328:
developing
Christian story, as Jesus and Judah are natives of the same region and about the same age. Judah survives his ordeal and becomes a famous soldier and charioteer, enabling him to avenge his misfortune. Judah's encounters with Jesus first during Judah's and then during Jesus' suffering lead to the Messiah's curing of Judah's sister and mother of leprosy and Judah's conversion to Christianity. There have been numerous film adaptations including the 1959 version starring
388:(2010) is a heavily allegorical retelling of the Christian story that uses postmodern techniques and is an evident polemic against Christianity. It retells the story of Jesus as if he were two people, brothers, "Jesus" and "Christ," with contrasting personalities: Jesus is a moral and spiritual man, and his brother Christ is an ambitious character who wishes to hijack Jesus' biography and legacy to develop a myth that will be the foundation for a powerful and worldly Church.
497:, is a retelling of the Christian story from the point of view of Mary, the mother of Jesus. However, she does not believe Jesus is the Son of God – she knows he is a man – and she is contemptuous of the Gospel writers who visit her to solicit her cooperation and give her food and shelter. The themes or questions that the novel explores are narrative truth and fiction, feminism, loss, identity and corruption thereof, invasion of privacy, and worldly ambition.
438:, is a first-person narrative that tells the story of Dinah, daughter of Jacob and sister of Joseph. Diamont has broadened her character from her minor and brief role in the Bible. The book's title refers to the tent in which women of Jacob's tribe must, as dictated by ancient law, be quarantined while menstruating or giving birth. There the women find mutual support and encouragement from their mothers, sisters and aunts.
74:
176:
33:
485:(2015) is narrated by Natan, the prophet who communicates God's directives to David. The scriptures are her primary sources for the plot, which includes all the well-known key events: Goliath, David's facility with the harp, kingdom building, Bathsheba, and so on. There are other characters fully developed from Brooks' imagination and portrayed through Natan's point of view.
366:(1960), caused a widespread outcry and appeared on many banned book lists for its dramatization of Jesus as wracked by temptations, beset by fear, doubts, depression, reluctance and lust. However, Jesus is nevertheless portrayed as a miracle-worker and the son of God who is resurrected following the crucifixion.
548:
gold medal for religious fiction and the Utah Book Award for fiction, is a bildungsroman that follows the life and development of the anonymous author of the original gospel. Jacob, a former temple priest in
Jerusalem who has been rendered bereft by the Jewish wars and consequent destruction of his
344:
was one of the best-selling novels of the 1940s and dramatizes the crucifixion of Jesus from the point of view of
Marcellus Gallio, the Roman tribune who commands the garrison that carries out the crucifixion of Jesus. Marcellus winds up in custody of Jesus' robe and converts to Christianity because
405:
Realist Bible novels employ in some way the narratives that comprise the canonical
Biblical narrative, but shorn of miracles, or God's explicit presence. With respect to Jesus' biography, Jesus is portrayed as a man, usually a rebel against the wealthy classes (sometimes he himself is born into a
406:
privileged background and rebels against his own class), and the ruling Romans and their local client autocrats. Sometimes Jesus' biography is enhanced by sources external to the canonical gospels such as
Josephus' chronicles, the Talmud, or non-canonical gospels, and the author's imagination.
327:
and adventure novel that follows the tumultuous life of its protagonist, Judah Ben-Hur. He is a fictional Jewish noble from
Jerusalem who suffers betrayal (by a boyhood friend) and consequently his enslavement and his family's imprisonment by the Romans. Concurrent with Judah's narrative is the
391:
Other works are regarded as heterodox simply because they dramatize the Bible stories realistically, shorn of mythical, miraculous or magical elements. They may even include the transformation from real life events to mythology as part of the narrative. Realist Bible novels are typically
273:
Originally, these novels were consistent with true belief in the historicity of the Bible's narrative, replete with miracles, and God's explicit presence. Some of these works have been important and influential, and eventually there have appeared heterodox Bible novels that reflect
511:, retells the Christ story from a Jewish perspective. Four witnesses to the key events, Mary, Judas, Caiaphas and Barabbas, are the narrators in four sections of the novel, and the story spans the period from Pompey's siege of Jerusalem in 63 BC through Titus's siege in 70 AD.
413:
develops the protagonist as, not the son of God, but rather as a philosopher with a legitimate claim to be the earthly king of the Jews as a descendant of Herod the Great, and the Old
Testament's David. The novel has heterodox retellings of Biblical stories.
525:
that dramatizes the man beneath the hagiography. According to
Christian theology, John was merely a forerunner to Christ, but Hansen's portrait is strongly influenced by the Gnostic teachings that reveal John as a messianic figure at the center of an
575:
mystic. The themes of the book include how we cope with a loss of faith, the terrible sacrifices we make for those we love, the transcendent meaning of Yeshua's mission, and how we go on after suffering a shattering trauma. Reviewing the novel for
392:
semi-historical in that they develop the setting in Israel or Egypt or Rome or as the case may be—including the political and class and racial conflicts and urban and rural landscape imagery—with fidelity to known historical facts. As
402:(1946), "I undertake to my readers that every important element in my story is based on some tradition, however tenuous, and that I have taken more than ordinary pains to verify my historical background."
376:(1997) is a retelling in Mailer's own words that adheres closely to the Gospel narrative including miracles and resurrection. This was noteworthy in part because Mailer was a Jew, not a Christian.
442:
571:, so in his narrative, Jesus is called Yeshua ben Yosef and Lazarus is called Eliezer ben Natan. Yeshua and Eliezer have been best friends from childhood, and Yeshua is characterized as a
426:
that retells the familiar stories of
Genesis, from Jacob to Joseph, setting it in the historical context of the Amarna Period. Mann considered it his greatest work.
384:
584:
called it "a brave and engaging novel... a page-turner. I simply had to keep going to the very end in order to know on earth what would happen."
362:
618:
715:
430:
549:
family and culture, is inspired by his own autobiography and Paul's mythmaking to create the canonical gospels' original narrative.
545:
299:, and published by Harper & Brothers on November 12, 1880. It remained the best-selling American novel of all time, surpassing
237:
219:
157:
60:
186:
674:
552:
372:
95:
91:
46:
636:
138:
291:
110:
593:
201:
117:
710:
655:
447:
315:
197:
84:
518:
476:
124:
418:
567:. According to Zimler, one of the objectives of his novel was to return to the New Testament figures their
106:
489:
300:
527:
309:(1852) in sales and remaining at the top of the US all-time bestseller list until the publication of
305:
598:
466:
458:
560:
52:
619:
Comic horror author writes of Death's antics in S.F. -- 'A Dirty Job,' but somebody had to do it
262:. The degree of fictionalization in these works varies and, although they are often written by
451:
357:
310:
705:
522:
481:
341:
534:, and more mature, rigorous and restrained than his younger and charismatic protégé Jesus.
131:
329:
581:
564:
556:
508:
472:
379:
283:
699:
454:
435:
393:
367:
324:
577:
541:
494:
423:
296:
73:
17:
675:"The Gospel According to Lazarus review – miraculous page-turner (book review)"
398:
279:
263:
540:(2015), a novel by John Neeleman and published by Homebound Publications, a
531:
275:
356:
In the twentieth century, there began to appear heterodox Bible fiction.
572:
336:
568:
255:
345:
of his experiences interacting with the robe's magical powers. Like
204:. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed.
462:
259:
289:
An early Bible novel that may still be the most influential is
267:
169:
67:
26:
443:
Lamb: The Gospel
According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal
258:
which use characters, settings and events taken from the
353:
was in 1953 adapted into an Academy Award winning film.
193:
98:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
635:
8:
465:through the eyes of Jesus' childhood pal, "
385:The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ
61:Learn how and when to remove these messages
517:(2009), by Brooks Hansen and published by
637:"'The Testament of Mary,' by Colm Toibin"
238:Learn how and when to remove this message
220:Learn how and when to remove this message
158:Learn how and when to remove this message
610:
563:, who was raised from the dead in the
7:
96:adding citations to reliable sources
501:was adapted into a Broadway play.
25:
546:Independent Publisher Book Awards
42:This article has multiple issues.
673:Stanford, Peter (7 April 2019).
634:Gordon, Mary (9 November 2012).
174:
72:
31:
553:The Gospel According to Lazarus
373:The Gospel According to the Son
270:, this is not always the case.
83:needs additional citations for
50:or discuss these issues on the
1:
363:The Last Temptation of Christ
332:that won ten academy awards.
292:Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ
594:Biblical speculative fiction
559:, expands upon the story of
200:the claims made and adding
732:
519:W. W. Norton & Company
716:Christian literary genres
521:, is a novelized life of
507:(2012), by Jewish author
644:– via NYTimes.com.
622:San Francisco Chronicle
419:Joseph and His Brothers
286:influences and themes.
660:www.utahhumanities.org
499:The Testament of Mary
490:The Testament of Mary
469:who is called Biff".
422:(1943) is a novel by
301:Harriet Beecher Stowe
528:ethnoreligious group
493:(2012) a novella by
92:improve this article
624:. December 17, 2015
599:Theological fiction
555:(2019), a novel by
544:, and winner of an
254:refers to works of
642:The New York Times
561:Lazarus of Bethany
457:which depicts the
434:(1997) a novel by
396:said of his novel
316:Gone with the Wind
185:possibly contains
711:Christian fiction
515:John the Baptizer
505:The Liars' Gospel
467:Levi bar Alphaeus
448:Christopher Moore
358:Nikos Kazantzakis
311:Margaret Mitchell
306:Uncle Tom's Cabin
248:
247:
240:
230:
229:
222:
187:original research
168:
167:
160:
142:
65:
16:(Redirected from
723:
690:
689:
687:
685:
670:
664:
663:
652:
646:
645:
639:
631:
625:
615:
523:John the Baptist
482:The Secret Chord
477:Geraldine Brooks
342:Lloyd C. Douglas
243:
236:
225:
218:
214:
211:
205:
202:inline citations
178:
177:
170:
163:
156:
152:
149:
143:
141:
100:
76:
68:
57:
35:
34:
27:
21:
18:Biblical fiction
731:
730:
726:
725:
724:
722:
721:
720:
696:
695:
694:
693:
683:
681:
672:
671:
667:
656:"Award listing"
654:
653:
649:
633:
632:
628:
616:
612:
607:
590:
330:Charlton Heston
244:
233:
232:
231:
226:
215:
209:
206:
191:
179:
175:
164:
153:
147:
144:
107:"Bible fiction"
101:
99:
89:
77:
36:
32:
23:
22:
15:
12:
11:
5:
729:
727:
719:
718:
713:
708:
698:
697:
692:
691:
665:
647:
626:
617:Acosta, Marta
609:
608:
606:
603:
602:
601:
596:
589:
586:
582:Peter Stanford
565:Gospel of John
557:Richard Zimler
509:Naomi Alderman
473:Pulitzer Prize
380:Philip Pullman
246:
245:
228:
227:
182:
180:
173:
166:
165:
80:
78:
71:
66:
40:
39:
37:
30:
24:
14:
13:
10:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
728:
717:
714:
712:
709:
707:
704:
703:
701:
680:
676:
669:
666:
661:
657:
651:
648:
643:
638:
630:
627:
623:
620:
614:
611:
604:
600:
597:
595:
592:
591:
587:
585:
583:
579:
574:
570:
566:
562:
558:
554:
550:
547:
543:
539:
535:
533:
529:
524:
520:
516:
512:
510:
506:
502:
500:
496:
492:
491:
486:
484:
483:
478:
474:
470:
468:
464:
460:
456:
455:comic fantasy
453:
449:
445:
444:
439:
437:
436:Anita Diamant
433:
432:
427:
425:
421:
420:
415:
412:
407:
403:
401:
400:
395:
394:Robert Graves
389:
387:
386:
381:
377:
375:
374:
369:
368:Norman Mailer
365:
364:
359:
354:
352:
348:
343:
339:
338:
333:
331:
326:
325:bildungsroman
322:
318:
317:
312:
308:
307:
302:
298:
294:
293:
287:
285:
281:
277:
271:
269:
265:
261:
257:
253:
252:Bible fiction
242:
239:
224:
221:
213:
210:November 2021
203:
199:
195:
189:
188:
183:This article
181:
172:
171:
162:
159:
151:
140:
137:
133:
130:
126:
123:
119:
116:
112:
109: –
108:
104:
103:Find sources:
97:
93:
87:
86:
81:This article
79:
75:
70:
69:
64:
62:
55:
54:
49:
48:
43:
38:
29:
28:
19:
682:. Retrieved
679:The Guardian
678:
668:
659:
650:
641:
629:
621:
613:
578:The Guardian
551:
537:
536:
514:
513:
504:
503:
498:
488:
487:
480:
471:
459:"lost" years
441:
440:
431:The Red Tent
429:
428:
417:
416:
410:
408:
404:
397:
390:
383:
378:
371:
361:
355:
350:
346:
335:
334:
320:
314:
304:
290:
288:
272:
251:
249:
234:
216:
207:
184:
154:
145:
135:
128:
121:
114:
102:
90:Please help
85:verification
82:
58:
51:
45:
44:Please help
41:
580:, novelist
542:small press
530:called the
495:Colm Toibin
424:Thomas Mann
297:Lew Wallace
700:Categories
605:References
411:King Jesus
399:King Jesus
340:(1942) by
280:postmodern
264:Christians
194:improve it
148:April 2019
118:newspapers
47:improve it
532:Mandaeans
452:absurdist
250:The term
198:verifying
53:talk page
588:See also
573:Merkabah
409:Graves'
351:The Robe
337:The Robe
319:(1936).
706:Fiction
569:Judaism
475:winner
347:Ben-Hur
321:Ben-Hur
284:realist
256:fiction
192:Please
132:scholar
684:1 July
450:is an
276:modern
134:
127:
120:
113:
105:
538:Logos
463:Jesus
323:is a
260:Bible
139:JSTOR
125:books
686:2019
268:Jews
111:news
461:of
446:by
382:'s
370:'s
313:'s
303:'s
295:by
282:or
266:or
196:by
94:by
702::
677:.
658:.
640:.
479:'
360:'
349:,
278:,
56:.
688:.
662:.
241:)
235:(
223:)
217:(
212:)
208:(
190:.
161:)
155:(
150:)
146:(
136:·
129:·
122:·
115:·
88:.
63:)
59:(
20:)
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
