I am not religious myself however, I deeply adore stories on the relationship between faith and queer identity. To question whether one of the most prominent historical figures was gay, when we already know very little about his life, is incredibly brave. Structured a lot like a research paper as well as intertwining fact with fiction. It’s easy to convince yourself that what you’re reading is the truth.
I really enjoyed the “translations” of the 6 papyri, the letter exchange from the 19th century and the sprinkled in trivia about queerness in Christianity (references to movies and books as well as articles and more provided in further reading).
My enjoyment was somewhat hindered by the very long conference transcript. Don’t get me wrong a lot of the trivia came from there however, reading about fictional experts discussing fictional historical artefacts isn’t really up my alley. I much more preferred Lazarus’ letters. I would have loved to hear more of his side. I am also aware that keeping it intentionally short makes it not only more realistic but also lets the reader’s imagination wander. I would love to see Evensong or a different author build up on the idea of Jesus being gay and write an actual novel about it.
The idea that Jesus was gay isn’t something new, but few people have actually played around with it, either on screen or on paper. I hope works like this one, not only encourages more queer Christian fiction but also promotes love and acceptance. Religion, Christianity included, always taught us to love one another as you love yourself and I believe this is one value everyone, regardless of their beliefs, should uphold.

I came across this book on NetGalley and immediately requested to read it ahead of its release. When this title first appeared, I was in awe of it. As a homosexual man who identifies as a Christian, I was immediately drawn to this book. Many who identify as I do have a highly complex relationship with the church and our religion, but for me, at the end of the day, I still believe in the fundamentals of Christianity. Jesus died on the cross for me.

The True Myth of Gay Jesus by Rupert Evensong is a beautifully constructed work of speculative fiction that explores “The 6 Papyri” and their contents. The ancient documents reveal details about the life of Jesus that depict him having had a same-sex relationship with none other than Lazarus, whom the Bible claims was raised from the dead by Jesus himself. A point also explored in the context of “The 6 Papyri.”

Even though the documents discussed in the book are fictional, they incorporate numerous historical aspects and references to real-life studies of scripture and other written works that academically debate the content of the Bible and the methods used to compile it.

While many historical details are shared in this book, I found the non-fictional pieces of history to be the most fascinating. Evensong does an incredible job of weaving fact and fiction together, making it challenging for one to distinguish what is real from what isn’t. Thankfully, the author includes a list of references at the end of the book for those who wish to explore the subject matter further. I know I certainly will.

There was a lot of information that I never learned about the Bible in my theology classes, which Evensong sheds light on in this work. Many details were mind-blowing to me. I immediately wanted to delve deeper into the Bible's historical background.

Written in a style reminiscent of a research paper, the book includes “translations” of “The 6 Papyri” as well as fictional letters and other texts to create a highly thought-provoking work of speculative fiction. Be on the lookout for The True Myth of Gay Jesus when it releases September 1, 2025!

For information on this work and the author, visit www.rupertevensong.com to learn more!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an advance reader copy (ARC) of this title to review.

It's a shame that this book has what appears to be an AI-generated cover, because I would have rated it higher otherwise.

The actual substance of this book requires some level of suspension of disbelief - as does most fiction. But I'd say this one more than most. The actual writing is fine. Perhaps somewhat haughty at times, but digestible.

I appreciate what the author is trying to do. It's important to look at the historical Bible and question it. But if the goal is to increase acceptance for LGBTQIA+ folks in Christian spheres, this book falls flat. A more effective method would've been a nonfiction analysis of the discrepancies within the Bible's text. These points are presented in the book in the form of a conference transcript, but it's overshadowed by the fact that the discussion revolves around fictional texts.

We can have hope for acceptance in the world, but this book just seems to far-flung to make any sort of difference.

I wanted to like this, but I found the story to be extremely dry and, honestly, difficult to read. I think the idea of a gay Jesus is interesting, but I found the six papyri to be really repetitive and uninteresting, and the TED talk type thing at the end was almost unbearable to read. I wish we could have gotten some narrative to go along with the documents. I really liked the idea behind the part with Lazarus’s “resurrection”, but wish it was told in a way where we could be closer to the characters. I think a dual timeline would have added a lot to the papyri, and I think the bit at the end would be more interesting if I was introduced to the characters before hand or if it was told in a way other than reading a TED talk transcript.

2.25⭐️
Interesting, but left me a bit wanting...

When written missives revealing a homosexual relationship between Lazarus and Jesus Christ are discovered, it will upend and alter the course of history.

I have to say, the concept seemed a bit hokey going in, but while reading I did feel like it had great potential. This novella offers a number of thought-provoking and intriguing notions when it comes to the melding or overlapping of the ever-present topic of homosexuality and Christianity. However, my issue lies more in the execution of this work.

I found the written versions of several of the letters interesting, and actually added depth to the narrative; yet, the notated discussion that occurs later in the work was rather lengthy and I found myself bored. I think what may have enhanced this work is perhaps editing down the panel vignette and include perhaps some regular narratives that center on some of the characters. For instance, maybe we could get an intimate moment of a person questioning their faith, or we witness another bragging and reveling in the recent news. Anything to sort of add a layer of realism would have driven this whole thing a lot farther than it went.

Overall, a very solid attempt at something provoking, but it lacked that added depth that I think could have been there.