The Kingdom

This book is a work of historical fiction. There are two stories, followed by a short Epilogue.
The first story centers on the life of Yeshua of Nazareth, later known as Jesus. All the major characters are people you’ve probably heard of, and I’ve tried to stay true to what is known about them, as well as the times they lived in. At the same time, there is more we don’t know about them than what we do know, so I have taken the liberty of filling in the blanks with what I hope you will find a plausible and engaging story. Bear in mind, however, that I have filled in the blanks with fiction; I make no claim to have uncovered new historical sources or enjoyed special revelations.
The Gospel of Thomas is a volume you may not be familiar with. It begins with a declaration that it contains the sayings of Jesus, as recorded by his twin brother, Judas Thomas. Clearly, some people feel it is exactly what it claims while others disagree. In Part One, I have Thomas scribbling down Jesus’s sayings from time to time.
The second story takes place during the Third Council of Carthage in 397 C.E. This is the time at which the most widely accepted table of contents for the Old and New Testaments of the Christian Bible was created from among the great many documents in circulation that purported to talk about Jesus, his life, message, and purpose. While I have attempted to stay true to the time and setting of the Council and have been faithful to the results of it, most of the characters and their interactions are fiction. Father Jerome, the central figure, went on to become St. Jerome, a real person, but I have made up his role in the council. I have found no historical data to show he was even there (nor that he wasn’t).
Father Jerome is given a copy of The Gospel of Thomas when he arrives at the Synod, and he slowly becomes increasingly taken by it. He tries, in fact, to have it included in the Bible.
I realize that these two stories may trouble some readers. That wasn’t my intention but I know it’s a risk. For some people it may be necessary to go through some discomfort in dealing with ideas like the ones in this book. I think Jesus addressed this in the second saying recorded in The Gospel of Thomas:
Let one who seeks not stop seeking until one finds. When one finds, one will be troubled. When one is troubled, one will marvel and will rule over all.
The Council at Carthage evidently preferred the discomfort-free and bumper-sticker-sized version reported by John (8:32): “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.”
It was not until recent times when popular culture restored the missing ingredient in Jesus’s formulation: “The truth shall set you free, but first it will piss you off.”
Let me say just a little more about the experience of writing this book. First, my academic career has revolved largely around writing college textbooks, mostly on the subject of social science research methods. So, while I am a writer, I am not a novelist. This is my first real attempt at fiction.
Second, I am a sociologist, not a religious or Biblical scholar. Writing this book has involved a good deal of self-education about the beginnings and growth of Christianity, and I have made every effort to be accurate. However, this book is not a scholarly reference on such subjects.
The Gospel of Thomas figures importantly in both stories. I don’t think I will violate the suspense of this book to let you know Thomas didn’t make the cut for The Bible. In my version, Jerome has a copy of The Gospel of Thomas and wants to make sure it is protected for posterity. So, I had planned to have him send the manuscript away to be hidden in Egypt. As you may or may not know, The Gospel of Thomas was discovered in the Nag Hammadi cave-library in 1945, so I figured I would cleverly have it sent there at the end of the Carthage Synod.
I think Jesus’s discovery and communication of The Kingdom is a powerful story. You might even find it inspirational.