Christ the Lord: Out
of Egypt by Anne Rice, popular author occult novels:
[Reviewed By George Barna] "...as thrilled as I was to learn of
Ms. Rice’s reconnection with Christ, and of her subsequent commitment
to devote the rest of her life to writing for Him, I opened this
book with minimal expectations. I need not have worried.... Ms.
Rice did not merely conduct exhaustive research on Jesus’ early
life. She created a moving and
credible portrait of the young Lord
and His family.... It is a simple but powerful tale of the emergence
of the Savior as He probes His own humanity and divinity....
"...there are captivating
scenes such as the riot outside the walls of the Temple in Jerusalem.
Other episodes provide riveting insight, such as the family influence
on life, Jesus’ exercise and discovery of His powers.... Some scholars
and religious leaders will probably demonize this book as 'fabricated
history' or 'bad doctrine.'”
It
is "bad doctrine" to present
a mythical view of Jesus that goes far beyond His revealed Word.
It's believable since it stirs emotions and guides the imagination,
which makes it all the more deceptive. Where did she do her research?
In the
Gnostic Gospels?
Christ the Lord, for
you: "It's told first person by the seven-year old Jesus,
whom we first meet in Egypt with his family. Most of the book follows
them back to Nazareth, describing the horrors of Roman persecution
they encounter along the way. Alongside all of this is
Jesus' slowly evolving sense of who
he is.... The issue is basically
'power.'
"The
novel opens with the account from
the
infancy gospel of St. Thomas,
of Jesus killing a little boy and
bringing him back to life. At other points in the novel,
Jesus prays for snow, and it snows, etc. There are flashes he describes
of being surrounded by angels, by power, of seeing through the veil
of reality to greater reality and so on...."
2 Timothy 4:3-4
and
God's eternal, unchanging
Word
Witchcraft, Evil, and
Memnoch the Devil: Esoteric and Theosophical Themes in Anne Rice’s
New Orleans Fiction: "Anne Rice has often indicated that
she hopes to be taken seriously by the academia.... She has found
some audience in English Departments throughout the United States.
The above remarks suggest that -- as her fiction increasingly gravitates
toward esoteric themes, gnosticism and Kabbalah -- she may engage
in a fruitful debate with scholars of religion, theosophy and the
hermetic tradition."
Monologue Of The Messiah:
"Seen through the eyes of this special child, there are captivating
scenes such as the riot outside the walls of the Temple in Jerusalem.
Other episodes provide riveting insight, such as the family influence
on life, Jesus’ exercise and
discovery of His powers, and
the emotions the Lord felt
toward others. ... Some scholars
and religious leaders will probably demonize this book as “fabricated
history” or “bad doctrine.” (Can the words “heresy” and “blasphemy”
be far behind?) In our culture of criticism, it seems there is always
something to diminish about other people’s best work. Critics should
remember that this is a novel; Ms. Rice is not attempting to add
to the canon of Scripture but to stimulate us to experience and
bond with Jesus at a different level.
Anne Rice - AUTHOR TALK:
" Obsession
led me to write this book....
I become completely consumed by a theme, by characters, by a desire
to meet a challenge, and the book begins to grow. With CHRIST THE
LORD, the obsession began in my earliest childhood in pure religious
devotion. Though I broke with my religion in college, I was still
obsessed with religious questions, the basics --- Why are we here?...
I went back to the Catholic Church in 1998, completely. In 2002,
when I was sitting in church before Mass one Saturday evening, I
made the declaration to Christ that I would do this book and nothing
else. And the entire purpose, shape, tone --- all of that came together....
"I wrote this book to make Christ real to people who had never thought
about Him as real.... And for this art to have value, it must be
utterly true to the spirit of Christ as I have received it from
multiple sources: the Gospels, my church, my prayers, my meditation.
... I've tried to re-invent Jesus for those who don't want to think
about Him or know Him....
"I want to love all the children
of God --- Christian, Jew, Moslem, Hindu, Buddhist
--- everyone. I want to love Gay Christians and straight Christians.
But the point is, we need people to make visible the great embracing
and compassionate message of Christianity, people to continue the
revolution started by Christ Himself, people to bear witness that
the story of Jesus Christ is going on and on without end, gaining
power with each century, and reaching more and more people."
Christ the Lord, for
you: "It's told first person by the seven-year old Jesus,
whom we first meet in Egypt with his family. Most of the book follows
them back to Nazareth, describing the horrors of Roman persecution
they encounter along the way. Alongside all of this is Jesus' slowly
evolving sense of who he is.... The issue is basically 'power.'
"The
novel opens with the account
from the infancy gospel of St. Thomas,
of Jesus killing a little
boy and bringing him back to life.
At other points in the novel, Jesus prays for snow, and it snows,
etc. There are flashes he describes of being surrounded by angels,
by power, of seeing through the veil of reality to greater reality
and so on.... Those of you irritated by Rice's contention that Luke
meant it when he said that Jesus grew in wisdom might find solace
in the fact that every aspect of Jesus' family life she describes
is consistent with ancient traditional Christian understanding -
Mary's perpetual virginity, James as the son of Joseph from a previous
marriage...."
The Gospel according
to Anne: "Anne Rice has spent the past three decades
making us believe in the supernatural. Whether she was writing about
the vampire Lestat in her 1976 debut Interview with the Vampire,
the Mayfair family of witches in The Witching Hour or the X-rated
adventures of a libidinous Sleeping Beauty under her nom de erotica
A.N. Roquelaure, Rice's great gift has always been to combine extensive
research with an effusive, lyrical prose style to engage us in the
human drama of her not-altogether-human collection of souls. But
even Rice's loyal legion of fans may not be prepared for the dramatic
sea change her life and work have taken since she embarked on the
greatest challenge of her career: a series on the life of Jesus
Christ told in his own words....In Christ the Lord, a seven-year-old
Jesus becomes conscious that he is profoundly different from other
boys. He has already experienced the curious sensation of turning
clay birds into real ones and reviving the dead. As his family makes
its way back from Alexandria to Nazareth, he gathers tidbits of
detail about his miraculous birth, which caused great suspicion
among the neighbors and placed him on King Herod's list of undesirables.
....
Books: Anne Rice: 'Stations
on a Journey': "'In 2002 I made up my mind that I would
not write anything that wasn't for Christ,' the former vampire queen
explained.... Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt tells the story
of a young Jesus from his point of view: a 7-year-old boy who is
discovering his powers and his identity. This transformation is
startling for a writer who previously summoned vampires, witches
and ghosts to life in tale after tale of supernatural life....
"Rice conducted her own theological investigation in Memnoch
the Devil. 'The books in a way are like stations on a journey,'
Rice said. 'They reflect different points on a lifelong quest.'
...Rice says her return to the Church made writing about Jesus more
challenging.... Rice immersed herself in Christian scholarship,
and her book draws heavily from many sources, from Josephus to N.T.
Wright."
Christ the Lord: Out
of Egypt--Customer Reviews: "Much has been made in recent
years of the Gnostic gospels. Most of the hullabaloo has focused
on disproving Christ's divinity, but many more of those lost texts
make His divine power the main aspect of their narrative. This book
leans heavily on those lost gospels. The plot picks up when the
Holy family is about to return to Israel after fleeing to Egypt
to escape Herod. Jesus is a small boy, aware of His power, but not
sure what it all means.... Other figures from the Bible make appearances,
Elizabeth who is about to send John not yet the Baptist, to the
Essenes.... Catholic theology is also a major influence here....
No one can know what happened to Jesus during the years He grew
up, but perhaps some of this did."
Interview with a Novelist
[warning: you may not want to see the ad on this page]:
"She threw herself into her research for the book, intellectually
devouring apocryphal gospels, infancy gospels, gnostic gospels,
the Talmud, biblical legends and literature—in short, 'everything
I could,' she says. '“I read as much as I could find about Judaism
and Christianity.' The result: Her new novel, Christ the Lord: Out
of Egypt....
"How
does one write in the voice of a 7-year-old Jesus? 'I tried to remember
what it was like to be 7, and did a lot of period research,' says
Rice. 'The boy Jesus has an awareness that he is God, but it’s gradual
and uneven, because what I set out to do—and I don’t think anyone
else has done this before—is to get the politics, history, sociology
and geography of the time right.' She wanted to make Jesus real,
the Jesus who is god-in-man, who was born of a virgin and visited
by shepherds and angels. 'I wanted to find out what it felt like
to be inside his head.'...
"...the
book does start out strong, with the boy
Jesus killing a bullying playmate
by using a special power he
possesses. He brings the playmate
back to life after cousin Salome whispers to him, 'Just make him
come alive, Jesus, the way you made the birds come alive.'”
Nov 29, 2005
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