Jesus on Mars

Jesus on Mars is a 1979 science fiction novel by Philip José Farmer set on Mars and involving an alien civilization. Despite the apparently lurid, sensationalist theme evoked by the title, this novel makes social commentary on a just society and on religious belief.

It was first published as a paperback by Pinnacle press in 1979 with ISBN 0523401841. This edition is now out of print. It was also printed in New York City as a hard cover by HarperCollins who issued it in 1982 with ISBN 0586053085. It was translated in 6 other languages and published abroad.

The Plot

An unmanned scientific probe sent to Mars discovers an alien artifact. A followup robotic explorer lands and verifies that an enormous alien ship is partially buried on Mars. So a manned expedition is sent to explore this apparently abandoned alien ship. The expedition members are captured and taken underground to the habitat occupied by a combined society of humans living harmoniously with the alien Krsh.

The expedition learns that, in previous millennia, the technologically advanced Krsh were won over to the religion of the humans. This society practices Judaism but accepts Jesus as their Messiah. Included in their Bible is the Book of Matthias which is the testament written by Judas Iscariot. However, unlike mainstream Christianity, this society views Jesus as a man and not as God (see Nicene Creed).

Originally, the Krsh had arrived at Earth on an exploratory mission. To study humans, the Krsh had offered to bring injured humans to their spaceship for medical treatment. Then, the ship was attacked by another alien species which is especially hostile and xenophobic. Even though the attack was repelled and the ship of the xenophobic aliens was destroyed, the Krsh's own ship was damaged. So they landed on Mars to hide from more potential hostility which never arrived. During the years of camouflage, the Krsh and humans crew joined together into a unified society.

Halfway through the novel, we learn that Jesus himself miraculously arrived among these people almost two thousand years earlier and had been living with them ever since. The proximity of Jesus is overwhelming and convincing both in terms of concrete, scientifically verifiable miracles as well as a strong visceral presence. This proximity convinces even the scientifically advanced Krsh. Also, three of the four crew members accept this Jesus and convert to this hybrid form of Judaism and Christianity. The fourth crew member, an atheist and the only female crew member, commits suicide. She is subsequently resurrected using advanced technology but not before she suffers brain damage that erases much of her personality.

Towards the end of the novel, Jesus leads a flotilla of spaceships back to Earth in a reenactment of the Second Coming. Although desiring peaceful interaction and offering immortality and boundless manna, they are prepared for hostile action. As can be expected, Jesus is accused of being the Antichrist.

Such doubts afflict Richard Orme who is the astronaut leading the manned expedition from Earth. In the penultimate chapter, Orme wavers on his conversion and submission to this Martian Jesus. He then prepares to assassinate the Jesus but, ironically throws himself upon a grenade from another assassin so as to save Jesus. In the final chapter, he awakens naked and disoriented to discover that he has been resurrected by Jesus while the world media looked on. Then, Orme reaffirms his commitment and the novel ends abruptly with a sense of the years of impending struggle against the forces of evil.

Balancing Skepticism vs. Faith

At various times, Farmer plays off the stances of skeptic vs. believer. He leaves a final interpretation open to readers.

The author Farmer infuses the book with a perspective taken from modern scholarly research which is typically skeptical of the accuracy of the New Testament. For instance, the perspective of the Nicene Creed is rejected. However, this fictional reality still permits the divinely sanctioned role of Jesus as Messiah. In the second half of the novel, Farmer uses his fictional Jesus to comment on contemporary religious belief.

However, the readers are left in some doubt as to whether this individual is indeed Jesus. During a private conversation, Jesus playfully discusses positions that skeptics may take. In particular, during previous exploration, the alien Krsh had encountered a planet with complex energy fields. So Jesus posits the possibility that he could be a curious energy-being that had hitched a ride on the exploring spaceship.

In one skeptical passage, Orme is wrestling with how humanity should take the gifts of this purported Jesus:

Can't they see that the devil would make the same promises? Only... this man can deliver. But the devil could probably deliver also. And the devil would think of himself as a good man. Who that is evil believes that he is? All think of themselves as good. No doubt Hitler and Stalin and Mao, Napoleon and Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar, Attila the Hun and Nebuchadnezzar, all thought of themselves as being on the side of good.

The only difference between them and Jesus is that Jesus can do good. But it's an insidious good that will lead directly but subtly to subtle evil.

In the above passage, a doubting Orme is expressing suspicions of the specific Jesus he is confronted with; Farmer is not attaching any kind of "subtle evil" to the Jesus of the New Testament.

In another passage towards the end, Orme makes a statement of faith as he explains why he threw himself on the grenade intended for Jesus:

somewhere deep in my mind, was the thought that it made no difference if you were this energy-being and not the original Jesus. The Father uses many hands to do His work, and He sometimes works in a subtle circuitous manner. If He chose a nonhuman creature from a far-off planet to be the Messiah, just as He chose the Krsh to be among the People of the Covenant, then ...

after which Orme trails off and Jesus urges acceptance of what "the Father chooses". Yet, even after Orme's final submission, the reader remains in a conflicted, ambiguous state as to ultimate moral value of the actions of this Martian Jesus and his impending reign on Earth.

See also

The more recent Left Behind series also deals with the Second Coming in a fast-paced format and with some speculative fiction elements. In contrast to Jesus on Mars, Left Behind takes a fundamentalist perspective that tries to adhere to a contemporary literal reading of the New Testament.