Friday, March 03, 2006
REVIEW: 'Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt'
Brilliant! Anne Rice's portrayal of Christ as a child, outlining his move from Alexandria to Nazareth and his quest to discover Himself, was one of the greatest pieces of novel writing I have yet read. Rice (yeah, the vampire lady) brings her meticulous research skills and attention to detail to the story in her effort to write the Jesus of the Gospels and it pays off. In her book-ending author's note, Rice discusses her sources, the walls she came up against, the bias in scholarship regarding the figure of Christ, and her subsequent journey back to faith as a result of this book's writing. She tells of consecrating her writing to Christ and dedicates the book to all Christians and all her fans. I was blown away by her knowledge of Jewish culture and ritual as well as the historical accuracy with which she rendered the story and characters. My theological radar was on throughout and there was nothing that made me raise my eyebrows and want to cry "bad theology" (though admittedly I am unschooled in theology so I could have missed things). 'Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt' is a must-read for those interested in the life of Christ and I would recommend it to anyone, Christian or not. Grade: A.
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1 comment:
I couldn't agree more with you about this book. I just finished, and I loved every page. Imagining Jesus as a wide-eyed, vulnerable 7 year old brought a new side to Christianity, and my personal beliefs. The thought that Jesus did not know he was God was truly interesting. He kept performing miracles, but didn't know why, just that "the power flowed out of me" as it was put in the book.
I'm decently schooled in theology, especially New Testament period stuff, and I didn't find anything that was a stretch. I'm glad you liked this book, I am putting it up as one of the best books I've ever read.
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