Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal
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Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal is an absurdist fiction novel by Christopher Moore, published in 2002. In it, Moore purports to tell the story of the first thirty years of the life of Jesus through the point of view of his childhood pal, Levi bar Alphaeus, nick-named Biff. The story begins by Biff being resurrected to complete missing parts of the Bible. Under the watchful eye of the angel Raziel, who is more interested in soap operas, Biff recounts the years he knew Jesus that are not recounted in the Bible, which includes the decades that he and his Pal Joshua (Jesus) spend traveling the world. They are seeking out the Three Wise Men who attended his birth, so that he may learn how to become the Messiah, as he was told. This recounting of Jesus' human and godlike qualities, and Biff's debauchery leads to its all too familiar tragic ending, but humorously explains many things: the origins of judo (pronounced jew-do, for a reason) and how bunnies became associated with Easter. The Three Wise Men, Mary Magdalene, Joseph, and Mary all have their part in the life and times of Jesus.
Biff describes what life was like during their childhood in Nazareth. After the angel tells Joshua that he is to be the Messiah, they decide to go looking for the Three Wise Men who were present at the time of Joshua's birth. Over a span of thirty years, Biff and Joshua search and discover the Three Wise Men and Joshua learns a great deal about human nature, and how he is able to translate that into his teachings. At each point, Joshua surpasses the Wise Men and their philosophy, by incorporating his own beliefs into theirs. It explores the miracles of Jesus as well: how he learned to multiply food, become invisible, and resurrect the dead (which he did with lizards when he was 6).
Many people have, at a glance, rejected this work as pure satire, or even sacrilege. There is a great deal of offensive language and blasphemy in the book, but there is deeper meaning within.
Other works referred to by this novel are the Kama Sutra, the Torah, and the Kabbalah.