I, Saul: A Book Review

I, Saul

Jerry B. Jenkins & James MacDonald

Rating: 4 Star

About the book:

Here’s an international thriller in the vein of Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code. Unlike Brown’s book, I, Saul has the presupposition that all scripture is God-breathed and infallible, a point which I appreciated very much. In I, Saul, a tour guide stumbles upon the biggest archaeological find since the Dead Sea Scrolls and asks his friend, a seminary professor, for help, since this manuscript find puts his life in serious danger.

Review:

There are many who may enjoy this book. There’s action, intrigue, romance and a sizable history lesson, especially about Roman prisons and punishment during the first century. Personally, this book wasn’t my favorite. There were certain insinuations about Luke’s character that didn’t sit well with me. Can we find any evidence in Acts or Paul’s letters that would suggest Luke would use bribery, or that Paul would slide that behavior under the rug? Since this book had so much input from credible historians I’d love an answer to that question. Would the story still have held its ground without this detail? I think so, but that’s my opinion.

I found the ‘autobiography’ of Saul/Paul quite intriguing, even if the language and style were quite modern at times. Paul’s final hours make this book a very worthy read. I wanted to jump up and rejoice in the Lord knowing that He would give any one of us the same grace He gave Paul in the hour of trial. Jenkins described it so well that I felt infused by courage!

The modern, thriller aspects of the book were pretty good. I loved the way Jenkins tied everything up in the end after leaving the reader hanging in many impossible situations. The romance aspect between Augie and Sofia had quite a bit of appeal. I appreciated the maturity with which these characters approached their romantic feelings toward one another.

These are my opinions about the book. Many who were disappointed in theology of The Da Vinci Code may be quite satisfied with this book as an alternative.

I received this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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