Our Imaginary Friend

July 27, 2015
Our Imaginary Friend 

Note from Gaspar Stephens: he’s reading the Sermon on the Mount, wondering how we could possibly “do this shit.” I write back, “We can’t.” He agrees, goes on: “The gospels’ complete disinterest in psychology serves us ill, if, as I think Jesus is important.

D. H. Lawrence

     “There’s so very little to tell us who he was – not even a driver’s license: height, weight, hair eyes, distinguishing marks, bad picture. We know only where he went – some of the places – what he did – that the gospeleers thought were important. We don’t know if he did them right- or left-handed; we don’t know if he slept on his back or his side. Did he walk slowly or briskly? Did he sit upright and still, or did he slouch and fidget? Was he soft-spoken, or did his voice have an edge? Where did he stand in a crowded room?”