The author of the His Dark Materials trilogy has rewritten the Gospels. That’s right, Philip Pullman has a new novel out.

Called The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ, the premise is that Jesus and Christ are brothers, one with a talent for egalitarian teaching and the other for miracles and PR. The Guardian has an excerpt up, but Slate posted a warm review with Pullman’s rewrite of the Lord’s Prayer:

This is how you should pray. You should say: Father in heaven, your name is holy. Your Kingdom is coming, and your will shall be done on earth as it’s done in heaven. Give us today the bread we need. And forgive our debts, as we shall forgive those who are indebted to us. And don’t let the evil one tempt us more than we can resist. Because the Kingdom and the power and the glory belong to you for ever. So be it.

The new book’s premise reminds me of the pseudo-Gnostic Thomas tradition in early Christianity, which sometimes portrays Thomas as Jesus’ twin. I know Pullman identifies as an atheist, but he sure writes like a Gnostic. I thought that after reading His Dark Materials, and this new book would seem to only underscore that.