Do Not Disavow

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Do Not Disavow By: Rick Davis   When Charlemagne established law Salic in barb’rous land, The gospel flourished, and he saw Christ’s praise on every hand.   (“Do you approve his methods now?”) I do not disavow.   King Godfrey took Jerusalem From bloody paynim hands And brought a halt to Musselmen Invading Christian lands.   (“He did some mean things anyhow!”) I do not disavow.   King Richard with his scarlet shield And passant lions ‘bossed Rode forth again unto the field To regain what was lost.   (“His deeds at Acre you allow?”) I do not disavow.   Unto the Germans Luther brought The gospel full restored, And Calvin at Geneva taught The glory of the Lord.   (“The Jews? Servetus? Holy cow!”) I do not disavow.   Stonewall and Lee like knights of old Fought for their native soil, The true and lovely to uphold Against the tyrant’s spoil.   (“Those vile racists ...
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Imaginary Jesus

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It started as an ordinary day. Matt was hanging out with his bed bud Jesus at his favorite hip, vegan, communist café in downtown Portland. Everything is business as usual until a fat trucker comes in, calls Jesus an impostor, and punches him in the mouth. The trucker then claims to be the apostle Peter, and reveals that for years Matt has been worshiping an Imaginary Jesus of his own devising. Peter enlists the aid of a talking donkey named Daisy and an ex-hooker named Sandy to help Matt hunt down his Imaginary Jesus and find the real Jesus in an adventure that takes them through ancient Israel, Portland and Vancouver, and Matt’s comic-book-influenced psyche.

Soon the motley group is on the run for their lives from a whole army of imaginary Jesuses, who are not too happy about Matt’s quest to find the real Jesus, having happily settled themselves into the lives of Christians and churches all over the world. Along the way, our heroes encounter many imaginary Jesuses including Legalist Jesus, Hippie Jesus, Televangelist Jesus, Political Jesus, Testosterone Jesus, Emergent Jesus, Superhero Jesus, Businessman Jesus, Mormon Jesus and many more.

Imaginary Jesus by Matt Mikalatos is a fun and witty satire along the lines of Nate Wilson’s “Right Behind” books. Although the point is sometimes belabored and the writing is sometimes a bit heavy-handed, the message is an important one: we often want to imagine Jesus in our own image because the real Jesus is just too dangerous and unpredictable. I was getting some Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy vibes as well here. Imagine if Douglas Adams had been an orthodox Christian, and you might get a picture of what this book is like.

4/5 stars

Comments

Mom said…
You know what this means? You have to let your mother borrow this book!!!!!!!!!!!!
30 October, 2011 14:07
Erica said…
I want to read this so much.
30 October, 2011 14:45
Matt Mikalatos said…
Rick,

Thanks for your kind review and apparently you've already created two new readers for me out there! Thanks, too, for the Douglas Adams reference... even a whiff is a compliment in my book!

If you run across my second book, Night of the Living Dead Christian, I'd be interested in your opinion!

Thanks again!

--Matt
31 October, 2011 22:42
Rick Davis said…
Matt,

I'll add your new book to my reading list! Have you read the book "Right Behind" by Nathan Wilson or "The Mantra of Jabez" by Doug Jones? Your book reminded me a lot of those, pointed Christian satire a la Jonathan Swift; though I thought yours was more fleshed out as a full story than those I just mentioned. I suspect that a person with your sense of humor would enjoy them.

For the record, I think my favorite Imaginary Jesuses were King James Jesus and Magic 8-ball Jesus.

-Rick
08 November, 2011 14:55
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