TWO POWERFUL TESTIMONIES TO THE GOSPEL

I have just finished reading two Christian novels that I want to commend to your attention.

THE BAGHDAD EUCHARIST by Sinan Antoon is about Christians in Iraq who are trying to survive in the midst of Islamic persecution. Antoon was born in 1967 in Baghdad. He received his B.A. in English with distinction from the University of Baghdad in 1990 with minors in Arabic and Translation. He left Iraq in 1991 after the onset of the Gulf War and moved to the United States. He completed an M.A. in Arab Studies from Georgetown University in 1995. In 2006, he received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in Arabic and Islamic Studies. He is an associate professor at the Gallatin School of Individualized Study at New York University.

His novel traces the experience of one Christian family and how they have coped with the changing political regimes in Iraq over their lifetime. It is a realistic picture of the circumstances of Christians in the Middle East and the consequences of American involvement. It concludes with an appeal to fellow Iraqis.

At the end of the day, all we have is God and our faith. And, no, we didn’t come from outside. We’ve been here for centuries – everyone needs to hear this. History and archeology attest to it. Our monasteries and all other archeological remains are there for all to see, not just in the north, but throughout Iraq. There are monasteries in Karbala and Nasiriya, and even in Najaf, where there are also the ruins of churches.

We’ve never had political ambitions. And we are not the ones looting, murdering, and firebombing places of worship. All we want is to live in peace. Our religion is one of peace. That’s all I have to say.

The other novel is the famous QUO VADIS by Henryk Sienkiewicz (1846-1916) which has been adapted for the movies three times. Sienkiewicz is one of Poland’s most celebrated authors. He spent two years in America and was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1905. QUO VADIS, originally published in Poland is 1896, has been translated into more than forty languages.

The novel recounts the story of Christians in Rome during the reign of Nero (AD 54-68). It features a love story between a Roman centurion and a Christian hostage from an eastern royal family. Peter and Paul are main characters as is also Petronius the aesthete and author of Satyricon.

The decadence of Nero’s court is contrasted with the purity and goodness of the Christian community. The novel reaches its climax in the persecution of the Christians whom Nero blamed for the burning of Rome which he instigated. If you are in any doubt as to why Christianity replaced Roman paganism and its polytheistic idolatry and immorality this novel will persuade you. Since our western culture is embracing a new pagan immorality it is a salutary reminder of where we have come from and why the Gospel is the only answer to the hopes of humanity. The novel deserves to be read for its proclamation of the Gospel which the movie cannot match.