The Gospel According to Jesus Christ

novel by Saramago

Also known as: “O evangelho segundo Jesus Cristo”

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July 17, 2026

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The Gospel According to Jesus Christ is a 1991 novel by Portuguese writer José Saramago. The novel presents Jesus as an innocent figure caught between the machinations of God and Satan. Saramago, an avowed atheist, uses irony to critique religious narratives, portraying God as cruel and capricious. This interpretation led to controversy with the Roman Catholic Church, prompting Saramago to move to the Canary Islands. The novel's unconventional style, with dialogue presented in paragraphs without quotation marks, is characteristic of Saramago's work, which often uses parables to comment on human nature and societal injustices.1

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José Saramago
…evangelho segundo Jesus Cristo (1991; The Gospel According to Jesus Christ), which posits Christ as an innocent caught in the machinations of God and Satan. The outspoken atheist’s ironic comments in The Gospel According to Jesus Christ were deemed too cutting by the Roman Catholic Church, which pressured the Portuguese…
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…evangelho segundo Jesus Cristo (1991; The Gospel According to Jesus Christ), which posits Christ as an innocent caught in the machinations of God and Satan. The outspoken atheist’s ironic comments in The Gospel According to Jesus Christ were deemed too cutting by the Roman Catholic Church, which pressured the Portuguese…
Read More