trio: that none should die; in a dark garden; the road to bithynia

by Frank G. Slaughter

Book Overview

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: B000BT5KSM
• Release Date: January 1951
• Publisher: Doubleday
• Length: 924 Pages
• Weight: 1.90 lbs.

Customer Reviews

A Fine Balance

Writers of historical novels have formidable challenges. They have to create a novel that is interesting for the "layman" and yet accurate enough for at least the casual historians. The writer of a Biblical historical novel must also navigate the additional minefield of doctrine, theology and belief, not to mention strongly held conceptions of such prominent New Testament figures of Luke, Paul and Peter. It is therefore a pleasure to see how well Frank G. Slaughter mostly surmounts these obstacles in this book. A biography (scriptural, apocryphal and imaginative in about equal parts) of the physician Luke that tells a wonderful story with reverence and imagination. If one is determined to dislike this book, you can probably find something: the love story of Luke and Thecla seems a little contrived, the sometimes less than flattering portrayal of Paul's all-too-human weaknesses will offend traditionalists (especially those who ignore Paul's own confessions of his failings in Romans 7), the Jews opposed to the early church are defintely cast as villians and Christian doctrine espoused by most of the main characters possibly over-emphasizes good works over salvation. But,if taken as a whole, this book provides action, history, romance and a testament to the less-than-perfect but inspiring members of the early Church.