I just finished reading Punk Rock Jesus by Sean Murphy. The premise of the story is that a private company called Ophis decides to have a reality show with a difference. They claim that the catholic church have agreed to let them have access to the Shroud of Turin in a confidential deal and use the DNA on it make a clone of Jesus Christ. A virgin teenage girl (18-years-old) named Gwen is selected through an American Idol type contest to be impregnated with the Jesus clone. She has cosmetic surgery to make her more "sexy" (breast implants, teeth straightened and whitened, basically the stereotypical Hollywood treatment) while at the same time having her "holiness" empathised. To get around the laws banning human cloning they set up the equipment on a boat in international waters then move on to a privately owned island where the reality show, J2, takes place. The Ophis bloke in charge of the island/reality show, Rick Slate, instructs geneticist Dr. Sarah Epstein, the one doing the cloning, to give certain tweaks. Make his skin lighter, give him blue eyes etc. When she points out Jesus is middle eastern Slate replies that he's aware but wants their Jesus to look like what you'd find in children's bible books. The cloning of Jesus Christ splits the religious down the middle, with some seeing him as the second coming and some seeing this as blasphemy. A group called the New American Christians are the main ones opposing this and basically become an American christian al-qaeda group.
The clone (Chris) is raised on a diet of bible and creationism. I think two of the most memorable parts of this was almost drowning as a small child while trying to walk on water and a few years later trying to bring a certain person (trying not to give spoilers
) back to life. Cos he's Jesus, and Jesus can preform miracles.
As a teenager Chris (ironically considering he's the clone of Jesus) loses faith in god and becomes an outspoken atheist. After escaping the island he joins a punk band called the Flat Jackets and uses the fame he's had all his life to oppose religion.
I can't say it's the most profound thing I've ever read but it's fine to pass the time. Occasionally it falls flat but it picks up again. The one character I'd be interested in seeing more in depth is Chris' bodyguard and head of security Thomas McKael, a devout catholic and ex-IRA member who trained with arab factions in the Libyan desert and believes Chris is the second coming. All in all it was a fun read. Not very complex but enjoyable in a straight forward sort of way.
Topic: What book are you reading?