Blood In The Desert

You Left In Me The Faith – Book 1

Author: C. Douglas Gordon

Publisher: Self-published, San Bernadino, CA, 2017

                                                                     

A Very Good Novel: Read With a Discerning Mind

This is a historical novel and as close as I get to non-fiction. But the theme intrigued me. The plot is beautifully intertwined using several threads including allusions to biblical parallel passages, real historical events, theological controversy, parental love, slavery, power, the formation of belief systems, and the development of religions. Suffice it to say, although reading the book from a critical perspective, C Douglas Gordon managed to keep my interest at a high level, wanting to find out the fate of his main characters.

This is not a book for the faint-hearted. The depictions of the cruelty which took place both in the fictional part of this book and in the historical events the author intertwines are to say the least laden with blood and brutality and at times vividly portrayed from a sexual perspective. I’ll let each reader decide for themselves whether Gordon needed to go to this extreme to get his points across about how Christians were treated in their early history. I can’t seem to settle on one side of the argument versus the other.

One of the key threads in the novel is that of “martyrs” – especially the lesser known ones. The author is skillful in bringing their stories out without us losing track of his fictional plot. But then, and perhaps unintentionally, with separate chapters named after each of the three main characters’ ‘journeys’, there is a suggestion that each of our lives are “flights” from something or someone, ultimately ending in martyrdom. Yet throughout the book, the reader cannot help but feel he/she is being moved towards a climactic point where the woman, the man, and the child are reunited, and love and peace conquer fear and hatred.

The book may present some puzzlement to the Christian reader who is unfamiliar with the major theological disputes of the faith (e.g. the divinity of Jesus) and even some of much lesser importance such as the issue of the God’s gender. There are references to God as ‘the Birther’; a male and female Aeon countered later by two ‘savior’ Aeons – namely Christ and the Holy Spirit (the female one); and the Demiurge and much more.

There are also some interesting takes on other issues that often go unresolved. For example, when a young girl with a very high fever and in the process of dying is saved after the lead character prays to Jesus (referred to as Yesua throughout the book), the mother gives Jesus the credit. Miriam (the lead character) retorts, “No. Your Faith in Yesua has saved your child!” Clearly one can’t argue with that since the other has paralleled the thinking behind the words of Christ Himself when after healing numerous people during his earthly ministry, He said, “Your faith has made you well.” On the other hand, it would be misleading to omit the fact that it still was Jesus that did the healing. The issue is best described in a blog on the very topic, the role of faith in healing. Gordon makes no effort to teach or clarify in situations like this.

All this to say that readers need to discern between what they believe and determine to be the truth and what Gordon is simply relating as possible traditional stories about how one religion began, was communicated, and eventually became known as Christianity.

There is much to commend the author on, including an incredible comprehension into the affliction of blindness and its impact on the brain. Most insightful and interesting. Gordon also offers his readers some gems with respect to what ‘history’ is. For me, his memorable nuggets there were: “History belongs to the future.” A reference, for me at least, to the fact that we who employ it, own it. And that is followed up with his, “Those who look back often cloud the truth with their beliefs.” That is so true.  Yet, was the author making a statement concerning our view of what the New Testament Faith that has now metamorphosed into our modern-day belief system really was all about?  You be the judge.

I recommend the book for those that like a good historical novel. I believe it serves Christianity well in helping us all understand what those who had “the faith left in them” in the years, decades, and centuries after Christ’s life on earth, went through. But I would caution the reader to take under advisement Gordon’s theological references outside his excellent plot line. And yes, I may well be ready to enjoy (with similar caution), C. Douglas Gordon’s next novel, entitled The Twelve Coins, in his ‘You Left in Me the Faith’ series.

·      Ken B. Godevenos, President, Accord Resolutions Services Inc., Toronto, Ontario, October 1, 2017. www.accordconsulting.com

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