The Breath of God by Jeffrey Small

While religious studies are important, fiction based on religion is also a useful meditation. “The Breath of God” by Jeffrey Small is a novel about a religious studies grad student who finds ancient documents in a remote Himalayas monastery suggesting that Jesus of Nazareth studied with Brahmin and Buddhist masters before starting his own ministry in Palestine. The idea that the “Son of God” was not divinely inspired or worse inspired by pagan religions infuriates a bible thumping minister from Alabama and some of his followers. They attempt to undermine and sabotage the student’s efforts to bring the proof to the West.  So basically this is a fictionalized account of the Religious Right meets the Jesus Seminar on a smaller scale.

The book is well researched; it draws off the works of Marcus Borg, Thich Nhat Hanh, John Shelby Spong, Paul Tillich and others. Besides being action-packed and having a romantic interest throughout, the book is also a discussion of the commonality of all modern religions. This commonality is based on a commonality of experience shared by the founders of various religions. There is also the suggestion that every person has the ability to know the godhead through prayer and meditation. So, if you’ve already read the latest Dan Brown and you’re interested in religion, I encourage you to read this book.

For another novel that deals with the unknown years in Jesus’ life, let me suggest the light-hearted “Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal” by Christopher Moore. It also is an action-packed well-researched meditation on what Jesus might have experienced before starting his ministry. For a more macabre telling by an atheist, see “The Gospel According to Jesus” by José Saramago. These books are good thought-provoking summer reads.