Product Description

An ancient skeleton is discovered in Israel-will it shed new light on the life of Jesus or plunge the world into darkness and chaos?

Dr. Jonathan Weber, Harvard professor and biblical scholar, is looking forward to his sabbatical year on an archaeological dig in Israel. But a spectacular find that seems to be an archaeologist's dream-come-true becomes a nightmare that could be the death rattle of Christianity.

Carefully researched and compellingly written, A Skeleton in God's Closet explores the tension between doubt and faith, science and religion, and one man's determination to find the truth-no matter what the cost.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #300053 in Books
• Published on: 2004-12-15
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

Ingram
From the author of Pontius Pilate. Archaeologist Jon Weber discovers a first-century tomb in Israel. But will the grave's contents shake the basis of Jon's faith and of Christianity itself?.

Customer Reviews

Suspenseful novel highlights interesting theological ideas
This novel succeeds as a work of entertainment. It is also a very informative examination of archeology, with lots of interesting details about digs and the verification of artifacts.

The characters are reasonably well drawn, though the females seem to be celebrated more for their beauty than for their personality or character. There was room in this novel for an older or unattractive woman known for her warmth, wisdom or expertise. I liked the main female character in the book, I just felt that her chief virtue in the author's mind was her beauty.

Perhaps the book's greatest feature is that it encourages us to think about the nature of faith. The plot is very cleverly designed to make us think specifically about the details on which Christians base their faith in Christ.

The key theological issue in the book involves questions about the truth of the physical resurrection of Christ in the body. Whether Christ lived on after the crucifixion is not the consuming question of this novel, but rather whether he lived on in physical form. The question is not whether he ascended into heaven, but weather he did so in the flesh and blood body he bore while here on earth. As a result, this book is really a text written for Christians by a Christian in order to argue a particular theological point of interest primarily to Christians.

The argument seems a bit contrived at times because it sets up those who believe in a physical resurrection of Christ against those who believe that Christ had no true divinity. There is no room in this book for those who believe in a non-physical resurrection or who believe that Christ is not tied to the physical body he wore while on earth. Even if one believes in the physical resurrection of Christ, I'm not sure that one must believe that he currently resides in heaven in the physical body he adopted while here on earth. Yet this is the point on which the gripping plot of this book hinges.

Dr. Maier is an expert on the subject of Biblical history. I think, however, that he puts too much weight on the value of the historical record in "proving" the articles of faith in the Christian religion. Ultimately, Christianity is a matter of faith, and there has so far been no true historical verification of the most important details in the Christ story.

I greatly admire Paul Maier's ability to introduce interesting philosophical and theological material and wed it to a suspenseful plot. Too often we have to choose between tedious novels that have interesting themes and thrillers that are totally vacuous. This books finds a fruitful middle ground that puts it ahead of most of the books on our best seller lists.

The style of the text is breezy and entertaining, but not always aesthetically pleasing. Many might find the style a bit old fashioned at times. There is one point where a woman in the book is described as a "winsome lass," which is not necessarily a common manner of speaking in America. However, I tended to find these flourishes to be engaging rather than detrimental.

Overall, an unusually good book. I would recommend it to Christians who enjoy suspenseful entertainments with a strong theological twist.

intelligent and intense
I took a History at Western Michigan that Dr. Maier taught in the 1980's> I can still remember details of his lectures. He has a gift to tell a good story. And his books are also very good. He knows his subject very well. I just finished reading the Skeleton and The Di Vinci code. The skeleton is far better written far more interesting and far less mis-leading then the Di Vinci code. Dr. Maier clearly states that this is a work of fiction. He clearly states that the words are his own. He respects his readers intelligence. Most of what I have read by Dr. Maier has been very good indeed. This is worth hunting down. Because it is out of print you will
need to find creative ways to find this book. Maybe buy used or look around at differant resources. My husband is reading more than a skeleton right now but I will start that one as soon as he finishes.The story is very intense and interesting. It is also easy to follow and read because it is well written.

The first Theological Thriller
Dr. Paul Maier recently released a sequel to this book, a classic that I read almost 10 years ago. The sequel is called "More than Just a Skeleton, it was one Man against the World" and was one of the best books I've read in years.

A Skeleton in God's Closet is well worth reading and I have reread it and enjoyed it many times. Not only will this book make you think about issues of faith versus knowledge, but it will also introduce you to the world of scientific verification of archaeological discoveries. It is the only accessible book to this highly technical feild that I have ever encountered.

The characters in Dr. Maier's book are realistic and easy to identify with. Some have criticised his inability to create deep female characters in his book, and perhaps there is some validity to this as the female character in this book is not really well-developed. The romance is juvenile, unrealistic and annoying. (My wife unfortunately never finished the book because of the cheesy romantic scenes). However the other strengths of the book make it well-worth skipping the remantic passages.

I highly recommend reading this book as a introduction to Dr. Maier's new work, which I believe is the best book of Christian fiction since C.S. Lewis wrote the "Great Divorce".