The Devil loves cows. He’s made of wood. And he’s really not such a bad guy, if you get to know him.
Up Jumps the Devil is the story of John Scratch. He really is the Devil, and he has been bumming around Earth since he got kicked out of heaven and separated from his girlfriend, an angel named Arden. If he can somehow make the Earth as wonderful as it could be, maybe she’ll join him down here. He’ll do whatever it takes…even if it means working with musicians or becoming a reality TV star. (source)
This was a fun, thought provoking read which I totally recommend. Also, it's not a love story (which, I think, this snippet implies), it's more about a well intentioned, still rebellious if aging ex-angel who wants to make things on Earth better.
Why do I like reading books and watching shows about gods and devils? To be clear, I’m talking fiction not ecclesiastical works. Now that I think of it, organized religions and their spokesbots are positively soaking in fiction. Fine, I could read (or read more of) the Bible, Koran, Dào Dé Jīng, Upanishads or whatever BUT those books tend to be devoid of even the slimmest sense of humor. No thanks.
The stories I’m reading and watching go beyond the tightly wound, unbending teachings of major religions. In stories where there’s just one god, he’s not some white man who’s infallible and the devil isn’t the distillation of all evil. Shit’s complicated, murky and can’t be reduced to a bullet point presentation. Just like real life.
A few of my favorites?
- The teevee series Lucifer **BRILLIANT**
- Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore
- Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips
- American Gods by Neil Gaiman
The Amazing Bob used to say that monotheism is reductive, autocratic and boring too. I wholeheartedly agree.
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| Michelangelo's Creation of Adam AKA God Creating Man or, as I think of it, Man Creating God |
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