SAN FRANCISCO, April 12 /
Christian Newswire/ -- A fascinating new novel has been released by Michael O'Brien, a popular author who is widely acclaimed beyond Catholic circles for his high literary style and profound spiritual writing.
This new story centers on a character named Theophilos – the same Theophilos St. Luke addresses at the beginning of his Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles.
But who was Theophilos? Scripture scholars do not know, making him a fit subject for Michael O'Brien's vivid imagination. In this fictional narrative, Theophilos is the skeptical but beloved adoptive father of St. Luke. Challenged by the startling account of the Christ written by his beloved son Luke and concerned for the newly zealous young man's fate, Theophilos, a Greek physician and an agnostic, embarks on a search to bring him home. Theophilos is gravely concerned about what he considers the deadly illusions Luke has succumbed to regarding Jesus of Nazareth, a man of contradiction who has caused so much controversy throughout the Roman Empire.
Thus begins a long journey that will take Theophilos deep into the war between nations and empires, truth and myth, good and evil; and into unexpected dimensions of his very self. The reader follows Theophilos through four ancient civilizations: the Greek, Roman, Jewish, and that of Christianity at its birth, where he meets those who knew the man that some believe is the Messiah.
This is a story about the mysterious interaction of faith and reason, the psychology of perception, and the power of love over death.
Schooled in the empiricism of both medicine and philosophy, Theophilos is well suited to speak to our own times, in which seeing cannot be the basis for faith, but rather hearing the witness of those who have been touched by God and opening ourselves to the possibility of an encounter with the living Christ.
Michael O'Brien, icon artist, painter and writer, is the very popular author of several bestselling novels including "Father Elijah", "Strangers and Sojourners", "Eclipse of the Sun", "Sophia House" and "Island of the World". He lives in Canada with his wife and family.
To request a review copy or an interview with author Michael O'Brien, please contact:
Rose Trabbic, Publicist, Ignatius Press
