Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt.

Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt. CHRIST THE LORD: OUT OF EGYPT ANNE RICE ALFRED A. KNOPF, 2005 $25.95 (Hardcover), 336 pages Imagine a childhood in which you are gifted with supernatural powerbut are uncertain of your own past as you grow curious about yourimpending future. Welcome to the world of a 7-year-old Jesus Christ, theprotagonist in Anne Rice's latest novel, Christ the Lord: Out ofEgypt. Rice's book is an entertaining read and a valuable teachingtool grounded in research of early Church history and literature.Appropriate for middle school readers through adults, the novel invitesreaders to walk with Jesus as he discovers for himself his true natureand purpose in life. This detailed narrative is a suitable introduction to Christology,or the study of the theology of Christ. At the heart of the novel, thefirst in a series planned by the author, is the mystery of Jesus'nature, that he is at once human and divine. It is important to stressthat Rice's book is first and foremost a piece of historicalfiction, not an attempt at revising history or the Gospels. It is anopportunity for readers to understand the theme of mystery. As opposedto the mystery stories with which students may be familiar, where apuzzle is solved by the conclusion, this mystery will not be wrapped upneatly by the story's end. Rather, it is a mystery of faith: aspiritual reality that human reason cannot fully comprehend. In thisnovel, the reader struggles along with Jesus to understand how hispersonhood per��son��hood?n.The state or condition of being a person, especially having those qualities that confer distinct individuality: "finding her own personhood as a campus activist" is consubstantial con��sub��stan��tial?adj.Of the same substance, nature, or essence.[Middle English consubstancial, from Late Latin c with his divinity. Narrated in the first person by the young Messiah, Rice'sprose deftly balances the dichotomy of Jesus' nature. He isportrayed as a prodigy, truly gifted, but simultaneously perplexed overthe purpose of his gifts and his calling in life. Add to this thecharacter of his earthly father, Joseph, who is reluctant to tell himthe circumstances of his early years, and the reader is treated to aprotagonist on a journey of self-discovery. The author's plot line, though fiction, is not withoutfoundation. Rice takes creative license with myriad early Christianwritings, and exploring the sources that influence the novel affords anopportunity for literary criticism of these early Church writings aswell as an appreciation for Rice's meticulous scholarship. Theauthor's writing is in no way contradictory to the biblicalaccounts of Jesus' childhood. However, given the dearth ofinformation regarding Jesus' youth in the canonical scriptures,Rice draws heavily from the Apocrypha, gospels by early Christians thatwere not accepted in the Canon of the Catholic Church. The story openswith a powerful hook based on The Gospel of Thomas This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims.Please help Wikipedia by adding references. See the for details.This article has been tagged since October 2007. in which the youngJesus unwittingly kills a local bully and subsequently revives him.Likewise, most of the details regarding Jesus' extended family,including his brother, the son of Joseph from a previous marriage, arebased on The Proto-Gospel of James. Anecdotes of Mary's familylineage and her consecration as a Temple servant who wove wove?v.Past tense of weave.woveVerba past tense of weavewove, woven weave veils for thesanctuary likewise originate from this source. As historical fiction, the author is accurate in descriptions ofsettings, characters, and the social climate of the time. The novelopens with the Holy Family living in Alexandria, ostensibly os��ten��si��ble?adj.Represented or appearing as such; ostensive: His ostensible purpose was charity, but his real goal was popularity. their homeafter they fled Herod's slaughter of the innocents. While thejourney to Egypt is present only in The Gospel of Matthew The Gospel of Matthew is a synoptic gospel in the New Testament, one of four canonical gospels. It narrates an account of the life and ministry of Jesus. It describes his genealogy, his miraculous birth and childhood, his baptism and temptation, his ministry of healing and , the idea isplausible, as many Jews congregated in the city following the Diaspora.Rice appropriately depicts the role of the synagogue in family life andeducation, the priests and Pharisees, and the gender roles of Joseph ashead of the household and Mary the pious, yet illiterate, nurturer ofthe clan. Rice's portrayal of Philo, the learned Jewish scholar whosought to reconcile the Bible with Greek thought, is considered accurateby historians. Additionally, historic landmarks such as the lighthouseat Alexandria and, especially, the Temple of Jerusalem Noun 1. Temple of Jerusalem - any of three successive temples in Jerusalem that served as the primary center for Jewish worship; the first temple contained the Ark of the Covenant and was built by Solomon in the 10th century BC and destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 are described inprecise detail, again based on scrupulous historical research. Theauthor includes a rebellion, based on a minor uprising in 6 A.D. as amajor event in the story's plot, and she fittingly portrays thefrustration of the Jews in the occupied Holy Land as well as theless-than-just tactics employed by the Romans to keep order. Many themes present in the story are ripe for exploration. TheJewish nature of the Holy Family plays prominently in the novel as itabides by the law, is educated in the customs, and participates in therituals of its culture. Similarly, using the rituals of the Day ofAtonement Day of Atonementn.See Yom Kippur.[Translation of Hebrew y?m kipp?r.]Day of AtonementNounsame as Yom KippurNoun 1. , the theme of the bloody sacrifice of animals for theforgiveness of sins is dwelt dwelt?v.A past tense and a past participle of dwell. upon by the narrator NARRATOR. A pleader who draws narrs serviens narrator, a sergeant at law. Fleta, 1. 2, c. 37. Obsolete. of the story, Jesus,and his brother. Furthermore, while immersed in the turmoil of the HolyLand in transition from Herod's rule, Jesus experiences the desireon the part of the Jewish community for a militant Messiah--a king whowill raise an army and reclaim the land of God's chosen people. As a writer of fiction, Rice is skillful skill��ful?adj.1. Possessing or exercising skill; expert. See Synonyms at proficient.2. Characterized by, exhibiting, or requiring skill. in weaving these variedaccounts from numerous historical and early Church sources into acoherent narrative. The appeal is broad: straightforward enough formiddle school readers to comprehend, but exhibiting enough depth toentertain even the most knowledgeable Christian scholars. Thenarrator's words are simple enough to understand; he is, after all,7 years old at the story's outset. Still, they are powerful, andJesus is frequently shown to be wise beyond his years. Nevertheless, asmuch of the profundity dwells in the details, a frequent criticism byyounger readers is the slow pace of the story, particularly in the heartof the narrative as the plot line is bogged down by theprotagonist's introspection. The conclusion, then, is less of aresolution than an epiphany, where Jesus, then 8 years old, begins tocomprehend his past as he contemplates his future. In the author's notes that follow the story, Rice details herown spiritual journey: a rigid Irish-American Catholic upbringing, asubsequent break with the Church, and an eventual return to the Catholicfaith. Researching the Bible and early Christianity, Rice was consumedwith discovering the authentic life of Jesus Christ as a sort ofdevotion, stating, "I consecrated myself and my work toChrist" (p. 309). The depth and gravity of this work has not goneunacknowledged, as Belief.net named the novel the Spiritual Book of theYear for 2005 and Amazon.com lists it among its top-rated spiritualworks. Despite notoriety as an occult writer, Rice's latest workhas received critical acclaim from numerous Catholic scholars. In the afterward, Rice describes the aim of the novel: "totake the Jesus of the Gospels, and try to get inside him and imaginewhat he felt" (p. 320). Ultimately, this story is one writer'sguess as to what it might have been like to be a young Jesus as he beganto discover the mystery of his true self. Again, this mystery cannotfully be comprehended, and this novel's version, then, is not onethat readers should consider to be true. However, that is not to saythat it does not convey some truth: that Jesus' nature is bothhuman and divine. Besides being an entertaining story, the book is anopportunity for readers to grow in faith and understanding as theyreflect on this mystery. Frank W. O'Linn teaches English at St. Edward High School St. Edward High School is a name shared by several high schools: St. Edward Central Catholic High School (Elgin, Illinois) St. Edward High School (Nebraska), St. Edward, Nebraska St. inLakewood, OH.