"What if Jesus returned for an interim appearance before His final coming? And in a manner least expected?...."
This book was a great follow up to Paul L. Maier's "A Skeleton in God's Closet." I know I probably shouldn't be comparing him to Dan Brown, but a conspiracy is a conspiracy and they are fun to read! Paul Maier has vastly improved his dialogue in this one, too. It moves along at a descent pace and only once or twice did I think to myself, "Well, that's kinda out there." While the bones of his story are reminiscent of Brown, his knowledge of Church history makes Brown look like he's barely researched the subject.
One of Maier's strengths in his novels is that he educates you about the processes of archaeology, logic, authenticating proofs, and being a good skeptic. His main character asks a lot of questions, investigates, and weighs the evidence before coming to a conclusion. This is great thinking!
It is rare that a fictional book will make me look at my life and really think about my beliefs. This book made me take a hard look at where I am today, verses where I was 5 years ago. Maier has a huge emphasis on ecumenicalism. My background, so I have discovered and am quite disgusted at myself about, is not one of seeing the best across denominational borders. My past is riddled with being judgmental and critical about those who hold different secondary and tertiary doctrines that differ from my own. In the past I wouldn't have even considered the possibility that someone else might hold a different view on a secondary or tertiary doctrine and they might be right, too. They, apparently, were not 'walking in the Spirit' or they had, obviously, 'back-slidden,''fallen away,' or were just 'lesser Christians with their priorities wrong." God, forgive me, I was an arrogant, spiritual snob. How many people have been turned away from faith in Jesus because of arrogant people like me? How many people have left the church because they held a belief that was different (but accepted by the Church) and got tired of defending their choice and/or being hammered on that they were wrong and needed to change their belief or they were less than the 'spirit-led' person than they should have been? The Church's many schisms and divisions have led to groups who only know their particular beliefs. They read only their side of issues and don't bother to read or shun anything that is different or opposing to what they hold to. Doesn't spiritual maturity demand a fair hearing from all sides of an issue?
Proverbs 18:17 says,
"In a lawsuit the first to speak seems right, until someone comes forward and cross-examines." (TNIV)If my church group presents a doctrine and claims that "This is the right one. No other view makes any sense," do they ever teach what the other, acceptable, views are? Am I encouraged to look at all the evidence and decide for myself what I want to believe? Does your pastor read books from authors who hold the other views? Do you ever hear from the pulpit, "Here is what we believe, but here is what X, Y, and Z believe and these are legitimate and historically accepted by the Church" ? Is it right to continue to breed hostility, thereby encouraging more division in the church, against other believers? What about that unity Jesus prayed for in John 17? A large emphasis of this book is that, as believers, we should embrace ALL those who acknowledge that Jesus died for their sins and resurrected on the third day and now sits in heaven awaiting the time that He will return. We shouldn't be judging others for our differences, that, frankly, don't matter eternally. Different styles, different music, , different levels of formality, different end-times views......isn't the Church about Who Jesus is?
My next review will be "The Great Gatsby," by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Stay tuned.
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