What a wonderful story! In this fictional rendering of Malchus, the slave of the high priest famous for losing an ear to the Apostle Peter, we are treated to one possible insider’s view of first century slavery, religious corruption and, most importantly, Jesus. While there is much detail to debate and discuss, the story is well written, enjoyable, believable (mostly!) and very thought provoking. It reminds us again that the world into which the Bible was written was, at the same time, very much like our own and yet very different. While we can relate to the shallow, selfish evils of humanity depicted, there is much about the culture of the Gospel completely foreign to us. This makes for very interesting reading.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Malchus (W.G. Griffiths)
What a wonderful story! In this fictional rendering of Malchus, the slave of the high priest famous for losing an ear to the Apostle Peter, we are treated to one possible insider’s view of first century slavery, religious corruption and, most importantly, Jesus. While there is much detail to debate and discuss, the story is well written, enjoyable, believable (mostly!) and very thought provoking. It reminds us again that the world into which the Bible was written was, at the same time, very much like our own and yet very different. While we can relate to the shallow, selfish evils of humanity depicted, there is much about the culture of the Gospel completely foreign to us. This makes for very interesting reading.
