Click to Order
This looks like it’s going to be a book in the ilk of theology-in-story, and frankly, I’m so very interested in that style at the moment:
Ben Witherington III attempts to reenchant our reading of Paul in this creative reconstruction of ancient Corinth. Following a fictitious Corinthian man named Nicanor through an eventful week of business dealings and conflict, you will encounter life at various levels of Roman society–eventually meeting Paul himself and gaining entrance into the Christian community there. The result is an unforgettable introduction to life in a major center of the New Testament world. Numerous full-page text boxes expand on a variety of aspects of life and culture as we encounter them in the narrative.
So yeah… it’ll be great!
Joel L. Watts holds a Masters of Arts from United Theological Seminary with a focus in literary and rhetorical criticism of the New Testament. His interests include exploring the role of mimesis in human civilization, specifically in the study of religion and media, as well as science fiction and the way in which it has allowed mythology to be explored in light of scientific discoveries of the past century. He is the author of Mimetic Criticism of the Gospel of Mark: Introduction and Commentary (Wipf and Stock, 2013) and a co-editor and contributor to From Fear to Faith: Stories of Hitting Spiritual Walls (Energion, 2013).
Website: → Unsettled Christianity
Connect
IMO, it will only be great if the fiction writing is great. Just as theological writing is an acquired skill, so is fiction writing. It’s not something you just ‘do’. No doubt setting will be great, based on his knowledge, but what about his dialogue, plotting, characterization, and all the other ingredients necessary for accomplished fiction? We’ll see, but I’m not optimistic.