James Morrow is a novelist who mainly writes about the contradictions of Christian
tradition. By that I mean not so much the
hypocricy of "
the meek shall inherit the earth" vs. "Onward
Christian Soldiers" (lots of people have done that) but the concept
of some
big huge God guy who lives in the sky.
Though sometimes described as anti-Christian, his work is not Christian bashing, and actually speaks more deeply and
intelligently about faith and ethical behavior than most theological works I've read.
His works also frequently contain a character who you can identify with strongly, who really really really wants something (sometimes something quite noble, like keeping a child alive), and just when salvation is within reach it is snatched away (usually because the character does something unethical that seems to work toward the goal, but actually works against it).
His books are frequently hilarious, deeply thought provoking, very well written, but not at all uplifting. Quite the opposite, in fact.
His books include:
This is the Way the World Ends
Only Begotten Daughter
City of Truth
Bible Stories for Adults
The Last Witchfinder (work in progress)
A lot of really great short stories