Category Archives: Christian Fiction

A Wretched Man novel: 3rd Review is in

A Different Voice is a website devoted to progressive, Christian educators. It reviews and recommends educational resources deemed suitable for progressive congregations.

There are many of us…progressive Christian education professionals, pastors, youth directors, parents, volunteers, lay ministers, conference staff people…who are committed to taking the Bible seriously but not literally…who believe justice and grace and compassion and love are at the core of what it means to be Christian…who practice spiritual disciplines and still love God with their minds as well…who know themselves to be on a meaningful and hope-filled journey of faith.

Tim Gossett of Different Voice is “a twenty-some year veteran of youth ministry and Christian education. He has masters degrees in Religious Education and Religious Communications from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, OH, is a certified Christian education director in the United Methodist Church, and is an author of a handful of books.” Mr. Gossett posted a lengthy review of A Wretched Man that includes the following snippets:

If asked to recommend some good books about Paul for laypersons and church professionals, there are several candidates that would come to mind. Two, though, would receive my top recommendation. Borg and Crossan’s The First Paul would be tops on my list for its lucid and important description of the de-radicalization of Paul’s message by the early church. Next, I’d recommend a forthcoming novel, A Wretched Man: A Novel of Paul the Apostle by RW Holmen, a compelling exploration of the Jewish (Nazarenes) and Gentile (Pauline) movements in the first century. If you’ve ever struggled to understand Paul’s form of faith, Holmen’s work of historical fiction will help you to imagine your way into Paul’s life and times.

Holmen definitely captures the “feel” of first-century Roman territories. I suspect most readers will feel as if every chapter will add to their knowledge about life in those difficult days, from the basics of daily life to the realities of trying to exist as an oppressed religious community. Holmen clearly loves that period of time, and he describes it beautifully and (I think) pretty accurately. His training as a historian is clearly evident.
The author brings to life the source of the conflict between the early Christian movements, namely that Jesus did not return as expected, and there were significant differences of opinion about what Jesus’ life and teachings meant for Torah-followers and Gentiles alike. We cannot hope to fully understand and appreciate the differences between the Jesus of the gospels and the Christ of faith in the Pauline letters without understanding these two very different “Christianities.”
The novel helps contextualize the letters of Paul and clarify how their themes came about. Paul’s conversations and private thoughts eventually are woven into bits and pieces of the letters. Unlike some novels about Paul, this one contains very little of the actual letters themselves, though, focusing only on their key phrases and themes. Stories from the book of Acts are woven into the story arc, though many scenes originate in Holmen’s own imagined, fleshed-out version of the characters’ lives.
It’s clear to me that Holmen (who has done post-graduate studies in theology and Christian history at a progressive Benedictine community in Minnesota) is well-versed in contemporary progressive scholarship about Paul. This is evidenced in subtle ways—I suspect many readers will not pick up on the progressive emphasis—and at times I wished Holmen had been able to more directly expand on some of the insights in the Borg/Crossan book I previously mentioned. Yet it’s definitely the rare religious novel that can be recommended to your parishioners without reservation.
Finally, the novel treats Paul, Barnabas, Peter, James, the various women Paul knew, Timothy, Titus, and many others as extraordinarily normal people. We witness their frustrations, their anger, their salty language and questionable behavior, and the mundane experiences of their everyday lives, not just their piety and faithful witness. In many ways, this is the greatest gift of A Wretched Man, because these characters can now leap off the page and into our imaginations.

Read the full review here

A Wretched Man novel: 2nd review is in

I earlier quoted the first review/recommendation that my soon-to-be-released novel received. Advance Reader Copies of the novel have been sent to potential reviewers in anticipation of the novel’s February release. Today, my publisher advised me that a second recommendation came in over the weekend. Here it is:

A Wretched Man: A Novel of Paul the Apostle is a stunning fictional account of the early church that reads like real-life. While a work of fiction, this just may be the most authentically historical novel ever written about the lives of the apostles. Robert Holmen is a wonderful writer with a gift for bringing the Roman and Jewish worlds of the first century to life in an incredibly realistic way. Holmen’s marvelous prose made me feel as if I was actually there witnessing the events described. This is the first biblical drama I have ever read that presents the apostles as real flesh and blood human beings struggling with the all-too-human issues we all face. The internecine struggles waged by Paul, James, and Peter in this book are still with the church today. This is a story that will both shock and inspire any Christian who is truly searching to find and follow the historical Jesus. It has certainly deepened my own understanding of my faith.

Rev. Jeffrey Bütz, instructor of Religious Studies, Penn State University, and author of The Brother of Jesus and The Secret Legacy of Jesus

Book Review: Paul, a novel by Walter Wangerin, Jr.

Walter Wangerin, Jr. is a prolific religious author: thirty books for young and old– both fiction and non-fiction—essays, articles, and commentaries. Educated as a Lutheran Pastor, he was the well known radio voice of Lutheran Vespers for many years. He holds a professorial chair at Valparaiso University.

Three of his novels are Biblical fiction—well known stories from Scripture retold by a master storyteller. He is not shy in his choice of subjects: The Book of God; Paul, a novel; and Jesus, a novel. The second of the three, Paul, a novel, was published in 2001, and is the account of Paul the apostle to the Gentiles.

As a consummate storyteller, Wangerin evokes the sights, sounds, and smells of the first century Roman Empire. Paul and his supporting cast are lifted from the pages of the New Testament to become short and tall, bold and shy, bald or hairy. Wangerin’s novel humanizes Christian icons.

Yet, for all the picture-painting performed by Wangerin, the characterization is thin. While we may visualize the characters, I’m not sure that we come to know their inner conflicts, motivations, fears and desires. There is little depth beyond three dimensions. Perhaps Wangerin’s shifting use of first person point of view contributes to flatness of character. He has chosen to write, not in the voice of Paul, but from the perspective of no less than nine supporting characters as narrators. We see Paul through their eyes, which do not penetrate far beneath the skin. Wangerin’s method attempts to create a composite view of Paul the apostle, but the effect of multiple narrators, each taking their turn before moving offstage only to return again and again, is often bumpy.

Paul the apostle encountered Prisca and Aquila, her husband, in Corinth, and they continued on with him to Ephesus as important members of his growing entourage. Already followers of the Christ from Rome, where they had come under the scrutiny of the Emperor, the husband and wife team of tentmakers had been exiled to Corinth. Prisca is one the major narrators in Wangerin’s novel.

A second is James, the brother of Jesus, who ascended to leadership of the Jerusalem based followers of Jesus after the crucifixion. Wangerin’s instincts are solid in assigning an important role to James in his novel, but he misses the opportunity to probe conflict in the early church. Like the book of Acts, which Wangerin follows without challenge, the novel glosses over the evidence of harsh disagreement between James and Paul the apostle, between the Jewish Jesus movement in Jerusalem and Paul’s Gentile mission. Not that Wangerin avoids it, but it is conflict without rancor or consequence. He drops delicious hints that beg for more.

A third recurring narrator is Seneca, the Roman philosopher and dramatist who served as tutor and advisor to Nero when he became a teenaged Emperor. Seneca’s purpose as narrator is to provide setting in the first century Roman Empire.

Barnabas was Paul the apostle’s compatriot for many years in Antioch and companion on an early missionary journey through the island of Cyprus and the province of Phrygia on the Anatolian mainland (modern day Turkey). He is the fourth recurring narrator.

The fifth is Timothy, the son of a Roman soldier and a Jewish mother, who joined Paul’s missionary band in his home city of Lystra and remained a primary aide de camp and secretary thereafter.

The sixth is Luke, the author of the gospel by the same name and also of Acts. Wangerin accepts the traditional view that he was a travel companion of Paul the apostle. Wangerin’s Lucan voice emulates that of the gospel.

The final recurring narrator is Titus, the uncircumcised Gentile who accompanied Paul the apostle and Barnabas to Jerusalem for a face to face meeting with the “pillars” to resolve the issue of Torah observance and especially circumcision. He later joined Paul in Ephesus.

Two other lesser characters make one time appearances as narrator for a total of nine.

Paul also appears as narrator in several chapters–not as speaker but as writer. In these chapters, Wangerin paraphrases Paul’s Corinthian and Galatian correspondence.

In the end, that is an apt summary of the novel as a whole: a paraphrase of the traditional, Biblical narrative about Paul the apostle. An elaborate and aesthetic paraphrase to be sure, but a paraphrase nevertheless. And that is clearly Wangerin’s choice, for there is ample evidence throughout that he has done his research well, and he would be aware of the scholarly consensus that the book of Acts is unreliable as history; yet, he chose not to go there.

For those who prefer, or at least are content, to hear again the traditional stories but gussied up by a master storyteller, experienced and adept at his craft, this novel will be much appreciated. For others who prefer a more nuanced interpretation of Paul the apostle and his primary role in Christian origins, the novel may not probe much deeper than an adult Sunday School class.

A Wretched Man novel: the first review is in.

Writing can be a solitary endeavor, but when we share our words with the world, it can be as scary as dropping one’s pants in the midst of a crowd (thanks to fellow Loft writer Jim Lundin for the simile). My novel is now at the point where others are reading it, and that is daunting.

My publisher has been busy sending out “galley copies” (which they refer to as ‘”advance reader” copies) to potential reviewers. With a novel release set for next February, we are hoping to generate buzz and to obtain some favorable comments to use in marketing. Yesterday, the first comment arrived. Here it is:

A Wretched Man is a powerful recreation of the world of Paul, James and Peter that pulls no punches! In this highly readable novel, based on contemporary scholarship, Paul comes alive as a complex individual. What accounts for his visceral attack on Torah? What was behind his careful avoidance of James and Jesus’ first followers in Jerusalem? What drove him on to the ends of the earth, setting up the infrastructure of a new religion? It’s all here as Holmen explores Paul’s inner turmoil and the likely motivation behind Paul’s beliefs and actions. Agree or disagree, this book opens up the reality of the world of Paul and his contemporaries in a way no other work does. Real individuals, with passions and agendas, step on to the world stage.”

Barrie Wilson, Professor, Religious Studies, York University, Toronto. Author How Jesus Became Christian.

Whew. That wasn’t so bad.

A Wretched Man: novel to be released soon

The edits are finally done, and the manuscript has been formatted for printing. Front and back cover designs are in place for the galley copies that have been ordered. A limited, preliminary print run will produce galley copies (also known as advance reader copies) that will be provided to reviewers. The publication process slowly chugs along, and now I must wait nervously and hope for a favorable review or two …

A Wretched Man: Front cover design picked

My publisher has been working on front cover designs for a few weeks. The novel is still a few months away from the bookstores, but this is what the cover will look like:

New Title: A Wretched Man, a novel of Paul the apostle

Based upon discussions with my publisher, I have decided to drop The Jewish Gentile as my novel’s title. The new title is A Wretched Man, a novel of Paul the apostle. This is based on the famous line in Paul’s letter to the Romans, “Wretched Man that I am! Who will save me from this body of death?”

The publisher is performing the final edit, and we are discussing cover designs.

Writing my novel: Part 4 (the daily process)

Sometime around 6 am most days, I bounced off the walls on my way to the kitchen, spilled coffee grounds, splashed water, and finally flipped the switch on the drip brew coffee maker. Then I impatiently stole a mug of black coffee long before the whole pot had dripped through the grounds.

Writing my novel: Part 3 (learning craft)

Dad, you write like a theologian. Or, a historian. Or worse yet, like a lawyer.

So said my eldest daughter, herself a poet and free lance writer, upon reading the first pages of my first draft.

Book Review: The Legacy of Flannery O’Connor

flannery-oconnor Flannery O’Connor died young. In 1964, she died of complications of lupus at age 39, but she has left a following of devoted readers, some Catholic and religious, but mostly literary.