A Skeleton in God's Closet

Rating:
Summary: Thought Provoking Theological Fiction
Review: Dr. Maier's book is a very thought provoking story about what it would be like if something were uncovered that might possibly signal the end of Christianity. A word of caution to Christians reading this book. At the outset the book seems heretical in its subject matter, however, have no fear the author is Christian and makes all right in the end, once again proving that God can take evil intent and turn it to his bidding. The only problem I had with this book was a small amount of sexual content. I only bring this up because my twelve year old son wanted to read it and I had to tell him it was a little above him. I realize Dr. Maier wrote this for adults and not children. However, I feel a Christian writing a book about Christianity, albeit the subject matter ficticious, still has responsibilities to his fellow Christians. Having to explain to my son that he cannot read this book because of a minor amount of PG-13 material was a bit difficult, since it was written by a Christain. Otherwise the book was very good. It's a mysterical pager turner in the classic sense, and for Christians especially, it will be impossible to put down.

Rating:
Summary: intelligent and intense
Review: 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".

Rating:
Summary: A Book That Makes One Think,,,
Review: I loved reading this book. The ideas and purposes behond the book are deep and profound. You will question your faith if you were in that situation. I wondered what would I say to my congregation on the next Sunday morning.

I emerged from this book with my faith strengthed and a better understanding of Archaology.

Rating:
Summary: A Religious, Archaeological Mystery-Thriller
Review: I really enjoyed this book. I picked it up because I'm interested in historical fiction, and the cover caught my eye. When I first read the book three years ago, I found it really gripping, and wished I had someone to discuss the story with. I decided to pick it for my bookclub this month, and just re-read it in anticipation of our discussion. I finished the whole thing in a day, and it was as good as I had remembered. Personally, I did not think the love interest detracted from the story, and I thought it was handled in a very appropriate way. I think the author has really done a good job of imagining all the things that could realistically happen if Jesus' bones were discovered, and I liked the intrigue the main character had to go through to solve the mystery. I would highly recommend this novel to anyone interested in archeology, historical novels, or religious themes.

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining yes, problematic? yes
Review: I wasn't sure as I started to read this book if the publisher was a Christian house or not, so I wasn't sure (but suspected) how it would end, knowing it before hand probably makes it a little less suspenseful. There are a few problems with this book, the most glaring one being that if a major newspaper came out with a story that the bones of Jesus were found most Christians I know would laugh, I don't care how serious the reports. Most people would "know that they know" that it would end up being a hoax and there lies the problem with this story line. I also found many of the people depicted just a bit to much "overboard" and the romance part of the book was a bit "forced". On the positive side, I enjoyed reading this book and trying to figure out if the author was going to let us hang at the end or solve the mystery, I would suggest giving this book to a christian friend as a gift, but try and convience them that it was written by an atheist.

Rating:
Summary: Went Beyond My Hopes!!
Review: I've never been a big fan of Christian fiction, as I usually read books on Christian theology, philosophy, history, and apologetics. I saw Paul Maier interview on the Michael Coren (Christian Journalist/Personality in Toronto Area) Show and I thought I'd give this guys books a try.

Well I bought both of his "Skeleton" books and took four days to read them both. This one is about finding the bones of Jesus. The book is suspensful, but would have been more so if I didn't know that the author is a Christian. Overall this was a fun book and very addictive. I had to keep reading because I needed to know what was going to happen next.

This book would have received five stars if he had just left out the romantic parts. They seemed the sort of romance in teenage novels. He could also write his women with more depth of character as I found them vapid.

Over all this is a tremendously fun read, and could be read without offense by any orthdox or standard Christian.

Rating:
Summary: What would you do?
Review: This book makes you ask yourself, "If what is happening in this story really happened where would I be in my faith walk?" Very perplexing. Well written. Would recommend this to everyone.

I gave the rating of 4 stars because I feel the love interest was not essential to the story and at times detracted from the story. Still an excellent read and well worth your time.

Rating:
Summary: The Ultimate Test of Faith
Review: This is the first novel I read by Mr. Maier and was extremely pleased. It is useless in telling what the plot is about since others have explained it and the main review gives it away. This book is first rate for its outstanding attention to detail in terms of religious philosophy and archeological terminology and methodology.

The character development, including some startling twists and turns along the way, does not leave the reader asking "What else is there to this character?" It's like Maier was watching the actors live out his story. Rare is it to find an author willing to develop charcters' background and personality to the extent Maier does.

Maier, a scholar, is a treasure not only to history, religious studies, and philosophy, but also to literature and story telling. Above all, Maier challenges the readers' own faith with each turn of the page.

A great story that deserves reading.

Rating:
Summary: Suspenseful novel highlights interesting theological ideas
Review: 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.