spirituality

Page 124 – You Jews and your sin.  You know if you had more gods you wouldn’t have to be so worried about making one angry?

Page 167 – Kindness precedes justice.  As long as you seek justice by punishment you can only cause more suffering.

Page 195 – Compassion leads to courage, moderation leads to generosity, and humility leads to leadership.”

Page 219 – To learn to sit, to be still and hear the music of the universe, was why we had come halfway around the world, evidently.  To let go of ego, not individuality, but that which distinguishes us from all other beings.  When you sit, sit.  When you breathe, breathe.  When you eat, eat.  Gaspar would say, meaning that every bit of our being was to be in the moment, completely aware of the now, no past, no future, nothing dividing us from everything that is.

It’s hard for me, a Jew, to stay in the moment.  Without the past, where is the guilt?  And without the future, where is the dread?  And without guilt and dread, who am I?

Page 228 – Any freedom that can be given can be taken away.  Moses didn’t need to ask Pharaoh to release our people, our people didn’t need to be released from the Babylonians, and they don’t need to be released from the Romans.  I can’t give them freedom.  Freedom is in their hearts, they merely have to find it.

Page 231 – All fear comes from trying to see the future, Biff.  If you know what is coming, you aren’t afraid.

Page 250 – Praying is talking to God.  Meditating is listening. I’ve spent most of these last six years listening.  Do you know what I’ve heard?  Not a single thing.

Page 251 – I suspect that you don’t (know enough), but you know all that you will learn here.  If you come to a river and find a boat at the edge, you will use that boat to cross and it will serve you well, but once across the river, do you put the boat on your shoulders and carry it with you on the rest of your journey?

Page 253 – Compassion is the same way.  That’s what the yeti knew. He loved constantly, instantly, spontaneously, without thought or words.  That’s what he taught me.  Love is not something you think about, it is a state in which you dwell.  That was his gift.

Page 300 – You’re right, I have taught you nothing.  I could teach you nothing. Everything that you needed to know was already there.  You simply needed the word for it.  Some need Kali and Shiva to destroy the world so they may see past the illusion to divinity in them, others need Krishna to drive them to the place where they may perceive what is eternal in them. Others may perceive the Divine Spark in them only by realizing trough enlightenment that that the spark resides in all things, and in that they find kinship.  But because the Divine Spark resides in all, does not mean that all will discover it.  Your dharma is not to learn, Joshua, but to teach.

Page 305 – You won’t believe the wonderful things I’ve learned since I left here, Joy.  About being the agent of change (change is at the root of belief, you know), and about compassion for everyone because everyone is part of another, and most important, that there is a bit of God in each of us – in India they call it the Divine Spark.

Page 364 – Yes, some of them were married, and some even preached with their wives at their sides, but what set them apart of the multitudes who would follow Joshua was that they had stepped off the path of their own lives to spread the Word.  It was to the Word that I lost Maggie, not to Joshua.