Roman Numerals: The Second Art West Adventure

by Ben Witherington III, Ann Witherington

In this second novel of the series, Art West seeks out the meaning of the mysterious symbolic number 666 while exploring sites in Egypt and Turkey. He discovers an inscription in southern Egypt at the Philae Temple in Aswan, which reads, "He is many men and no man, towering like the sphinx, dead and alive, but who knows what he thinks? Back from the Styx; 666." Who is this sphinx-like man? Could he be relevant to the twenty-first century? These questions lead Art to investigate possible connections between the Coptic Gospels and Coptic Orthodox beliefs. In the middle of such investigations Art is involved in a harrowing prisoner exchange in Israel at the hands of Hamas, and he discovers the origins of Christians wearing crosses. He also tangles with the notorious terrorist El Tigre. Set in the context of Middle East tensions between Muslims, Christians, and Jews, this fast-paced thriller explores the meaning of eschatological or "end times" language for the earliest Christians, who, while trying to spread the kingdom of God, faced the rising tide of the kingdom of Caesar and his emperor cult. Along the way West learns some apocalyptic secrets destined to change his life forever.

Genres: Adventure

258 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2009

About the author

Ben Witherington III (PhD, University of Durham) is Amos Professor of New Testament for Doctoral Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky, and is on the doctoral faculty at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. He is the author or coauthor of more than thirty books, including The Jesus Quest, The Paul Quest, and The New York Times bestseller The Brother of Jesus. He has appeared on the History Channel, NBC, ABC, CBS, and CNN.

Reviews

[Christopher Chandler]

Read for the scholarship, not the fiction

This book is clearly written by a New Testament scholar and it shows throughout. The book goes beyond the surface level information and often has very detailed accounts of archaeological and biblical scholarship. However, the prose is really found wanting in this book. The actual storyline is very predictable and offers no real satisfaction at the end. If you want to trick your brain into learning about archaeological and theological scholarship then this is a great book for that. It would also potentially be a good book for middle school or high school to read, but sometimes the scholarship/lecture sections of the books can be a little dense. One final petty critique, it seems like every time someone eats food in this book the author feels the need to describe every single thing on the plate. Is absolutely baffling, and happens on several occasions. Why do I need to know if you're eating cantaloupe with orange juice or if they have refried beans or are eating watermelons? I just don't know and it seems like it was just a way to fill up space in the book.

[James Korsmo]

Roman numerals is the second Art West adventure from Ben and Ann Witherington. Ben is a prolific and widely respected biblical scholar who has written widely in new testament history, exegesis and theology. Ann is his biology-professor wife. And together they have crafted this series of adventure mysteries. In this second installment, Art West finds himself investigating a major antiquities heist, and he is later abducted by an Islamic group that wants to silence his christian witness. The books are relatively well written, and have lots of action as well as some interesting characters. Much of the action takes place in Jerusalem and in archaeological sites in its surrounding hills, and the Witheringtons show sensativity to the complex historical, cultural, and theological situation there. Also a major theme in this book was Art's ficticious investigations into the presence and extent of the emperor cult in the first century, and especially in Palestine. this theme especially is helped by a brief author's note at the end of the book that details which archeological finds and ancient artifacts were real and which were ficticuous. I won't ruin the plot by outlining it here, but there is enough action woven together with thoughtful and authentic historical detail to make these great books, especially for people with interest in Biblical history and archaeology, and not to mention an ability to explore the content and implications of Christian faith. I look forward to reading the third installment.

[William Bradford]

Did not have quite the same pace as The Lazarus Effect - dragged a bit in the middle but picked up well at the end. Same comments as for the first in the series. As pure action/adventure - average. If you are interested in Biblical archeology or in New Testament studies - very good. The Witheringtons do an outstanding job integrating the action/adventure with Biblical archeology, and that is what makes this series. There are also some interesting sidelights, such as the descriptions of the interactions of the principal characters from differing faiths.