Tuesday, July 12, 2011

The Constantine Codex by Paul L. Maier

What would happen if an early Biblical manuscript was found that contained more than what is in our 66 books of the Bible? What if there was more to the book of Mark, or a third letter by Luke recounting the rest of Paul’s life? Paul Maier tackles these questions by showing one possible outcome in his book, The Constantine Codex.
Jon and Shannon Weber are interested in early church manuscripts. Shannon, an archeologist, comes across a manuscript possibly written by an early church father. After photographing and testing the document, it was discovered to indeed be an early church document from the 4th century. Jon and Shannon seek permission, along with a team of specialists, to photograph other early church documents in an effort to preserve those documents. Simultaneously, one of Jon’s books has been translated and is being released in the Middle East. However, because there is a mistranslated word, riots break out in the Muslim world! After the book is corrected, Jon is invited to debate Islam and Christianity with a leading Muslim leader. After the debate, Jon and Shannon discover and photograph a manuscript that could change the world!
Maier’s book started out slow but then became an interesting read. The debate between Islam and Christianity really brought out the points of each side that are barriers to the other. The idea of ancient manuscripts being found is not unlikely. But the question is raised, what would happen if something was there in addition to what we already have, not that contradicts the Bible, but that supplements and adds to it?


http://www.amazon.com/Constantine-Codex-Skeleton-Paul-Maier/dp/1414337736/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1310517769&sr=8-1


I received the galleys of this book from Net Galley for this review.

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