Did you know that Thomas is Hebrew for twin? What if the Apostle Thomas had a twin? And what if—let’s suppose—when Thomas left his family to follow Jesus Christ, he left his twin brother behind to care for their ailing mother? That might leave the brother left behind a bit bitter. The Book of Clarence takes this concept and runs with it. Clarence, twin brother to the Apostle Thomas, is left to care and provide for his mother when Thomas runs off to follow a religious leader. Clarence is bitter, convinced that these increased responsibilities prevent him from changing from a potential “nobody” into a “somebody.”
Eve and I reviewed this month’s surprisingly thoughtful The Book of Clarence. Jeymes Samuel directed, wrote, and composed the score for the movie, which stars LaKeith Stanfield in the titular role, with Omar Sy and Anna Diop. The Book of Clarence is an anachronistic, “first century” comedic drama that skirts blasphemy nearly as many times as it has minutes in its runtime. Still, it was a thoughtful presentation that was surprising in its eventual sincerity. It also ended squarely in the lap of first- and second-century gnostic heresy.
First Impressions
The Book of Clarence is difficult to classify—part Spike-Lee joint, part Monty Python’s The Life of Brian, part Spartacus, and part Ben-Hur. The result was enjoyable but had some issues. Samuel tried to put so much into the movie and hit on so many social touchstones that the total presentation fell short. Neither Eve nor I knew what to expect as we walked into our respective theaters, and both of us came out equally confused and entertained. We’d heard and read of complaints of blasphemy against the movie, but we went in reasonably confident that a film recommended by Dr. Tim Chaffey couldn’t be all that bad. In the end, like several recent offerings, we didn’t know if we liked it. It’s just one of those things. Christ is in the movie, but only as a secondary character—a divine representation of Clarence’s McGuffin. The Book of Clarence treats Christ with respect despite all the humorous anachronisms. It gets many cultural elements “wrong,” though many of them were intentional, and those that were intentional seemed to be used to make modern-day social commentary. I was disappointed that The Book of Clarence tells a Christ-adjacent story without any gospel elements—except The Gospel of Thomas—but more on that later. Was it necessary to include more of the good news of the Bible? Perhaps not.
Gnosticism on the Down Low
The heresy of Gnosticism came to a head in the 2nd century from the Greek word gn?sis, which means “knowing” or “having knowledge.” The followers of Gnosticism held many beliefs that were antithetical to the saving nature of Christ, including denying the wholly human and wholly divine nature of Jesus. All material nature—even that of the risen Christ—is corrupt. They believed there was another level to knowledge—a secret level—that granted gnostics a more authentic understanding of the divine than achievable through “just” the experiential knowledge of the Holy Spirit. Said to have started with Simon the Magus of Acts chapter 8, there are two gnostic books that The Book of Clarence draws on to inform its story: The Gospel of Thomas and The Infancy of Thomas.
The Book of Clarence has an undercurrent of knowledge opposing belief. When Clarence pretends to be another Messiah, he uses the catchphrase, “Knowledge is stronger than belief.” Near the movie’s end, when Clarence is locked in a cell awaiting his crucifixion, his brother, the Apostle Thomas, asks him, “Do you believe now, Clarence?” Rather than affirming his belief in Christ then and redeeming himself, he doubles down, though in a way that affirms Christ: Clarence responds, “No. I don’t believe. I KNOW.”
It gets iffy with this line. Eve thinks that Clarence is answering a specific question about how he had walked on water. Clarence at this point finally knew that it was God that did it, and thus his “knowledge” was not secret but experiential. This perspective makes the statement an actual redemption of what “knowledge is greater than belief” meant to Clarence personally because God had revealed himself to be real. Like his twin, “doubting” Thomas, Clarence needed to experience God to have assurance. For my part, though, and there are likely to be very educated, very experienced folks who disagree with me, I am convinced that that moment is when The Book of Clarence affirmed its heretical nature. It’s important to note that gnostics still believed in Christ, but what they thought about Him was antithetical to God’s nature and Christ’s saving purpose.
The Biblical Argument Against Gnosticism
Paul writes to the Romans about saving belief:
On the contrary, what does it say? The message is near you, in your mouth, and in your heart. This is the message of faith that we proclaim: If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:8-10)
While knowledge is implied, it is not the saving element. You must “believe in your heart.” Many people know the story of Jesus of Nazareth, the Jewish Messiah, but neither believe nor are saved.
Jesus said, “Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.” (John 20:29)
Several other themes in the movie support the gnostic viewpoint as well. A significant step When Clarence begins his redemptive arc, he eschews the [material] wealth collected through his con to purchase the [abstract] freedom of some 20 or 30 gladiator enslaved people. Earlier in the movie, Clarence interviews Mary, the mother of Jesus; Clarence listens as she recounts a story about a young Jesus bringing clay birds to life. This story appears in two places: the Quran and The Infancy Gospel of Thomas.
There are two main elements of Gnosticism to dispute in The Book of Clarence. The first is that the material world is corrupt, while the spirit world is pure. We can find the first and most evident example of the material world being good in Genesis 1:
God saw all that he had made, and it was very good indeed. Evening came, and then morning: the sixth day. (Genesis 1:31)
God uses the word good (pleasing, delightful, well) seven times in Genesis 1, all of them describing what He had created.
The Bible tells us that the fall of man corrupted creation itself:
For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together with labor pains until now. (Romans 8:22)
Second, John tells us that Christ, who has been with us from before the beginning, was physical:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1)
The Apostle John also warns that denying the physical nature of Christ is deception:
Many deceivers have gone out into the world; they do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist. (2 John 7)
The second element of Gnosticism featured heavily in The Book of Clarence is the idea that hidden knowledge is the goal. It is harder to counter, but only because the concept is abstract (and absurd). Scripture is clear, though, that Christ as the means for salvation is not a secret:
God presented [Jesus] to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so that he would be just and justify the one who has faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:26)
God did not keep Jesus a secret. God had been talking about the coming Messiah for hundreds of years. God wants all people to believe:
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Anyone who believes in him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God. (John 3:17-18)
Eve makes a good point. The movie’s outrageously anachronistic and comedic nature moves it further from a presentation of the Gospel. This foolish nature will likely keep folks from giving The Book of Clarence any theological credence.
Christ Over Family
A motivating grudge for Clarence in the movie is that his twin brother Thomas left him and his ailing mother to follow Jesus. It seems clear that Samuel chose this plot element based on at least two scriptures:
If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, and even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:26)
And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields because of my name will receive a hundred times more and will inherit eternal life. (Matthew 19:29)
Christ is not telling us that leaving your family and hating your mother and father is necessary to follow Him. But there are two things to consider:
First, in Christ, we have a new family. We’ve been adopted into a fellowship of believers and join brothers and sisters in Christ. Second, many times, in many cultures, the decision to follow Christ will result in being cast out from your home and family. In many cases, Christians must choose between their lives or their faith. Christ is warning us what might be required to follow him.
Modern Social Politics in an Ancient Setting
While the setting is ancient Jerusalem, the movie touches upon a few social-justice-oriented racial touchstones. While the first one is a problem in modern-day America, its inclusion in ancient Jerusalem was a bit disruptive for us. Of course, that might have been the intent. Eve likened it to the informative disconnect she felt watching the 1996 movie Romeo + Juliet.
Samuel cast the movie so that black actors played all the residents of Jerusalem and white actors played all the Roman entitled occupiers. Several times throughout the film, Clarence and his friends walk down the street, minding their own business, when a squad of Roman guards stops them and demands to see “their papers.” While The Book of Clarence has plenty of historical inaccuracies, these were obvious and forced, clearly a cultural version of fan service.
That’s not to say that Rome did not consider itself superior to everyone else, but the idea of skin color being an indicator of inferiority is far more modern. Rome was an equal-opportunity conqueror and considered all other ethnic peoples to be inferior. A history buff on Quora summed it up this way:
Different ethnicities within the Empire had very distinct and often negative stereotypes:
Semitic peoples (Carthaginians, Syriacs, Jews) were savvy and untrustworthy.
Jews were singled out for being religious zealots.
“Easterners,” in general, were considered effeminate and unremarkable in war.
Gauls were considered simple minded, brave, but lazy
Iberians were considered wild and ultra-violent by nature
Germans were considered cunning, warlike, and extremely dangerous overall.
Greeks were considered nerdy, effeminate, and suited only to scholarly work.
In Act 22, we read the story of when a Roman commander applied the stereotype to the Apostle Paul:
They listened to him up to this point. Then they raised their voices, shouting, “Wipe this man off the face of the earth! He should not be allowed to live!” As they were yelling and flinging aside their garments and throwing dust into the air, the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, directing that he be interrogated with the scourge to discover the reason they were shouting against him like this. As they stretched him out for the lash, Paul said to the centurion standing by, “Is it legal for you to scourge a man who is a Roman citizen and is uncondemned?” When the centurion heard this, he went and reported to the commander, saying, “What are you going to do? For this man is a Roman citizen.” The commander came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” “Yes,” he said. The commander replied, “I bought this citizenship for a large amount of money.” “But I was born a citizen,” Paul said. So those who were about to examine him withdrew from him immediately. The commander too was alarmed when he realized Paul was a Roman citizen and he had bound him. (Acts 22:22-29)
Earlier on in Act, there is a similar event:
But Paul said to them, “They beat us in public without a trial, although we are Roman citizens, and threw us in jail. And now are they going to send us away secretly? Certainly not! On the contrary, let them come themselves and escort us out.” The police reported these words to the magistrates. They were afraid when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens. So they came to appease them, and escorting them from prison, they urged them to leave town. (Acts 16:37-39)
There is also the issue that The Book of Clarence presents Jesus and his apostles as black men. Understandably, people want to see Jesus as someone who looks like them. That’s fine. Historically, though, Jesus was neither “black” nor “white.” He most likely had the Middle Eastern (middle brown Asiatic). He also was not handsome:
He grew up before him like a young plant and like a root out of dry ground. He didn’t have an impressive form or majesty that we should look at him, no appearance that we should desire him. (Isaiah 53:2)
Talking about Hidden Agendas
Shortly after recording this episode, some new information about The Book of Clarence came to light. While Eve mentioned the Nation of Islam, and I was sensitive to the gnostic influences, we learned that these two elements are major parts of the 1960s Nation of Islam splinter group called “Five-Percent Nation.” The website Bounding Into Comics posted a review that made the connection, pointing out that hip-hop artist Jay-Z, the primary creative partner for the movie, is a Five-Percent member. Writer/Director Jeymes Samuel has done a lot of work with Five-Percenters in the past, though we couldn’t tell if he has any official affiliation with the group. Based on the list of Fiver-Percenters from the Wikipedia article, it would be nearly impossible to work in the hip-hop industry without collaborating with some members of the Five-Percent Nation.
Here is the summary of the group’s beliefs from the Wikipedia article:
Members of the group call themselves Allah’s Five Percenters, which reflects the concept that ten percent of the people in the world are elites and their agents, who know the truth of existence and opt to keep eighty-five percent of the world in ignorance and under their controlling thumb; the remaining five percent are those who know the truth and are determined to enlighten the eighty-five percent.
The Nation of Gods and Earths teaches the belief that Black people are the original people of the planet Earth and are therefore the fathers (“Gods”) and mothers (“Earths”) of civilization. The Nation teaches that Supreme Mathematics and Supreme Alphabet, a set of principles created by Allah the Father, is the key to understanding humankind’s relationship to the universe. The Nation teaches that the black man (insofar as the Nation defines this race) is himself God, with the black race thus being a race of actual gods.
We must admit we feel a little bamboozled and wish we’d known more about this group before our review. It does serve to remind us all of two things:
First, no matter how outlandish and crazy we think the Five-Percenter beliefs to be, we are still called to love the group’s members:
But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven. For he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what are you doing out of the ordinary? Don’t even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:44–48)
Second, even as we saw quite a few Gospel-tangential elements, God will use The Book of Clarence for His glory, regardless of the creative team’s intent:
We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)
Modern Heresies Exposed
One last comment on Book II of The Book of Clarence. In this section of the movie, Clarence hatches and implements a plan to fake many of the miracles that the Bible attributes to Christ. This part of the story reminds us of the dozens and dozens of people out there who fleece the innocent by faking miracles.
One of the other members of the Christian Podcasting Community, Justin Peters, takes some in-depth looks at the prosperity gospel and spiritual healing on his website.
Interestingly, this theme from the movie also ties back to the gnostic ideas. When we look at the story of Simon the Magus, we see this desire for God’s power to become rich and famous:
When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.” (Acts 8:18-23)
Lastly, The Book of Clarence got the entire “messiah” problem wrong. One element of the story is that Rome ordered Pilate to bring in all these “so called messiahs” and crucify them. While thinking of the Jews as “Christ killers” is certainly wrong, it is essential to remember that the Romans did not crucify Christ on their own, but at the insistence of the Jewish religious leaders. In this, prophecy was fulfilled. See John 18:28–19:16.
Conclusion
The Book of Clarence is an enjoyable movie and can be a great source of discussion, but it will require you to exercise your critical thinking more than ever. The story has both obvious and hidden motives, and we must be careful what we laugh at and give credence to. Thanks to Dr. Tim Chaffey for suggesting the movie and be sure to check out his show, Tilt Shift, on Answers.tv.
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