Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Biblical Novels

My favorite books are novels with Biblical characters, and I’ve probably read several hundred over the years. There are many different types of Biblical character novels. Some try to take a very literal approach, trying to add as few outside details as possible. There are really only a few characters who can be treated this way, such as Joseph, David, and Paul, but for most Biblical characters there is just not enough information in the Bible to fill a novel. Other novelists try to stick to the Bible account as closely as possible, but freely add fully developed supporting characters to make a story out of it. The better ones try to make those characters conform, as closely as they know how, to what a person of that day would really be like. There is a third group, which is similar to the second group, except that the characters just don’t come across as real. The characters in these novels tend to have 20th century mindsets, and it really detracts from my enjoyment of those books. Then there is a fourth group, which could almost be called fantasy novels, except that when you read them, you can’t really say that the things in the book couldn’t have happened. This latter group can sometimes be the most fun.

I read a trilogy by Douglas Hirt called the Cradleland Chronicles, which is a story about civilization before the Flood. The first book, called Flight to Eden, covers the time before Noah’s birth and shows how civilization could have been as advanced as ours, although in different ways. The author describes in detail things that the Bible alludes to, such as some of the types of animals which were becoming more and more hostile to man, man becoming more and more depraved in a place called Nod City, and the dangers that Lamech faces for taking a stand for God. The book is essentially the story of mankind’s beginnings, and how the forces of darkness attempt to stop the birth of Noah, who they figure out is the one through whom the promised Messiah would come. There are many things in the book which seem too farfetched to be believable, but in truth there is nothing which actually contradicts any of the few statements which the Bible makes about that period. This is what makes it so much fun. The second book, Quest for Atlan, continues in the same vein. The third book, The Fall of the Nephilim, is when the ark is built and eventually the flood does happen (in case you weren’t sure.)

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