Becoming The Son: An Autobiography of Jesus, by C.D. Baker

[Note: This book was provided free of charge by Bostick Communications in exchange for an honest review.]

This is the second book I have read by this author [1], and like its predecessor, it shares some notable similarities. Both have provocative titles, both deal with Christianity as a major thematic element, and both feature a lot of attention on gentle and sensitive men who are attentive and tender with women and children and flirtatious ladies who end up in abusive relationships and struggle to feel attractive and loved. While the first novel focused on a young woman in Nazi Germany and her troubles, this novel focuses on the difficult life of Jesus Christ, an even more provocative subject matter (especially as the book is a first-person perspective fictionalized autobiography that, like the other novel of his I have read, combines a sympathetic main character with the struggle for nobility, a certain sensitivity to the outcasts and downtrodden in society, and a life that is full of trouble.

This novel was self-published, for reasons of controversial content. To be sure, writing a novelized version of the life of Jesus Christ is a daring choice, and while sometimes that choice pays off (Garner Ted Armstrong’s The Real Jesus being a notable example), more often the attempt fails miserably [2]. To be sure, those people looking to find criticism in this book will find much to criticize. Yet there is also much to appreciate here as well, including the fact that the author is honest about wanting to be true to his vision, as well as the fact that he bases his novelization on three concentric sources, the Gospels themselves (along with other scriptures), the research and thoughts of scholars, and surmises and personal reasoning. Among the best aspects of his novel, and the most honest, are the many scholarly footnotes that show justification for the author’s decisions in terms of the text. Of course, the author’s research leads him to include almost every variation of Abba and Avi that he can use for “father” in the text, and to include speech that is constantly full of scriptural references (most of which are helpfully footnoted).

There is a lot to like about this book that deserves mention. For one, the book is immensely sympathetic, with an intuitive work at how Jesus Christ grew up to be so sensitive to the thoughts of others, and tormented by abuse, a difficult family situation, and the attacks of the evil one through years of nightmares. The book shares with the Gospel of Luke a focus on women and outcasts in society, and is particularly sympathetic to the women of Jesus’ life (like his mother and his female disciples). It is honest about its presuppositions and asks the indulgence of readers for any flaws. There is a clear emphasis on the mercy of God and a clear universality of love (which is also just as clearly not well understood by the disciples). The novel is written in an excellent style that is easy to read and full of memorable discussions and quotable comments and excellent research.

This is not to say that the novel is perfect, though. There are some flaws in both what it includes and what it does not include. It includes a lot of information about Jesus’ childhood and youth that was not included in scriptures or any historical sources. Among this added material includes an imagined romance between Jesus and an imaginary girl named Leah. I suppose the author cannot believe that someone as gentle and loving and understanding as Jesus would not have had any sort of romance, even if His destiny precluded Him from marriage and family, which would have made him very unusual in his culture, where bachelors were not considered as full men. While that material was added, there was quite a bit that was not included from the Gospels. For one, there was no Transfiguration, nor any part of the ministry in Caesarea Phillipi, and the Olivet propchecy are all taken out. In addition, some of the parables of Jesus Christ are turned into events in his life, like the Good Samaritan (to give but one example). Despite these flaws, though, when looked at indulgently, this is a novel that is full of thought provoking writing about the life of Jesus Christ. As long as it is seen as a novel and not as gospel, one can appreciate the insight and not be offended at the controversial material. We could all use a bit of indulgence, call it grace, after all.

[1] https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2014/07/22/book-review-the-seduction-of-eva-volk/

[2] https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2013/08/30/book-review-johns-gospel-the-way-it-happened/