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papidoc's review against another edition
3.0
A fictional tale, but enjoyable and thought provoking. Matt Lawrence, "The Greatest Mystery Writer in the World," claims that he can prove that Christ's resurrection never happened. After an altercation in which he is knocked out by an assailant, he finds himself in the Judea of 26 AD.
Through the rest of the book, he investigates and explores the conditions and experiences of those who knew Christ, and collects eyewitness reports to the resurrection. Facing danger to his own life, there is a bit of excitement, but of course all works out in the end to a satisfying conclusion. Not an especially memorable book for me, but momentarily satisfying to read.
Through the rest of the book, he investigates and explores the conditions and experiences of those who knew Christ, and collects eyewitness reports to the resurrection. Facing danger to his own life, there is a bit of excitement, but of course all works out in the end to a satisfying conclusion. Not an especially memorable book for me, but momentarily satisfying to read.
sarahunsaker's review against another edition
5.0
Read this right before Easter and it made my Easter way more meaningful. I plan on buying this one. It is one I will read again.
dandelionking's review against another edition
3.0
This was one of the most unique approaches to Biblical Fiction I've ever seen. Here is the story from the back of the book. . .
In front of eight million TV viewers, "The Greatest Mystery Writer in the World" bragged he could prove Christ was actually stolen from the tomb and never really rose from the dead . . . if he were given just one week back in ancient Jerusalem. That night author Matt Lawrence got his wish. A knock-out punch took him right out of this world and landed him in Biblical Judea in 36 A.D., just six years after the execution of Jesus at Golgotha. In relentless pursuit of his investigation, Lawrence walked the same streets Jesus walked, visited the same places . . . and found himself facing the same dangers. Eyewitness reports might lead him to a discovery that would shake the world--but will he live long enough to tell the 20th century that he just solved the greatest mystery of all time?
The premise is intriguing and I couldn't help but want to find out what would happen. But I fear the story suffered from shortcomings. First and foremost it had one or two errors that weren't in the Bible. The major one was a statement made in the end of page 105 and on to page 106. Here is the statement made by one of the characters in 36 AD:
"More than six hundred years ago Jonah warned the people of Nineveh to repent their sinful ways swiftly, for soon they would be facing judgement. His words were ignored and the city was eventually destroyed."
Here a statement from the Bible, Jonah 3:10. I added the bracketed statement for clarity.
"Then God saw their [the people of Nineveh's] works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it."
Maybe the author was meaning that far in the future, Nineveh would turn from God and he would judge them then. But in either case Nineveh didn't ignore Jonah's warning.
Other than that, the story was slow but that's to be expected from the premise of interviewing key people that lived with Jesus. Also the ending was really rushed for the pace of the book. I was expecting at least a little glimpse of the main character's actions after he came back to present day. But instead you get only a page, and then the book ends.
I did enjoy the book but I was disappointed at these glaring shortcomings that kept me from getting immersed in an otherwise incredible plot.
In front of eight million TV viewers, "The Greatest Mystery Writer in the World" bragged he could prove Christ was actually stolen from the tomb and never really rose from the dead . . . if he were given just one week back in ancient Jerusalem. That night author Matt Lawrence got his wish. A knock-out punch took him right out of this world and landed him in Biblical Judea in 36 A.D., just six years after the execution of Jesus at Golgotha. In relentless pursuit of his investigation, Lawrence walked the same streets Jesus walked, visited the same places . . . and found himself facing the same dangers. Eyewitness reports might lead him to a discovery that would shake the world--but will he live long enough to tell the 20th century that he just solved the greatest mystery of all time?
The premise is intriguing and I couldn't help but want to find out what would happen. But I fear the story suffered from shortcomings. First and foremost it had one or two errors that weren't in the Bible. The major one was a statement made in the end of page 105 and on to page 106. Here is the statement made by one of the characters in 36 AD:
"More than six hundred years ago Jonah warned the people of Nineveh to repent their sinful ways swiftly, for soon they would be facing judgement. His words were ignored and the city was eventually destroyed."
Here a statement from the Bible, Jonah 3:10. I added the bracketed statement for clarity.
"Then God saw their [the people of Nineveh's] works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it."
Maybe the author was meaning that far in the future, Nineveh would turn from God and he would judge them then. But in either case Nineveh didn't ignore Jonah's warning.
Other than that, the story was slow but that's to be expected from the premise of interviewing key people that lived with Jesus. Also the ending was really rushed for the pace of the book. I was expecting at least a little glimpse of the main character's actions after he came back to present day. But instead you get only a page, and then the book ends.
I did enjoy the book but I was disappointed at these glaring shortcomings that kept me from getting immersed in an otherwise incredible plot.
papi's review against another edition
3.0
A fictional tale, but enjoyable and thought provoking. Matt Lawrence, "The Greatest Mystery Writer in the World," claims that he can prove that Christ's resurrection never happened. After an altercation in which he is knocked out by an assailant, he finds himself in the Judea of 26 AD.
Through the rest of the book, he investigates and explores the conditions and experiences of those who knew Christ, and collects eyewitness reports to the resurrection. Facing danger to his own life, there is a bit of excitement, but of course all works out in the end to a satisfying conclusion. Not an especially memorable book for me, but momentarily satisfying to read.
Through the rest of the book, he investigates and explores the conditions and experiences of those who knew Christ, and collects eyewitness reports to the resurrection. Facing danger to his own life, there is a bit of excitement, but of course all works out in the end to a satisfying conclusion. Not an especially memorable book for me, but momentarily satisfying to read.
angelakay's review against another edition
3.0
Another religious book I read back when I was religious. I remember liking it a lot; I'd be kind of curious to re-read it now.
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