Happy Thanksgiving!

Hey, Everyone!

As this week is Thanksgiving in the US, I'm going to take this week as a break. Also, Annie wanted to wish everyone a happy thanksgiving. Look at how much she's grown!

Have a great week, wherever in the world that you are! See you next Monday!

The Flames of Rome by Paul L. Maier

The Flames of Rome is the final novel by Paul L. Maier that I'm going to review (because he doesn't have any more right now, haha). First published in 1981, this story takes us through the Roman world during the time of the early church (and some well known emperors). For anyone who loves ancient Rome (me!), this book definitely interested me.

From Claudius to Nero and Vespasian, Maier takes us through the turbulent times of AD 41-69 in the center of the Roman Empire. Full of intrigue and adventure, the reader sees the rise and fall of each emperor, runs from the flames of the great fire, and finally, sees the first Christians martyred for sport in front of a Roman crowd. The depth of Maier's research is evident, as well as his skill with a pen.

This novel also reminded me of Robert Whitlow's The Advocate, which also was set during that time period (but published much more recently). Their similarities, though written so many decades apart, is proof to me of the verifiable sources available on this time period. It was fun to see how the different authors crafted their own story while staying true to what happened. After all, this is, as Maier says in his preface, a "documentary novel, resorting to fiction for such connective material as well as dramatization, dialogue, and subplot to flesh out the story and bring its characters to life" (p. 9). In addition, he also includes a section of notes at the back of the book, listed chapter by chapter. 

Despite its 'older' style, The Flames of Rome is a great read for anyone looking to understand this fascinating time and culture. You can find it here on Amazon!

The Constantine Codex by Paul L. Maier

The Constantine Codex, the 3rd book in Paul L. Maier's 3-part series, is my favorite of all.

Published in 2011, I feel like this book solves some of the 'problems' that I had with the other two (granted, it was likely only me, as they were both bestsellers!). The prose and the dialogue match the era much better, which is more accessible to the modern reader, and I didn't find the romance as distracting (there were fewer allusions to the first book, whereas I felt like the second book revisited almost every scene of their 'fairytale romance'). 

As with the other two, this book is fiction and its story needs to be taken with a grain of salt as far as the 'incredible archeological discovery and the global ramifications' depicted, but I didn't have a problem with that. 

In fact, I loved the story itself, probably because I love books so much, especially the Bible, and love anything having to do with Israeli and early church history. This book was fascinating! I'll likely read it alone more in the future, even if I don't read the others as often. That's another thing- while each of the novels in this series could stand alone, this one definitely stands out the best (even with it's references to the earlier ones).

Something fun that stood out to me as well was that I read this book a few days after finishing Nabeel Qureshi's Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus. Part of the storyline of Maier's novel involve a debate between a Muslim leader and the main character, Jonathan Weber. Many of the same 'arguments' that Weber's character used line up exactly with Qureshi's story. I found this a happy connection (being that Maier's book is fiction, but Qureshi's is nonfiction), and showed the incredible depth of Maier's research and the extent of his masterful weaving of story while portraying truth.

I 100% recommend The Constantine Codex. You can find it here on Amazon if this book interests you! And please let me know what you think!

More than a Skeleton by Paul L. Maier

Like its prequel, the stakes in Paul L. Maier's More than a Skeleton are high.  

Published in 2003, this story takes place post-September 11, 2001, and is once again in Israel (and Rome). This time, instead of an archeological discovery, there's something else just as potentially world-changing: a mysterious man named Joshua, born in Bethlehem to a Miriam and Joseph, raised in Nazareth. He performs miracles (or does He?), heals the sick (hmm...), even raises a disciple from the dead (huh), claiming to be an intermediate coming of Jesus, sent by God to bolster the church in these turbulent times.

Hmm... I struggled with this premise and how Maier was going to get out of it. But around halfway through, I really began to appreciate the extent of his research and storytelling ability overall... it's a complicated book! And the modern setting with Joshua's  interlaced into the parallels of some of Jesus' Biblical ministry, were fun to explore.

While the style of the novel is more modern, which I enjoy, this being the 3rd book of Maier's I've read recently, I feel like his strength lies in his prose and his storytelling abilities overall. I honestly struggle with his dialogue, as characters speak like academics in the 1940s (truthfully, they are academics. It's just that the style of the dialogue is incongruent with the era of the novel). I felt it fit better in the first book, where the style matched the dialogue better, if that makes sense, because it all was older. And, because of my struggle with the romance in the first book, I am a little biased against the couple in this book as well—but that's my problem, not anyone else's. It's not that I don't root for them, but the constant allusions to their 'fairytale romance' are too many, and I still don't find it believable that they got together in the first place. 

That being said, if you love fiction that makes you think, More than a Skeleton definitely fits this category. Click here to get it on Amazon! And come back next week for the next book in this trilogy (I haven't read it yet, but I am looking forward to it!).

Historic Peace Treaty between Israel and Sudan

 Did you see this?

On October 24, the US, Israel, and Sudan announced a 3rd history peace treaty- agreement to normalization- between Israel and an Arab country. Since this is only the 5th ever, but the 3rd agreement reached in about 2 months' time, this is a BIG DEAL. '

And it's estimated that there are about 5 more countries in line for their own agreement. This likely will not happen until after the US election on November 3, as these deals were brokered by the US. However, of these 5 countries, we know that Oman is one, and 2 others are rumored to be: Saudi Arabia and Iraq! WOW!!! (Click on the links to see articles referencing this).

We are definitely living in historic times!

In other news, Israel just finished their 2nd major lockdown of 2020, which lasted a month this time and ended on Oct 18. Thankfully, their rate of COVID-19 has lowered significantly, and they are slowly starting to re-open. In fact, they will start human trials for a vaccine on Nov 1, and together in coordinated efforts with India, have created a rapid (and accurate) test for COVID-19 that hopefully will be ready soon. There are such high hopes for it that it is called "open skies", because, as the Israeli Ambassdor to India, Ron Malka, said: "[This vaccine] will be good news for the entire world. Until we manage to immunize the entire population, this joint operation, which we had named ‘open skies’, would literally open the skies in terms of international travel and other economic activities as this can be used at airports and other places by requiring a person just to blow into a tube and the result would be available in 30-40-50 seconds" (quote from this Behold Israel article).

Here's open borders everywhere will be able to safely open soon! 

The scariest book I've ever read

In 1998, I was 14 years old and visiting my best friend for 3 weeks where she lived in Germany, and randomly picked a book over her family's shelves. It looked interesting because it had to do with history, archeology, and Israel. 

It was the scariest book I've ever read.

The book was A Skeleton in God's Closet by Paul L. Maier, and while I knew it was fiction, its ramifications were terrifying. It wasn't paranormal or horror (although I felt sick with horror, and it did involve a skeleton); it was regular Christian fiction. I remember staying up until 2am to finish it because I had to know. The sinking pit in my stomach, my racing heart (and mind), wouldn't let me go to sleep until I reach the end and verified that even in this fiction.

Without giving away what the book is about, the reader follows a Biblical scholar/professor and archeologist after they make an "impossible" find in a tomb in Israel. Over the course of this year-long journey, its implications rattle the faith of millions around the world and have far-reaching impact—shaking economies and religious followers the world over. 

I recently re-read this book, which is why I'm reviewing it here. While written in an older style, I loved "revisiting" Israel in this book, as the hero travels from Galilee to Masada, to Jerusalem, Jordan, Egypt, the Vatican, the UK, the US, and back again. While I did enjoy that, the romance that builds throughout those visits is distracting, as well as unrealistic (even though stereotypical). To me, it detracts from the story. As for the story itself, I also (because I knew how it ended, haha) was better able to deal with the story from an objective perspective, letting me fully grasp the breadth of this narrative. It really is incredible - and best of all, while fiction, still supports what I know to be true with every fiber of my being. 

You can purchase this book here on Amazon! And come back next week, where we'll talk about it's sequel!

Pontius Pilate by Paul L. Maier

Here's another one for fans of Biblical fiction or anything having to do with ancient Rome! 

Pontius Pilate by Paul L. Maier is an older novel, published in 1968, and is a thorough exploration of the governance and career of Pontius Pilate, starting from his first appointment to Judea, his 10 years there, and his return to Rome. 

Being that he lived during one of the most fascinating times in Rome's turbulent history, it's an interesting story anyway. But throw in his key role during Jesus' trial, and it makes for an interesting read for any lover of history, especially Roman or Biblical. Obviously, this book is fiction, but it's so well researched that it gives great insight into a piece of what was going on during that time. I also love that it was written from Pilate's perspective, as it is a unique one we haven't explored before.

Because this book is from 1968, it is written in an older style and is a bit of a slower read—but that doesn't take away from its subject. You can find it here on Amazon!

Tea with Hezbollah by Ted Dekker and Carl Medearis

When I first heard about Tea with Hezbollah by Ted Dekker and Carl Medearis, I was fascinated by the idea. From the very first line, I was hooked.

The premise of the book is that in 2009, author Ted Dekker and his friend and international expert in Arab-American and Muslim-Christian relations, author Carl Medearis, flew to the Middle East with one purpose: to meet with Islamic leaders, drink tea, and ask them what they think about Jesus' parable of the Great Samaritan, a famous teaching on loving your neighbors.

Can you tell why I was hooked immediately?

The first thing I noticed, and honestly, it is definitely a small point I want to make, is that I didn't realize how funny Ted Dekker is. I've read many of his books, which fall in the genre of "Christian thriller". I've enjoyed them, but many were also 'above me' because of his sheer brilliance. I've enjoyed his books; but I've never known that he is just plain funny. It made this book so enjoyable to journey with him and Carl throughout the Middle East.

That aside, this book is incredible. The depth of detail and insight the authors used in their journeys kept me entranced, as I learned about people and places I've never seen, been, or met before. There was so much for me to take away as a student of people and culture, including basic practices and values of Islam that I didn't previously know.

I also appreciated how the authors published their interviews as they were spoken, not re-written from the ears and perspectives of the author, but literally transcribed to see the meanings and intention of the subjects, who were:

• Abdul Fadeel Al Kusi of the Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt
• the Bin Laden brothers in Saudi Arabia
• Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah  in Lebanon
• Bedouin Prince in Lebanon
• Hezbollah Sheik Nabil Qaouk in Lebanon
• Mufti Abdul Fattah Al Bizem of Damascus, Syria
• Mufti Sheik Ekrima Sa'id Sabril of Jerusalem, Israel
• A leader in non-violence in Bethlehem, Israel
• A top leader of Hamas in the West Bank
• A leader of one of the 700 remaining Samaritans in Israel
• and many more, including taxi drivers and random people.

This is why I was so fascinated, because Jesus is known in Islam as being a great prophet - not the greatest prophet (who is Mohammed), but a good teacher. Many of His teachings are in the Quoran. This is why the story of the Good Samaritan is known throughout all of these groups. To read the views, thoughts, and perspectives of these Muslim leaders on a well-known teaching of Christ was fascinating. I'm not going to try to summarize it, because I can't.

Tea with Hezbollah gave me so much to think about, and I am thankful to have read it! Click on the link or the picture above to purchase it on Amazon - I highly recommend it!

Seeking Allah, Find Jesus by Nabeel Qureshi

At first glance, it could seem like this week's book feature has nothing to do with Israel. But since 60% of the population of Israel is Arab, and Islam also claims Jerusalem to be a Holy City, there's a strong connection. 

In Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus, Nabeel Qureshi describes his journey as a devout Muslim from a Pakistani American family who eventually came to follow Jesus as Lord. 

This book is incredible. Qureshi's writing drew me in, and his story is so powerful. But what I loved, almost as much as his journey to becoming a Christ follower, was how much I learned about Islam through this book—and Eastern culture as well. Through his story, I learned about what he believed and why, giving me a greater understanding of basic teachings and beliefs of Islam.

He also gave so many insights of being an Easterner in the West who is wrestling with converting to a 'Western' religion (hopefully this series on the global early church refutes that last claim) and I wanted to share a few of them here. The most heartbreaking were how he agonized over the affect his conversion would have on his family (and did have). While this is difficult to understand in an individualist culture, he does a great job of explaining this on a basic level with a simple example in Chapter 18: "Honor and Authority". 

"Islamic cultures," Qureshi explains, "tend to establish people of high status as authorities, whereas the authority in Western culture is reason itself. These alternative seats of authority permeate the mind, determining the moral outlook of whole societies.... Much of the West's inability to understand the East stems from the paradigmatic schism between honor-shame cultures and innocence-guilt cultures [the West]. This reliance on positional authority explains some characteristics in parts of the Muslim world that confound many Westerners, such as the continued practices of honor killings, child brides of 6 or younger, and blood feuds. For one reason or another, the prevailing sources of social authority in these regions deem these customs acceptable, perhaps even preferable. No amount of sheer reason is going to change these practices, nor will externally imposed prohibitions.... If there is no dishonor, it is not wrong" (pp. 108-109).

The example he gives is a simple one, where as kids, he and his friends would order water at fast-food restaurants, then go get soft drinks instead. But one day, a friend of his was caught getting Mountain Dew Code Red instead of water. An employee said, "You ordered water; you can't get soda!"

"At this," Qureshi says, "many people turned to see the commotion and my friend immediately blushed..... For my friend, this was the moment that made his actions a poor choice [not the actual stealing of the soft drink]. He had suffered dishonor in front of many. Stealing the soda was not the issue for him before being caught. In fact, it was still not the issue after being caught. As strange as it might sound to Westerners, it was more dishonorable for him to be called out by a minimum-wage employee than to be caught stealing soda. So he denied it, asserting firmly, 'I am getting water!' He filled the rest of the cup with water and walked away from the counter, as if were perfectly normal for water to be a deep, bubbly pink" (page 109).

This is fascinating to me, because it is such a different way of thinking than an innocence-guilt culture. It made me think of Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes' commentary on the story of David and Bathsheba (and confirmed this analysis of the story from an Eastern perspective). 

Anyway, exploration of Eastern culture is not the point of this book, but I picked up on it because it's something that I am learning more about—and it was impossible for Nabeel Qureshi to tell his story without incorporating it in. I loved every second of reading this book, and praise God for his testimony! 

I highly recommend this book! If you are interested, you can get it here on Amazon! And if you have read this book, I'd love to know your thoughts below!

*Nabeel Qureshi went on to teach with Ravi Zacharias International Ministries and was diagnosed with stage 4 stomach cancer in 2016 and went to be with the Lord in 2017. 

**For more on honor and shame in Eastern cultures, please check out these posts!

A Multitude of all Peoples: the early church in Asia

For the last several weeks, we've peeked at the history of the early church in Africa and the Middle East, based on A Multitude of All Peoples: Engaging Ancient Christianity's Global Identity by Vince L. Bantu. 

I say "peeked" because I just choose small things that stood out to me, in hopes that it inspires you to go read this book and fully explore Bantu's work. 

This week, we're going to explore his chapter on the early church in Asia. Like the previous posts, I'm just going to point out what stood out to me the most:

• Christianity entered Persia through Jewish communities no later than the 2nd century, and over the next 200 years, while Christians in the Roman Empire experienced severe persecution, this was not the case for Syriac-speaking Persian Christians. This means it was safer for Christians to live in places like Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan than in Greece or Italy! (pp. 165-167)
• As Christians from the Roman Empire fled east to the the Persian Empire, the government began to be suspicious of all Christians, connecting Christianity with the Roman Empire. "The Western cultural captivity of the Church began under Constantine, and the Persian Christians were the first non-Western Christians to suffer the consequences of this phenomenon" (i.e. people today thinking that Christianity is the 'white man's religion'). p. 170
• The Nicene Creed is written in the collectivist 'we' versus the Western "I", showing the Eastern influence of thinking in its creation (p. 172). To read more on this topic, check out this post. 
• In the 7th century, the Church continued to expand East, from Afghanistan and Uzbekistan to the earliest Christian mission to China (p. 177). 9th-century Syriac Christian manuscripts have been found in a monastery in China dating back to the 5th century! (p. 191)
• "In the medieval period, the Church of the East experienced some of the greatest missionary success and expansion of any Christian community in history, starting in Persian territory and extending all the way to the Pacific and Indian ocean" (pp. 179-180).
• Mongol leader Ghenghis Khan was tolerant of Christianity in the lands he conquered, including China (p. 212)
• The decline of Christianity in Central and East Asia began with Islamic persecution at the beginning of the 14th century (p. 216).

That's it for this series on A Multitude of All Peoples! What did you think? I'm purposely not covering the chapter on the Church in the Western world for one reason - I want to give full focus to how the church began throughout the non-Western world. However, I do want to leave this series with a quote from Bantu's conclusion:

"The tendency for Western culture to act as the barometer of Christian orthodoxy is a trend that reaches back to the Romanization of Christianity. It is important to recognize and lament the reality of the Western, white cultural captivity of Christianity, and for the people of God to take responsibility for the genocide wrought on countless millions in the name of (Western) Christianity. It is equally incumbent to recall that the Christian faith did not have its beginnings—nor the totality of its history embedded in white supremacy.....

This point is crucial, as contemporary non-Western non-Christians can easily dismiss the rapid growth of Christianity in the non-Western world as simply a function of Western colonialism and US American globalization.... 

Cognizance of Christianity's deep African and Asian roots dispels the common sense of indebtedness of Christianity to the Western world. Rather, early African and Asian Christianity provides an entry point free from Western dominance for a contemporary non-Western convert to Christianity" (pp. 220-221).

and

"The Western, white cultural captivity of the church [the belief that it is the 'white man's religion'] is the single greatest obstacle for people coming to faith in Christ....Christianity was expelled from China twice for cultural, rather than theological reasons....If it is the desire of the Church to exist deeply rooted for the long term for all nations, tribes, and tongues, it is necessary for the Gospel to be stripped of any geocultural association" (p. 225). 

My hope for every reader out there is what I experienced in reading this book: a greater appreciation and understanding of the history of the Church as a whole. It is so rich and way beyond the depths that even Bantu could plumb—although I know I'll be coming back to this book again and again to re-learn and gain greater understanding, as it was too much to take in for a first read-through. This book is definitely going on the shelf! 

I hope you enjoyed this series; I most definitely did! If you are interested in reading this book, you can purchase it here on Amazon!

A Multitude of all Peoples: the early church in the Middle East

For the past 2 weeks, we explored the history of the church in Africa, based on A Multitude of All Peoples: Engaging Ancient Christianity's Global Identity by Vince L. Bantu. I hope those brief posts made you want to get this book and read more about the first African Christians.

Now, we're moving on to the early church in the Middle East!

Again, there's just so much that Vince L. Bantu shows the reader, and I feel the best way to go about this is to highlight some of the things that stood out to me. Hopefully this will continue to whet your appetite for this incredible book! So first, we're going to start with Israel's immediate neighbors:

• The term "Christian" was first used in Antioch, in Syria, but over the centuries, "there have been many Christian communities various ecclesiastical, national, and ethnic affiliations that shared a common heritage root in the Syriac-speaking world" (p. 119)
• Syriac is a dialect of Aramaic that began in Turkey, and became the dominant language of Asian Christianity, even until the medieval period. The Syriac Bible was translated no later than the 2nd century (could have been at the end of the first century). The Syriac Old Testament is unique because it was translated directly from Hebrew instead of the Greek Septuagint (pp. 120-121) 
• Arabia is one of the regions with the earliest presence of Christianity, because Paul went to what was likely northwest Arabia and Jordan.
• There were Syriac-speaking Persian Christians living in Qatar until the 6th century.
• Some of the earliest Arabic inscriptions date back to 340—2 centuries before the birth of Muhammed—and were Christian in nature. A few even had crosses, and this means the Gospel of Jesus Christ was proclaimed in some of the earliest words written in the Arabic language (p. 147).
• A decade before the "christianization" of the Roman Empire, the Armenian king Tiridates converted to Christianity (302 AD). He destroyed pagan temples and built churches; "it is noteworthy that Armenia, while wedged between 2 larger pagan empires, became the first Christian nation an a time when the notion of a Christian nation would have been inconceivable (p. 151)!
• Mount Ararat is actually in Armenia, not in Turkey like I thought.
• With Greek-speaking Roman Empire on the west, Syriac-speaking Persian Empire on the east, Greek was the liturgical language in Armenia until the 5th century. Armenian was spoken by the people but it did not have a written language—which meant that the majority of clergy were foreigners. Sensing the need for indigenous Armenian leadership and a written alphabet, the Armenian scholar Mesrop Mashtots created an Armenian alphabet and provided the first translation of the Bible in Armenian. He started with Proverbs, and the first words of Scripture written in Armenian were: "To know wisdom and instruction, to perceive words of understanding." Proverbs 1:2 (pp. 152-154)
• The Georgian king also declared his nation a Christian country in the early 4th century, and like its neighbor, Armenia, had an alphabet developed for the purpose of translating the Bible and composing original theological literature (pp. 157, 159).

Talk about a rich, beautiful history of the church in the Middle East! Were any of these facts new to you? How does this impact your view of the fullness of the Church and Christian history? I'd love to hear from you below!

Historic Peace Treaty between Israel and the Kingdom of Bahrain

 Did you hear the news?!

On September 11, 2020, the Kingdom of Bahrain agreed to normalize relations with Israel, joining the United Arab Emirates with their own historic peace deal. THIS IS SO BIG! As the Times of Israel pointed out: "For Israel, after 2 peace treaties in 72 years, there have now been 2 in a month."

That's not all!

• Eastern European country Kosovo, a Muslim majority country, announced a normalization of diplomatic ties with Israel, and will establish an embassy in Jerusalem. Its neighbor, Serbia, is also moving its embassy to Jerusalem.
• Malawi will become the first African nation to place its embassy to Jerusalem.
• Israel is in talks with Central Africa country Chad about possibly opening an embassy in Jerusalem.

WOW! Even though I knew the Bahrain deal was coming, I still am so amazed! What an historic time to be living in! 

What do you think about these latest events in the Middle East? Please let me know in a comment below!

A Multitude of All Peoples: the early church in Africa (Part 2)

Last week we started talking about the history of the church in Africa, based on A Multitude of All Peoples: Engaging Ancient Christianity's Global Identity by Vince L. Bantu. 

I decided to end the post earlier than planned, because the final quote I shared was so powerful I wanted to leave it on that thought.

But now, I want to continue with the list I started, of sharing things I learned about the Church's rich history in Africa:

• The Ethiopian Church, which became strong and flourishing in the 4th century, were committed to the teachings of Scripture and willfully rejected traditional African religion. This is significant giving the commonly held assumption that Christianity's beginnings in Africa were by force and that all Africans who rejected their traditional religion did so by compulsion" (p. 106). This was still true as late as 1468 AD.
• Tertullian, of North Africa, was the first major figure to develop Christian theology in Latin (p.110).
• Perpetua, a noble woman from Carthage at the end of the 3rd century, wrote The Passion of St. Perpetua, St. Felicitas, and their companions, a story depicting the persecution and martyrdom of several North African Christians—including herself and her pregnant slave, Felicitas. "That Perpetua's husband is not directly mentioned, that she refuses the pleas of her father to apostatize, and that the central figures of this early Christian text are female challenged the male-dominant culture of early Christianity. Indeed, if the common proposition of Perpetua's authorship is correct, the Passion is the earliest Christian text written by a woman" (p.111).
• "However, Christianity in North Africa was in large part centered on the wealthy, educated, Latin-speaking, urban population.... Muslim sources in Arabic indicate continuing Christian presence in North Africa for centuries after the conquest... Interestingly, one of the most common terms for Christians in Africa in Arabic was afariqa—indicating a significant degree to which 'Christian' and 'Africa' were synonymous concepts" (p. 117-118).

Wow- these are all really interesting to me. Were any of these facts new information for you? I'm so thankful for the work Bantu did putting this history together! Please let me know below what stood out to you.

Next week, we'll explore the early Middle Eastern church!