The Robe, by Lloyd C. Douglas

[Werner]

Yes, the parable of the sower always describes human response to the gospel message, in any century!

[Nancy]

Yes, the tares, which resemble wheat, will be burned up in the Lake of Fire. Fake Christians, unrepentant.

[Jessica]

I listened to the description of the feeding of the 5,000 over the weekend. I realize that there is some creative license being used for the story, and I am fine with that, but I was really disappointed in the way the book presented this story. It did not follow the Biblical description, stating that multiple people in the crowd had food that they shared, and made it seem like the whole thing was perhaps just an act of selfless sharing by everyone involved and not the obvious miracle that is was.

[Nancy]

...It did not follow the Biblical description, stating that multiple people in the crowd had food that they shared, and made it seem like the whole thing was perhaps just an act of selfless sharing by everyone involved and not the obvious miracle that is was. ... AMEN! I agree. Creative license is sometimes another name for LYING.
No liars in Heaven, either.

[Werner]

It's been 25 years since I read The Robe, so by now I remember any reference to the feeding of the five thousand only very vaguely, if at all. I have a copy of the book to refer to; but hunting blindly for that one passage is something like looking for a needle in a haystack. Jessica, what chapter is it in?

[Jessica]

That is a great question. Since I am listening rather than reading I have not been paying a lot of attention to the chapters, but I have been bookmarking while I listen, so I can probably figure it out. I'll take a look.

[Werner]

Thanks, Jessica!

[Jessica]

It is at the end of chapter 15.

[Werner]

Thanks, Jessica! When I get time, I'll read back over that part to refresh my memory.

[Werner]

John 6:13 does make the explicit statement that the twelve baskets of leftovers from the feeding of the 5,000 consisted of "the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten" (not leftovers from supposed assorted other contributions). So Douglas' interpretation of that incident is inaccurate, and can fairly be criticized as such. I doubt that the inaccuracy was an intentional result of deliberate deceit; it's more likely a result of slipshod Bible reading. But that doesn't make it accurate or well-researched. :-(

[Jessica]

I finished the book this weekend. Aside from a few little issues (like the feeding of the 5,000 mentioned above) I really enjoyed the story. I enjoyed the way that Douglas included extra made up details and stories about Jesus and His miracles. The whole book really made you feel like the events and characters of the Bible are real, which of course they are, and made me excited to one day talk with these people and hear all of the stories of the things Jesus did during his time on earth that are not included in the Bible.

John 21: 25 "Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written."

[Werner]

I really liked the book overall as well. If anyone's interested, my four-star review is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... . (Since, as one of my Goodreads friends pointed out, reviews are meant to evaluate the book as a whole, I refrained from linking to mine early in the discussion; but I'm guessing that by now, most of those taking part in this discussion have read the whole book, or are at least getting pretty close to the end. :-) )