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American Savior: A Novel of Divine Politics
"Into a country divided by partisan politics, into a world turn by hatred and war, at a time when it seems that everyone and no one has a solution to the problems that plague humankind, there suddenly appears someone who can rise above the madness, someone with knowledge and power, someone with a finely tuned sense of the ridiculous - someone, in short, who can make it right. And thus we finally have an answer to the long-simmering question, "What would Jesus do?"" "Roland Merullo's novel American Savior posits an inspired "what if" scenario: What if Jesus, alarmed at how the earth's most powerful nation has lost its spiritual footing and dismayed at how His own teachings have been distorted - used by politicians and religious zealots to turn love into hatred and faith into a call to arms - returns and announces that he is running for President of the United States? What if He becomes a third-party candidate, is heralded as the Son of God, and not only threatens to disrupt the status quo but poses a serious threat to the already established Democratic and Republican candidates? What would happen? How would the media react? And, more important, how would we react?" "Narrated by a more than slightly cynical young TV reporter, American Savior puts the reader inside the campaign waged by what is quickly dubbed the Divinity Party and follows Jesus and his modern-day disciples as they travel across the nation making speeches, reaching out to the people, and in the process arousing the ire of those who believe they know God, and who know, most assuredly, that this is not He." By turns amusing and heartbreaking, affirming and disturbing, American Savior is a novel sure to createcontroversy among those for whom self-righteousness is its own religion. Holding up a mirror to our society and the world in which we live, it is a passionate and penetrating look at the America that is and the America that could be.
312 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2008
31 people are currently reading
449 people want to read
About the author
Roland Merullo
39 books684 followersROLAND MERULLO is an awarding-winning author of 24 books including 17 works of fiction: Breakfast with Buddha, a nominee for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, now in its 20th printing; The Talk-Funny Girl, a 2012 ALEX Award Winner and named a "Must Read" by the Massachusetts Library Association and the Massachusetts Center for the Book; Vatican Waltz named one of the Best Books of 2013 by Publishers Weekly; Lunch with Buddha selected as one of the Best Books of 2013 by Kirkus Reviews; Revere Beach Boulevard named one of the "Top 100 Essential Books of New England" by the Boston Globe; A Little Love Story chosen as one of "Ten Wonderful Romance Novels" by Good Housekeeping, Revere Beach Elegy winner of the Massachusetts Book Award for nonfiction, and Once Night Falls, selected as a "First Read" by Amazon Editors.
A former writer in residence at North Shore Community College and Miami Dade Colleges, and professor of Creative Writing at Bennington, Amherst and Lesley Colleges, Merullo has been a guest speaker at many literary events and venues and a faculty member at MFA programs and several writers’ conferences. His essays have appeared in numerous publications including the New York Times, Outside Magazine, Yankee Magazine, Newsweek, the Boston Globe, the Philadelphia Inquirer, Boston Magazine, Reader's Digest, Good Housekeeping, and the Chronicle of Higher Education. Merullo's books have been translated into Spanish, Portuguese, Korean, German, Chinese, Turkish, Bulgarian, Croatian, Slovenian, and Czech.
A former writer in residence at North Shore Community College and Miami Dade Colleges, and professor of Creative Writing at Bennington, Amherst and Lesley Colleges, Merullo has been a guest speaker at many literary events and venues and a faculty member at MFA programs and several writers’ conferences. His essays have appeared in numerous publications including the New York Times, Outside Magazine, Yankee Magazine, Newsweek, the Boston Globe, the Philadelphia Inquirer, Boston Magazine, Reader's Digest, Good Housekeeping, and the Chronicle of Higher Education. Merullo's books have been translated into Spanish, Portuguese, Korean, German, Chinese, Turkish, Bulgarian, Croatian, Slovenian, and Czech.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 149 reviews
January 26, 2012
Jesus Christ has come back and he is running for President of the U.S. This book taught me more about religion than most religion books and more about politics than any book I've read on politics. And it did all this while weaving a tale that was both exciting and at times funny. I knew where the author was heading in this story, but I got a bunch of delightful surprises along the way. This is the perfect book to read in the midst of all our religious and political craziness.
September 26, 2008
Ummm ... an interesting read. I agree with Patty who said that there were some things in the book that bugged her. I felt the same way . . . and if there were half stars on Goodreads I'd give a 4 1/2. One of the criteria for me in giving a book 5 stars is whether I would want to pick it up and read it again. And with this book, I would.
The novel was readable, and somewhat predictable. Yet, it made me expand my thinking. I was initially offended at some of the personal things Jesus knew about and commented upon - and yet, if He is God, He certainly would know these things! Why is it that I would think anything I considered private would not be known to Him?
The novel made me expand my thinking on some political issues, too. As someone who avidly watches local and national politics, it was a perfect time to read this story. It clearly shows what's wrong with our political system and our media in a way that made me laugh out loud a time or two. And yet it showed deep compassion for the things that make us people. Also, between the focus on Sarah Palin's youngest child and the character of "Stab" in this book, I'm finding I'm changing my thinking about people with special needs. (Less pity, and more acceptance from me).
Still, I can't buy the premise of Jesus running for president of the U.S. But it did make for an entertaining read.
The novel was readable, and somewhat predictable. Yet, it made me expand my thinking. I was initially offended at some of the personal things Jesus knew about and commented upon - and yet, if He is God, He certainly would know these things! Why is it that I would think anything I considered private would not be known to Him?
The novel made me expand my thinking on some political issues, too. As someone who avidly watches local and national politics, it was a perfect time to read this story. It clearly shows what's wrong with our political system and our media in a way that made me laugh out loud a time or two. And yet it showed deep compassion for the things that make us people. Also, between the focus on Sarah Palin's youngest child and the character of "Stab" in this book, I'm finding I'm changing my thinking about people with special needs. (Less pity, and more acceptance from me).
Still, I can't buy the premise of Jesus running for president of the U.S. But it did make for an entertaining read.
December 8, 2013
Given the fawning coverage of Barack Obama during this election season, a story about Jesus Christ coming back to Earth and running for president seems almost redundant. But American Savior is blessed with enough gentle humor to keep this "novel of divine politics" fresh and even a little inspiring. The author, Roland Merullo, is developing something of a specialty in comic fiction with religious overtones or, if you prefer, religious fiction with comic overtones. In a previous novel, Breakfast with Buddha, a publishing executive drives across America with a Mongolian monk; enlightenment ensues. And before that, Merullo published Golfing with God, about a golf pro in heaven trying to pull the Big Guy's game out of a slump.
The set-up for American Savior sounds like the answer to a satirist's prayer, but the story never rips into our political system with the kind of bitterness you might expect. The narrator, Russ Thomas, is an affable TV reporter for a local station in western Massachusetts. He opens the novel by telling us, "My whole way of looking at life was turned upside down." He knows we'll be skeptical (he was skeptical at first, too), but he goes on to tell us about the man who called himself Jesus and ran for president of the United States.
It all starts after Russ covers a few local miracles for the news. He meets someone at a coffee shop who he assumes is a crackpot. Jesus wants Russ and his girlfriend to quit their jobs and join his campaign for the presidency. "I'm going to do things differently this time," he explains. "Last time I wasn't entirely happy with the way it worked out. To be frank, it took hundreds of years for what I did to have much impact on the world, and by then things were so muddled. . . . Well, you people have never really recovered. Look at the Middle East."
After considerable soul-searching, Russ is convinced -- sort of -- that this man is the Son of God. He joins the budding presidential campaign and brings along a ragtag group of friends and relatives, including his Roman Catholic mother and his Jewish father, who's sick and tired of all these Jesus freaks but, heck, family is family. Although they know no more about winning a national election than those fishermen knew about saving humanity 2,000 years ago, they have faith. They'll need it: November is just five months away. An adviser warns Jesus: "You're going to be seen as a Jesus-Come-Lately, if you want the harsh truth."
Much of the light comedy here arises from Jesus's straight-faced goodness amid the grimy mechanics of campaigning, polling and dealing with the media. When asked about the Divine Party's platform, Jesus tells his staff, "I'm running on the beatitudes."
"They'll hammer you on national defense."
"It would not be the first time," Jesus says.
If you know the Gospels, it shouldn't come as a surprise that Jesus is a pretty savvy campaigner. The novel follows the broad outlines of the Greatest Story Ever Told but with more TV commentary. Multitudes attend Jesus's announcement rally. He arrives in a black Hummer, guarded by biker-gangsters. "You are a nation in grave spiritual danger," he tells 60,000 people -- voters, protesters and fanatics. "I cannot say I will cut your taxes and raise your salaries. What I can say is that you will have a nation based on kindness and goodness." The crowd goes wild: "Jee-zus! Jee-zus! JEE-ZUS!"
Merullo spends most of his satiric capital on the news media, including appearances by thinly disguised commentators you won't have any trouble recognizing, like "Jim Wearer," "Lenny Queen" and a particularly vicious beauty named Anne Canter. (On "Meet the Media," George Bill quotes from the New Testament.) The Democratic and Republican candidates aren't quite sure how to respond to this unusual opponent, but their minions quickly go negative. The Washington Times runs a front page photo of Jesus embracing a boy with Down syndrome: "So-called Jesus Candidate Revealed To Be Gay. Former Homosexual Lover Admits to Five-Month Affair." Rather than deny those allegations, Jesus counters with a brilliantly staged stop at the West Edfort rodeo in New Mexico. He's a man's man. The next morning the Amarillo Chronicle cheers: "Candidate Christ Takes Bull By Horns."
Merullo was born and raised a Roman Catholic in Boston, but his recent novels are decidedly ecumenical, with a sparkly touch of New Age spirituality. The Jesus of American Savior should be familiar to liberal Protestants who grew up thinking Jonathan Livingston Seagull was, like, really profound. (Guilty.) His theology is a brand of sweet Christian Gnosticism: "We are locked in a dream," he tells his campaign staff. Through many lives, we learn dominion over the "thought-force." He's hunky and hip and all about tolerance, like a Unitarian porn star. And please, don't call him "Lord"; he hates that. "For the record," he says, "I never came to be worshipped, not the first time and not this time. I came to be emulated." The only people Jesus is really against, in fact, are evangelical Christians and conservative politicians, who, if they read this novel, will have to keep turning the other cheek again and again.
It's fun to imagine what would happen if a noble candidate threw caution to the wind and ran on a platform of universal kindness that appealed to our higher nature. Unfortunately, this Jesus's statements never strike the startling, iconoclastic note we hear in the Gospels. Instead, American Savior is at its best when Russ is wrestling with his conscience, trying to fathom how the election experience changed him, blessed him. Merullo knows what he's talking about. Before he started writing novels, he was a carpenter.
http://articles.washingtonpost.com/20...
The set-up for American Savior sounds like the answer to a satirist's prayer, but the story never rips into our political system with the kind of bitterness you might expect. The narrator, Russ Thomas, is an affable TV reporter for a local station in western Massachusetts. He opens the novel by telling us, "My whole way of looking at life was turned upside down." He knows we'll be skeptical (he was skeptical at first, too), but he goes on to tell us about the man who called himself Jesus and ran for president of the United States.
It all starts after Russ covers a few local miracles for the news. He meets someone at a coffee shop who he assumes is a crackpot. Jesus wants Russ and his girlfriend to quit their jobs and join his campaign for the presidency. "I'm going to do things differently this time," he explains. "Last time I wasn't entirely happy with the way it worked out. To be frank, it took hundreds of years for what I did to have much impact on the world, and by then things were so muddled. . . . Well, you people have never really recovered. Look at the Middle East."
After considerable soul-searching, Russ is convinced -- sort of -- that this man is the Son of God. He joins the budding presidential campaign and brings along a ragtag group of friends and relatives, including his Roman Catholic mother and his Jewish father, who's sick and tired of all these Jesus freaks but, heck, family is family. Although they know no more about winning a national election than those fishermen knew about saving humanity 2,000 years ago, they have faith. They'll need it: November is just five months away. An adviser warns Jesus: "You're going to be seen as a Jesus-Come-Lately, if you want the harsh truth."
Much of the light comedy here arises from Jesus's straight-faced goodness amid the grimy mechanics of campaigning, polling and dealing with the media. When asked about the Divine Party's platform, Jesus tells his staff, "I'm running on the beatitudes."
"They'll hammer you on national defense."
"It would not be the first time," Jesus says.
If you know the Gospels, it shouldn't come as a surprise that Jesus is a pretty savvy campaigner. The novel follows the broad outlines of the Greatest Story Ever Told but with more TV commentary. Multitudes attend Jesus's announcement rally. He arrives in a black Hummer, guarded by biker-gangsters. "You are a nation in grave spiritual danger," he tells 60,000 people -- voters, protesters and fanatics. "I cannot say I will cut your taxes and raise your salaries. What I can say is that you will have a nation based on kindness and goodness." The crowd goes wild: "Jee-zus! Jee-zus! JEE-ZUS!"
Merullo spends most of his satiric capital on the news media, including appearances by thinly disguised commentators you won't have any trouble recognizing, like "Jim Wearer," "Lenny Queen" and a particularly vicious beauty named Anne Canter. (On "Meet the Media," George Bill quotes from the New Testament.) The Democratic and Republican candidates aren't quite sure how to respond to this unusual opponent, but their minions quickly go negative. The Washington Times runs a front page photo of Jesus embracing a boy with Down syndrome: "So-called Jesus Candidate Revealed To Be Gay. Former Homosexual Lover Admits to Five-Month Affair." Rather than deny those allegations, Jesus counters with a brilliantly staged stop at the West Edfort rodeo in New Mexico. He's a man's man. The next morning the Amarillo Chronicle cheers: "Candidate Christ Takes Bull By Horns."
Merullo was born and raised a Roman Catholic in Boston, but his recent novels are decidedly ecumenical, with a sparkly touch of New Age spirituality. The Jesus of American Savior should be familiar to liberal Protestants who grew up thinking Jonathan Livingston Seagull was, like, really profound. (Guilty.) His theology is a brand of sweet Christian Gnosticism: "We are locked in a dream," he tells his campaign staff. Through many lives, we learn dominion over the "thought-force." He's hunky and hip and all about tolerance, like a Unitarian porn star. And please, don't call him "Lord"; he hates that. "For the record," he says, "I never came to be worshipped, not the first time and not this time. I came to be emulated." The only people Jesus is really against, in fact, are evangelical Christians and conservative politicians, who, if they read this novel, will have to keep turning the other cheek again and again.
It's fun to imagine what would happen if a noble candidate threw caution to the wind and ran on a platform of universal kindness that appealed to our higher nature. Unfortunately, this Jesus's statements never strike the startling, iconoclastic note we hear in the Gospels. Instead, American Savior is at its best when Russ is wrestling with his conscience, trying to fathom how the election experience changed him, blessed him. Merullo knows what he's talking about. Before he started writing novels, he was a carpenter.
http://articles.washingtonpost.com/20...
September 13, 2021
Merullo's genius rises again...as for the Jesus of contemporary times, you'll have to read and find out if he rises again or not. What's it like to take a journey with Jesus in the 21st century? Particularly one who is running for President? That's what you'll find out by reading this novel.
Satirical, funny, tragic, and eye-opening--it's all there.
Satirical, funny, tragic, and eye-opening--it's all there.
March 24, 2019
6 stars--they left one off
what if Jesus ran for President?
a depiction of American politics, religion, and the state of mankind
interspersed with spiritual lessons
this would be great for book clubs as a lot of thoughtful discussion should result from reading this
what if Jesus ran for President?
a depiction of American politics, religion, and the state of mankind
interspersed with spiritual lessons
this would be great for book clubs as a lot of thoughtful discussion should result from reading this
October 8, 2019
A book that made me think alot. Scary that the issues presented in a book written in 2008 mirror our troubled world today.
September 16, 2022
I read Roland Merullo’s GOLFING WITH GOD earlier this year expecting it to be an awful Christian apologetics thing but was immediately charmed by how *weird*, irreverent, and almost single-mindedly focused on GOLF it was. Honestly, it was one of my favorite reads of the year just because of how it upended my expectations. With the positive feelings from that experience still in mind, I thought another dip in the Merullo pool in the form of AMERICAN SAVIOR might be good. I tried checking the e-book out from my county library on multiple occasions but it wouldn’t transfer to my e-reader for some reason and neither my county nor city’s libraries had a physical copy. I finally nabbed a copy by using my city library’s inter-library loan service. It was sent to me all the way from Tacoma!
Despite my history with Merullo, I still went into this book with skepticism. I perceived the Jesus of the book as sort of the embodiment of ceremonial deism in the vein of George Burns in OH, GOD! That seemed to be confirmed by Jesus’ philosophy of oh, y’know, every religion is right in a way, being nice is all that really matters. When he *is* pressed to pick a lane, for instance on the topic of abortion, his plan is to convene a committee to seriously discuss the matter, as there are good people with strong feelings on both sides of the debate. 😒 There’s also a bit fairly early on where Jesus is questioned as to why there is evil in the world; his response is that it’s “the law”. He claims that pain is necessary for us to expand our consciousness (cue ‘Weird’ Al in the song “Albuquerque”, deep breath: “IT’S GOOD FOR YOU!!!”). This is not an unusual way to wave away the issue, although it is a deeply unsatisfying one. Jesus does go on to say that life is actually a dream, it’s not even real, which *is* a more unusual take on the issue (more on this in a second) and is a theory that was floated in GOLFING WITH GOD as well.
Partway though the book there was a scene where Jesus has rented a stretch Hummer to show up to a campaign rally in, the better to look like a legitimate candidate. His campaign staff begin hassling the guy who rented it to him. “You should give it to him for free,” one says. “This is Jesus Christ. You’re going to charge him for a car?” The proprietor of the business is confused. He turns to the protagonist, a former newscaster turned security detail for Jesus Christ named Russ Thomas, who joins in: “What if he’s president of the United Stated by next year? Do you want to be known as the person who charged him for your services?” A third character is even more blunt with the pressure tactic: “This is God! Are you crazy? Are you a bad man? Do you want to go to hell for forever?” This scene felt reminiscent of Donald Trump, who famously never pays anybody for services rendered to him. This book was published in 2008, so I’m fairly confident that parallel wasn’t intended, but once I saw it I recognized it *everywhere*. Some more examples:
- The cult-like behavior of Jesus’ supporters. At his rally, there are men with crowns made of twigs, teens with huge wooden crosses, and silver, gold, or plastic crucifixes. People wave signs reading “JESUS FOR PRESIDENT”, “I’D DIE FOR YOU”, or most ominously, “SAVE US! TURN AMERICA INTO HEAVEN! BANISH THE HEATHENS!”
- Jesus is “protected” by a fake security company called Scorched Earth, which is run by a felon named Dukey—this reminds me of the Proud Boys or something, and the name Dukey calls to mind David Duke.
- At his first rally, Thomas introduced Jesus and the campaign by asking rhetorically: “What happened to my city? What happened to my country? The Great Being who is about to speak to you . . . has come to give us our city back, our country back, our way of life back!” This is a pitch-perfect recreation of Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan.
- Thomas worries that the police chief will be upset by the logistics challenge posed by the huge crowd at Jesus’ rally but in fact he noticed that “some of the most attentive listeners and enthusiastic applauders were in police uniform.” Definitely seems to align with the pro-fascist tendencies of this nation’s police forces. Honestly, if this is legitimately Jesus, the idea that *the police* of all people would be super enthused by his message is absurd.
- Jesus seems to be dealing with a lot of, er, mob-types. Thomas worries about this briefly but dismisses his concerns, assuming Jesus must have his reasons: “I have to admit that another spark of doubt flew up in my mind . . . why was Jesus doing business with an underworld guy?”
- When there is a question about Jesus’ biographical information, he instructs his campaign crew to “make something up”. Thomas objects that they can’t just lie. Jesus replies, “You won’t be lying.” Thomas is confused. “But you just said to make something up. What do you mean it won’t be a lie?” This feels highly reminiscent of Trump’s theory of bullshittery, i.e. it’s not a lie if you believe it.
- When Jesus’ star begins to rise in the polls, some news personalities dismiss his campaign, stating that “what we’re seeing is mainly the novelty factor.”
- The ACLU sues on 1st Amendment grounds (church/state separation), but the case comes before a judge who is a friend of wealthy donor 😉 who dismisses the case, similar to Eileen Cannon bending over backward to violate the law in Trump’s favor.
I worried that this reading of Jesus and his campaign as, if not directly Trumpian than certainly authoritarian, would make it impossible for me to enjoy the remainder of the book. Thankfully, beyond the things I listed above, I didn’t see the comparison continue and especially not as Jesus’ theory of kindness becomes more front and center.
However, this brings me to my third and final reading of Jesus. After first seeing him as a thin, nonsectarian feel-good caricature, then briefly as a sinister stand-in for the worst excesses of religious devotion, I finally realized that what this Jesus is, more than anything, is a mouthpiece for Roland Merullo to voice his own idiosyncratic philosophy. I referenced this above, with the claim that life is literally a dream, something that seems at odds with traditional Christian theology. But it comes into even starker view with Jesus’ contention that *reincarnation* is a thing, with people living multiple lives before ascending to Heaven/Enlightenment. It was at this that I realized this isn’t necessarily Jesus the Biblical character, but a different Jesus created by Merullo to endorse his views with the imprimatur of a god-man. Then again, that’s what literally everybody does: there is no “correct” version of Jesus or God, as they’re both fictional characters. Technically, Jesus is in the public domain, so Merullo can have him do or say anything he wants. There is no discussion of religion, or of God as an entity; my initial view was that this was a way to avoid upsetting any one sect, but now I think it’s more likely that it’s just that Merullo truly doesn’t view Jesus—or *his* Jesus, at least—as being “God”, or he’s not really interested in the concept of God except to the extent he can use it as a vehicle for his personal philosophy, one which I think is influenced by Buddhism, though admittedly I don’t know a lot about Buddhist beliefs (Merullo’s most famous book is BREAKFAST WITH BUDDHA, though I haven’t read it yet).
I don’t know what that new understanding really means for me, though, responding to the book. The events that unfold are… I don’t know, interesting, I guess. I liked Merullo’a suggestion that we should get rid of No Child Left Behind in favor of having kids spend a few hours per week volunteering with the elderly and disabled, the better to teach them empathy. But he refuses to make a statement on the morality of abortion, suggesting nothing more than having a formal dialogue between advocates and opponents with no plan for resolving the matter, and his foreign policy is that we’ll not engage militarily *unless we have to*, both of which seem naïve or evasive responses to the topic at hand. And just narratively, I kind of like the idea that Jesus repeatedly and cleverly gets the upper hand in the media over his opponents’ political attacks. But mostly the way the story unfolds isn’t especially funny or thrilling or anything. The ending is not especially satisfying. I guess it lives up to expectations for what a “Jesus runs for President” book would be, but it’s neither as bonkers as I’d hoped from reading GOLFING WITH GOD nor as theologically incoherent as I always hope for when partaking in “religious” works. I suppose I might return to Merullo again someday but after reading this one I don’t feel the pull that I once did.
Despite my history with Merullo, I still went into this book with skepticism. I perceived the Jesus of the book as sort of the embodiment of ceremonial deism in the vein of George Burns in OH, GOD! That seemed to be confirmed by Jesus’ philosophy of oh, y’know, every religion is right in a way, being nice is all that really matters. When he *is* pressed to pick a lane, for instance on the topic of abortion, his plan is to convene a committee to seriously discuss the matter, as there are good people with strong feelings on both sides of the debate. 😒 There’s also a bit fairly early on where Jesus is questioned as to why there is evil in the world; his response is that it’s “the law”. He claims that pain is necessary for us to expand our consciousness (cue ‘Weird’ Al in the song “Albuquerque”, deep breath: “IT’S GOOD FOR YOU!!!”). This is not an unusual way to wave away the issue, although it is a deeply unsatisfying one. Jesus does go on to say that life is actually a dream, it’s not even real, which *is* a more unusual take on the issue (more on this in a second) and is a theory that was floated in GOLFING WITH GOD as well.
Partway though the book there was a scene where Jesus has rented a stretch Hummer to show up to a campaign rally in, the better to look like a legitimate candidate. His campaign staff begin hassling the guy who rented it to him. “You should give it to him for free,” one says. “This is Jesus Christ. You’re going to charge him for a car?” The proprietor of the business is confused. He turns to the protagonist, a former newscaster turned security detail for Jesus Christ named Russ Thomas, who joins in: “What if he’s president of the United Stated by next year? Do you want to be known as the person who charged him for your services?” A third character is even more blunt with the pressure tactic: “This is God! Are you crazy? Are you a bad man? Do you want to go to hell for forever?” This scene felt reminiscent of Donald Trump, who famously never pays anybody for services rendered to him. This book was published in 2008, so I’m fairly confident that parallel wasn’t intended, but once I saw it I recognized it *everywhere*. Some more examples:
- The cult-like behavior of Jesus’ supporters. At his rally, there are men with crowns made of twigs, teens with huge wooden crosses, and silver, gold, or plastic crucifixes. People wave signs reading “JESUS FOR PRESIDENT”, “I’D DIE FOR YOU”, or most ominously, “SAVE US! TURN AMERICA INTO HEAVEN! BANISH THE HEATHENS!”
- Jesus is “protected” by a fake security company called Scorched Earth, which is run by a felon named Dukey—this reminds me of the Proud Boys or something, and the name Dukey calls to mind David Duke.
- At his first rally, Thomas introduced Jesus and the campaign by asking rhetorically: “What happened to my city? What happened to my country? The Great Being who is about to speak to you . . . has come to give us our city back, our country back, our way of life back!” This is a pitch-perfect recreation of Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan.
- Thomas worries that the police chief will be upset by the logistics challenge posed by the huge crowd at Jesus’ rally but in fact he noticed that “some of the most attentive listeners and enthusiastic applauders were in police uniform.” Definitely seems to align with the pro-fascist tendencies of this nation’s police forces. Honestly, if this is legitimately Jesus, the idea that *the police* of all people would be super enthused by his message is absurd.
- Jesus seems to be dealing with a lot of, er, mob-types. Thomas worries about this briefly but dismisses his concerns, assuming Jesus must have his reasons: “I have to admit that another spark of doubt flew up in my mind . . . why was Jesus doing business with an underworld guy?”
- When there is a question about Jesus’ biographical information, he instructs his campaign crew to “make something up”. Thomas objects that they can’t just lie. Jesus replies, “You won’t be lying.” Thomas is confused. “But you just said to make something up. What do you mean it won’t be a lie?” This feels highly reminiscent of Trump’s theory of bullshittery, i.e. it’s not a lie if you believe it.
- When Jesus’ star begins to rise in the polls, some news personalities dismiss his campaign, stating that “what we’re seeing is mainly the novelty factor.”
- The ACLU sues on 1st Amendment grounds (church/state separation), but the case comes before a judge who is a friend of wealthy donor 😉 who dismisses the case, similar to Eileen Cannon bending over backward to violate the law in Trump’s favor.
I worried that this reading of Jesus and his campaign as, if not directly Trumpian than certainly authoritarian, would make it impossible for me to enjoy the remainder of the book. Thankfully, beyond the things I listed above, I didn’t see the comparison continue and especially not as Jesus’ theory of kindness becomes more front and center.
However, this brings me to my third and final reading of Jesus. After first seeing him as a thin, nonsectarian feel-good caricature, then briefly as a sinister stand-in for the worst excesses of religious devotion, I finally realized that what this Jesus is, more than anything, is a mouthpiece for Roland Merullo to voice his own idiosyncratic philosophy. I referenced this above, with the claim that life is literally a dream, something that seems at odds with traditional Christian theology. But it comes into even starker view with Jesus’ contention that *reincarnation* is a thing, with people living multiple lives before ascending to Heaven/Enlightenment. It was at this that I realized this isn’t necessarily Jesus the Biblical character, but a different Jesus created by Merullo to endorse his views with the imprimatur of a god-man. Then again, that’s what literally everybody does: there is no “correct” version of Jesus or God, as they’re both fictional characters. Technically, Jesus is in the public domain, so Merullo can have him do or say anything he wants. There is no discussion of religion, or of God as an entity; my initial view was that this was a way to avoid upsetting any one sect, but now I think it’s more likely that it’s just that Merullo truly doesn’t view Jesus—or *his* Jesus, at least—as being “God”, or he’s not really interested in the concept of God except to the extent he can use it as a vehicle for his personal philosophy, one which I think is influenced by Buddhism, though admittedly I don’t know a lot about Buddhist beliefs (Merullo’s most famous book is BREAKFAST WITH BUDDHA, though I haven’t read it yet).
I don’t know what that new understanding really means for me, though, responding to the book. The events that unfold are… I don’t know, interesting, I guess. I liked Merullo’a suggestion that we should get rid of No Child Left Behind in favor of having kids spend a few hours per week volunteering with the elderly and disabled, the better to teach them empathy. But he refuses to make a statement on the morality of abortion, suggesting nothing more than having a formal dialogue between advocates and opponents with no plan for resolving the matter, and his foreign policy is that we’ll not engage militarily *unless we have to*, both of which seem naïve or evasive responses to the topic at hand. And just narratively, I kind of like the idea that Jesus repeatedly and cleverly gets the upper hand in the media over his opponents’ political attacks. But mostly the way the story unfolds isn’t especially funny or thrilling or anything. The ending is not especially satisfying. I guess it lives up to expectations for what a “Jesus runs for President” book would be, but it’s neither as bonkers as I’d hoped from reading GOLFING WITH GOD nor as theologically incoherent as I always hope for when partaking in “religious” works. I suppose I might return to Merullo again someday but after reading this one I don’t feel the pull that I once did.
June 16, 2018
If Jesus were elected POTUS, WWJD? I found the novel entertaining and a good read. Is the Jesus he presents, Jesus as I believe Him to be or as the Orthodox Church proclaims? No, but it is fun to think about how Jesus might interact with the modern political world and deal with contemporary American debates.
October 6, 2008
Won this as a First Reads- It's so awesome to have a book with "Advanced Copy- Not For Sale" printed on it! Thanks!
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When I first began this book, I had a hard time getting Christopher Moore's Josh (Jesus)character out of my head. I will admit that the Jesus of American Savior didn't immediately strike me as much as the Jesus of Lamb.
However, after a few chapters, I was able to put that aside and begin to enjoy this book. This is a story that chronicles a presidential run by none other than Jesus Christ. One reason that I liked it so much is that the politics of the book were more or less politics I could agree with. I imagine that there are quite a few people who would disagree with Merullo's Jesus' take on abortion: he had no position because abortion is neither right nor wrong. I think that if the historical Jesus came back to run for President, it would be much like this book: half of the country embracing him and half (including the religious right) eschewing him as a crazy liberal hippy.
I think what this book spoke to me the most about was my desire to see a politician who 1) really wants to make things better and 2) wants to involve everyone, regardless of race, class, creed or religion in the discussion of how to do that. *sigh*
Anyway, it was a humorous book that was extremely topical. Identifying the thinly veiled newscasters was a lot of fun. One thing that I really appriciated was that this book wasn't preachy, Jesus wasn't constantly telling people to go to church and as a matter of fact, never even promoted Christianity as a religion. The last scene between Jesus and the narrator, while predictable, I found to be very touching. Oh, and in full disclosure- one scene involves Jesus giving a stump speech in a "pretty little college town named Kearney." Kearney actually was my pretty little college town, so I got a huge kick out of that. Go Lopers!
****************
When I first began this book, I had a hard time getting Christopher Moore's Josh (Jesus)character out of my head. I will admit that the Jesus of American Savior didn't immediately strike me as much as the Jesus of Lamb.
However, after a few chapters, I was able to put that aside and begin to enjoy this book. This is a story that chronicles a presidential run by none other than Jesus Christ. One reason that I liked it so much is that the politics of the book were more or less politics I could agree with. I imagine that there are quite a few people who would disagree with Merullo's Jesus' take on abortion: he had no position because abortion is neither right nor wrong. I think that if the historical Jesus came back to run for President, it would be much like this book: half of the country embracing him and half (including the religious right) eschewing him as a crazy liberal hippy.
I think what this book spoke to me the most about was my desire to see a politician who 1) really wants to make things better and 2) wants to involve everyone, regardless of race, class, creed or religion in the discussion of how to do that. *sigh*
Anyway, it was a humorous book that was extremely topical. Identifying the thinly veiled newscasters was a lot of fun. One thing that I really appriciated was that this book wasn't preachy, Jesus wasn't constantly telling people to go to church and as a matter of fact, never even promoted Christianity as a religion. The last scene between Jesus and the narrator, while predictable, I found to be very touching. Oh, and in full disclosure- one scene involves Jesus giving a stump speech in a "pretty little college town named Kearney." Kearney actually was my pretty little college town, so I got a huge kick out of that. Go Lopers!
December 4, 2013
I went back and forth between 3 and 4 stars for this novel. It is the story of Jesus Christ (yes, THAT Jesus Christ) returning to earth in a small town in Massachusetts sometime around 2008-2012. After performing a few miracles and coming to the attention of the media, he decides to run for President of the United States. He chooses his staff (apostles?) from ordinary folks and as in the Gospels, he just tells them to leave their jobs and work for him. He has a motley crew of people running his campaign, including a cynical and doubting TV anchorman along with his Jewish father, Catholic mother and brother with Down Syndrome, a psychologist, a drug-using gang member, and other misfit characters. Jesus runs on a platform of returning the US to a place where kindness replaces cruelty, generosity replaces greed, and truth replaces lies. He talks about issues of abortion, war, healthcare, the economy – everything a candidate would talk about. The cheesiness and clichés come in with the media people he meets. He is interviewed by Lenny Queen (Larry King?), and Ann Canter (Ann Coulter?) is constantly railing about what an imposter he is. There are numerous other news people and media and movie stars with similar names. I won’t even begin to try to remember how to spell the take-off on George Stephanopoulos. There were some truly funny moments in this book and some truly inspirational moments, but also some that made me groan. No, Jesus did not wear sandals and robes, but he did take walks in the desert, order Indian food and then wash a few feet, and ride a bull in a rodeo. In short, the book is a satire on the life of Jesus as it would be in the 2000’s.
May 20, 2020
If you are an atheist, skip it. If you are an agnostic, probably skip it. But if you are an open-minded believer in Christ, you might find this book very enjoyable. It attempts to answer the question, "What if Jesus exercised his right of second coming to surface as an apparently ordinary guy in modern society (but still can do miracles)?" How would he be accepted in this age of modern science and wild conspiracy stories? What news coverage might he get? Would he found a new church doctrine of fix the old ones? Would he enter politics to clean up the mess humans have made? So the book follows Jesus (under another name, of course), who naturally gets reporters on his tail due to rumors of miraculous healing, or fixing some catastrophe. Along they way, you recognize some of his sayings and behaviors as biblical. Some recognize his great integrity, goodness, and wisdom. Some want him, to run for office. Read it to find out how it turns out.
December 12, 2017
I have enjoyed every book I have ever read by Roland Merullo. His style of writing and subject matter of every day life is something with which I can identify. American Savior is no exception. With great imagination and forethought, he fictionalizes a world gone sour and a savior who comes to help us all out of our quagmire. And in realistic fashion, as happened before, long ago, the savior is rejected and doubted by many. Merullo's depiction of our modern society is so point-on that I had to look to check when it was written. It was 2008. Amazing, as I thought he was describing American today, 2017. I guess our unrest, divisiveness and lower moral standards have been going on longer that I realized.
May 28, 2021
Roland Merullo's writing is causing me to exhaust my supply of superlatives! You've probably heard the song "What If God Was One Of Us" (it was used as the theme song of the former network TV Show, "Joan Of Arcadia"). If you overlook the grammatical error in the song's title, and just open your heart to the "What If" of it, the next thing you SHOULD do is read Roland Merullo's breathtaking "What If" novel, "AMERICAN SAVIOR: A Novel of Divine Politics". I could go on and on about this book's Divinely inspired storyline and Merullo's pitch-perfect writing, but, frankly, I'd rather settle back and read it again, for the 4th time!
July 29, 2022
What would Jesus do? is the question this book answers. It is not a relaxing, soft read to get to that answer. The author addresses the issues of politics and Christianity with a positive, sarcastic humor that makes the reader laugh and the most profound , serious issues about God. Jesus Christ comes to earth and runs for the office of American president.!!! How Jesus does it and how people react to him teach us lessons in a way we have not seen before. It is original and creative , funny and awe-inspiring, makes you laugh and makes you think. . I never read a book like this before.!!! Well worth the time and effort.
April 13, 2022
I loved, loved this book. It was written and released in 2008 but it’s so on the mark for what’s going on in the world but especially in our country. The country and all its politicians, racist, wealthy 2% could learn a lot from this book about how to bring peace at least to our own country.
I also read Breakfast with Buddha also an enlightening read. We all need a lot more love and kindness in our world today and beyond.
I also read Breakfast with Buddha also an enlightening read. We all need a lot more love and kindness in our world today and beyond.
January 24, 2022
This should be required reading.
January 18, 2016
Fantastic!!!
August 9, 2024
On what hand, I think it's presumptuous for an author to decide what Jesus would do and say if he were to come back today. On the other hand, I think Merullo does a good job of it, but maybe it's presumptuous of me to think that!
I liked the way Jesus never said that he was God, even though other people called him God or asked him if he thought he was God. He only said he was the Son of Man. The Bible does not say that Jesus is God either. Jesus said that he was one with God, but I believe he was telling all of us that we are one with God. I believe, as Merullo does, that Jesus came to be an example for us and to show us how to live.
I liked the way Jesus never said that he was God, even though other people called him God or asked him if he thought he was God. He only said he was the Son of Man. The Bible does not say that Jesus is God either. Jesus said that he was one with God, but I believe he was telling all of us that we are one with God. I believe, as Merullo does, that Jesus came to be an example for us and to show us how to live.
November 9, 2016
I enjoyed this book from page one and would recommend it to anyone looking for inspiration regarding how American elections could be radically different.
The story line was surprisingly believable and the characters were engaging. There's also some unexpected commentary on what it takes to live a good life (surprise: it isn't church).
That being said and on this day of all days ever, it turns out that even if Jesus Christ runs for president, it all ends in tragedy.
The story line was surprisingly believable and the characters were engaging. There's also some unexpected commentary on what it takes to live a good life (surprise: it isn't church).
That being said and on this day of all days ever, it turns out that even if Jesus Christ runs for president, it all ends in tragedy.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 14, 2017
An interesting take on the gospel of Jesus as told from a modern day election campaign in America. Clever and interesting, but not terribly deep or emotionally investing. Some might find issue with some of the religious liberties taken by the author on some deeper theological discussions. Still, an enjoyable experience overall.
March 17, 2018
Contains the same common sense wisdom of peace, love, and tolerance that we have come to expect with this author. I thought the thinly disguised personal attacks on contemporary media was petty, whether or not one agrees with the portrayal. But, in the end, very glad to have read it and to have discovered Merullo.
August 4, 2025
WWJD?? rise above partisanship and embrace humanity. all "christians" should read this. the opposite of weaponizing religion to limit the liberties of others & even more timely in this contemporary hellscape. also just the right amount of funny to keep me (a notorious skimmer) engaged. would recommend.
December 8, 2017
To paraphrase a George Bernard Shaw quote (which was eloquently paraphrased by John, Bobby and Teddy Kennedy)- Some books look around and say "Why?" while Merullo's dreams what is not and asks,"Why not?"
January 15, 2021
Jesus comes back and runs for office. I liked parts of this book, other parts made me jump out of the book and say, “no way.” So it was jolting.
January 19, 2021
Enjoyed the ride, but really wanted a different ending.
September 7, 2024
5 stars for creativity and originality. Merullo has a great way of taking something seemingly impossible and still spins a tale that is entertaining.
December 3, 2024
I give this book a top rating for doing an excellent job of bringing Jesus Christ to life in the 21st century in a convincing way. A lot of thought went into the writing of this book. Brian Kerr
March 19, 2017
Intriguing concept; satire with a somewhat different message than I expected.
August 6, 2010
This lightweight, modestly entertaining novel missed the mark for me. In it, Jesus comes back to the U.S. in the near future to run for president & gathers a group of everyday people to staff his campaign & to teach life's lessons. It's not witty enough to work as satire, & it takes itself too seriously but is too naive & unbelievable to pull off any serious theology or politics. Jesus teaches a bland, New Agey, "Oh, God" style of theology, reassuring his followers that they just need to take responsibility for making the world a better place. ("It was amost as if he were simultaneously running for national office and conducting a private seminar in spiritual healing." (200) And somehow I think Jesus would be much more radical than the candidate we see here riding around in limos, wearing Armani suits, riding bulls, & surfing. "Jesus went out and bought a gorgeous black Armani suit and other clothes, tossing money around Manhattan like a rap star. Shined shoes, off-white shirt open at the collar, the Armani, the great haircut, the cheekbones, the smile. If Jesus didn't look like God when he sat down opposite Bobby Biggs, nobody did." (245) Yuck! And the attempts at satire strike me as something like my feeble high school attempts at satire. Late in the campaign, staffers appear on TV & radio talk shows: The Jim Weavers News Hour, the Lenny Queen Show, the Harry Linneament Radio Show (a conservative who's been divorced multiple times & has a drug problem), a panel show with Roger Popopoffolous, Anne Canter, and Corker Lobbits ("who I thought was the prettiest mature woman on television and who'd switched over from public radio years before because the money was better and she was no fool"), the Bulf Spritzer Hour, and Bobby Biggs's Meet the Media. Not very imaginative. Furthermore, there are so many foreshadowings of the ending that I thought surely the author must have a surprise twist in store for us, but, no, it ends just as we think it will. Some will undoubtedly appreciate the alternative political vision Jesus represents here, but I longed for it to tip one way or the other--either more believable as a viable alternative religious and political vision or much sharper as satire.
August 12, 2012
"American Savior" is an intriguing book because of the tension inherent in its premise--Jesus returning to earth not in judgment, but to be judged, by the American people, as a candidate for president.
There's something inherently un-Christian about all politics. Red state or blue, left or right, all politicians have to reward their friends and punish their enemies. They have to do good in order to be seen; they have to cozy up to the powerful and ignore the powerless, even if they pretend otherwise. And they need people willing and able to do harm on their behalf, even if only to protect them; as Chairman Mao famously said, "Political power flows from the barrel of a gun."
Merullo's book is fun and bright and breezy as it sets itself up, and it offers some genuinely funny and touching moments along the way. Unfortunately, when it comes time to truly face these contradictions, he shies away. Worse yet, he takes sides. His Jesus is decidedly a blue-state Jesus--a yoga student and avid surfer and open-minded philosopher, not, say, a humble small-town carpenter with traditional values. (There's nothing wrong with open-mindedness, mind you, but Merullo's Jesus calls to mind one comedian's definition of a liberal--a person so open-minded he can't take his own side in an argument.) That's not to say the Right is right, either; Merullo rightly skewers the subordination of church to state that characterized much of Republican politics over the past eight years. But it feels like beating a dead horse, and his Jesus sometimes feels like a stalking horse for his own philosophies, rather than the real thing.
What Merullo misses is what most people on both sides miss--the real Jesus simply had no desire for worldly power, even as a vehicle to get people to think about the world differently. The real Jesus didn't try to co-opt the machinery of state; the real Jesus allowed himself to be crushed by it, while leaving behind something that would outlast it--a religion whose relation to political power can be encapsulated in a simple statement made to Pilate: "My kingdom is not of this world."
There's something inherently un-Christian about all politics. Red state or blue, left or right, all politicians have to reward their friends and punish their enemies. They have to do good in order to be seen; they have to cozy up to the powerful and ignore the powerless, even if they pretend otherwise. And they need people willing and able to do harm on their behalf, even if only to protect them; as Chairman Mao famously said, "Political power flows from the barrel of a gun."
Merullo's book is fun and bright and breezy as it sets itself up, and it offers some genuinely funny and touching moments along the way. Unfortunately, when it comes time to truly face these contradictions, he shies away. Worse yet, he takes sides. His Jesus is decidedly a blue-state Jesus--a yoga student and avid surfer and open-minded philosopher, not, say, a humble small-town carpenter with traditional values. (There's nothing wrong with open-mindedness, mind you, but Merullo's Jesus calls to mind one comedian's definition of a liberal--a person so open-minded he can't take his own side in an argument.) That's not to say the Right is right, either; Merullo rightly skewers the subordination of church to state that characterized much of Republican politics over the past eight years. But it feels like beating a dead horse, and his Jesus sometimes feels like a stalking horse for his own philosophies, rather than the real thing.
What Merullo misses is what most people on both sides miss--the real Jesus simply had no desire for worldly power, even as a vehicle to get people to think about the world differently. The real Jesus didn't try to co-opt the machinery of state; the real Jesus allowed himself to be crushed by it, while leaving behind something that would outlast it--a religion whose relation to political power can be encapsulated in a simple statement made to Pilate: "My kingdom is not of this world."
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