Vampire author turns to Christ

First, then, the author: In an afterword Rice explains how she researched the book. Readers should begin here because I cannot imagine reading the novel without first reading the explanation of her scholarship (absolutely meticulous and in-depth) and her testimony about her return to faith.

Rice’s return was, in fact, facilitated by her study. She was curious about who Jesus was and is. In her pursuit of truth about Jesus, an academic and historical investigation, she bumped into "the Truth." Like C.S. Lewis, her intellect led her to belief and then her heart changed. Contrary to what some popular evangelists say, intellectual assent can precede the change (the metanoia) of the heart.

She expected that the arguments of skeptical New Testament scholars would demonstrate "that Christianity was, at heart, a kind of fraud." Instead, she found that their arguments were "reached on the basis of little or no data at all." I have tremendous respect for her willingness to examine so dispassionately, and then set aside a position with which she had been in fundamental agreement. She read, thought and concluded these writers were wrong; Jesus really is who the church has said he is. And she has consecrated her work to Jesus.

The first century historical setting gives a vivid picture of Jewish life with many new insights. (For example, Jewish homes, which I had previously imagined as one-room mud bungalows, actually may have been quite lovely, with beautiful rugs on the dirt floors and decorative borders on whitewashed walls.) Finally, and importantly, the characterizations of Jesus, Mary and Joseph are nothing short of inspired. With these three, as with the historical setting, my imagination had been limited to only what the Gospels relate. This book freed me to reflect upon what they might have been like (not as a matter of faith but as a matter of love). Rice presents Jesus as a boy eager to understand himself, exploring who he was, knowing he was different, but required to grow up as a child.

There is so much more to say, but the bottom line is this: Believers (and nonbelievers) need to read the book. Believers will enjoy the narrative and maybe explore some new ways of thinking. And nonbelievers? Well, as I think of their reading, I find myself doing what Jesus’ Uncle Cleopas did throughout "Christ the Lord": I am laughing a low and happy — very happy — laugh.